Things I Remember!

[lindylou]

The ''any old iron'' men still used to walk around the back entries looking for scrap until 1970s , maybe early 80s.
Or they would have a truck parked in the street and they would knock on doors asking for any old appliances like broken washing machines or old cookers.
You don't see this happening these days.

[Cadfael]

Hi Cadfael

What I remember growing up in Mossley Hill in the 1950's and 1960's was his cry "Any old iron!" more than him crying out about "rags" or "bones" or anything else.

Chris

I can hear that voice now! Although we used to call him the Rag n Bone man and the name stuck, he really was after 'any old iron' like you say.

He said it in the way that you knew what he meant, but you had to be told what he was actually saying as a young 'un!

Imagine someone getting an old cart and dressing up doing that again - it would be a story for Slemen

[Kolchak]

I seem to remember one in Old Swan, by Rock Grove in the early Seventies, I was only a toddler at the time, but I'm sure my old dear used to give me a carrot for the donkey or pony that pulled his cart.

I also remember an old boy called 'Tex' who used to ride his horse onto the scrap of grassland at the upper end of Goschen and Bibbey (I think) streets.

The guy would dress as a cowboy, and us kids would rush to feed his horse with carrots, he was a very popular visitor for us kids.

[drone_pilot]

During the late 50's early 60's i was growing up in twickenham drive on the Leasowe Estate, and some of the "Characters" i remember are the rag 'n' bone man with his horse, the coal man selling coal by the Cwt, and the noise it made as he dumped it down the coal hole, the clink of the empty bottles as the milk man delivered at 0530, hideing from the council rent man "come out i know your there","LOL".

The one who always facinated me was the knife sharpener
who had a bike which he sat on and pedalled which drove a belt from his
back wheel to the front of the bike which turned his grindstone.

All the kids use to sit around and watch this guy at work all the sparks, great just like bonnie night.

used to lay awake listining for me old man, getting in from the pub the oyster catcher, normaly around midnight, he was barman there.

in summer our gang used to go swimming in the river mersey, or in the river birket,(boy did we live dangerously then), or we'd walk to bidston hill/new brighton, used to leave around 9am haveing packed a 3 course lunchion doorstep sarnie, slice of home made cake and an apple, a bottle of corpie pop (tap water) we were off for a full days exploration, often getting back around 6/7 at night.

O' for those days again.

sweets i remember

Black jacks
penny joe's
sherbet dabs
Licorice whips
Flying saucers
penny shrimps
gob stoppers (that would last all day)
Wigwams? (full of aniseed balls)