Back in my day...

the purple tin

Doing the duster for the teacher when they still had blackboards and chalk. You took it around to the back of the school and banged it on the wall to get all of the dust out.

The wall would be all white marks. The whole class was mad to do it, one teacher even used to have a mini quiz and the prize was you got to do the duster.

chooseusername

Deleted User wrote: »

combined with the manual windscreen washer pump.

Pop out indicators on Morris Minor,

the beer revolu

chooseusername wrote: »

She is still posting on her blog;
https://islandanchorhold.blogspot.com/
as poetic as ever.
At least I assume it's her, it sounds very like her style.

I miss Grace's here.
Although, she could get the hump something terrible if people took her up on being wrong about something.

I was concerned about her. Glad to here she's still going.

Vita nova

Vita nova wrote: »

Also, had to remember to press it in again when the engine warmed up or you'd waste a lot of fuel.

Handbag handles! Some women used to complain that the car would splutter to a halt after a few miles.
Then blamed their husbands/mechanics for never being able to fix it!

Marhay70

chooseusername wrote: »

Pop out indicators on Morris Minor,

My first car was a Morris Minor, low light model, which I bought for £10 in 1966, the previous owner had put flashing indicators on it because the semaphore ones could barely be seen at night but I discovered he had only disconnected the wire under the horn button and I reconnected them. Problem was, the early models, (mine was 1949) didn't have self cancelling and you'd be driving for ages with the indicator out. They were a tank of a yoke though and everything was so simple on them, basically anybody could fix them. I sold mine, still going strong, for £20 in 1970, sorry I didn't hold on to it, they go for up to €20,000 in good shape today.

Neames

The mark of a good car was that it would start on the first turn of the key.

mikemac2

Enid Blyton books and lashings and lashings of ginger ale

I loved them! The Famous Five and the Secret Seven

Those books didn't age well, written in 1950´s posh English. Or maybe they did age well and we all have gotten too casual.

I believe they are still sold but the references to class such as the rough people from the town are edited out.

chooseusername

Neames wrote: »

The mark of a good car was that it would start on the first turn of the key.starting handle

.

mikemac2

The public health nurse was a no nonsense type. Line up the kids at the side of the school room and she would check your hair.

Anyone with nits/head lice got a letter to take home and your parents would buy the special shampoo. Growing up on a farm I know what sheep dip smells like and this "shampoo" was much the same smell. So the child got some sheep dip human equivalent

Does this still happen in schools? Somehow I think not. I can hear the calls already to Joe Duffy if a public health nurse examined in front of everyone and was sending letters home, clean or unclean. Outraged parents. Maybe it happens, I dunno

Marhay70

Neames wrote: »

The mark of a good car was that it would start on the first turn of the key.

My old Minor had a starting handle for the times when the damp Irish climate finally overwhelmed the stone age ignition system. It was a great backup to have but woe betide you if you got the action wrong, it could break your arm. :eek:

Esho

Neames wrote: »

The mark of a good car was that it would start on the first turn of the key.

Fix It Again Tomorrow ...

Littlehorny

Speaking of cars, every now and again you would see a bunch of neighbours out helping someone start the car by pushing it.
There would always be a "leader" who would roar NOW when they got the heap of scrap up to a bit of speed on the push.

Marhay70

Esho wrote: »

Fix It Again Tomorrow ...

Actually I've owned five Fiats, a 124, 128, two 127s and currently a Panda and mechanically always found them dependable. The body work was the big let down but one they seem to have overcome with the recent models. The same held true for all the early Japanese cars, I had a Datsun 100a that I could see more sky through the roof than through the windows and no, it wasn't a convertible and the floor had obviously been designed with Fred Flintstone in mind.
The British cars were a different kettle of fish, they were sh*te both mechanically and structurally and that is the reason that Britain, which once led the world in motor technology, now has virtually no car industry. Even the Ford cars built in Britain were troublesome.

afro man

mikemac2 wrote: »

The public health nurse was a no nonsense type. Line up the kids at the side of the school room and she would check your hair.

Anyone with nits/head lice got a letter to take home and your parents would buy the special shampoo. Growing up on a farm I know what sheep dip smells like and this "shampoo" was much the same smell. So the child got some sheep dip human equivalent

Does this still happen in schools? Somehow I think not. I can hear the calls already to Joe Duffy if a public health nurse examined in front of everyone and was sending letters home, clean or unclean. Outraged parents. Maybe it happens, I dunno

letters still sent home but usually to advise a suspected outbreak in class and for parents to check their children.. don't think they name and shame anymore.. I got the special shampoo and they head also shaved treatment many years ago by my mother

Marhay70

Marhay70 wrote: »

Actually I've owned five Fiats, a 124, 128, two 127s and currently a Panda and mechanically always found them dependable. The body work was the big let down but one they seem to have overcome with the recent models. The same held true for all the early Japanese cars, I had a Datsun 100a that I could see more sky through the roof than through the windows and no, it wasn't a convertible and the floor had obviously been designed with Fred Flintstone in mind.
The British cars were a different kettle of fish, they were sh*te both mechanically and structurally and that is the reason that Britain, which once led the world in motor technology, now has virtually no car industry. Even the Ford cars built in Britain were troublesome.

