Advertisement
Published: April 13th 2013
Our euros and kunas arrived and they make the holiday seem ever closer. I thought that the go box and the vignette came but the nice post man has taken them away which means a walk up to the post office tomorrow to pick them up. When we got to the post office it turned out it was not the go box but an adapter we had sent for.
We got up early and took Suzy to Ironbridge to meet up with the guy who was going to look at Kathrein and repair her. We found the workshop fairly easily although it was well hidden in the middle of a large trading estate. We met Dave and his wife who walked round Suzy and explained what they were going to do re-assuring us that we would not have to pay a penny. We felt quite re-assured for the first time in a while. A completely different feeling to the way we felt with the company who fitted it and the second company who repaired it. We had little idea of how long the repair work would take and were delighted when we were offered the two free tickets for Blists
Hill and Daves wife offered to take us there in her car. She said that she would text us when the job was finished and come back and pick us up.
The car park when we arrived was fairly empty. The children are still on holiday in Shropshire so there were few children about. The new visitor centre was spick, clean, tidy and very modern. Had we had to pay we would have parted with £12 each as pensioners. So a good saving all in all . And what a day we had. The Victorian village is approached via a display about the history of the Ironbridge area. The idea of the museum is for the visitor to experience life as it was over 100 years ago through the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a recreated Victorian Town. There are others around the country and it would be interesting in particular to visit Beamish. Victorian characters give you a fascinating insight into Victorian life as they go about their daily lives in their cottages, shops and places of work.
Our first stop was the bank where we exchanged our money at Lloyds Bank into pounds, shillings and
pence . The tellers of which there were two told us a little about the money although we remember using it so it we felt quite at home with pennies 6 of them (6d), a handful of half pennies, a silver 3d bit and a couple of six pennies. The exchange rate was apparently set in the 1970's when the museum opened and had not been changed since. I think we knew more about the old money than the tellers did. They explained to American visitors about the ledgers they used and the value of money at the turn of the century compared with today.
Our next stop was to have a look at the Victorian Pharmacy which was full of schoolchildren with a teacher explaining what was going on. The soap bars all prettily coloured looked good enough to eat. We wandered into the bakery where the baker was making bread in the back room. It smelled fabulous and the smell of yeast filled the air. The biscuits and cakes would be ready for 11.15 and I guess that there would be a queue later waiting to buy them.
The butchers shop was full of rabbits, ducks,chickens
and meat hanging from hooks on the ceiling. The only thing missing the sawdust on the floor. This had been removed as it brushed out into the street and the other shops. Shame as it was always fun to kick the sawdust in the butchers shop when we were children.
We commented that there were shops like these even in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The Co-operative stores with the annual dividend known as the divi, the Home and Colonial Stores and Liptons.
We walked down to the local pub which was a bit spit and sawdust with off licence on the side. Again these were seen right up to late 1960's. Places where we went in under age to buy cheap cider.
Then it was time for a bit of quick refreshment and we visited the coffee rooms above the pub and ordered a pot of tea and two tea cakes toasted. A really good pot of tea and the tea cakes came with jam. We were the only couple in there as it was rather early but I thought it would be a lovely place for a 90th birthday party for anyone born anywhere
between 1920 - 1940 . We asked for the bill which according to the waiter was 16 and 3 farthings which confused me greatly. He seemed to be counting old money in 10's rather than 12's so he should have asked us for 1shilling and 4d 3/4.
After the pot of tea we walked down past the mine managers house. A fire blazing in the hearth. The living room cluttered in the Victorian style, Chintz and lace everywhere. Two ladies were sitting in there, one stoking the fire and the other knitting. Books lined the walls, candles in sconces, food in the pantry. They told us about the acid bath used to cure the meat which came from two Staffordshire Spot pigs outside. The two little pigs played in the dirt. They talked about the life of Victorian housewife and how the family sub let one room out to the local doctor for his surgery and one room for a waiting room. The surgery room displayed splints, ledger books and all the instruments of torture the doctor might need for his patients. He was in much demand working as the mine doctor. The garden was ready for vegetables and
chickens clucked in the yard.
The fairground was in town with old fashioned rides although none were open. Perhaps they opened later in the day or later in the season. The only stalls open were one where you could fire corks at tins of sweets on shelves. If the cork knocked off the tin you were allowed to keep it. We were not so lucky as they bounced off the tins. A fun session 1d for 4 corks.
