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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

The milkman, ice cream man and Santa float

90 replies

Roundareway · 17/05/2023 22:17

Do these type of things still exist in the U.K.?
I was an 80’s child, 90’s teen.
I left the U.K. twenty years ago.
I have lovely memories of racing downstairs as a kid and flinging open the front porch door on a sunny morning, to be the first to get the cream at the top of the milk bottle left by the milkman (the birds had sometimes got to it first. Also, coming home early morning and waving to the milkman on his float.
Do they still have ice cream vans with the music on coming down the road? and the Father Christmas floats on your road on dark, winter evenings in the build up to Christmas. I've been by to the U.K. most years, but have never noticed or thought to ask about these things.
Would my Dd experience a similar childhood if we came back, or has that all gone?

OP posts:

KittyAlfred · 18/05/2023 07:48

We have all 3 in our village.

GimmeSleep · 18/05/2023 08:18

We have all 3 where I am. Milk does come in glass bottles; but he usually arrives by about 10pm so we get it in before we go to bed 😂
Actually he's in a van rather than a float though.

Ohdearwhatnow4 · 18/05/2023 08:21

We also get a fruit and veg man on a Sunday morning. Ice cream man 5.30 in week and 2.30 on weekends ( sells hot dogs in winter). Milkman 4am ( we don't buy from him but hear him) santa float comes 2 roads away. We have santa and easter bikers come past us ( they take presents/eggs to children's hospital) only have one postal delivery now.
Live in South east

stonebrambleboy · 18/05/2023 08:27

Roundareway · 17/05/2023 22:39

Ours were glass bottles with silver tops, full fat milk…couldn’t eat that creamy bit now, but I adored it as a kid

The creamy bit on porridge, lovely!
We have all three in our village plus a brass band at Christmas. Though the flakes in 99's are smaller😕

Buddythecat1 · 18/05/2023 08:34

HowDoYouDoWhatYouDoToMeIWishIKnew · 17/05/2023 23:00

We get all 3 here, I'm out in the back of beyond in the Highlands.

I used the milkman for a good while, but don't anymore as they regularly put cartons of milk instead of bottles, and the whole point was to cut down on plastic.

Annoyingly the icey comes around 9pm at night so I never use it.

We have had the same santa in the float that comes around for about 35 years, as well. Love him.

Also in the Highlands
The milk getting delivered is anyone's guess. You could get a weeks worth of milk delivered at once or 1 bottle every 2 weeks. It's so bad.
Haven't seen or heard an ice cream van since last summer
And never heard of a Santa float

AgrathaChristie · 18/05/2023 08:38

Ice cream vans still exist mostly in towns.
Milk deliveries are possible in a lot of areas, but mostly been taken over by milk and more.
I saw Father Christmas go down my road last Christmas Eve on a mobility scooter. Does that count?

Iwouldlikesomecake · 18/05/2023 08:39

London here and my parents live up the road in another bit of London. We have all three.

it’s not Christmas till Father Christmas has been round courtesy of the Rotary and someone’s old estate car 🤣

AlyssumandHelianthus · 18/05/2023 08:40

We have a milkman in London you can sign up at milkandmore.co.uk they deliver in glass bottles which you leave out for them to collect and reuse. Milk is homogenised though. Ice-cream van is just stationary near the park/school on Fridays.

3dogsandarabbit · 18/05/2023 08:40

We still have the ice cream man come round, haven't seen a milkman for ages and we don't have the Santa float.

When we were kids we used to have the Salvation Army Band come round at Christmas playing carols and collecting for charity, I think now they just play in town centres. We also used to have the "peanut and toffee apple" man come round every Sunday. He would be on a push bike with a box on the front with toffee apples and a smaller box on the back with small paper bags of monkey nuts. He would ring a hand bell. Anyone else remember him?

stonebrambleboy · 18/05/2023 08:46

We have a Ringtons tea van ( sells tea and biscuits) and a fish van every fortnight. Though we've lost the mobile library sadly.

Favouritefruits · 18/05/2023 09:08

I have a milk man , we get the Father Christmas floats and the ice cream vans multiple times a day, we also see the ‘pop man’ about but we don’t buy from him.

Mochudubh · 18/05/2023 09:28

I get milk delivered in glass bottles, but it's all homogenised now so no cream on the top.
Ice cream van does come round, plays the Cornetto tune (Oh Solo Mio?) but I don't bother as they only sell hard ice cream, not Mr Softy like my childhood one did.
I've never seen a Santa float in my life.

CombatBarbie · 18/05/2023 09:42

Still ice cream van and santa sleigh here and still very common in Scotland. My mum gets fresh bottled milk and orange juice delivered twice a week but never seen him so not sure how it comes.

SnacksToTheMax · 18/05/2023 09:43

Never seen a Santa float, but we have milk deliveries and plenty of ice cream vans round here (SE London).

Where I grew up (NE Scotland) we used to have a fizzy drink float that came round once a week with glass bottles of lemonade etc…

Maryandherlamb · 18/05/2023 09:52

We have all 3 of those. Took the kids to see the Santa sleigh last year. We don't have a milk man but a lot of people do and we might look into getting one. Ice cream vans actually don't come to our road, but there's always one parked next to the park which is about 500m from our house, and I can hear them driving around other areas. Ice cream van is staggeringly expensive now though!

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