Things you don't see anymore…

Permed hair..

Calm down, calm down.

Glue sniffers.

I appreciate this is completely random, but I was only thinking about that this morning. It is just easier to get a bag of pills than a catering pack of Evo-Stick these days or something?

Tracksters.

All this kind of shenanigans

The local chapter run a music venue in the town centre.
Ironically it is the safest place on a Saturday night for a drink.

Rag & bone men.

All this kind of shenanigans

and

Superstars on TV.

Curly permed premier league footballers at the peak of their career taking a tumble off a racer on an ash track sustaining injury and then getting back on and winning the race.
Brian Jacks mugging off all comers with his superhuman parallel bar dips and squat thrusts.

In 1976 alone ,you had, amongst many others, a world boxing champion (John Conteh), the reigning Formula 1 world champion ( James Hunt), the current Wimbledon champion ( the legendary Bjorn Borg) and the aforementioned curly permed Keegan all competing against each other in potentially injury causing contests for the sake of the telly

Such a show couldn’t be made now. It’s just not conceivable.

Cougar – Moderator

I appreciate this is completely random, but I was only thinking about that this morning. It is just easier to get a bag of pills than a catering pack of Evo-Stick these days or something?

Lots of changes in formulation, voc rules changed the solvents allowed too, so I gather there’s not many left that give a decent high, without making you instantly as sick as a dog. Much less toluene out there though I suppose acetone, mek and similiar are all pretty easy to obtain?

This won’t stop assorted dafties sniffing PVA and convincing themselves they’re high. It’ll be like that time we got Chris Blackie to snort a crushed extra strong mint.

Wow, I bet that sent him completely menthol.

‘Wot no chad’ graffiti

The rag and bone man

Like Shermer we still get the modern day variant of these – a white flatbed with a weathered guy at the wheel.

Haven’t seen one with a horse and cart for some time, if that’s what you mean…

Edit : Having written that, they definitely don’t call out like they used to.

“Any old iron…?!”

‘kin weirdos

Hells Angels MC still alive and kicking. Was drinking in a pub owned / run by them a few weeks back. (Bloody great Deaths Head mural on front of pub a not so subtle giveaway). They’re mostly knocking on a bit now mind.

“Hell’s Angles”

66.6°?

Glue sniffers.

I appreciate this is completely random, but I was only thinking about that this morning. It is just easier to get a bag of pills than a catering pack of Evo-Stick these days or something?

And yet, yesterday morning, out with the dog, I found what I like to call a chavs’ campsite. Amongst the Monster cans was a few packs of super glue. Can’t imagine what else they’d be for.

“Hell’s Angles”

66.6°?

*applause*

Decent guitar players, it’s all laptops now.

2 strikers up top of a 4-4-2.

Free parking within 5 miles of a town center.

Black football boots.

Rugby boots that are actual boots.

Edit : Having written that, they definitely don’t call out like they used to.

“Any old iron…?!”

The one that used to come round our way suffered from the speech defect which commonly afflicts those who’ve been shouting the same phrase over and over for decades, like the street newspaper sellers of yore and their modern-day conterparts hawking Big Issue. I think it was actually supposed to be “rag and bone” but my childhood memory is of a bloke on a horse and cart rattling down the cobbles balefully wailing “AG BOH!” with the boh – er, bone dragged out for several seconds. “AG BOOOOOOH… AG BOOOOOOH… AG BOOOOOOH… ” It was kinda surreal at the time, and doesn’t improve much in adult hindsight.

The one that used to come round our way suffered from the speech defect which commonly afflicts those who’ve been shouting the same phrase over and over for decades, like the street newspaper sellers of yore and their modern-day conterparts hawking Big Issue

as a kid I was intrigued by the newspaper sellers in Brum (we didn’t have them in the little market town I lived in). I could never work out which paper they were selling when they all just shouted AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH (imagine a cross between Noddy Holder and a blender full of gravel)

Still have one in Oswaldtwistle*
I guess Accy is just too posh these days 😉

* Honestly they do

Our Rag and Bone guy (in a transit flatbed) has a bracket welded on the side hanging from which is a bell he clangs. It a bit eerie – all I can think of when he comes out is ‘bring out your dead’!

