Thursday, November 30, 2017

Where To Find Old England - in Charity Shops and memories



Problem
The England of today is not the England of yesterday.

Answer
You can see the England of yesterday in charity shops such as Oxfam, Barnado's and St Luke's. Wedgwood is still made in some of the old designs. English favourite china is the willow pattern plate, which you never see in China, Hong Kong or Singapore.

The Post-war years:

TV 
Bill and Ben. Weed!
Dixon of Dock Green.  

Radio
Are you sitting comfortably? 
The Archers.

Food
Doorstep sandwiches. 
The novelty of eating Indian food for the first time. 
Going to America and finding they had more than three flavours of ice cream; in the UK you had vanilla, sometimes strawberry, and occasionally, if you were lucky, chocolate. 

Drink
See-through glass milk bottles with the cream on top. 
Making tea in a tea pot with tea leaves. 
Being shocked at a home or restaurant which used tea bags.

Money
A penny with Queen Victoria's head on it. 

Houses
Coal fires. 
Outside toilets.
The scullery. 
Granny's TV set with a magnifier in front of the screen. 
Going to Switzerland where they had duvets instead of blankets. 

Work
Printing paper with holes in the side. Posting your film to get it developed and ordering double prints. Changing a typewriter ribbon at work. 

School
School milk.
Passing the eleven plus and going to Grammar school.

Recordings
You can still buy 78 rpm records in antique shops.

Cameras
You can buy old cameras in camera shops in Central London.

Art Deco
Several areas of London have scattered art deco buildings. These include some tube stations in London. (See my previous posts on art deco.)

Museums
The Geoffrye Museum has rooms decorated in the style of various ages. (The correct spelling is G E O F F R Y E.)

Useful websites
Barnados
ebay.co.uk
Oxfam
St lukes
Youtube
Worldwide - the Salvation Army



Author
Angela Lansbury

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