Back in the day when cars were designed to last less than 10 years, planned obsolescences was the name of the game, I remember some of the first cars I got were real rustbuckets ( I also had a Fred Flintstone floor).

Fortunately, there was a consumer backlash that put an end to that nonsense, so they're last longer now. Many of the British cars were designed by teams that didn't get on well from previously rival companies that were forced into Leyland, designed to fail!

Marhay70

Deleted User wrote: »

Back in the day when cars were designed to last less than 10 years, planned obsolescences was the name of the game, I remember some of the first cars I got were real rustbuckets ( I also had a Fred Flintstone floor).

Fortunately, there was a consumer backlash that put an end to that nonsense, so they're last longer now. Many of the British cars were designed by teams that didn't get on well from previously rival companies that were forced into Leyland, designed to fail!

i remember Leyland were on strike every other week in the 1970s, management-staff relations were poisonous, if it hadn't been foe the Labour Government constantly throwing money at it, it would have gone much sooner or at least made some effort to survive by itself. Once Thatcher came to power, the writing was on the wall.

branie2

The Lada was the worst car ever

branie2

branie2 wrote: »

The Lada was the worst car ever

I raise you the Yugo, it was worse!

Marhay70

branie2 wrote: »

The Lada was the worst car ever

There was a running joke;
" I used to lie awake at night worrying about Russian tanks rolling across Europe but that stopped the day I bought this fcuking Lada"

chooseusername

branie2 wrote: »

The Lada was the worst car ever

Deleted User wrote: »

I raise you the Yugo, it was worse!

See your Yugo, and raise you;the Trabant.

the purple tin

Marhay70 wrote: »

There was a running joke;
" I used to lie awake at night worrying about Russian tanks rolling across Europe but that stopped the day I bought this fcuking Lada"

And why do Ladas have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm when you're pushing them.
Looking back I wonder why there were so many Lada jokes here. There wasn't many Ladas in Ireland was there?

Marhay70

chooseusername wrote: »

See your Yugo, and raise you;the Trabant.

I don't agree, the Trabant wasn't a bad piece of kit, still see a few around.
Anything bearing the Triumph marque from the late sixties on would have to be in the running.
Actually, running is a word you shouldn't associate with Triumphs of that era.

Marhay70

the purple tin wrote: »

And why do Ladas have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm when you're pushing them.
Looking back I wonder why there were so many Lada jokes here. There wasn't many Ladas in Ireland was there?

Yes, there was quite a few in Dublin anyway, I think they had a network of dealerships, I seem to remember on on the Kimmage Road, near the Sundrive road junction.
The commies foisted another beauty on us with the FSO Polonez, absolute heap of crap but the Brits had their fair share too, apart from thr Triumphs the Morris Marina and the Metro were prize turkeys.

We must never forget the fastest ruster in the west, the Lancia Beta, the only car that could fail its first MOT (at three years) on rust!

iamstop

Marhay70 wrote: »

There was a running joke;
" I used to lie awake at night worrying about Russian tanks rolling across Europe but that stopped the day I bought this fcuking Lada"

We had a few others

What you call a Lada with a sunroof?
A skip

What you call a Lada with dual exhaust?
A wheel barrow

Bloke goes into the garage, "Can I get a windscreen wiper for my Lada?
Garage guy thinks for a sec then says "Okay, sure, yeah, that seems like a fair swap"

the beer revolu

iamstop wrote: »

We had a few others

What you call a Lada with a sunroof?
A skip

What you call a Lada with dual exhaust?
A wheel barrow

Bloke goes into the garage, "Can I get a windscreen wiper for my Lada?
Garage guy thinks for a sec then says "Okay, sure, yeah, that seems like a fair swap"

Difference between a Lada and a Jahovah Witness?
You can close the door on a Jahovah Witness!

blackbox

the purple tin wrote: »

in weather like this you would suck and chew on an ice cube.

Not if you didn't have the luxury of a fridge. Had to go to the butchers every day as you couldn't store raw meat.

Marhay70

blackbox wrote: »

Not if you didn't have the luxury of a fridge. Had to go to the butchers every day as you couldn't store raw meat.

Fill a pot with cold water and stand the milk in it, would keep it from turning for a couple of days, put the butter in a jam jar and do the same thing.

iamstop

Back in my day we stored our food in the Ice House up in Larch Hill.

