Remember these?

[Anne H]

Anne wrote:

What about the "Onion Johnny"? A couple of times a year a bike-riding guy sporting a colourful stripey jumper, French beret and matching accent would appear bedecked by strings of onions. My Mum bought a string of onions from him every visit. Can't remember her ever using them in the food she produced for us though - she hung them in the kitchen as a decoration.

Regards,
Anne H

[Thrall]

Similar to the "Onion Johnny" - whose ware was eaten in my youth and who spoke French to my mother, I also remember the "Fisher Woman" who carried a huge creel with a band round her head; she must have been active until at least 1956, walking the route from Newhaven and uphill in the direction of the New Town.

Guid Hunting,

Thrall

[AndrewP]

I remember the Onion Johnny. He was round each season until some time in the early 1970s.

The fisher wife with her creel stood on a wide pavement on the corner of Pentland Terrace and Riselaw Crescent (Edinburgh) into the 1980s. I believe for many years she carried her creel on the bus from Newhaven across the city to her stance. The air on the bus must have been ripe for some time after.

I don't remember the milkman or coalman in our area with his horse. I am told that the milkman delivered by horse until sometime in the 1960s. I remember the Co-op's milkmen with horses in other areas of the city; and a primary school trip to the Co-op stables in Gardeners Crescent (Edinburgh). Also as mentioned above, I remeber some of the other dairies with their three-wheeler milk floats doing their delivery rounds.

I remember most of the sweets mentioned above. One 1970s delight that has not been mentioned was moondust. A substance which fizzed as it seemed to react in your mouth.

The Man from UNCLE was shown in my first few years, so I cannot claim to remember it. I was probably getting my ration of Listen with Mother at that time.

All the best,

AndrewP

[apanderson]

Oh Andrew - you're definately giving away your age!

Listen with Mother was in the days before Watch with Mother (or am I getting confused in my old age)

Anne

[AndrewP]

I remember both Listen with Mother and Watch with Mother. Listen with Mother always started with "Are you sitting comfortably, now we'll begin".

We didn't get a colour TV until the mid-1970s, so the childrens' programs were all black and white to me until then. Andy Pandy and all his lot were in shades of grey.

All the best,

AndrewP

[LesleyB]

Ahhh, Andy Pandy, The Flowerpot Men and the Woodentops, all in shades of grey as you mentioned, Andrew.
Yup. Those were the days.....and I remember the moon dust stuff.

I had a "Man from Uncle" ring.


Best wishes
Lesley

[Mairi]

.....also very grey---- Muffin the Mule.

[apanderson]

And in between the three Lesley mentioned . . . . . .

Picture Book and Rag, Tag & Bobtail (my favourite!)

Anne

[wini]

Going to the coop with the Ration Book.
Nae bother shopping then. Just asked for the rations.
Walking up the road peeling bits off the bread as I walked.
Coming home from the Brownies in the blackout, I used to run up the middle of the road in case anyone jumped out from behind the hedges.
A book called Struwlepeter, the one where the scissor man cut off the boys fingers because he bit his nails and other gruesome tales. I loved that book.
Andersens and Grimms fairy tales.
AND the news on the radio, learned to be very quiet while the bulletins came through about the war.
The first sweets that appeared in the local shop after the war, there was a queue a mile long.
Dried eggs and Dried bananas, Concentrated orange juice, cod liver oil and malt.
Just a few to be going on with

wini

[Andrew C.]

I was sitting in my Mother's house on Saturday morning and one of her neighbour's was getting her drive re tarmaced and my mother came out with the startling revelation that when she was a wean (born 1930) they used to chew fresh tarmac!!!! Her excuse was they didn't have chewing gum or sweets in those days?