To ask what the weirdest thing you experienced or saw at someone else's house when you were a child?

My friends lived in the flat above the post office their parents ran. I used to LOVE visiting and going behind the counter to their house. Another friend lived above a pub and her mum was the landlady. Going through the pub (in the days when kids weren't allowed in pubs) and upstairs to her house. I found it so exciting!

Yes it is.

Is it a bit like utility warehouse which brings various utilities together ?

Might not. That link is from 10 years ago

No Secure Homes is something different and still exists.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2730917

I think round here that would be provident. Doorstep lenders with hand written booklets showing credit taken out and weekly payments. Often repaid before council tax because it's more personal and they are on your doorstep. Shocking apr though. I come across them frequently as a debt specialist with citizens advice.

Sorry if someone else has mentioned it and I've missed it but late 70s/80s and the Secure Homes man used to call on a weekly basis for a cash payment which was used to cover all bills etc.That's probably still available in a similar format on line these days?And I'm not sure if it was the same man who collected that but dad also did a weekly 'spot the ball' and would sometimes let us put an 'x' where we thought the football was on a football scene (real ball had been erased)

Any old iron?
Any old iron?
Any any any old iron?
You look neat...
Talk about a treat...
You look dapper from your napper to your feet...
With your fathers old green tie on!

I always use the green water to make the gravy for a roast. Makes me feel like we're being healthy :D

We used to drink the "green water" from cooking the greens, eat torn bread soaked in milk or a "gruel" made from onions potatoes and milk when we were ill and sugar sandwiches. All from my grandmother who was definitely not northern but a londoner.

@katewhinesalot My mum when we were young used to give us mugs of the water the vegetables had been cooked in. She always said it contained a lot of the vitamins that cooking removed from the vegetables. I had thought it was a peculiarity of my mum until I read your post.

@wanderings ,
that back alley for and Edwardian terrace was probably to collect " night soil", out side loo waste before decent sewers were put in.

@Chocrock me too

@Jiggles101
my fave was catching the parents settling down in front of teletubbies

I loved that one too!

Wherethecowsgobong - if it was 'bottomless' how did it have goldfish in it? Can't picture it!

Fascinating thread, my fave was catching the parents settling down in front of teletubbies!

I still have a Pyrex bowl and pudding basin (the larger bowl broke years ago) that I bought with Green Shield stamps in the early 70s.

Oh wow raspberry that brings back memories.....greenshield stamps! I had forgotten all about them. I can't even remember where you got then from but I can remember licking them and sticking them to some kind of card or book, and looking through the catalogue to see what you clould get. All the best stuff needed about a billion of course - I wonder if anyone ever saved enough?! Then I think you had to wait for weeks for your items to arrive in the post.
My mum also collected stamos from the Co-op which I think just got you money off your shopping. She had a membership card and used to get a "dividend" every year, which I think was actual money, like shareholders in a business get. I don't suppose it was much though! I used to enjoy sticking all the stamps in. No idea why as the glue tasted vile and was probably made of something disgusting. I think it was because I felt like I was being useful, plus my Mum would sometimes buy me some sweets as a special treat when she gave the stamps in. Getting a packet of Opal Fruits or Spangles to share with my sister was a really exciting treat. Most of today's kids would think that it was crazy to spend hours gluing stamps to a card in the hope of a reward of half a packet of sweets!

cobblersandhogwash Sorry, got the wrong person. My comment was meant to be response to someone further upthread who was talking about houses where there was junk everywhere and clutter.

Hoarding disorders? Letting cat and dog shit lie around is classed as a hoarding disorder?

cobblersandhogwash

I do wonder if hoarding disorders are more common than we realise. No sane person would be OK with conditions like that.

Not really weird but unusual. I had a friend who lived in an old house (18th century terrace in a cotswold village) and there was a deep deep well, narrow circumference but very deep. With bars over the top (small children in the home) and they had put goldfish in it. I was quite little then and I aske dmy friend "how deep is it?" She was like "it has no bottom, if you fall in you will DIE!" It was kinda beautiful but kind of creepy

A home where the father would walk around naked in front of family and sometimes wear pyjamas at breakfast with fly undone- you could see a hairy sausage! gross!!

@Sharpandshineyteeth I think some people grow immune to how bad their living conditions are. Sure they can see it is more messy than others people's houses, but don't realise just how bad it is.

The number of homes with cat and dog shit everywhere is just horrible.

How and why and when could anyone feel that it is acceptable to have shit everywhere?

My childhood was pretty neglectful so my mum didn’t mind us staying with other kids who lived in shit holes.

One sibling group who my sister and I were friends with used old flora tubs for bowls and when it came to dinner time they’d go off to the pub, see their mum who would give them a quid and they’d get loads of cheap crap to eat like 10p crisps. I remember having to hide from the debt collectors and giggling our heads off. I actually felt more comfortable at their house than my other friends.

Something I don’t get is our house was awful, cat and dog shit everywhere, no cooker, hoover or washing machine, but my mum still let me have friends over, surely she would have known how awful the house was. Whereas I was quite immune to it.

@Stinkycatbreath I’ve thought of Franco often since this thread, and despite not having direct morales to tell to, I have decided that “and it was spoken. According to Franco” is what I am going to end my Aesop’s style tales with. Long live Franco! I recall similar, but do not hold much hope
Xx