What are you all up to
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There was a long waiting list for a phone line when we got married in 1966 but we eventually got pushed up the list because Perkins who OH worked for needed to sometimes contact him urgently. We had a party line - that was fun 🙄
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All this GPO talk has has me reminiscing as my dad was a GPO Telephones Engineer and I can still see him beside his A35 Post office Telephones van, brown leather tool bag in hand.
On some occasions I was allowed to go with him to the exchange if he was called in and remember being sat with the ladies who were operating the switchboard and being given a roll of soldering wire with which to make 'shapes & animals'.
When he was an on call engineer for the site at Winter Hill he was given a Land Rover to replace the A35 but, due to its height, would not fit in the garage that was rented for him to use and I can remember him having to dig two 'trenches' so it would fit!
My wife will laugh at how much like my Dad she says I am, something that I am very proud to be, and that's where the camping bug came from after we inherited the family Lamont frame tent, circa 1962ish, and had some great holidays until we had to put it up in the garden to dry and a cat decided to sharpen its claws on the corners and ripped it to shreds!
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Another glorious day, but a bit blowy and chilly if in shade, had 2nd vaccine yesterday and no adverse affects so looking to catch the ferry possibly tomorrow and we will be off, will move van today just to check the mover still working, almost new so not envisaging any problems, and that the wheels still turn
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1.30 am our neighbour's full awning joined all the other great awnings in the sky....so not a peaceful night! Very strong coastal winds.
Talking about telephones we had one very early at home, Dad was involved in their development but I avoided it, they weren't the chatty things we have now it was all very formal often via the operator in the 50s. I didn't have a phone till 1975!
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RUFS :-- PLEASE remember that it takes a couple of weeks for the Vaccine to get up to full working strength, even the second jab - so don't think that you are now 100% safe yet, it is not too long to hang on to the guide lines -- Stay Safe -- Stay with us
Brue Got my first Land line phone in the mid 60s when the Company sent me to do the business on my local RAF Station*** - they needed to disturb my sleep at regular, unwelcome intervals
but it came , and remained, free until I retired in 1995. Charges came as quite a substantial shock !
*** R A F Hack Green as was, now famously signed as the " Secret Bunker " just outside Nantwich
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Millie
It reminds me of when we moved to MK in 1979 it was the devil's own job to get a phone. You got priority if you needed it for business but I couldn't claim that. The nonsense was that all the new estates in MK (probably true of Peterborough as well) had all the cabling installed as part of the building process so only a matter on connection? I know many won't agree but the privatisation of what became BT certainly made them a more customer focused!!!
David
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We had our first telephone in 1972 when the in laws paid for us to have it installed an extra wedding present, and talking about telephones and numbers still can remember our Somerset number but this one here just goes in the grey matter and does not come out ha ha.
Feeling better this morning and again a lovely warm but breezy morning another load of washing to go out.
Have a good weekend folks.
Had the local hare go across the field yesterday at full speed and jump the wall into next field what a sight to see.
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"I know many won't agree but the privatisation of what became BT certainly made them a more customer focused!!!"
Absolutely, David. The changes within the company were sweeping and the customer became king. Not least was the change from territorial working, which was a needless duplication of many things, to a national work specialism based operation. Thousands of people took voluntary redundancy as the business was streamlined. ABM and I are just two of that happy band.
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My dad got a phone in the late 60’s. We lived in Bristol and I don’t remember using the operator, so I suppose it must have been STD at that time. However, when I went to Durness in the Summer of 1972 they were still on the old operator system. To phone my now OH, I had to talk to an operator at Scourie and they put me through to an operator in Glasgow, who finally connected me with Bristol. Then they used to interrupt you to ask if you wanted to put more money in to continue. By the next year 1973 all the phone boxes had been converted to STD.
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We didn’t get a phone at home until the late 1970’s, party line as well. I can however recall writing a daily letter to my beloved in the early 1980’s, when he was away finishing his degree. We received a letter/card a day for a good year or so, always the day after it was posted.
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Margaret's Dad had a lock on the phone in their house
Dad
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Steve,
I assume you are talking about the infamous Scamps Money Boxes aka Button A, Button B horrors there !! It was a regular thing to find some crumpled-up paper bunging up the Returned Money chute, done normally by the yobos to supply a few big old pennies for their chewing gum needs
. Occasionally they got totally blocked so some poor engineer had to unlock and remove the front plate, swivel out the mechanism and remove the coins. Then replace & lock up the mechanism, before calling the operators and asking them to "Listen To xx coins please." inserting the coins and finally giving her your initials to clear your name. Oh yes, the years of fun outside that a couple of City & Guilds passes got me out of
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Much prefer the uses that old phone boxes can be put to now-a-days ! I seem to recall one by a sandy bay in Scotland, carefully cleaned and carpeted with shelves of books for borrowing. Just don't try that in a 20th century town centre .
