Whatever Happened to……

Posted on by Judy E Martin

Today, I thought it would be fun to have a bit of a reminisce about some of the things I grew up with but are not so common or popular anymore. TJ’s Haiku Challenge from yesterday sparked off a conversation between myself and La Sabrosona, which has now inspired me to write this post.

So let’s take a trip down memory lane (some of you might still have these, and some are even coming back into fashion), and pay our respects to….

The knitted egg cosy:

Image: www.papastour.com
Image: http://www.papastour.com

Now when I was young, we very often had a boiled egg and soldiers for breakfast, and the cosy was just the thing to keep the egg warm if you were not quite ready to eat it!

The lovely loo roll cover

http://www.downsizer.net
http://www.downsizer.net

Don’t you just love these? The little dollies dressed in all their finery, in order that you and God forbid, your guests do not have to look at the indecency that is toilet roll!

Doily

Image: Wikimedia
Image: Wikimedia

Oh, how my nan loved these (my mum is quite partial to a doily as well)!  They were scattered all over the place but lived mainly on tables, to act as a kind of coaster, or on sideboards, where ornaments were placed on top of them.

The chair and settee covers

http://i.ebayimg.com/
http://i.ebayimg.com/

These were a real pain. As soon as you sat down on the settee, you normally had one fall off and flop right over your head. The arm covers (my mum had the ones that actually slipped over the whole arm of the chair or sofa) would also fall off, every time you brushed past them. We had linen ones, and I hated them as I used to do all the ironing when I was young, and these were a bloody nightmare to get creases out of!

The drinks cabinet

http://modculture.typepad.com
http://modculture.typepad.com

Everyone seemed to have one of these. Just an ordinary looking sideboard, but when you pulled down one of the cupboards, lo and behold, you had a mini bar! Not only that the ledge served as a little table from which the drinks could be mixed and poured!

Soda Stream.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

I loved it when we got one of these. Me and my siblings made loads of them just so we could press the button at the top which ‘fizzed’ up the drink!

The twirly ashtray.

http://www.caprishop.ch/images/standing_chrome_spinning_ashtray.jpg
http://www.caprishop.ch/images/standing_chrome_spinning_ashtray.jpg

Again my nan had one of these. and I was fascinated by it. Once the cigarette was stubbed out, and the button pushed, it would disappear just like magic!

I have realised, whilst looking for some pictures, that most of this stuff has become popular again!

71 thoughts on “Whatever Happened to……”

  2. I remember those toilet paper dolls and I still have my parents liquor cabinet ala the 60s…
    I have so many doilies that my grandma made and many of them are still out and around on top of end tables and even one on top of the microwave!!
    Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

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  5. Judy you cracked me up with the knitted egg cosy! I had never seen these––little hats for boiled eggs. My mom loved doilies too. She still does. 😉 I love the drinks cabinet and I think they’re coming back. Fun post! 😀

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  7. We had the lot 😀 This included a great ashtray to play with – it was weighted at the bottom and rounded; which meant it could never be knocked over – but it could be pushed over and batted back and forth; at least until my Mum caught me. I still have an ornamental cigarette dispenser. It’s a wooden box, and when you open the lid, a blackbird pops up with a cigarette in its beak! How cool is that 🙂 Gawd I hated those loo roll dollies – I was given one when my Great auntie Margaret died.

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    1. Ha Ha! I love the sound of that ashtray, but even more so the cigarette dispenser!
      Those poor loo roll dollies are not very popular with anyone! It was such fun writing that post and getting everyone else’s memories 🙂

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  8. I tried buying a tea cosy last week and could not find one anywhere. I remember how my nan would knit them and how popular they were. I also remember the radiogram we had and how I had to clear the fluff off the stylus every now and again to stop the record jumping. We also had great fun putting records that run on 33rpm on to 45rpm so that it sounded like Pinky and Perky were singing the song. I won’t mention records that ran on 78rpm as that really would be showing my age!

    Great memories, Judy.

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    1. Ha! I remember the fluffy stylus as well Hugh! I have always been heavy handy and the cause of any a scratched record plonking the stylus down in the wrong place, I also sat on my sister’s new Ian Dury Record, ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ and broke it in half! Good memories indeed!!! 🙂

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  9. Egg cosies! Now there’s a memory. And those bloody chair cover things. Antemacassars! Thought I’d never see them again. My gran had a set for ‘best’ that formed part of her wedding trousseau or something and my brother began to unpick one one day. Whew! First time I’ve seen a human being split the atom! We didn’t touch them again.

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    1. Ha Ha! Thanks so much for giving me the word I was looking for, antimacassar, I knew they had a special name but could not think of it. Nobody in their right might would mess with their gran’s ornamentals
      🙂

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  10. Never had an egg cozy….but those t.p. cover dolls never made it out of my daughter’s room. The crafter used Barbie doll heads ! ☺ I still use lace doilies, mostly crocheted pieces handed down from grandparents. 💕 Nice post, Judy.

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  12. Ah, ah, I didn’t know about the egg or toilet paper cozy. But the diolies ..they were a pain. The drink cabinet is kinda cool. I would love to have one of those today. Nice trip to back in time:)

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  14. Ah, the drinks cabinet – we gave one away that belonged to my aunt – not that long ago!. And the chair covers – my mother in law always used these. We once bought some for her and she refused them because they weren’t Irish linen. And you’re right – they did always flop onto you’re head. Apparently the ones on the back were for when men always used Brylcreme . Ugh – the thought of slimy Brylcreme!!

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    1. Oh YUCK! What a stomach churner, greasy, slimy Brylcreem! I think your mother-in-law must be from the same stock as my nan, as she was fussy about the covers and doilies all being the right type!

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  19. When my husband and I moved into our first apartment we even had such a drink cabinet. I love the idea of the toilet paper covers. And we still have such egg warmers… because I am always late on Sunday mornings when my husband is in charge for breakfast… lol

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  20. I love this post! So much nostalgia and, as you say, what happened to them? I am definitely going with “Tea Cosy” for next week’s challenge as I have a truly amazing cosy to share. Thanks for the blasts from the past. 🙂

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      3. I have in my possession a book called “Best In Show, Knit Your Own Cat”. This is a truly horrifying book which shows just how dangerous too much spare time can be. 🙂

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