Scouts was great craic now in fairness. 125th! Orange and black trim neckerchief.

nigeldaniel

A Ford would rust and a light switch would last forever.

bonzodog2

"Answers on a postcard please"

Manc_Red

Saturday nights seemed like luxury.

branie2

Send a self-addressed envelope

branie2

Professor Noat Awl on Pajo's Junkbox and The Whole Shebang. He presented segments on science, and would end them with:

Believe it. If you like!

Xertz

Remember when businesses used to have signs like:

Murphy’s Sand
076 23456 (5 lines)

As if anyone cared they had 5 lines.

Thelonious Monk

Did you ever used to buzz your mates housephone a couple of times before their parents answered as a smoke signal that yous were supposed to meet somewhere?
It seems hard to fathom we used to make plans before mobiles now.

Xertz

Xertz wrote: »

Remember when businesses used to have signs like:

Murphy’s Sand
076 23456 (5 lines)

As if anyone cared they had 5 lines.

It just meant that you're 5 times less likely to hear the engaged tone.
One line, boss on a call, customer gets an engaged tone, secretary can't answer because there's only one line.
With five lines, she could put you on hold while the boss finished the previous call.

Capt'n Midnight

Marhay70 wrote: »

I don't agree, the Trabant wasn't a bad piece of kit, still see a few around.

No they were rubbish.

Fibreglass bodies, in off-white, off-green, off-red and another colour.

They didn't just have two stroke engines, they were lawnmower engines. I knew some Germans who were very insistent on that point.

You could hear them before you could see them.

You could smell them before you could hear them.

Not literally. But it was close.

Mr Meanor

iamstop wrote: »

We had a few others

What you call a Lada with a sunroof?
A skip

What you call a Lada with dual exhaust?
A wheel barrow

Bloke goes into the garage, "Can I get a windscreen wiper for my Lada?
Garage guy thinks for a sec then says "Okay, sure, yeah, that seems like a fair swap"

How do you get your Lada stolen?
Put it in a car park full of Skodas

Anybody remember the old Skodas?

chooseusername

Petrol and T.V.O tractors

branie2

Zig and Zag's Storytime every Tuesday evening on Dempsey's Den. Zig would read the story, and Zag (dressed as a girl) would act it out.

branie2

The HB icecream logo was their initial in black on a white background.

Marhay70

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

No they were rubbish.

Fibreglass bodies, in off-white, off-green, off-red and another colour.

They didn't just have two stroke engines, they were lawnmower engines. I knew some Germans who were very insistent on that point.

You could hear them before you could see them.

You could smell them before you could hear them.

Not literally. But it was close.

I think you're being too hard on the Trabant, as means to an end it served its purpose very well. It was not designed to be a Jaguar or a Merc with 4 and 6 litre engines, plush interiors and smooth rides. It was a utilitarian, workers' car and in my view served its purpose.
It had a 500cc engine which is comparable to the smaller Fiats and Diahatsus of its era so it wasn't a lawn mower engine, it had a plastic body, not exactly fibreglass, small body cracks could be repaired with a cigarette lighter and best of all, it didn't rust. Okay, the two stroke engine wasn't ideal, it was underpowered but it delivered over 100mpg while it was looked after. A lot of the Trabant's problems were people either forgetting to add oil to the fuel or not adding enough. They were fumey but all twostroke engines are, it's the nature of the beast.

Marhay70

Marhay70 wrote: »

I think you're being too hard on the Trabant, as means to an end it served its purpose very well. It was not designed to be a Jaguar or a Merc with 4 and 6 litre engines, plush interiors and smooth rides. It was a utilitarian, workers' car and in my view served its purpose.
It had a 500cc engine which is comparable to the smaller Fiats and Diahatsus of its era so it wasn't a lawn mower engine, it had a plastic body, not exactly fibreglass, small body cracks could be repaired with a cigarette lighter and best of all, it didn't rust. Okay, the two stroke engine wasn't ideal, it was underpowered but it delivered over 100mpg while it was looked after. A lot of the Trabant's problems were people either forgetting to add oil to the fuel or not adding enough. They were fumey but all twostroke engines are, it's the nature of the beast.

It was in reality the East German equivalent of the Citroen 2CV, get people from A to B and nothing else.

Jonybgud

How do you double the value of a lada?
put 2p in the asktray.

What do you do if you see a Lada broken down on the side of the road?
get used to it.

branie2

What do you if you see a Lada on the top of a hill?

Go and get your eyes tested.

Jonybgud

What's the most valuable part on a moving Lada?

The tow hook.

Look up garage54 on YouTube and you'll never look at Lada's the same way.

branie2

The Lada was an object of fun on the Den, thanks to Dustin

sligojoek

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

A glass bottle of Lucozade and a bunch of grapes wrapped in brown paper was mandatory if visiting someone sick in hospital.

And 40 Major or Afton.

anewme wrote: »

Jsysus, I remember Tayto 2 or 3p..

THey were 2 1/2 p at one stage.