Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[Statto]

Does anyone remember those burgers in a tin in onion gravy, i remember them years ago & they were rank, the gravy (more brown splodge than gravy) & was an odd colour, that looked like someone had diarrhea, those burgers were that awful they make Rustlers burgers look like Michelin star burgers, not sure if they still make them, Westlers were/are the ones that made them.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Does anyone remember those burgers in a tin in onion gravy, i remember them years ago & they were rank, the gravy (more brown splodge than gravy) & was an odd colour, that looked like someone had diarrhea, those burgers were that awful they make Rustlers burgers look like Michelin star burgers, not sure if they still make them, Westlers were/are the ones that made them.

Gosh, that brings back an unpleasant memory. I bought them on a whim from B&M once, as they were something ridiculous like a pound, and that should have been a warning sign because they were absolutely vile. The patty consistency was more like jellied cat food and, as you say, the gravy had a very faecal nature to it. The tins had the tagline 'mums choice'. If my mum chose them, I'd be calling Childline.

From a cursory Google search, it looks like Westlers became part of the Dutch Zwanenberg food consortium with the Westlers brand now focusing entirely on selling hot dogs to the foodservice industry. The burgers are technically part of the Big Kitchen brand, with Westlers remaining on the tins for brand familiarity, I guess. Apparently Asda still sell them and they have 3.8/5 on the review section, which boggles belief!

 

[philthetube]

I

But today you're more likely to be told you're "number 66 in the queue". But of course "You're call is valued to us but we are experiencing exceptionally high call volumes" or "Our phonelines are busier than normal—sorry if you're waiting to get through."

i wish they would all give a number, at least you can guestimate your waiting time and start other things while listening.

 

[gg1]

Does anyone remember those burgers in a tin in onion gravy, i remember them years ago & they were rank, the gravy (more brown splodge than gravy) & was an odd colour, that looked like someone had diarrhea, those burgers were that awful they make Rustlers burgers look like Michelin star burgers, not sure if they still make them, Westlers were/are the ones that made them.

Bought a tin once and regretted it. There used to be a few tiny hot dog/burger stalls (essentially a hand cart staffed by one man) dotted around the centre of Brum where the burgers were cooked in the same brine as the hotdogs, they tasted nicer than they sounded. I was expecting the tinned ones to be something similar.

The stalls themselves would probably fit in this thread, I think they disappeared about 20 years ago.

 

[jfollows]

I

i wish they would all give a number, at least you can guestimate your waiting time and start other things while listening.

I agree.
I remember the days you could ring up the Inland Revenue (as was), get an immediate connection and be able to ask for information.
Last time I rang I was on hold, of course, told a lot of waffle I already knew, and was promised the one thing I called about would be done. It wasn’t. Fortunately it only took one further letter.

 

[contrex]

Does anyone remember those burgers in a tin in onion gravy, i remember them years ago & they were rank, the gravy (more brown splodge than gravy) & was an odd colour, that looked like someone had diarrhea, those burgers were that awful they make Rustlers burgers look like Michelin star burgers, not sure if they still make them, Westlers were/are the ones that made them.

I liked Westler's, the stalls in Tommy Benson's funfair in Brockwell Park used them each year when I was a lad in the 1960s. You can still get something like them from shops like Home Bargains and they used to be £1.50 a tin of 4 in Tesco until not so long ago. I just looked, they are £1.89 in B&M, or £2.09 in Asda.



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As a child I remember the kettle had a circular plug with an extra pin that if the kettle was switched on with insufficient water, this pin would eject the lead, causing a problem if there were cups in the way.

Our Swan kettle was like that, the pin was attached to a spring which was held back by a blob of solder. If the solder melted it would let the spring go. I'm not sure if the element would have been repairable.

 

[Killingworth]

I liked Westler's, the stalls in Tommy Benson's funfair in Brockwell Park used them each year when I was a lad in the 1960s. You can still get something like them from shops like Home Bargains and they used to be £1.50 a tin of 4 in Tesco until not so long ago. I just looked, they are £1.89 in B&M, or £2.09 in Asda.

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Our Swan kettle was like that, the pin was attached to a spring which was held back by a blob of solder. If the solder melted it would let the spring go. I'm not sure if the element would have been repairable.

Replaceable, not repairable. I seem to recall oures being replaced by my father.

 

[PeterC]

I hope this hasn't been mentioned in the previous 128 pages but a comment in another thread reminded me that there used to be separate local and trunk (long distance) pricing for phone calls. I remember my mother waiting for the evening cheap rate before calling her sister in Wales

She never got the hang of a single national calling rate and, as she got older, was convinced that unsolicited calls had to be from local people who knew both her number and address from the phone book so was always polite to them.

 

[Western Lord]

Mention of Westler's reminds me of cinema hot dogs, which I never bought having once gone "behind the scenes" and seen what went on.
The cinema-going experience 60 or 70 years ago would seem absurd to today's audience. You queued up (probably in the rain), a doorman would let you in when seats were available to buy your automaticket (only valid for immediate admission) from the lady cashier in the pay box (it was always a lady). You then entered the auditorium (there was only one) and an usherette would direct you to a vacant seat with her torch. You would then watch the second half of the B movie, then the main feature, then the adverts and trailers, then Look at Life (if it was a Rank cinema) or Pathe News (if it was an ABC cinema), then the first half of the B movie until you said "this is where we came in", got up and left.

 

[pdq]

Maybe not totally anachronistic yet, but I'm sure will be soon - roadside bill boards that have actual posters pasted up rather than electronic screens.

