This morning my daughter gave me a paperback to look through. It was 'Nairn's London' written by Ian Nairn an architectural journalist. It's your era mum 1966. I have thumbed through the photographs and photographed the ancient Penguin book, with those telltale Penguin signs of yellow browning pages. What struck me first was the price 8/6, proffer a ten shilling note and you will get back one shilling and 6 pennies.
So London as it was in the 1966, I was probably working there at the time, off Goodge street, working for Mr.Woolf in his little kingdom of businesses. I ran his hub from my small office, plug in phones to the solicitor upstairs and 'The Dependabl Relay Company' downstairs. Doing the accounts on a primitive machine and chatting to my friends Mary and Jill who worked round the corner at Rimini's dress shop, also part of our empire! Not forgetting the people who rented rooms in our large building. I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of times then. I multi-tasked beautifully!
Now two of my grandchildren are taking that journey through London and life, and a third one when she has completed her 6th form at Rochdale College, will probably also make her way up to see if the streets are really paved in gold.....
The coinage made me think of the pennies and small silver that accumulates on the shelf, what to do with them, they are really and truly becoming superfluous to our needs. In this household everyone just flashes their phones at hand held receivers in shops, etc.
And just for the record, a rerecorded video (filmed in 1980) of three Irish brothers, two of whom weave and the third grows the food and tends to the housekeeping. There must be a story in there somehow!
Not 6 pennies, sixpence.
ReplyDeleteOr two threepenny bits....
DeleteMy interest was grabbed by "Mile End" on the front of the pictured bus; I was at college there in 1970. I thought I'd see if the book was available online and, yes, it is. Only £8.85 - that's you give them a £10 note.....
ReplyDeleteIt still has good reviews, probably more detailed than a Pevesner and well written. Lululand is in Bushey, intriguing name. Would that £10 note be the equivalent of the ten shilling note I wonder?
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your last question - hopefully it is and hopefully it is not going to be long and drawn out. It is hoped that at last he will do the decent thing as he should have done months ago and resign now.
ReplyDeleteWell I think doing the decent thing has passed him by. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves and then comes back again. But it is a start, well done the man who called him out as a liar.
DeleteI was captivated by the film. The weavers received their new warp from the mill, but tied it to the old warp to continue weaving, just as I do. They had fly shuttles, which I could use for plain weave, but I could never treadle fast enough to keep the pattern correct at the speed they wove the twills.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it Joanne, there seems to be a whole series of 'Hands', I watched the making of a spinning wheel as well. The Irish life seemed idyllic in a primitive way, the two weavers very serious in their hard work.
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