Students bar in the late 60s ..... pint was 11 old pence .... so yep, seven pints was 6s 5d ...plenty left for fish and chips! .... remember the rag and bone man's horse too ....and United Dairies in London still delivering milk in their orange horse drawn covered carts (with rubber tyred artillery wheels and the horse shoes with rubber inserts so as not to disturb their sleeping customers) .... collecting bottles for the deposit and hauling my box-cart loaded with collected newspapers down to the salvage yard for a few coppers ... I feel positively historic now ....thanks a lot!!
K
PS ... used to pass a parked UK Ford Pilot V8 on the way to the salvage yard .... loved it then, love them now (in principle as, in spite of the coveted V8, they're as slow as a very slow thing!)
Oh! ...and bloody gas lights in the street with the two little arms sticking out at the top for the ladder to sit against for maintenance .... been around far too long!!
Your gas light post reminded me of the time I was marched to the police station! The incident, shimmy up the gas light, open window and blow out the pilot. Pull back clock arm to maximum gas and jamb it open with a broken lollipop stick, close window and hide waiting for gas light man with his long stick to arrive on his check round.
His long stick had a hook on one side and a wick in the other, he lit the wick and opened the window with the hook and rotated it 180 degrees and inserted the lit wick to light the pilot.
You could hear the bang 3 streets away, and the glass from the explosion spread yards...... i was only 7 and had no idea how long he would be or that the gas would fill the lamp or indeed how effective it would be as an older boy had told me how to do it.
I was spotted and frog marched to the Police Station for a bollocking and to await my parents arrival. One of the old Sergeants made me a jam sandwich as he could see I was terrified and he couldn’t stop laughing.......
My mother was not amused and I got a right walloping!
BR
Colin