He’s also a fussy sod and only takes metal (for free) he can make money on with zero faff leaving you a pile a crap you still have to take to the dump. Not sure why folk bother when you can take it to the dump yourself and presumably the scrap metal is sold to fund the facility.

In Glasgow it would be ” EEEEEEEeeeeeny Tiiiiiiiiee”…..

from the wee guy outside Buchanan Street Bus Station selling the Evening Times

Spangles, Mavericks, Texan Bars, Treats.

“SIXPENCE EACH A TOFFEE APPLE!” vans. (or was that just round Leigh Park?)

I could never work out which paper they were selling when they all just shouted AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH

Telegraph?

Free parking within 5 miles of a town center.

Was in Ely last WE, all car parks are free in town!

I shall add another…

“Work being done”

It seems to me that Everybody is either on holiday/is going on holiday/come back off holiday.

I went down the M3 last week instead of the A3 I normally use (due to a big accident) It seems to be 20 miles of 50mph contraflow and nobody working on it. It was empty, nobody doing a darn thing. They did manage to put out some signs stating “drive slowly and we can all go home” etc. which was nice, shame there wasn’t anybody actually doing some work on the Motorway.

Back in work and meetings are cancelled or sparsely attended..

Wire coathangers….where have they all gone….used to come in for all manner of quick repairs from pedal steel guitars to car aerials.

Plenty of Hells Angels round these parts(they’re all getting on a bit though and dying off) oh and punk grandads a plenty!

Coalmen.

Moustaches

Haven’t rag n bone men been replaced by travelling types in flatbeds.

They don’t announce as if someone realises they’re about then they can’t just take the stuff out of your garden 🙂

Moustaches will be the beards of the future.

Baggy trousers shall be the spray-ons of tomorrow

Pale and wan complexions will soon replace Tango-tans

Plus ca change…

Our local rag bone/scrap man has a speaker on his transit repeatedly shouting his catch phrase.

In Nottingham the paper vendors used to sell the EEEEeeeee Po! (Evening Post).

Tape from a cassette – used to see it in the gutter where someone had thrown/dropped a cassette out the car window, it had broken and all the little reel was everywhere, wrapped round branches, tied in little clumps.

And ring pulls from drinks cans. I still remember when they introduced those fancy new cans with the ring pull that stayed attached. Think everyone at primary school drank about 20 cans of fizzy pop that week just cos they were amazed at these non-detaching ring pulls.

Telegraph?

I think the shout was probably more like “EEEYAAAARRRRGGGHHH” as in “Evening Mail”

on a similar note, I knew someone who had recordings of BR station announcements which he used as a kids party game to see if anyone could work out where the train was actually going to

Now that sounds like a party MrNice.

my suggestion: Telephones with wires!
remember when you had to stand in the hall to talk on the phone?
Remember when if you wanted to speak to your mate you had to ring their house and if their parents answered you had to be all polite and then ask for your friend.

Haystacks.

I think the shout was probably more like “EEEYAAAARRRRGGGHHH” as in “Evening Mail”

My local paper-vendor when growing up, actually shouted out “YYELLP”.

The paper was ‘Herald Express’.

In Newport there was a paper seller selling the Argus, he would just shout Len

People whistling/singing in the street.

Quiet A roads.

I had an “Instant coffee” last week on my way up the Lee Valley canal to Hertford. Flat chatted it until I spotted a canal boat selling Ice Cream so stopped to see if they sold bottled water, they did.
Was asked if I wanted a coffee and said “why not, yes please” he answered “instant” to which I thought hmmm, yes right now would be good.
He produced a coffee with Nescafe Instant coffee in it.

It was shite.

Glad we’ve moved on TBH.