General Chat

That is, odd to other people! We went to the Agricultural Co-op this afternoon. Its a good place for reasonable priced country clothing,/work gear. We bought a good sweatshirt for OH, a 36 litre sack of cat litter, and lots of catfood tins and pouches. We also bought two china eggs. The young man who took our stuff to the car couldnt understand what was done with china eggs. Well, says I, my husband wants them because he wants to judge whether the egg cups he is turning are the right size, but the real use for them is to put them under a sitting hen when you want to take away the eggs she is sitting to put in an incubator. Some people leave them in the laying nests to show reluctant hens what is expected of them. Well, I always wanted to know, he says. He might not be so quick to ask next time!!!

Hello Jean.

Sounds like you had a successful shopping trip.

China eggs.... Takes me right back to childhood and the hen-house in my grandparents' meadow. They used them to get the hens to lay, I think.That would be in 1950s and I haven't seen a china egg since then.
Thanks for the reminder of those carefree days when I visited Wales in the holidays.

Gwyn

How can we learn if we don't ask?????- I think it is good that a young person shows an interest by asking instead of acting like some silent automaton.

Not quite the same (at all!) but china eggs remind me of Faberge eggs, which I adore. I collect them, they sit on my mantelpiece :-)

I also remember the china eggs.
When we used to come home on leave in 1946 to 1950, my auntie kept hens, most people did at that time if the had room in the garden.
We were often sent out to collect the eggs and one day, I went out and brought home the 'surprise extra eggs' which of course turned out to be ... the china eggs. ;-0)
I remember my auntie explaining to me why they were there.
Bless he, I used to love those holidays in Farnborough.
Deanna X

Janet, my comment came out all wrong. I didnt mean to say he shouldnt have asked, but if anyone asks me and I know the answer, I tend to go into too much boring detail!

Fair do's Jean ....I do the same myself.

I have several stone eggs and some papier mache decorated ones too
I think I also have the stone one Dad used to use under our hens, when I was little. Pretty sure I salvaged it when the family house was cleared.

Lizx

Quite a few years ago a neighbour was rather scornful of another who didnt know that cows had to have a calf before they would produce milk. I have to admit that it had never occurred to me. I just knew that milk came from cows, but I wasnt a farm child, unlike the scornful neighbour. But when I heard I realised that it made sense (having had 2 babies myself by then, and producing milk as a result!).

Huia.

Huia, children have lost touch with the natural world and it is a great shame. They know too much in some ways, but how would they cope denied all the things that electricity brings, for instance. Water only comes from a tap as far as they are concerned, and lemonade made from fruit is a thing of the past.

Morning:o)

Jean you do not go on, you are very interesting so is ur OH:o)) both full of interesting information:o)

jude :o) x

Jude, you are prejudiced in my favour!

Jean....well of course:o)) !!

jude

Jean, you are right, many children have no idea these days about how things are made or produced or grow, and they will probably never have the satisfaction of making do and making things from ihems already around the house. Make do and mend might need to return tho if things get too difficult, will children adjust to parents not being able to afford everything in the Argos catalogue put onto a Christmas list, for example. Maybe the hardships that are ahead will make for changes in the way people think and expect to have everything at once, or be able to be a throwaway society. Maybe David Cameron and Nick Clegg have started something by making these drastic cuts.

Lizx

I think my dad used china eggs as a kind of chicken contraceptive. I might be wrong but think he would put them under a clucky henso she would sit on them til she ngave up rather than hatch more fluff balls.

Just going off on a tangent from china eggs. I used my odd information on the TTF board the other day to help someone. A lady was looking for information on rellies who came from Ockbrook, Derby. Now I know this place is not far from where I live, but as it is not on my route into Derby itself, so I have never been there. But, I did know it was a Moravian Church settlement. Not quite in the way of the Huguenot settlement at Thorney Cambs. which has its own BMD on the IGI site.
The Moravians were German, as opposed to the Huguenots being French, and they did not flee from religious persecution. They were however, instrumental in passing on the works of John Wesley.
So, Ockbrook has a Moravian Church ,and a nowadays, a girls boarding school, and is a model village
The lady PM'd me, and thanked me for my contributioon to her thread.
Just another piece of 'useless' information., but it did help somebody
Julia in Derbyshire

l remember some years ago a friend of daughters, (she was about 14yrs old at the time) wanted to help me cook a meal so l said yeh great you can peel the carrots....'peel the carrots, why, they come in a tin'....she had never seen a fresh carrot!!!!! bless her, she's a mum herself now, l do hope she uses fresh veg!

jude:o)

Jude, good morning. Please read my rant on Rita's thread on Chat , re similar. LOLOL
Julia in Derbyshire

Make do and mend! Sheets sides to middle, there is one lurking in my airing cupboard waiting to be turned into either pillow cases or oven cloths, fine for either as flannelette. Turnig a tatty dress into a skirt, or two tatty dresses into one good one. lengthenig a skirt by adding a contrast band about six inches from the hem. I have in the past, turned a coat so the good side of the cloth was on the outside. OH was on a very, very low wage!

I don't know how to do that but I have turned collars.