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smokeyeyes · **Posted: 08-11-2008 , 01:07 AM** #3

Hi Mammy, loved reading through your little memoirs, it brought back many memories to me. My Gran was a big fan of TK minerals so there was always bottles to return to shop for deposits. Indeed, I remember they were still around when I got married and I used to give them to my eldest lads to bring back. I thought it was 3p for each bottle? LOL. Never heard of the evening papers one!

Still lament the end of glass milk bottles, milk seemed to taste much better then (maybe not so much processing?) Remember the rag and bone man coming round when I was very young, he used to give you a whistle or balloon or some other toy. Like you, we'd be going round everyone asking for anything to give him, cos we didn't want to be the odd one out! You must have been one of the lucky one's as regards the bike. We weren't allowed them because we lived near main road so it was deemed too dangerous, couldn't wait to get one when I grew up! Having said that there were very few obese children around then because we walked as much as possible.

One thing I do really miss is the taste of food as it was then. Fruit and veg tasted like they should. My late father-in-law grew his own veg and would give us some when we visited. I have never tasted carrots like they were then, mashed with potatoes and butter. (Obviously no pestiscides used then). And before anyone suggests organic, have bought organic of many varieties and they still don't taste the same! We used to go to the local shop to buy butter. It was on a big marble slab and the shopkeeper would cut the amount you wanted and wrap it in greaseproof paper. You don't get butter like that anymore. Nowadays, I don't even like the butter you can buy in the shops prefer the butter spreads.

There were no chain stores then to buy reasonable clothes in every week, but in that respect I suppose I was lucky (although I didn't know it then) as I had an aunt who was an excellent dressmaker and made most of our clothes, which nowadays would be considered designer as they were one offs! She would buy the most gorgeous materials, never bought patterns, she made her own from scratch, so we were always assured of something nice from her. But at the time we didn't appreciate "homemade" clothes, today we'd die for them. (I still regret I never learned how to use a sewing maching properly!)

So I suppose in some respects we're all trying to get back to the "Good Old Days"

	Posted: 08-11-2008 , 01:07 AM #3
smokeyeyes Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Greystones, Co. Wicklow Posts: 725	Hi Mammy, loved reading through your little memoirs, it brought back many memories to me. My Gran was a big fan of TK minerals so there was always bottles to return to shop for deposits. Indeed, I remember they were still around when I got married and I used to give them to my eldest lads to bring back. I thought it was 3p for each bottle? LOL. Never heard of the evening papers one! Still lament the end of glass milk bottles, milk seemed to taste much better then (maybe not so much processing?) Remember the rag and bone man coming round when I was very young, he used to give you a whistle or balloon or some other toy. Like you, we'd be going round everyone asking for anything to give him, cos we didn't want to be the odd one out! You must have been one of the lucky one's as regards the bike. We weren't allowed them because we lived near main road so it was deemed too dangerous, couldn't wait to get one when I grew up! Having said that there were very few obese children around then because we walked as much as possible. One thing I do really miss is the taste of food as it was then. Fruit and veg tasted like they should. My late father-in-law grew his own veg and would give us some when we visited. I have never tasted carrots like they were then, mashed with potatoes and butter. (Obviously no pestiscides used then). And before anyone suggests organic, have bought organic of many varieties and they still don't taste the same! We used to go to the local shop to buy butter. It was on a big marble slab and the shopkeeper would cut the amount you wanted and wrap it in greaseproof paper. You don't get butter like that anymore. Nowadays, I don't even like the butter you can buy in the shops prefer the butter spreads. There were no chain stores then to buy reasonable clothes in every week, but in that respect I suppose I was lucky (although I didn't know it then) as I had an aunt who was an excellent dressmaker and made most of our clothes, which nowadays would be considered designer as they were one offs! She would buy the most gorgeous materials, never bought patterns, she made her own from scratch, so we were always assured of something nice from her. But at the time we didn't appreciate "homemade" clothes, today we'd die for them. (I still regret I never learned how to use a sewing maching properly!) So I suppose in some respects we're all trying to get back to the "Good Old Days"