I have ironed tea towels and handkerchiefs this Saturday morning - as you do. When I look at some of the former, they bring back memories - for most were purchased by Yvonne or were given to her as presents - although I have bought some replacements over the last four years as well.Standard s have to be maintained.
One tea towel marks the London Olympics - 29th July to 14th August 1948. I would guess that this was not purchased in 1948, for neither Yvonne nor I were into tea towels in that year as we were both 15. Oddly, I recall nothing whatsoever about the 1948 Olympics.
I was at Leyton County HIgh School, rode two buses each way from home, stuttered very badly, but sang in St. Peter's Church Choir (where, on a good Saturday, we would have three weddings at five shillings a time and ten bob if I was to sing a solo - 'I'll walk beside you' and 'Count your blessings' were my sole repertoire. Yes, I could sing, but not speak as speech therapists were not doing business in Ilford at the time).
We had a wireless set (forerunner of radio), but television had not restarted after the war - well, if it had we did not have a TV set in my home in Church Road until 1951 when my father purchased one for £60 - 10% of his annual salary I learned much later. We had the news reels at the cinema - but we did not go there every week - perhaps once a month if we were lucky. The Daily Mirror was the newspaper of choice in my house - I started to read the News Chronicle at about this time - but only once a week when there was a good cycling column for I was a keen cyclist list, Youth Hostelling alone around Essex and Suffolk - and even venturing via the Woolwich Ferry into Kent. I moved up to THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN on leaving school at 16 in 1949 - now THE GUARDIAN.
But the 1948 Olympics seem to have passed me by for I do not have a single memory of the event.
Other tea towels have stories behind them too - but they will have to wait for another time for I cannot sit about here on a Saturday morning when there are jobs to be done!
I would add that the office carpet is now revealed in all its glory for I have shredded some dozen or so black sacks of old papers over the past three weeks. This is in accordance with my New Year Resolution (at the behest of Heather) to clear my office of old papers. There is still much to be done, but I have made a start. Some papers - like the tea towels - brought back memories, most of which were happy ones. I found the FOG INDEX records - described as "a method of ascertaining the level of readability of a manuscript". No way would that be shredded - indeed I am taking a set of papers to my friend Paul when we meet later today at the theatre. I have a few sets of the papers if you are interested. They are slightly brown on the edges and the paper is brittle but that comes with age. For the papers are dated 1973 when I was General Editor, The Scout Association, and Editor of SCOUTING, the national magazine. Happy Days!