Across the green was the school room which brought back many memories. High windows so that we were not able to daydream and look out of them. Desks and benches which could sit 4 students. Ink wells and grooves to hold the pens. A dunces cap in the corner - perhaps it was that magicians hat that Sions best friend Woolly had told him about. There were two school rooms both with proper black boards all written up with beautiful copper plate handwriting. The school rooms hadn't changed even by the late 50's and 60's . There was so much there to remind both of us of our own school rooms. At 12 the school master in mortar board and
Ironbridge Gorge Museum
In the mine managers cottage gown arrived to take class.
We found outside toilets, Earth closets - Sion found the newspaper that they used. All cut up and placed on a hook ready for use. He has been looking for the cut up newspaper for a while and cannot wait to let Woolly know that he has found it.
What else is at Blists Hills? - carthorses in the stables ready for use . A candle making shop complete with a costumed lady who told us all about the process and dipped candles whilst we watched . She was working on one candle which she planned to dip 100 times. It was a dark room lit with guttering candles and with a smell a reminder of the past again. Paraffin and oil lamps. There were so many memories evoked by the smell , the feel or just through conversation. The only thing missing were the rats that would have eaten the tallow.
OUr next stop the Squatters Cottage- apparently not correctly named. The owners were not strictly squatters but families who worked at the local coalmines. They owner of the mine needed labour but did not have houses to house the miners.
Ironbridge Gorge Museum
Dr Sion in his surgery Instead he offered them a plot a land and allowed them to build a modest house on the plot. The house was theirs to do what they wanted but the land belonged to the mine owner and they only rented it. The family paid a rent to him every year for 60 years and if they paid for all this time then the land became theirs. At times they could not afford the rent and had to pay a pig. They kept two pigs , on a good year if they paid the rent they butchered two pigs for the winter. However , if times were hard they had to give one pig away . The fire was burning in the cottage and the housewife was making rag rugs and gave us a demonstration. We made those as children and it was brilliant to see them again. All made with love and scraps of material but from old clothing.
We seemed to be the only ones down at the quiet end of the 50 acre site and we visited the toll cottage, cramped with a few rooms and not designed for families of 7. A mangle outside,an closet and
complete with Mr and Mrs Toll Keeper . Mrs Tollkeeper was black leading the grate a task we undertook as children. . WE were interested in the costumes and these were made on site. Workers were either there full time paid, seasonal paid or volunteers. I could see myself dressed the same working in one of the houses if I lived closer to the gorge.
Next stop the tin chapel seen in many towns right up to the 1960's. It was painted red with flaking paint on the sheets of tin. Graves outside with iron headstones. A heap of coal ready for use in the old fashioned boiler.
Then on up to the incline which took the tubs from the canal below up the canal above. A real feat of engineering and a bit of a climb..
Other shops included a decorative plasterers and a sweetshop by now full of children buying sherbet daps and bags of old fashioned sweets. A photographers shop with clothes and props in the window ready for families to go in and have a group photograph taken. Many of our families in the Victorian period must have saved their money and paid
for the staged photograph in the study of the photographer. We watched a wonderful young lady who was a blacksmith by trade but was learning how to produce items from copper. They gleamed on the walls and in the display cabinets. Fluted cake tins, gingerbread men cutters.
Dinner was fish and chips from the traditional fish and chip shop. The old range bubbling away. Prettily tiled and the only things on the menu chips on their own 6d fish and chips 1/6 and old fashioned pop. The only thing missing the newspaper to wrap the food in. Fish and chips cooked in beef fat - wonderful smell, taste and memories.
And then it was back to Suzy and Diamond Dave. He had checked the wiring and found again that water had got in the works. It appears that the roof of Suzy leans forward to allow the water off the roof. However it means that the water also had run into Kathrein and the electric cable was sitting in water. Dave had cleaned it and dried it out. He drillied a couple of holes in the front to help the water drain away. He had checked all the
wiring and the fuses and guess what - kathrein worked perfectly every time. We tried it and it came up with the error message so Dave had to climb back up the van to check it all out again. He even tried ringing Roadpro for advice. They had had this trouble before sometimes it was to do with driving off with the dish up and allowing it to go down when the key is put in the ignition. Something we have never done. We have to keep trying it and see how it goes. We will be update the company on Monday and see what happens .
Today we checked the cupboards in Suzy and emptied boxes out checking everything was in place for a month away on holiday. Empty items taken out and replaced. There are now only 10 days to the holiday and we are getting very excited.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.095s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 17; qc: 33; dbt: 0.0536s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Martin Smith
non-member comment
fish & chip shop insurance
Wow great blog, I was looking for something blog like fish restaurent related else on ask but found your site on page 1 so thought I would pay a visit and now have bookmarked. Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way Ill be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon