A Thing You Don't See These Days

[xYerDaSellsAvonx]

I found a picture of my mum standing on one of those big red coin operated weighing scales today. It had a big dial face. It was in our local shopping centre but I remember seeing them on piers, train stations etc too. Did you ever use them? Other than this picture of my mum I don't remember seeing one in use

Over-chlorinated swimming pools that made your eyes sting, and oxtail soup from the vending machine afterwards.

Cigarette machines outside shops.

Our local swimming pool had a vending machine that made hot bovril ( it was horrible and would burn your fingers off !)

Brass pineapple ice buckets - a plastic liner inside and a tiny pair of plastic tongs hidden inside the pineapple plume at the top of the lid

Coin operated kerosene dispensers at petrol stations

Bomb sites (in the 1970s)

Panda pop - Jeeeeeezuz that was bad.

Corona soft drinks - Every bubble's passed it's fizzical

Cresta soft drinks - it's frothy, man.

The pop delivery man

Red and white workmen's tents in the street

Turf accountants - they had blacked out windows and it was a real scandal if someone you knew was seen around there

Television rental shops - with at least one television switched on. It wasn't unusual to see people outside the shop watching the colour television, if they only had black and white at home.

Utility 'showrooms' where people would go to pay their bills - water, gas, electricity and BT all had separate shops with cashiers at bankers windows at the back.

The foot x-ray machines in shops were so widespread, Michael Caine's character, Harry Palmer used one to see what was inside a mysterious package he was told to transport in The Billion Dollar Brain.

Tax discs on car windscreens.
Politicians who actually resigned if they did something wrong

Tarmac that bubbled in the sun. Loved poking our fingers in it as kids.

Wall mounted tin opener. Saw one on Homes Under the Hammer the other day.

I actually saw a tax disc on a car the other day !!
Was very old.

Artificial flowers used as costume jewellery.

In department stores, they'd be on a display, with all sorts of accessories, in order to attach them to brooches, bracelets and hair bands - usually in the same area as ladies fancy goods.

Cream on the top of bottles of milk - it was a treat if you got to it first.
Kids everywhere playing in the streets.

Giving your divi number to the co-op checkout woman.
Queues at the co-op when it divi paying out time.

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

The milkman

I have a milkman!

@xYerDaSellsAvonx

I found a picture of my mum standing on one of those big red coin operated weighing scales today. It had a big dial face. It was in our local shopping centre but I remember seeing them on piers, train stations etc too. Did you ever use them? Other than this picture of my mum I don't remember seeing one in use

Our local boots still has one

Saturday morning pictures, sculleries, red and white barbers poles

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

Plastic headcovers when it was raining. Post offices as a dedicated shop. Lift assistants.

I started wearing a plastic rain bonnet when my boys were in the pram so as not to need to struggle with an umbrella. I was converted and still use them now!

[quote BrownOwlknowsbest]Haven't read the whole thread but if anyone is interested in 'The five boys' here they are www.alamy.com/stock-photo/five-boys-chocolate.html[/quote]
I had remembered them as older more cheerful cheeky boys faces. Now I am hoping they used someearly form of photoshop for the boy with the 'desperation' face. My dad would let me have a Fry' s chocolate cream bar for breakfast on my birthday. We saved Tesco Green Sield stamps all year in books and I would count them up before Christmas and pore over the catalogue to choose a present.

@Mochudubh

Soda Siphons in people's houses. We never had one but a lot of my friend's parents did. I never saw one in use though.

I have a soda siphon and use it most weekends... I'm only 42

A thing that you don't smell anymore rather than see. I was driving, DD was in the passenger seat, behind a lovely old vintage car from the late 60s (a sporty Volvo, not sure of the model) and DD said "What's that smell". It was the exhaust smell from my childhood, I'm not sure what it was exactly, possibly leaded petrol.

@ShellyShore

Women shopping on a Saturday with hair rollers in and covered by a headscarf. Getting ready for a night out took a long time back then.

Rollers on a Saturday daytime is back! I got the train to Manchester last weekend and was gobsmacked to see loads of girls wearing curlers on the train and walking through the station. I’ve only ever seen it in Liverpool before now!

I've seen young women with their hair in curlers in Iceland buying booze for a hen do ( they were talking really loudly about it!!)
My mum used to have some lovely silk scarves for her hair. Keep it clean from the elements.

Hands blackened from newspaper print.

Polka dot headscarves

@dancinfeet I still have a Filofax!!

@UnitedRoad do you mean these?

Football pools man coming round once a week.

My dad did the football pools for years : we never won a thing. The lady was nice , but she gave up the round and we had to start sending the coupon off in the post , so dad gave up then!

Coal yards. The one we visited every week in winter now has flats on it.