Things you don't see anymore

[Beekay 5,133]

Things you don't see anymore...Who remembers those school favourites, "Worm cakes"? Just like a 2p size chocolate button covered in 'hundreds and thousands' type things. Don't know what they were made of, but you didn't have worms for long.

[MRS B 509]

Worm cakes Beekay, never heard of em ??

[Brew 5,403]

10 hours ago, Beekay said:

Things you don't see anymore...Who remembers those school favourites, "Worm cakes"? Just like a 2p size chocolate button covered in 'hundreds and thousands' type things. Don't know what they were made of, but you didn't have worms for long.

 

And they tasted disgusting! 

[Beekay 5,133]

You've never heard of worm  cakes Mrs.B,...You've never lived.

Brew, I agree with you, they certainly didn't taste of chocolate. Of course, not everyone needed them, only if you were afflicted with worms.

[Brew 5,403]

In our house they were sometimes a 'just in case'...

[Beekay 5,133]

Change of subject, Is SueB48 still on NS? Not seen any posts from her for a while.

[Cliff Ton 10,449]

SueB still visits and browses, but she hasn't posted anything for a while.

[Beekay 5,133]

Thank you CT. 

[The Engineer 612]

On 2/10/2009 at 11:09 AM, littlebro said:

Kensitas - any size,

That's the only brand I remember my dad smoking but they had to be plain; he didn't like filter tips.  They had coupons to save and exchange for gifts (like the Players scheme).

[David sheridan 159]

On 2/25/2009 at 7:20 AM, poohbear said:

Farthings...

I remember as a very small kid in the early fifties getting a small bottle of orange off the milkman for a farthing...about the only thing left that you could spend one on.

One farthing...4 to the penny...240 pennies to the pound...So thats 960 bottles of orange for a quid....Not bad eh???

That orange from the milkman was lovely stuff , quite refreshing !

[mary1947 2,079]

£sd

I used to be able to work out very easily Decimals into £sd 

 

But now could do with your help, 

here goes, when I started work after stoppages my take home wage was £1 10/-  

9/6 went on bus fares had to catch bus into city then one to Sherwood.

Board 10/- 

ice skating   1/6 then tanner 6d for a coke = 2/-

Tues night Lacarno 1/3 again 6d for a coke= 1/9

had a little brother and from stating work would always take him home a match car which went from number 1-50 

cost 1/3  

So test what does the ammount add up to. Have I gone over my wages?  if so !!! many thanks to customers who would give us a tanner tip.

[MargieH 7,599]

@mary1947 i make that £1 / 4 / 6 you spent, so you still had 5 / 6 in your pocket!

[Cliff Ton 10,449]

I seem to be old enough to remember the conversions.

 

1 hour ago, mary1947 said:

here goes, when I started work after stoppages my take home wage was £1 10/-  £1.50

9/6 47.5p went on bus fares had to catch bus into city then one to Sherwood.

Board 10/- 50p 

ice skating   1/6 7.5p      then tanner 6d 2.5p for a coke = 2/- 10p

Tues night Lacarno 1/3 6p     again 6d 2.5p for a coke= 1/9 9p

had a little brother and from stating work would always take him home a match car which went from number 1-50    cost 1/3 6.5p

 

So test what does the ammount add up to. Have I gone over my wages?  

 

[The Engineer 612]

Before the ubiquitous moulded-on 3-pin 13 amp 'mains' plugs, most readers will recall that when buying a new portable electrical appliance, the question "do you want a plug with that?" would be posed.  This meant that plugs were a commodity and whilst not particularly expensive, some folk would try to avoid the need to buy new ones.

 

Students spring to mind and memory fails me here but think it was Nottingham University where they tried to combat unauthorised removal of plugs (for use on personal items), by installing bespoke power sockets that had one pin at an angle (again, memory fails me as to which pin but think it was twisted about 45 degrees).  Matching plugs were supplied.

 

My dad worked as a TV service engineer and carried a soldering iron as part of his tool kit.  He had to have a special plug on it (two round pins, spring loaded to vary gap between them - no earth pin) so that he could use it in these odd sockets as well as the regular ones that the rest of us used.

 

You may also recall that the pins used to be plain brass.  The current pattern has insulation on the live and neutral pins to avoid the hazard of shock where the plug wasn't fully engaged.

[Cliff Ton 10,449]

I remember knowing how to wire up a plug, and moving them from one item to another.

 

Don't know when I last did one, and there must be a couple of generations of kids who'd have no idea what to do.

[Beekay 5,133]

Where we lived on Denton Street until 1956, there used to be the 15amp round pin plugs with matching sockets. In the second floor 'Top room, there was no light switch on the wall, it was a long trailing plaited cord from the ceiling, with an egg shaped on/off switch which used to hang over the bed. So you climbed into bed and turn the light off from you pillow. My brother and I used to delight in seeing how far we could swing it.

[The Engineer 612]

Electric lighting was around before electric power sockets.  Early vacuum cleaners had a bayonet plug so you took the light bulb out and plugged it in there.  Obviously you had to get the cleaning done during daylight hours.

[The Engineer 612]

Round pin plugs survived in stage lighting; at least the 5 amp size.  We also used them at work for the control circuit of electro-mechanical actuators (1970s).

[Beekay 5,133]

55 minutes ago, The Engineer said:

Electric lighting was around before electric power sockets.  Early vacuum cleaners had a bayonet plug so you took the light bulb out and plugged it in there.  Obviously you had to get the cleaning done during daylight hours.

I recall my mum plugging her iron in the light-bulb socket, when she eventually got one. It were a flat iron prior to that. Heated on the hearth or gas stove. B. 

Was it 5 amp then Engineer? I though 15, but then, I'm usually wrong.

[Rob.L 1,086]

You could get double adapters which allowed you to keep the light on while ironing. My mum had one. As well as extension leads.

 

There was one little problem with the extension leads, that the pins inside the socket were not shielded. So if a curious child put their thumb into the socket to see if it was live, they’d get a right painful shock. Don’t ask how I know this…. 

[The Engineer 612]

Beekay, the round pin plugs came in a range of sizes (2 amp, 5 amp, 15 amp and 30 amp).  Similar style but varying physical size.  The ones in houses for power were 15 amp.

 

Another thing you don't see anymore is fuse wire.  Remember having to rewire a blown fuse (using the correct gauge of wire of course).  Still have some in my tool box - don't know why!

[Brew 5,403]

The small unfused 5 amp plugs are still used, mainly in commercial premises for lighting.

[MRS B 509]

Was the fuse wire wound onto little cardboard packs with dents in them?

[Alpha 176]

I don't remember electric irons plugged into light sockets. In my childhood and later years we only had flat irons heated on the gas ring.

 

Later years I reflect my grandmother placing the kettle on the gas ring, forgetting, unfortunately, that it was an electric kettle!

[philmayfield 6,102]

I don’t really see the point in ironing most things. I know people who iron tea towels, handkerchiefs, socks, underwear, casual shirts and all manner of unnecessary things. Perhaps ironing is thereputic?