General Chat

Whe had goldfish,balloons and he would give you some money sometimes depending what rags you gave him,e had a rag n bone man with a hand cart then he had a horse n cart.He used to shout rag bone at the top of his steep voice for all to hear.we used to go to the rag market in brum for clothes,i hated it,but we were the best dressed kids in the street most of the time.I dont know how my parents ever managed as we had good meals as well.Does anyone remember the knife sharpener man that used to come round on a bike to sharpen knives,scissors etc?Can anyone remomber the man that used to hang upside down with a straight jacket on?I think that was in the bullring,he hung from a great height and wriggled his way out of the jacket.It was scary.Dont know what the PC brigade would think about that.

Other street "characters" that I remember from childhood are the elderly man and woman that came along the road with him playing the accordian, and sometimes a violin, while the lady sang. That lady actually had a good voice and sang anything from opera to songs of the day.

Another was the lamplighter, that arrived in the street at dusk on a bicycle, and equipped with a long pole to light the gas lamps. Returning at dawn to extinguish them again.
He also earned a few extra pennies by knocking people up for work.

I also remember a few funny incidences that happened during the time of the smogs of the 50s - but that's another story :-D.

Tec.