Hello everyone, I’m back after my Christmas break which was very relaxing and quiet. Bliss after a hectic year. Today’s blog is door-to-door – remembering salesmen from over the years.
Weather and Crowds
But first, an observation about the weather – and the crowds.
The minute the sun shines, or it’s even dry weather (and we’ve had a lot of sunny days) out they come. By that I mean all the people who are coming to the seafront. The prom and beach have been absolutely packed with people and no room for social distancing. Not that they seem bothered, as most of them don’t seem to care about distancing.
I can fully understand that people want some life, we all do. But there will be none for anyone if the deaths keep rising as they are. 60,000 new cases a day and over 1000 deaths reported yesterday (6.1.21). That’s a lot of people, don’t you think?! We’ll all be glad when it’s over, but it won’t be whilever people don’t use their sense.
Anyway, that’s my first beef of the New Year, with no doubt more to follow as the year goes on.
The Door-to-Door Pop Man
Changing the subject completely. We had a bottle of dandelion and burdock pop with our dinner the other day, which we’d bought for Christmas and had forgotten. It’s not something we buy normally, but it’s a tradition left over from my parents who had Dandelion and Burdock every Christmas with their dinner. Not being drinkers, they used to have a tipple of that and none the rest of the year.
It got us talking about when people used to come around the streets, selling various things door-to-door from their vans or carts. We were remembering the pop man who used to come round in his truck, delivering orders of fizzy pop in glass bottles and taking the empties back.
He came on our road with every colour of pop you could imagine. Shaws at Barnsley made the pop and it was surprising how many people had it delivered. There was no mention of sugar being bad for you – they probably didn’t know in those days. But still even though they’re by and large sugar free these days, they can still contribute to type 2 diabetes, so no pop here until next year!
My Favourite – the Door-to-Door Greengrocer
It took me back to when I was a girl and the greengrocer used to come round with his horse, pulling the cart and loaded up with veg. There was everything you could have wanted, and more beside that you’d never even heard of. There was no importing fruit and veg like there is today. When something was ripe and ready you could have it then, not the whole year round.
The shelving and colours used to fascinate me, but not as much as the horse that was pulling it. I’ve always been fanatical about horses, especially when I was young. I had scrapbooks full of pictures of them that I’d cut out from various places. So, naturally, I made a beeline for the shire horse to give him a stroke. This was to be met by the owner, Mr. Hammond, yelling at me to stop. Every time that happened and every time I got told off, but there was no stopping me in my quest to be with a horse.
I used to beg my mum to let me have a horse and keep it in the garden shed. Can you imagine that? But it seemed sensible to me. Needless to say, I had to make do with my scrapbook.
Riding Lessons – or maybe not…
Jane and Kevin knew about my wanting to ride horses and one Christmas bought me some riding school lessons. It was fantastic – apart from the fact that I was approaching my sixties and already too arthritic. Sadly I couldn’t use them so I gave them to Jane and Kevin.
They ended up going for the about a year. Sadly, in the end, with Kevin’s shifts making it difficult to go and Jane suffering aches and pains they stopped going. But they didn’t half look handsome with their riding gear on, boots and all. But how I wished it was me going! I would have ended up looking like a bowlegged idiot if I’d gone, so best not to go, don’t you think. I still love horses, animals, and my dogs are my passion. Well, we all have to have one don’t we!
Away from my digression and back to the delivery people. For many it was a lifeline to have someone come round, selling this, that and the other. We had delivery vans bringing bakery products and bread and naughty sweet cakes etc. I mostly remember my horse and cart obviously, but all sorts of people would come around selling things.
Door-to-Door Betterware
There was also the Betterware man who used to come with his heavy suitcase full of things that you ‘needed’, even though you didn’t really.
My mum usually bought something, and he always gave me a miniature tin of shoe polish. To this day it seemed a bit of an odd thing to give to a child. I used to wonder how on earth he lugged his great heavy leather suitcase from door-to-door as it must have weighed a ton, poor thing.
That’s what they did though. There was no going on a computer and having things delivered to the door. It was a service that helped many people who for one reason or another couldn’t carry heavy shopping or whatever.
Right up to her dying my mum used to like to buy things from the Betterware book. Apparently the company was founded in 1928 and went into administration in 2018.
Ghosts of the Past
I can look back with fond memories at all the ghosts from the past.
Before I forget, my dad always sent me out to follow my horse with the cart with a bucket and shovel. It was my job to get the manure to put on his garden. You see, even then people were recycling!
Some other things to look at –
While you’re here…
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