Things you never see anymore

[filthyfox]

2 hours ago, Likely Fox said:

Cheap beer 🍻 

Thats because mininum wage has made it unaffordable.  Same as a cheap meal out

[The Bear]

You can get cheap beer if you go for Aldi and Lidl who do their own versions of major brands. 

 

Poretti and San Marcos are good examples. I bought 4 cans of 440ml San Marcos (San Miguel) for £3.99 from Aldi and it tastes just the same as the real thing. 

[davieG]

 

Probably things you don't do anymore

[David Hankey]

Leicester City in the third tier, but that wouldn't be true would it?

[Parafox]

 

String vests.

[Parafox]

On 17/06/2026 at 17:05, The Bear said:

You can get cheap beer if you go for Aldi and Lidl who do their own versions of major brands. 

 

Poretti and San Marcos are good examples. I bought 4 cans of 440ml San Marcos (San Miguel) for £3.99 from Aldi and it tastes just the same as the real thing. 

You have to like European lagers though, and I don't.

 

Ales and such just don't taste the same out of a can or bottle.

[Free Falling Foxes]

1 hour ago, Parafox said:

 

String vests.

I recall walking past the clock tower many moons ago one glorious afternoon, when a young lady walked just in front of me. She was wearing a yellow coloured string vest with absolutely nothing else underneath.

It quite literally stopped me in my tracks. 

When I regained my senses, I noticed there was a few more of us young lads who had been equally and momentarily transfixed by this most satisfying view.

 

Edited 26 June by Free Falling Foxes

[davieG]

Might have been posted before.

[Trav Le Bleu]

4 hours ago, davieG said:

Might have been posted before.

I know someone who owned a fairly new Lada in the 80s, that could be crank started.

[Trav Le Bleu]

On 26/06/2026 at 14:05, Free Falling Foxes said:

I recall walking past the clock tower many moons ago one glorious afternoon, when a young lady walked just in front of me. She was wearing a yellow coloured string vest with absolutely nothing else underneath.

It quite literally stopped me in my tracks. 

When I regained my senses, I noticed there was a few more of us young lads who had been equally and momentarily transfixed by this most satisfying view.

 

I hope you reported her to the police!

[DJW1]

On 26/06/2026 at 12:04, davieG said:

 

Probably things you don't do anymore

Been there done that. I think it was illegal, whereas recording the same song off TOTP wasn´t.

A certain radio show used to play dance megamixes, which I taped, although they always included a voice saying "you´re not taping this are you?" 

[Grebfromgrebland]

1 hour ago, DJW1 said:

Been there done that. I think it was illegal, whereas recording the same song off TOTP wasn´t.

A certain radio show used to play dance megamixes, which I taped, although they always included a voice saying "you´re not taping this are you?" 

Essential mix was 45 mins times 2 and he'd tell you to turn the tape over. 

[String fellow]

Recording radio programmes has never been illegal in the UK, provided it's for time-shifting, personal, private or domestic purposes.

My first recordings involved placing a microphone next to the radio, hoping there'd be no noises off, and that the (open-reel) tape was long enough.

[davieG]

On 01/06/2026 at 10:42, davieG said:

A footpath we use to get to the shop is lined with trees on one side and we recently been hearing a woodpecker.

 

As for my garden which has quite a few trees and bushes somewhat overgrown we only get magpies, pigeons, blackbirds, starlings and Robins pretty boring really.

I’m sure we’ve got a sparrow hawk now seen it twice.

[SemperEadem]

Those Mercury boxes around town.

[Trav Le Bleu]

I've been reminded just now of record stores having cards in their window, similar to travel agents, advertising gig tickets, pre internet days. You'd go in and buy yourself a physical ticket to said gig(s), which you'd usually retain as memorabilia.

Edited 9 July by Trav Le Bleu

[Grebfromgrebland]

On 09/07/2026 at 12:12, Trav Le Bleu said:

I've been reminded just now of record stores having cards in their window, similar to travel agents, advertising gig tickets, pre internet days. You'd go in and buy yourself a physical ticket to said gig(s), which you'd usually retain as memorabilia.

And if you were lucky there was a coach or minibus 

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 minutes ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

And if you were lucky there was a coach or minibus 

Many fond memories of perusing the windows od Ainsley's and Rockaboom.

[DJW1]

Growing up in Long Eaton in the 70s there was a shop that sold tins of food whose labels had fallen off!

[Trav Le Bleu]

10 hours ago, DJW1 said:

Growing up in Long Eaton in the 70s there was a shop that sold tins of food whose labels had fallen off!

Imagine the jeopardy! 

 

Peaches or meatballs? 

Processed peas or baked beans? 

Evaporated milk or stewed beef?

