Gone but very much missed

[The Stationmaster]

Oops, apologies, Larry!

Why, I don't know but I'm always mixing you up with The Stationmaster.

Best, Pete.

 

I don't know why either - he can build coaches

[Welly]

Decent hardware shops. Which should always smell of slug pellets and have an old gaffer in a brown dust-coat serving you.

There's still one like this in the village I live in! Don't know about the dust coat though but it certainly does smell of some kind of garden chemical!

[melmerby]

Music charts that aren't full of female singers who have been through the "Tuner"

 

Less acts "Featuring ....." - Aren't they they any good on their own?

 

Less acts ripping-off other peoples tunes and then moaning about "piracy in the music industry"

 

Keith

[Oldddudders]

I believe Fine Fare were taken over by International Stores (?), who I think later went bust.

International were bought by Gateway, which then relaunched as Somerfield in the early '90s. Got swept up & stuffed in the supermarket wars of the late 90s, now owned by Co-op late this decade. Our local Gateway/Somerfield in Cranbrook, Kent, became a Co-op about 2000, and plenty of Volvo-driving locals, who couldn't bear the thought of shopping at the Co-op, switched allegiance to Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Group, who were already at Tenterden, and were now taking over the Somerfield at Paddock Wood. Co-op products suited us, thanks.

[Adams442T]

Those of you missing the Navy Lark, Goons and Round the Horn will be doubtless pleased to know that they are available on the BBC I-Player radio site.

 

Those, and others were once available on BBC Radio 7, but when BBC Asian Radio was to be cut to save money, all sorts of people objected on all sorts of grounds so Radio 7 got the axe instead, and it has combined with Radio 4 Extra.

 

My favourite there is 'Yes Minister', clever comedy to my simple mind!

 

 

Doug

 

4Extra is excellent, and includes Journey Into Space, Dick Barton, Sherlock Holmes and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue as well. It was, I think, never set for axing, just a name change for R7 (part of the BBCs drive to change things for the sake of it!) but they have seen fit to include an Archers slot, which I for one could do without!

 

Pre-Nestle Kit-Kats, Great Big Mars Bars (they really were fun-size!) and writing rude things in the condensation on the top deck windows of a London Trolley Bus on the way to school!

[Sailor Charon]

Yes, I can never understand how small mars bars are called 'fun size' [Although I'm told Lion bars are better]

[Arthur]

I had a Saturday job at Fine Fare in Eccles, Lancs. We had our fair share of celebrity shoppers, well, wrestler Adrian Street was a regular. Our Butcher was alcoholic and always in late. One morning, in has absence, I was tasked with unloading the meat lorry in the alley round the back. Being handed a beef haunch over my shoulder the greasy leg slipped out of my grasp and onto the grimy cobbles. Shrieks from the manager, quickly picked up, quick look around, no one to see, and hustled in and wiped down!! (the beef, not me).

 

The building had previously been a Temperence Hall (whatever happened to them?) and one day Fine Fare realised their lease forbade the sale of alchohol. Result, the closing down of the beer, wines and spirits section. The whole place didn't last much longer, clearly Temperence didn't have much of a local following.......

[Coombe Barton]

Summer dresses

 

Not that it was me wearing them before anyone starts!!!!!!

[Rugd1022]

Including the scissors.

 

And tea in the Relief Cabin at the south end of the Up Platform. Showing my age now - good place to get to know the drivers and get cabbing invitations. We posted a lookout with binoculars outside to keep an eye on the GC bridge

 

Slightly before my time TSE but am very much with you in sentiment.... if only I'd been born ten years earlier!

 

A few more things to add to my list -

 

The fishing tackle shop / general stores I used to frequent where I could buy Humbrol paints (10p a tin!) and Matchbox cars, it's now a Polish food emporium,

 

Swindon Works Open Days,

 

Grandad's sky blue Mk1 Granada Estate,

 

Tootie Minties,

 

Doing rubbings of Western name and numberplates on off cuts of wallpaper in platform 4 at Reading - we had to be quick!

