A bargain ……..the mystery machine …. and aunty Edna’s flying ducks

So, I am back at that emporium of forgotten things which graced my growing up. *

A snip at £35 and the headless mannequin, 2023

Some are instantly recognizable as the everyday items which were the backdrop to our houses in Eltham and Peckham.

A jug for every month and a bit more, 2023

Many were just the essentials of how we lived in the middle decades of the last century.  

The odd shaped glass container, Utility chairs, some battered spoons, an equally battered Hurricane lamp all of which competed with a clutch of dog-eared knitting patterns.

And amongst the array of toby jugs was the one mother acquired somewhere, although our Elizabeth has no memory of it and with the passage of time, I have no idea where it ended up.

That said I couldn’t find any flying ducks, well not the ones we had.  

Mother with a keen eye to all things modern picked up three stylish examples in green and gold which were an artistic and contemporary take on the conventional ones.  

Like many of the things we had they were chipped and looked tired but that just added to the sense that they were ours and despite the chips were treasured statements of taste.

I guess part of the attraction of wandering through the avenues of old stuff are the memories they evoke, and a reminder of just how different things were in the past, a landscape which our kids would just not recognise.

Like the hurricane lamps which on very cold nights dad would light and place in the roof space to keep the temperature from dropping below freezing and thereby protect the water pipes.

State of art, 2023

Or the ribbed metal wash boards which mum and Nana used to rub the clothes after soaking them before putting them in the top loading washing machine which was so basic it had to be filled and emptied manually couldn’t spin and just about heated the water up.

I was too young to use the wash board as a musical instrument, but I knew someone who did.

He, and I suspect my parents would be shocked at the prices these objects now command and would only vaguely comprehend how what was a utilitarian and essential item has been elevated to something displayed in a prominent place to be admired.

Having said that our old Singer sewing machine sits in the study performing the same function.

The mystery thing, 2023

Leaving me just to ponder on one highly priced instrument I came across.  It looks scientific but that is the extent of my knowledge, but someone will know.

And may also offer up a comment on the painting priced at £35 and the equally attractive Speedo mannequin which once would have sported a daring and fashionable swimsuit.

Comments should be sent on a vintage picture postcard, or made via a Bakelite telephone to the Cho exchange, taking care that on Sunday’s the party line is heaving use by our neighbour.

Location; Vintage Emporium, Pear Mill, Stockport

Pictures; History at treble the price ……. 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*History at treble the price …….https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2024/01/history-at-treble-price.html