Reminiscing

[Wile E Coyote]

Ironies were spherical giants in marbles, and frenchies were cylindrical metal objects. I got mine from fearings transport in fulledge.

[BenWickes]

Ben - have you a Youtube channel with your old videos of BUrnley on?

No I don't. What a good idea though. Need to figure out how to get them from DVD. I've got a DVD which was transferred from a Super 8 of the nightclubs/bands around Burnley and Nelson as well along with random video from the 60's in Wales, Burnley, London. I don't have a DVD player in this laptop. Anyone know how to transfer from DVD to a format for Youtube?

[BenWickes]

I must have been about 5 or 6 years old when I sneaked off on my tricycle to play with others on fulledge rec.
Can't recall how it happened exactly but i ended up face down in a large pool of melted tar.
That didn't bother me too much,it was the 3/4 hours of agony in the bath being scrubbed with vim from head to toe.

I remember being scrubbed for similar although mine was nowhere as drastic as you. Not pleasant. I do remember at bath time it was eldest first and then middle brother got his used bath water. I was youngest so got a lukewarm bath with two other brothers dead skin and dirt in. I probably came out dirtier than I went in! That was the late 70's and Fairy Liquid doubled up as Bubble Bath.

[huw.Y.WattfromWare]

70's and Fairy Liquid doubled up as Bubble Bath.

My Nan had very greasy hair and shampooed with fairy liquid. She said it had salt in it that killed the grease. I wouldn’t know about that.

[Cirrus_Minor]

klackers.jpg

Clackers

My sisters used to play with these, they used to persistently bang your wrist. I think a few kids ended up with fractures.

[ElectroClaret]

Mambos, triangular shaped frozen blocks of teeth rotting juice.

Mambos were great. The lime ones were my favourites.

[Bosscat]

Go-carts with old pram wheels .... everytime I watch a soapbox derby programme on the TV it takes me back to the mid sixties and racing down moor lane

[nil_desperandum]

I used to also walk about 2 miles to school and back on my own at the age of 6.

There may be some younger posters who don't believe what you've posted there,but I've just checked on google maps, and when I was 6, (after we moved house,but not school) I also used to walk (on my own) a distance of just over 2 miles to get to school, and of course the same going home,(often in the dark). So it was probably not so uncommon for children of our age to make such journeys on foot and alone that would now be considered totally inappropriate and unsafe.
The Good Old Days eh?

[spadesclaret]

There may be some younger posters who don't believe what you've posted there,but I've just checked on google maps, and when I was 6, (after we moved house,but not school) I also used to walk (on my own) a distance of just over 2 miles to get to school, and of course the same going home,(often in the dark). So it was probably not so uncommon for children of our age to make such journeys on foot and alone that would now be considered totally inappropriate and unsafe.
The Good Old Days eh?

I, too, used to walk to school, a distance of just under two miles. I was just turned 4 when I started school, birthday in June, school in September. What's more, there was a railway crossing to negotiate. School days were longer, too, from 9am to 4pm but we did have an afternoon playtime as well as one in the morning.

When I first started it was an all-age school, 4 -14 with just two teachers. The 4 to 10 year olds in one class, 11 to 14 year olds in the other. I must have been about 6 when the new secondary school was opened (per the 1944 Education Act). I was never in a class of fewer than 30+ children, all of differing ages, until I went to Grammar school.

[tim_noone]

Common signs in the swimming Baths." No Fingering" ......or summat along those lines

[Buxtonclaret]

"Go to work on an egg"

[tim_noone]

"Its your uncle Tony".....

[BenWickes]

There may be some younger posters who don't believe what you've posted there,but I've just checked on google maps, and when I was 6, (after we moved house,but not school) I also used to walk (on my own) a distance of just over 2 miles to get to school, and of course the same going home,(often in the dark). So it was probably not so uncommon for children of our age to make such journeys on foot and alone that would now be considered totally inappropriate and unsafe.
The Good Old Days eh?

Seemed like further at the time (Googled as well) but I used to walk 1.5 mile on my own to get to school when I was between 8 and 11. Circa 1981-1984. May not seem much but these days but I've seen schoolkids get on the bus to go 50 yards.

[BenWickes]

My Nan had very greasy hair and shampooed with fairy liquid. She said it had salt in it that killed the grease. I wouldn’t know about that.

Me neither. Never heard of salt in Fairy Liquid but yes we used to have our hair washed with it too. Until she discovered that Shampoo. What was it called Mr Matey or something similar?