 

The aroma of proper fry ups five mornings a week before Dad went off to work,

 

[Tim Hale]

Hart's Ice Cream Parlour -St.Ives

[pointstaken]

Summer dresses

 

 

...and a strong breeze !

 

Dennis

[shortliner]

Penguin chocolate biscuits and Wagon Wheels, before they dropped them into a hot wash and they all shrank to the size they are today

Comedians who were funny and told jokes that you laughed at, and no canned laughter in Radio Shows

Waling past the shop opposite Plummers in Bournemouth (when it was in Hampshire!) and smelling the coffee they were roasting

Audiences that clapped instead of whistling and shouting

Big yellow trolley busses, and LT trams

Meteors and Vampires seeing how close they could get to the married quarters chimneys at RAF West Raynham

Driving an old grey Fergusson tractor at the age of 8, in the potato field where the pickers were working

Saturday Morning Pictures at the Odeon or the ABC Regal

My old BSA Gold Star

Science Fiction paperbacks at 1/6d each

Walls Ice cream

My Grans old gas fridge where she would always have some cold roast potatoes (love them!) for me.

Listening to Radio Luxembourg (208 metres) on a crystal radio, that I'd built myself from a kit, with headphones on when I was supposed to be in bed asleep

[melmerby]

International were bought by Gateway, which then relaunched as Somerfield in the early '90s. Got swept up & stuffed in the supermarket wars of the late 90s, now owned by Co-op late this decade. Our local Gateway/Somerfield in Cranbrook, Kent, became a Co-op about 2000, and plenty of Volvo-driving locals, who couldn't bear the thought of shopping at the Co-op, switched allegiance to Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Group, who were already at Tenterden, and were now taking over the Somerfield at Paddock Wood. Co-op products suited us, thanks.

 

There was also a brand called Lo-Cost which I believe was also to do with Somerfield. We had a store near where I lived called So-Lo which was a sort of cross (SOmerfield LOcost?) which had a lot of, but not exclusively, Somerfield own brand goods.

 

Keith

[Natalie]

Summer dresses

 

 

Plenty of them available in the town that bears part of your address! What is missing though is the legs/knees (amongst other parts) to be able to wear them and not look a mess.

[John M Upton]

Proper cars that you could fix yourself with a visit to the scrappy for a few parts for a couple of quid.

My mum and dad's old Mk III Cortina, bit rusty but the replacement hand tuned gear box only cost us a tenner and it went like stink.

Journalistic Integrity, when reporters reported the news not made it or gave you their opinions or unfounded speculation on it, just reported the facts.

Junk shops.

Proper Wimpy Bars (Yes I am aware a few still exist but the old 1980's styles ones were far better. Bender in a bun anyone?)

The days when café's offered you a grand total of two types of coffee, white or black.

All those characters in my village where I grew up, all of whom are now long gone.

People who believed in an honest days work for an honest days pay, some still exist but we are now a very endangered species.

High streets with character rather than the cloned chain store could be anywhere rubbish we seem to be dogged with now.

The annual purchase from WHSmiths of the Ian Allan Combined Volume (back in the days when WHSmiths was worth bothering with)

Tizer - No not what you can buy today but the old stuff that was packed with artificial colours, was a deep almost blood red colour and actually tasted of something.

Rowntrees Chocolates - before Nestle took it over and wrecked it, Yorkie Bars of today are not a patch on what they used to be.

[coachmann]

Hair on the cranium.......

[The Dorset Wanderer]

Those machines on station platforms that you could punch out a thin metal label- had favourite loco numbers.

[Prometheus]

Gin at a shilling a pint........

[spamcan61]

Decent hardware shops. Which should always smell of slug pellets and have an old gaffer in a brown dust-coat serving you.

 

There's still a few around, this one I used to use regularly in Basingstoke, still survives I think despite being nearly opposite B&Q:-

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=basingstoke&ll=51.250178,-1.117837&spn=0.006393,0.01929&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&gl=uk&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.250227,-1.117674&panoid=owHFfWXHH_hidyz8lpx3CA&cbp=12,336.18,,1,10.25

 

Disappointing there's no tin bath outside in the photo, always used to be when I shopped there.

