I used to think the comment "do you remember when" and "back in the day" was exclusively the province of the elderly. Thinking back, "I can remember when" as relatively young men we used to reminisce about days gone by. I find when talking to friends, we will often dredge up events and people from the past. **I can actually remember when crisps actually had a blue paper twist in them containing salt**, not a sachet, but a bit of twisted blue paper. I even remember my very first packet and coming across this contrivance, having to be shown what to do. Untwist, shake the bag, of course with the level of motor control of a very small child, this usually ended badly. Within a very short period they changed to "ready salted"…and innovation, then came flavours, starting with salt and Vinegar…which I swear tasted better than todays artificial version. Or perhaps you remember the time when gas cookers had a pilot flame (permanently on) in the centre and a little gas wand on a tube (clipped to the side of the cooker) with a button. You lit the wand from the pilot and then used it to light the oven or overhead grill. Incredibly dangerous, especially as it was coal gas, but no one thought anything of it. As a small child I wasn't allowed to touch the gas wand…My mum had a Parkinson Cowan like this, right up to about 1975, [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/GeL7IuH.png]

God, this thread is made up for old timers! I can remember when a Mars Bar was 2d and you needed two hands to hold it. The chocolate was soooooooo thick! My neighbour (I was around 4 or 5) used an Isetta Bubble Car for her everyday drive. In winter, you woke up (pre central heating) to chipping ice from the inside of thesingle glazed windows and you wore jumpers indoors. You ran downstairs when it snowed to find the bloody Blue Tits had pecked through the silver top milk bottles and had stolen the inch or so of cream that used to settle on the top. I remember watching the first episode of a new cutting edge drama, Z Cars.......I could go one and on! Tell you one thing though, life was simpler but were they really the good old days?

@"dfk41"#p2934 Definitely remember the ice on the inside of the windows and as a kid dragging my cloths into the bed to warm them up. Big old cottage with no central heating brrrrrrrrr.

Do you remember Spangles? When Curly Wurlys were massive, you could use them for a ladder. Bri Nylon shirts. Nylon bed sheets! Some shops still had Lamson pneumatic tube systems that would shuttle away your payment and bring back your change.

> @"Gagaryn"#p2938 Do you remember Spangles? > > 1. Bri Nylon shirts. > 2. Nylon bed sheets! > > 3\.Some shops still had Lamson pneumatic tube systems that would shuttle away your payment and bring back your change. Spangles, yes..my favourite sweet, I like the old english ones too, but only certain flavours…the red one was to die for.. 1. Mum thought it was a brilliant idea for school, I hated them. I think it was the stain resistance and one shake they were dry. Remember the little blue sparks that came off them in a dark room in the morning. 2. Nope, I refused to sleep in those…absolutely refused…used to make me itch like mad all night 3. Bentalls used to have those back in the day, always fascinated me as a kid. Shluwooop, pshhhhh. I always wondered where they went and they used to come back with the recpt as well I think. We had another shop near us, Digbys general store, like something out of 1920…used a system of wires, The stuff was put in a tube on the wires, then a sharp pull on a handle, and it went flying across the roof of the store. Those cheap bastards kept the store the same and the system going until the mid 60s..open sacks of flour, beans, tea in large cases, butter pats etc.. Can you imagine how well that would have all gone down now. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/bY3zuoy.png ] [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/HbHmfM2.png ]

@"Gagaryn"#p2938 If ever you go to Beamish Museum, my friend provided the tube system they use in the shop. To carry on, card with starter handles although by my time they were more of a standby than actually needed on the modern car. Telephone kiosks with the old A & B system for putting your money in (ask your parents!), bus conductors!

Sharing your phone line with the neighbors "party line" I think it was called. Picked the phone up and you caught half their conversation - nuts!

> @"Lake_M"#p2943 Sharing your phone line with the neighbors “party line” I think it was called. Picked the phone up and you caught half their conversation - nuts! As a kid my parents had one…It always puzzled me how both phones didn't ring when an inbound call came in, and it was only years later I found out how they did it.

Does anyone remember these…. Once a month a man would come round and empty it and if there was more than what the monthly payment was, my mum would get back what was over. It was the only way we could afford to have a telly. Mind you, it was a bit frustrating when you'd be watching a really good programme and the chuffin thing would click off because the timer ran out, and mum and my older brothers would be scrambling around to quickly find a two shilling piece (two bob bit) to put in it. [URL=https://i.imgur.com/ot7CJ0u.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/ot7CJ0u.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

We had a telly like that but mercifully without the prototype pay per view box! Old English flavour Spangles were the best boiled sweets ever. Nobody ever knew what actual flavours they were but they were the best variation of Spangles for sure. I liked the light brown opaque one and the deep red translucent one best but they were all nice. I had a 'piggy bank' from Lloyds that was a black plastic horse head. Anyone remember those 'chocolate vending machine' piggy banks where you loaded them with Neapolitan sized chocolates and had to put a coin in to get one out?