[Bullabill]

I think we called the chunk of metal we threw at the marbles a nugget

My memory says it was a nugger.

[Bullabill]

Pretty sure big marbles were called dobbers.

Where I lived 'marbles' was never used - they were all 'bobbers'.

[RammyClaret61]

Time capsules. Sometime in the late 60’s early 70’s Blue peter buried one in the BBC garden. I then buried one in our back garden in Rammy. 50 years on, I’m assuming it’s still there. It contained pictures of myself and family, footballers & cricketers, copy of the days newspaper.

In Rammy we called the big marbles Iron dobbers.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

When I was 7 we’d get the bus from Reedley down to the town centre and then change to the bus out to Padiham that would drop us at Park Hill Convent. We’d then get let off a bit early (“early bussers”!!! ) to make the return journey. Got to study our football / cigarette cards on the way (Chris Cattlin always seemed to be popular) or play conkers on the top deck.

[BennyD]

It still is !

It’s nice to know that some things don’t change.

[Croydon Claret]

Yellow litter boxes attached to lamp posts. Most of them had had an extra "G" added at the front in honour of some paedophile singer who was popular at the time

[bfcjg]

Dust bins referred to as ash cans as everything was burnt on the fire, rust on cars, bus conductors, Viscount central coaches for away games and holidays, playing kerby as there were hardly any cars to get in the way.

[Mala591]

Spud gun

Mum: ...where have all the potatoes gone?...

[Volvoclaret]

Bonfires in the street every bonfire night. Raiding other bonfires for wood. Proper bangers and Jack in a boxes.Bonfire toffee and eating half raw spuds cooked in the ashes.

[bfcjg]

Cap guns.

[Volvoclaret]

Secadon (sp) guns that shot clay balls.

[Claret Toni]

Catapults - now there was a toy(?), and you could make them yourself from a bit of tree and elastic bands.

[Volvoclaret]

Claret Toni,are you Dennis the Menace in disguise?

[Im_not_Robbie_Blake]

No school milk for us at Wigglesworth Primary - we had milk tablets. Horrible things. They looked just like our rubbers (and tasted a bit like them too!)

[tim_noone]

Burnleys factories and other employers shut for two weeks during July in the sixties and everyone in Town took their Holidays.WTF was that all about?. We used to go to Blackpool on packed trains from Burnley central to join the friendly natives of Glasgow who had their holidays the same time.mind boggling!!!

[atlantalad]

Triangular ices in those paper cartons: jubilees. Lucky bags. Licorice sticks, black jacks, 1/3 pint milk at school. The cylindrical bearings we called "ironies". We used to get them from passing some kind of iron works recycler near Sandy Gate on school lunch trips to the school canteen which doubled as Sandygate boxing club on Trafalgar Street. Junior school was St Thomas' and had to walk hand in hand to the school canteen every lunch time. St Thomas' was on King St near where Burnley Crown courts stands today - near the Weaver institute building that had white tiles on a wall or two. Memorable trips those School dinner runs - past Newton steels works and Watts Tower - recall lots of activity as bales of cotton were being unloaded from trucks and hauled into Watts factory. Also recall the coal barges passing under the pedestrian footbridge near the weaving sheds( noisy and saw loads of women working through the northern lights of the shed) near to what is now Kitchens garage on Trafalgar. This was an era before Trafalgar flats.

May poles in the street on May bank holiday.

Recall the coal yards off Manny rd near to where the cinema is now. Steam trains passing under bridges and pulling into Manny Rd station. There were some derlict houses on Manny Rd near where Abbots garage is ( ambulance depot was a GPO depot for trucks back then) and me and a mate found gas masks in the cellars. Saturday cinemas with Petula Clark record at the intervals. Even saw a film in the Empire cinema on St James St.

As already mentioned the maroon & cream livery of Burnley Corp open back buses - the conductors and their ticket machines, red STOP buttons and cabins filled with diesel/ clutch fumes as they slowly progressed up Manny rd on sweltering summer days.

[Simon]

This is all amazing. Thanks to all.

[nil_desperandum]

Burnleys factories and other employers shut for two weeks during July in the sixties and everyone in Town took their Holidays.WTF was that all about?. We used to go to Blackpool on packed trains from Burnley central to join the friendly natives of Glasgow who had their holidays the same time.mind boggling!!!

