General Chat

When I was a child ....

I can often remember my mother sending me to the local shop for quarter pound of Spam to feed 6 of us that included my parents !!

Now could that have been 3 slices 4 at the most !! :-(

With chips of course fried in real dripping ! all in one frying pan, we must have had 6 chips to go with it !! LOL

We often talk about this amongst us.....

I remember in the 1960's a Chip van used to come round on Friday nights, and a bag of chips was 4d....in a tiny greaseproof bag and then a half sheet of tabloid newspaper. None of that polywotsit box and plastic fork business for us!!!

Correct me if I'm wrong but in the early 50's I'm sure you could buy fish and chips for 9d -1shilling rapped in newspaper and you ate them with grease and print on your fingers and it didn't do us any harm.

GP

As far as I remember consulate were the cheaper of the two St Moritiz were more expensive. I worked in a newsagents back then (saturday job).....and sort of remember what could be bought with my 12 1/2p dinner money

Oooh Sobranie (cocktail) cigarettes. Yes, we only smoked those on very special occasions, ie when we went on a big night out to Bristol Top Rank, Locarno or Platform 1. Oooh those were the days, or nights I should say.
Just like Paula, we used to think we were dead sophisitcated an' all :-( I doubt I looked it, tottering about on my platform shoes!!

Can't remember the price of the cigarettes so far back. Jax has a good memory!
I do remember a promotion for a new brand once, with girls standing at the train station handing them out (single ones I mean, not by the pack), and I got a free one every morning for a week on my way to college. I think they were Carlton? In a posh maroon flat pack box rather than the square type box.

Don't remember the cheaper menthol ciggies John, only the Consulate.

Have'nt smoked for about 13 yrs now.

Thank you Jax. I remember a very very smart & sophisticated lady at work who smoked them, so of course we had to copy her. I seem to recall they all had a black tip. I have not smoked for 39 years.

Sobranie....Paula

You can still get them...I googled them, but my mum told me about smoking them in the 50s

I remember buying coloured cigarettes from a tobacconists shop in Walsall town centre, it is still there today, but does not look anywhere near as glamorous as it did (to me) back in the 60s . They were in a very pretty flat box with a flip top lid, again I seem to have forgotten the brand. Also my friend and I brought cigarette holders, we were about sixteen at the time and thought we very very sophisticated, but probably look looked right pair of nit-wits. :-D

When I was a child......
Dad used to smoke Capstan full strength in the beigey /brown packets.

He did change to some filter tipped things later ..Sterling , in a Silver packet or was it something else in a Gold packet ? Not sure ! Think mum smoked the ones in Silver packet..only one or 2 a day , but dad was a heavier smoker ( not so much at home , but at work )

He gave up smoking after a bad chest infection before he was 60. Best thing he could have done, any cold he had still affected his chest , but he walked the dog 3 times a day became healthier generally and almost managed his 91st birthday.
I don't think he'd have had another 30 yrs of life had he continued smoking.

Karen. Wasn't there a cheaper alternative to Consulate? I have Moritz running round in my head (just about to escape through my ears :-( :-()

Trying to remember all those brands in those days. So many - Kensitas, Nelson, Black Cat, Three Castles, Capstan (avoid the brown full strength packets). And we used to sell loose black shag to roll (hope that isn't reported :-D)

I seem to remember the prices of 10 cigs in about 73/74 Number 10 or sovereign were 9p, number 6 were 10p, consulate and Benson and Hedges,Rothmans were 12p I think?? and Dunhill and St Moritz may have been slightly more (only bought those if you wanted to be flash)

Cool as a mountain stream :-D that brought back some memories.
I remember them because that's what I smoked when I first started as a 15 yr old schoolgirl. No, it wasn't behind the bikesheds but back of the art block, and then each Friday afternoon when we were supposed to be on a cross-country run we used to sit on a stile in the woods and watch the others run by. We never got caught....the PE teacher obviously should've gone to Specsavers! :-D evil old bat that she was :-P

WE WERE RURAL BUT NOW HALF A MILE FROM HEATHROW AIRPORT
WE ARE FULL OF WAREHOUSES OIL TERMINAL

Well, that woke me up with a smile, Dizzi. Sounds very rural.:-D

Filter cigs were so sophisticated. And menthol - they were the ultimate. Consulate - cool as a mountain stream. Yeeehhhh. A mountain stream next to Sellafield perhaps. Are you still off the weed, or have you succumbed?

Edit. Just seen your new thread about still not smoking :-D :-D

CIGGIES,,OUR ONLY SHOP FOR 3 MILES SOLD
NO FILTER CIGGS IN SINGLES ,
FRIENDS MUM HAD A CIGARETT MACHINE IN HER KITCHEN.

ON SUNDAYS WE WOULD PICK CABBAGE FROM EDGE OF
FIELD,BUT ONLY PICKED THE ONES THAT WERNT ANY
GOOD FOR SELLING

I'd have been short changing as well :-D


holding end of tape measure between tips of thumb and forefinger to about an inch past the start of my collar bone = 35"


to about mid-way along the collar bone = 36"

I was taught ............

top thumb joint to tip of thumb = 1"


gets confused if you let your nails grow long :-D

Lol @ Sue in Leeds,

Being right handed I've always done the measurement with the material in my left hand!
Doing it your way my measurment is nearly an inch shorter.

Told you I have short arms...and one shorter than the other ;-)

At least I don'have long dangling arms like a gorilla :-D :-D :-D ;-)

Sandie.x

I must have short arms and long fingers ;-) ;-) :-D :-D

outstreched thumb to forefinger is nearlly 7 inches

outstretched thumb to litttle finger (pinky) is 8 inches

Should have taken up piano playing !,would have had a good reach of the keys ;-)
To keep on topic,else i get RR'd,my school friend had very short fingers ,but was an excellent pianist.

Sandie.x

Yes like you new avatar Karen :-)

Across my stretched hand,pinky end to thumb tip is 7 ish inches.

The end of my thumb is about an inch.