And in a similar vein, places like Piccadilly Circus with it's building sized ads being somewhere novel rather than commonplace.

 

[The exile]

Maybe not totally anachronistic yet, but I'm sure will be soon - roadside bill boards that have actual posters pasted up rather than electronic screens.

And in a similar vein, places like Piccadilly Circus with it's building sized ads being somewhere novel rather than commonplace.

Noticed an interesting psychological effect this morning which I’m sure wouldn’t please the advertisers. One of those electronic screens - facing me as I came down the station footbridge steps. Was busy reading the first display when it changed to an advert for a very worthy charity. However, my feeling towards it were instantly negative because it had stopped me reading the details on the previous screen. Result - one promotion I might have been interested in but can no longer remember what it was for and a charity that has unwittingly irritated me.

 

[Killingworth]

I hope this hasn't been mentioned in the previous 128 pages but a comment in another thread reminded me that there used to be separate local and trunk (long distance) pricing for phone calls. I remember my mother waiting for the evening cheap rate before calling her sister in Wales

She never got the hang of a single national calling rate and, as she got older, was convinced that unsolicited calls had to be from local people who knew both her number and address from the phone book so was always polite to them.

The pips after3 minutes on trunk calls.

In Hull in 1973/4 (the time when we almost had petrol rationing - another story in itself) I had to queue in the hotel where I was staying to get my turn on the coin operated phone to call my wife. Then it might say "all lines from Leeds are engaged"

 

[Trackman]

I liked Westler's, the stalls in Tommy Benson's funfair in Brockwell Park used them each year when I was a lad in the 1960s. You can still get something like them from shops like Home Bargains and they used to be £1.50 a tin of 4 in Tesco until not so long ago. I just looked, they are £1.89 in B&M, or £2.09 in Asda.

I liked Westlers burgers (loosely speaking) too, but again this over 50 years ago. I tried some a few years ago, but they didnt taste the same, think it was the gravy - I'm sure it used to be richer than that.

Mention of Westler's reminds me of cinema hot dogs, which I never bought having once gone "behind the scenes" and seen what went on.

Please tell

​

 

[Ken X]

The pips after3 minutes on trunk calls.

In Hull in 1973/4 (the time when we almost had petrol rationing - another story in itself) I had to queue in the hotel where I was staying to get my turn on the coin operated phone to call my wife. Then it might say "all lines from Leeds are engaged"

This reminds me of an amusing incident when I worked for the MoD many moons ago.

I had occasion to contact my opposite number in the German Military by phone and placed a request with our switchboard operator. After a short delay, he got on the internal phone to me apologising profusely. "I'm terribly sorry sir, Germany is engaged. I'll let you know when I get a line "

Different times

 

[Silent]

Red McDonalds adverts in train stations
Red Dot Matrix bus stop countdown

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Needing to use a wallet and coins

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Folding the buggy to board the bus
Using magnetic strip cards (in fact feel too young for this as oyster came out when I was 9 years old) I must have used it but don't have strong memory of using it.
Going to the shop to top up phone sim or oyster.

 

[weepingwillowb]

Very rare, in my experience, to hear whistling in public now.

 

[Western Lord]

I liked Westlers burgers (loosely speaking) too, but again this over 50 years ago. I tried some a few years ago, but they didnt taste the same, think it was the gravy - I'm sure it used to be richer than that.

Please tell

​

Let's just say that food hygiene standards were not all that we might expect today, fifty years ago.

 

[SargeNpton]

With the rise in cafetieres, home Barista machines and coffee pods: the percolator.

You can still buy them, but it's been years since I saw anybody actually use one.

(edited to correct spelling mistake)

 

[MotCO]

With the rise in cafetieres, home Barista machines and coffee pods: the percolator.

You can still but them, but it's been years since I saw anybody actually use one.

And I give you the soda syphon.

 

[The exile]

How about the.ashtray in the home of non-smokers?

 

[jfollows]

How about the.ashtray in the home of non-smokers?

I’ve got lots, mainly used to prop open doors.

 

[The exile]

I’ve got lots, mainly used to prop open doors.

I’m trying to remember when my parents switched from grudgingly putting up with people smoking in the house to asking people not to. (Mid 1970s, I’d guess)

 

[Killingworth]

Draught excluders and door seals.

In our case it was strips of copper that were fixed into the door frames to create a very strong seal when the door was closed. Over time the constant flexing every time the door was opened or closed caused the strip to split. When the door opened it was like a vacuum was released and all the smoke from the coal fire was suddenly sucked into the room.

There was a hinged wooden contraption at the base of the door that ensured the exclusion was complete.

 

[D6130]

Draught excluders and door seals.

We still use stuffed textile draft excluders both here and in Italy.

 

[gg1]

How about the.ashtray in the home of non-smokers?

Especially the free standing ones mounted on a pedestal.

 

[D6130]

Whilst on the subject of smoking....long plastic cigarette holders.

 

[Silent]

Orange street lights

 

[styles]

Whilst on the subject of smoking....long plastic cigarette holders.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is this?

 

[gg1]

Orange street lights

Still some around but they're rapidly dwindling in number.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is this?

Essentially a long, thin tube (think similar to a solid drinking straw) which you would insert the filter end of a cigarette into one end and inhale through the other end of the tube. I think the idea was to allow ladies of a certain era to smoke without their gloves becoming nicotine stained and smelling excessively of cigarettes