It was all to do with productvity. The background to this was that all the mills in one town would close for that fortnight whilst production continued elsewhere, so you got Burnley Wakes, Oldham Wakes etc (hence "Wakes Weeks").
Normally the looms would operate round the clock, but they would all be shut down for that fortnight and the mills would be silent other than for essential maintenance work and cleaning.
I guess it was based on a sound economic model and efficiency.
(So far as I know Scotland still start their holiday at the beginning of July.)

[BenWickes]

Burnleys factories and other employers shut for two weeks during July in the sixties and everyone in Town took their Holidays.WTF was that all about?. We used to go to Blackpool on packed trains from Burnley central to join the friendly natives of Glasgow who had their holidays the same time.mind boggling!!!

Pretty sure that was still going on into the early 80's. My Dad was in transition from working for Barrs (Irn Bru, Tizer fame) to working in finance and we still had to go away for a set period in the summer. Had a number of family working at Mullards who always went away for those two weeks. Another thing that may still happen but I found bizarre was half day closing. Does that still happen in Burnley/Padiham?

[CharlieinNewMexico]

Those footballs. I think made by Mitre, that were hard as a rock and had pimples on the outside so when you headed it you looked like Spongebob Squarepants.

[BenWickes]

Catapults - now there was a toy(?), and you could make them yourself from a bit of tree and elastic bands.

Oh yes! Sticks were very versatile. They could be catapults, swords, machine guns.

[BenWickes]

Bonfires in the street every bonfire night. Raiding other bonfires for wood. Proper bangers and Jack in a boxes.Bonfire toffee and eating half raw spuds cooked in the ashes.

Did anyone else build a tent near their bonfire and camped out, sometimes in vain; to protect your bonfire?

[tim_noone]

Pretty sure that was still going on into the early 80's. My Dad was in transition from working for Barrs (Irn Bru, Tizer fame) to working in finance and we still had to go away for a set period in the summer. Had a number of family working at Mullards who always went away for those two weeks. Another thing that may still happen but I found bizarre was half day closing. Does that still happen in Burnley/Padiham?

Half day closing in Burnley was Tuesdays I think. Yes the Wakes weeks went on into the Eighties. We Moved to Barnoldswick in 84 from Blackpool and it was a complete culture shock... Bank Holidays the Whole town shut down.they didnt know what a takeaway was and if you had no car (No Buses) you were fcuk ed! There was one Taxi for the town.

[mdd2]

Wakes week = Burnley Fair in my . As a kid I once asked a family friend in Preston if they were going on holiday for Burnley Fair and of course they had no idea what I was talking about. Think the week became two in the late 50's and there was also a two or one day mill holiday in early September.
The only take aways were the chip shops until the Chinese arrived-sweet and sour pork!!. There was a place to eat in the old Market Hall where occasionally we had a special treat and a free meal once c/o a in mum's !!!!
Mid-week matches played on a Tuesday afternoon to coincide with half day closing when evening kick offs were too dark before the flood-lights which meant cup- replays at home were always 2.15 kick offs

[BenWickes]

Half day closing in Burnley was Tuesdays I think. Yes the Wakes weeks went on into the Eighties. We Moved to Barnoldswick in 84 from Blackpool and it was a complete culture shock... Bank Holidays the Whole town shut down.they didnt know what a takeaway was and if you had no car (No Buses) you were fcuk ed! There was one Taxi for the town.

Oh yes! I remember traipsing through town for hours on New Years Day back in the early 80's looking for a shop, ANY shop; that was open because my Dad had forgot my Mum's birthday present/card for her birthday on January 2nd. Absolutely nothing was open until we stumbled on a solitary corner shop which had opened for a few hours. Can't imagine that these days. I reckon we must have walked ten miles for a bloody box of Roses and a crappy card.

[Tribesmen]

Funny thinking back to buses , i do recall one clippy who was very butch and she would never say thank you when you gave her the money just used to say " Que " . Funny the things you remember .

[BenWickes]

Funny thinking back to buses , i do recall one clippy who was very butch and she would never say thank you when you gave her the money just used to say " Que " . Funny the things you remember .

That just reminded me of a clippy who always had sweets for the kids. Friendly fella, always smiling. Looking back it seems pretty creepy now but he may just have been a chap who enjoyed his job and loved kids.

[Tribesmen]

That just reminded me of a clippy who always had sweets for the kids. Friendly fella, always smiling. Looking back it seems pretty creepy now but he may just have been a chap who enjoyed his job and loved kids.

Again those days far away , now i am sure bad things went on to children . I remember one old fellow called Hubert we used to go camping with him for the night somewhere in Stonyholme a group of us sure , now if that happened today he would get locked up . He was a nice old guy who loved kids .
Also i got my first season ticket for Burnley when i was 7 and used to go by myself .