Sago or dog food?

 

Such fun in the 70s.

[Trav Le Bleu]

On 17/06/2026 at 15:10, filthyfox said:

Thats because mininum wage has made it unaffordable.  Same as a cheap meal out

Not for those on minimum wage

[DJW1]

10 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Imagine the jeopardy! 

 

Peaches or meatballs? 

Processed peas or baked beans? 

Evaporated milk or stewed beef?

Sago or dog food?

 

Such fun in the 70s.

In that shop I only bought cans of sweetcorn, for fishing bait

Tripe for dinner, sweet cigarettes, Cresta pop, days off school because of snow - all these things were acceptable in the 70s.

We also went on several "mystery trips" on the train. You bought the tickets without knowing where you were going , although it was always the beach (I remember Bridlington and Bournemouth)

[Free Falling Foxes]

3 hours ago, DJW1 said:

In that shop I only bought cans of sweetcorn, for fishing bait

Tripe for dinner, sweet cigarettes, Cresta pop, days off school because of snow - all these things were acceptable in the 70s.

We also went on several "mystery trips" on the train. You bought the tickets without knowing where you were going , although it was always the beach (I remember Bridlington and Bournemouth)

Remember reading of a couple from Margate who booked a mystery trip whilst they were on holiday.

The mystery trip took them to................ Margate.

They said they popped home, had a cup of tea, then went on the return trip back to their holiday. 

[davieG]

 

 

Brians Blog  · 

Eric Harvey ·4d ·

 

 

Kidderminster carpets – Fall Day:

Most Carpet weaving was done either in the home or in specially built weaving sheds which would line the local rivers, this was to dip the skains after dying, the rivers would often change colour!

From the mid-18th to 19th centuries ‘Fall day’ in the carpet town of Kidderminster was the day that the weavers got paid, every weaver in town would work towards this day, these days would always be on a Thursday or a Saturday, on no other days would they be paid, it is no coincidence that the fall days coincided with the towns market days which still remain to this day.

The weaver – with the help of his draw boy (later became a creeler) – would take the finished carpet to the counting house in the factory to be paid, but before that could happen there was a lot of tidying up of the carpet to be done, it would have to be sheared and all loose ends clipped, this was a task that every weaver detested, but to get his pay it had to be done and couldn’t be trusted to anyone else.

At the factory the finished product would be carefully scrutinised, if it was not good enough there was no pay! The carpet would then have to be toted back to the loom and precious hours spent examining the finish, the fall boy’s would get violently punished for something that was the weavers negligence. If all was well the weaver would then be paid by the yardage woven. He would then get the required yarn and pattern for his next job.

It was entirely up to the weaver how many hours he worked, but some draw boys accounts stated that they worked from 6.00am through to 10.00pm, this would be a six day week therefore a 96 hour working week.

A good weaver and his draw boy could weave 30 yards a week but on average the mark was around 25 yards.

A cloth weaver could earn 12 shillings a week about 6d for every yard woven, however, a carpet weaver was a lot better paid at around a shilling a yard, but before he started to spend he had bills to pay, he would pay his loom rental first and foremost, then pay for his coal and candles (used for lighting),then the draw boys (or girls) wages of between 4 and 5 shillings. A decent weaver would be left with around 18 shillings in his pocket.

So, with the coins jangling in their pockets the weavers would go off to spend some of it in the local Taverns, a favourite of the weavers was the Freemasons Arms in Bromsgrove street (later the Barrel) or the Seven Stars in Coventry street (both pubs still there), they would play cards or dice, or have a game of skittles.

Meanwhile, the spinners and woolcombers frequented the Coach and Horses in Mill street and never the twain should meet! Cock fighting or bare knuckle fighting were their favourite pastimes.

Sunday was always church day, but once that was out of the way it was back to the pubs, some of the weavers would ‘over indulge’ and the drinking spree would continue into the Monday, draw boys would be terrified of this as it meant they were going to have to work some really long hours the rest of the week to make the next fall day.

Draw boys or girls.

These boys and girls would start work at a very early age, often before ten years old but sometimes as young as seven, they would become apprenticed to the weaver and then eventually become half weavers, but not the girls, the weaving industry was completely male dominated and the girls would go on to become bobbin winders or spinners, the boys would have something like dry bread or toast for breakfast and potatoes with salt for dinner, on a sixteen hour day this meagre diet did not sustain them very well, but there was no time to be ill!

The girls didn’t even do that well, they would work a seven-day week at sixteen hours a day with only two days off a year – Mothering Sunday and Christmas

Day.

Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane and don’t forget, in the words of Macmillan ‘You’ve never had it so good!’

[Trav Le Bleu]

Rain.