 

..and my current local (ish) one in Christchurch, tin bath outside!:-

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=christchurch&ll=50.736944,-1.780236&spn=0.006464,0.01929&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&gl=uk&z=16&layer=c&cbll=50.737028,-1.780344&panoid=D_VfyB4ReDNQRkOx_qli_Q&cbp=12,223.47,,0,10.1

[pH]

Decent hardware shops. Which should always smell of slug pellets and have an old gaffer in a brown dust-coat serving you.

 

Here's one in Greenock, still called an 'Ironmongers'. http://maps.google.c...,187.94,,1,1.23 IIRC, the owner has a grey dust-coat, though . I'm only a very occasional visitor to Greenock, but I've twice been referred to Aitken's by employees at the local Homebase!

[plarailfan]

I miss Deltics, class 25's, and the Trans - Pennine 124 units (they were so noisy)

Job security - a job for life was still readily available.

West Yorkshire trolleybuses, then later on, Leyland Atlanteans and the original, National 1's, of which I eventually went on to drive a few ex Manchester examples (fantastic)

Weren't 1970's Sunday's peaceful and relaxed, without all the supermarkets, shopping centres and retail parks....

Coupling up to the missus without worrying about equipment failure and collecting the tablet.

[BROADTRAIN1979]

Please stop! youll have me crying i really miss the early 70s' well the whole decade if im honest. The amazin bars, texan bars ,those fantastic adverts ....does anyone remember the tic tac ad with the cartoon detective i think these were the new orange flavour tic tacs and he did that rhumba dance at the end, used to crack me up and that kid going down the street on a shredded wheat! classic! dont make em like that today! also the frys chocolate five centers and old jamaican choco bar mmmm.. People in general were so helpful and respectful in those days too, never had to worry about going out on LONDON TRANSPORT unlike today for fear of being killed by bombs, In those days it never entered your head and i was on them all day, with my red bus rover.Still The technology is fantastic today .Although, If i could go back i wouldnt miss it. on a sadder note i really miss the slam door emu / dmus/ all the classic diesels / rt london buses,but, especially the 501s. :cry:

[trisonic]

The '70's? I got married in the '70's. My least favourite decade...............the '80's were cracking in comparison, I was divorced, I turned 30, travelled the World and discovered just how great sex can really be.

 

How about "Drain - Type Trousers" ? Not a misprint one of my friends would have put Mrs. Malaprop to shame. When he married we had to wear: "Top Tails and the Hat..............." that was before we all went off with our "Legs between our Legs..."

 

More drivel from: Pete.

[Oldddudders]

Gin at a shilling a pint........

You ain't old enough, Mister!

[The Stationmaster]

Please stop! youll have me crying i really miss the early 70s' well the whole decade if im honest. The amazin bars, texan bars ,those fantastic adverts ....does anyone remember the tic tac ad with the cartoon detective i think these were the new orange flavour tic tacs and he did that rhumba dance at the end, used to crack me up and that kid going down the street on a shredded wheat! classic! dont make em like that today! also the frys chocolate five centers and old jamaican choco bar mmmm.. People in general were so helpful and respectful in those days too, never had to worry about going out on LONDON TRANSPORT unlike today for fear of being killed by bombs, In those days it never entered your head and i was on them all day, with my red bus rover.Still The technology is fantastic today .Although, If i could go back i wouldnt miss it. on a sadder note i really miss the slam door emu / dmus/ all the classic diesels / rt london buses,but, especially the 501s. :cry:

 

 

 

Strange how easily things can be forgotten - like those Irish fellahs who were going round in the 1970s blowing-up things and people on a far wider scale than more recent events - I think at one stage we used to see more of the Army Bomb Disposal squad at our station than we did of the Divisional Chief Inspector although fortunately every package we called them out to was either a hoax (just once) or a result of passenger carelessness with their luggage or packages (several). We were a little bit special as we handled a lot of explosives traffic, and the Bomb Disposal lads were based not too far away (and liked our tea plus the trip out).