[tim_noone]

Again those days far away , now i am sure bad things went on to children . I remember one old fellow called Hubert we used to go camping with him for the night somewhere in Stonyholme a group of us sure , now if that happened today he would get locked up . He was a nice old guy who loved kids .
Also i got my first season ticket for Burnley when i was 7 and used to go by myself .

Life was one big adventure in stonyholme ...happy days!

[HahaYeah]

Lighting the coal fire in the mornings then making toast with bread on a fork before school.
Asking Dad where Mum was and getting the reply 'she's ran off wi't coal chap' .
Fearsome bin men hoying full bins on their backs then on to the wagon.
Milk left out by milkmen and the birds helping themselves to it.
Black slip on pumps.
White dog poo - I think because dogs ate more bones back then.
Yep- getting the fairy liquid treatment.
Playing British Bulldog.
Seeing a colour tv for the first time at a mate's and the colour turned up so high there were flares coming off peoples heads.
Camping down Heasy and making dams and tarzy's.
Everyone going in for TOTP then coming back out after it.
Marbles round our end was bobbers, frenchies, irony's and steely's.

[BenWickes]

Fearsome bin men hoying full bins on their backs then on to the wagon.

Was just thinking that earlier. No H&S in them days. Hoist a metal bin on their back brimming with rubbish and empty it manually. These days they just roll them and the truck lifts it up. Must have had some muscles on 'em back then.

[Volvoclaret]

Life was one big adventure in stonyholme ...happy days!

It certainly was.
I seem to remember.......
Wakes weeks spread over East Lancs. Last 2 weeks Rossendale; first 2 weeks July Burnley and Pendle; then Blackburn and Accy; then Preston.
2nd week Burnley fair was the pot fair.
No shops open, used to get my dads newspaper from a guy who sold them from bus shelter bottom of Brougham St for the 2 weeks.

[Brunlea]

Walking down to building near Mitre for school dinners from old Holy Trinity school smelling whatever was happening at Massey brewery.
Watching off duty mill workers going into Ponderosa Club (?) dressed as cowboys.
Taking old clothes/rags to be weighed at a place in Plumb Lane(?) for pennies.
Walter Snakeface!
Bloke dressed as a Mexican bandit.
The old Albion Street standing at the bottom looking up.
Smell from Sto-Mike coffee factory.
1 H Boot Boys ( BGS thing!)
Soap Box derby Hammerton Street every Boxing Day.

[nil_desperandum]

Another thing that may still happen but I found bizarre was half day closing. Does that still happen in Burnley/Padiham?

Not sure why you would think having a half day closing day to be bizarre. It wasn't market day every day of the week,and there really isn't sufficient footfall to merit being open 24/7. It gave shop workers a welcome half day off since they would be working long hours on a Saturday.
But of course -as someone has also mentioned: Midweek matches were always played on a Tuesday afternoon, so it meant that shop workers could attend along with some shift workers.
Of course the introduction of floodlights in the late 1950s generally put an end to midweek afternoon matches.

[BenWickes]

Not sure why you would think having a half day closing day to be bizarre. It wasn't market day every day of the week,and there really isn't sufficient footfall to merit being open 24/7. It gave shop workers a welcome half day off since they would be working long hours on a Saturday.
But of course -as someone has also mentioned: Midweek matches were always played on a Tuesday afternoon, so it meant that shop workers could attend along with some shift workers.
Of course the introduction of floodlights in the late 1950s generally put an end to midweek afternoon matches.

Not being from Burnley it was for me. Had not experienced half day closing before living there or anywhere since. So seemed bizarre to me. I understand why now but it was bizarre for me as a newcomer to the town.

[Tribesmen]

Walking down to building near Mitre for school dinners from old Holy Trinity school smelling whatever was happening at Massey brewery.
Watching off duty mill workers going into Ponderosa Club (?) dressed as cowboys.
Taking old clothes/rags to be weighed at a place in Plumb Lane(?) for pennies.
Walter Snakeface!
Bloke dressed as a Mexican bandit.
The old Albion Street standing at the bottom looking up.
Smell from Sto-Mike coffee factory.
1 H Boot Boys ( BGS thing!)
Soap Box derby Hammerton Street every Boxing Day.

Goodness the brings it all back the Mexican bandit , felt tipped pens .
I would say the poor ,lad had issues .
Used to ask him for the time and he had this massive alarm clock under his Pancho what he would bring out
then tell you the time .