Down Memory Lane

DavecUK

Meldrew I think there was a program some time ago about the WAF and what they did in the war.

My Dad always told me they did everything the men used to do, no one thought women could be welders, mechanics, etc.. etc.. but they did and were the backbone that allowed our country to keep fighting. In a sense it was a massive period of equality for women, drove immense change. The only way my Dad was able to get out of his reserved occupation at the beginning of the war was to teach women to weld…prove they could do his job, so he could go fight.

Beer in WW2 - We all seen the films where the jolly Pilots gather round a Piano, to tunes by Vera Lynn, drinking beer and getting very drunk in the mess…..Yeah, well that didn’t happen. Beer in/and near the RAF stations was so weak (my Dad told me the nickname they had for it, but I forgot), that you couldn’t really drink enough to get drunk. The men knew that, but they would force the merriment anyway, as they might be dead soon enough. I was always reminded of this by every Star Trek story of Synthehol in 10 forward. The British government of course denies this, and I suspect it won’t be in the History books either. The men found out by accident after a bad run, they would try to get pissed and couldn’t!

Of course I am sure some good whiskys etc.. still existed among the top officer class.

Hotmetal

Interesting about the beer having its teeth pulled. I know there was ‘small beer’ which was the weak stuff, not sure if that’s what he said or maybe something specific?

Ever wondered why so many beers get called XXX? Not just cos it sounds good… read on:

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/beer-carrying-spitfires-of-wwii.html

Rob666

Hotmetal Great link! Had no idea this went on. :)

DavecUK

Hotmetal Interesting about the beer having its teeth pulled. I know there was ‘small beer’ which was the weak stuff, not sure if that’s what he said or maybe something specific?

I remembered this morning, they called it “near beer”.

-Mac

Meldrew

My Grandad was lucky too. He was torpedoed and sunk on two different ships and lived a full and happy life after.

Pompeyexile

-Mac My Grandad was lucky too. He was torpedoed and sunk on two different ships and lived a full and happy life after.

His name wasn’t Albert was it?😁

DavecUK

Uncle Albert shocked - Only Fools and Horses on Make a GIF

CafeNoir

Pompeyexile Oh dear lawd, talk about a blast from the past!! My first car too….1967 model IIRC, knocking CV joints and all

DavecUK

Coffee related memory lane. In the ECM Espresso museum, I saw this machine, I have never seen anything like it before. The portafilter locks in must unusually. The basket it placed underneath the group and locked in by sliding the handle up the dome on the top of the group. The dome was pristine, so I guess the handle was missing some sort of fibre pad. The PF handle would end up vertical, with the basket securely locked into the group. What an unusual and elegant idea.

Next time I want to have more time to go and carefully photograph every machine in the museum!

dfk41

That certainly is unusual! Sounds like a real treasure trove!

Pompeyexile

What about this… Believe it or not, I actually found this at the back of my cupboard. Made in Scotland that well known coffee capital of the world. No best before date on it, so I guess it will last for eternity😁

LMSC

Pompeyexile Oh. Chicory is still very popular in india. If buying ground, which is normal, the roasters will offer to mix 10% - 30% chicory to the total weight.

Gagaryn

Pompeyexile That must be at least 15 years old. The illustration has changed a few times, originally the Sikh carried a tray, then this one with him standing holding a cup. It was changed again in the early 2000’s to a new illustration with them both seated. It’s bizarre stuff!

DavecUK

When I was younger, I used to like it….but I think perhaps not now

DavecUK

Gagaryn politically corrected camp coffee…. surprised they haven’t changed the name.

Norvin

It was always politically correct. Two blokes wearing dresses…

Pompeyexile

My old mum used to like it, but then again she loved Coffee-mate too…Gawd bless her!

DavecUK

Pompeyexile My old mum used to like it, but then again she loved Coffee-mate too…Gawd bless her!

my Dad liked coffee mate as well…and tinned milk in coffee!

AlbertR

DavecUK my Dad liked coffee mate as well…and tinned milk in coffee!

Talking about tinned milk – I am also having some condensed milk in my brew coffee. This is a kind of condensed milk available in Germany “Kaffeesahne”. The coffee is a home-roasted Ethiopia, run through the Moccamaster.

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