The Big Plastic Count

We only had a coal fire in one room too - where Mum did some of her cooking. I still have our old toasting fork.
Plastic didn't really exist then - just paper, tin and glass. Money back on the bottles, jars kept for preserving. Rag and bone men with horse drawn carts calling out for old clothes  - don't remember giving him any bones (for the glue factory presumably!). So happy when he'd give us a windmill or a goldfish in return!
Milk and bread delivered daily. Fruit and veg on horse drawn carts too. Loved seeing him (Mr Vickery) and his pony. He said I could have his pony when he retired and I was so excited I rushed in to tell my Mum.
"Where do you think you'll keep it?" she asked, ever sensible, my Mum.
"He can sleep in my bedroom!". Don't know how she managed to keep a straight face. Fortunately, I grew up a bit before Mr Vickery retired!

Love it!  We had a veg man called Mr Tilney (I called Mr tiddley), a bread man, a butcher,a fish man,an Insurance man, a rent man, a pop man with ginger beer in stone bottles and of course the rag and bone man who used to shout in the street to let you know he was there and give either a balloon or a goldfish depending on how may rags he got? 

Strange how they were all men?

Our dog bit the Insurance man once and Mam had to stitch his pants! I fell down on a gravelly road and split my Knee whilst carrying four loaves of uncut bread  across the road from the bread man..(still got the scars to prove it)  I was also sent to the shop once for a tin of paint and decided to balance it on my head. It was gloss paint and it fell off my head (surprisigly!) The local kids then decided to ride there bikes through the pool of paint and the scars were still on the path until they repalced the paving stones with tarmac!

We didn't have much but I recall a happy childhood nonetheless! Thanks for reminding me Veggie!

Love it!  We had a veg man called Mr Tilney (I called Mr tiddley), a bread man, a butcher,a fish man,an Insurance man, a rent man, a pop man with ginger beer in stone bottles and of course the rag and bone man who used to shout in the street to let you know he was there and give either a balloon or a goldfish depending on how may rags he got? 

Strange how they were all men?

Not strange at all, Vinny. 

Who do you think was giving custom to all those tradesmen? The women who were obliged to stay home, cook and clean (with no modern appliances or cleaning aids apart from a stiff brush and maybe an agitator washing machine with a mangle) and raise children. Washing 8 or 10 nappies a day was no fun. Can't see all those traders saying, " no, no, dear, you do the rounds, I'll look after the house and children".

I actually feel embarassed for my younger self after seeing my two Sons with my grandchildren, mucking in, sharing the housework, playing with the kids etc.
In my younger days, the men went out to work and the women were left with everything else to do. Things have changed now and most couples need to have both sexes working just to pay the bills.This means there is a sharing of responsibilities which mean dads realise what is entailed with parenthood and do their bit. It also means they interact more with there kids than I ever did being stuck at work for 12 hour shifts and working most weekends just to keeep the wolf from the door.

I'm humming and hahing about the plastic count. I'm constantly annoyed at the supermarket assertions they 'recycle' the soft plastic waste collected, when I'm sure they send it elsewhere for either export or incineration. My only consolation is that it is probably removed from landfill.
We are promised soft plastic and food waste collections in the future, probably 2027 although the government have decreed councils should all have food waste collections, wiltshie has somehow wriggled out of it. It always amazes me they refuse to take windfall apples in the green waste, classing them as food waste. If I didn't have a compost, I'm not sure all my windfalls would go in a tiny food bin.

We're due to have a weekly food waste collection, in the past week we've only thrown out Mackerel skin.

We're due to have a weekly food waste collection,  in the past week we've only thrown out  Mackerel skin.

Mackeral skins would deffo go in the woodburner here, along with fish guts and heads. I don't want them stinking the place out and it's the quickest option to dispose!

Any fish remains (uncooked) go back in the sea. Not convenient for most people to do that, granted.

Any fish remains go , either in Ted or the compost bins, depending on how bony they are.

We're due to have a weekly food waste collection,  in the past week we've only thrown out  Mackerel skin.

I'm not sure it would be much use to us either, very little food goes to waste.

We have 2 food waste bins, a small one for in the kitchen and a large one that lives outside. I use the small one for peelings, etc for the compost bin.
The large one I use for storing dog poo bags until the general waste collection time.