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Our house (my husband’s Grandfather was living here then) got the phone in 1930. The number - 3X6 - stayed the same until 1968.
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I don't think anyone knew that!!! Shame you are 55 years too late in telling me that as it would have been fun to have tried
David
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Another delight of staying on Club sites before mobile phones was the evening queue for the site phone, obviously too expensive to phone during the day
David
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Yes I forgot it used to be a lower rate, after 6pm I think.
Even better was feeding francs and centimes into the French telephone boxes before they installed the phone card ones. Fortunately they were in use when my son phoned up for his O Level results. That really gobbled up the card, it would have been very difficult to keep up feeding in coins.😂0 -
Lots of old phone boxes are having defibrillator units fitted into them in our town, saw one being revamped just before we went away. Lots in use as tiny libraries in rural villages as well. The old red ones are such an iconic item.
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First phone Mum & Dad had was in 1966 when we moved to Scotland.
We had our first phone in 1980 when we moved to Soest in Germany, before that we were not allowed to have phones in military quarters.
Slow start to the day weather wise but it did turn out nice around lunchtime, lovely blue skies but still a bit of a cold wind.
More jobs around the van and house.
Grandkids came back up the road today, other grandparents did the halfway pick up this time. Off to their house tomorrow morning for brunch (outdoors) with them and the Gkids before they go back to boarding school in the afternoon
their Dad is still in America, Texas. Exercise finished but having to isolate as one in his bubble has tested positive 
he's not a happy bunny as he has now missed seeing his kids before they go back. Won't be able to see them now until Mid June.0 -
Doesn't seem that long since I did that at Clumber Park......
Just about recovered from the final sleepless night in Cornwall, the en route garden visit and the drive home then up early today to fetch the cat and wait for food delivery. OH had to sign more papers for our neighbours on arrival yesterday, another member of their family was there, not seen for a long time, if only they'd topped up the food supply at the same time.
PS We drove past Carnon Downs, no club signs up yet.
Jabs tomorrow...lovely weather, our greenhouse seedlings have survived but everywhere is parched.
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So dry isn’t it Brue😕 We have a low% chance of rain forecast later this week, but it changes daily. Water butts have been empty for weeks, I had to change water in one small pond yesterday it was going cloudy. Bit of choice hand watering just to keep things alive. Hot in day, but temperature plunges at night, daren’t put greenhouse plants out.
Second jab day for Sis and me today.
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Good luck to all those getting their second vaccinations today -- The Better the Day The Better the Deed as the saying goes
. Its as dry as the Sahara desert round here so it'll have to be one watering can full for each bush as well as one for the bird bath today 0 -
A good reminder ABM to fill up bird baths👍 We have them dotted all over (old dustbin lids sunk into ground some of them) getting lots of use😁
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On the subject of campsite phones. On one site I couldn't get a signal on my mobile (early days of mobile phones) and had to use the site phone booth. What surprised me as how expensive it was to make a phone call, particularly the minimum fee!!
Before we had mobile phones BT used to issue a card which you could use to phone your home number. Struggling to remember how they worked but I think you inserted the card into a pay phone and entered a key. They were handy when I was at work and needed to phone Margaret. We also got them for both boys as they use them to phone us if they needed to, particularly useful to Paul when he was at Uni. Anyone remember what they were called?
David
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I don’t remember the phone home cards, David, but I recall being able to purchase prepaid cards for use in payphones equipped with the necessary slots. BT used to send out complimentary ones sometimes, particularly if a customer had been inconvenienced in some way.😄
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Brue, didn't quite sound the haven of peace and quiet you were seeking but the gardens looked inviting.
Ttda, Is that the same Cholmendly that has the small pile in Cheshire?
A day of sorting out things at home before we disappear for a few nights to the Peak District. Mrs WN and myself can fit our clothes for 4 days into a large holdall but MiL has 2 for herself.😂
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Had my second jab yesterday- even though we are away - about an hour away from home - was there bang on the dot at 0900. Very efficient - didn’t feel a thing and even though on anti coagulants, no bruising whatsoever. What a clever lady that wonderful nurse was😀 No reaction today and feeling really good as “Richard Two Jabs”🚖
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