I was a child in the 60s, we had a coop in our village, i think my mum used to save green shield stamps. We also had a private grocer and the wife used to scrub her floors on her knees daily. Also black and white chequers. As a kid i was allowed to buy a few sweeties once a fortnight and half penny noggins were always good value. Nothing was wasted and people had baskets to carry their shopping home. No single use plastics. Lucy, as always a really good journey through time. 😂
Thank you for coming with me! You must tell me what Penny noggins are! I absolutely love sweeties! I remember when I could stretch a 10p bag for days but probably only get 2 sweets now 😂
Hi Lucy… I’m 72 years of age so you can imagine everything you see there is part of my history being brought up through the 1950/60’s… I share your enthusiasm and love for those times whole heartedly in fact given the chance I would return and do it all again! Woolworths was my favourite store to visit as a child as we could buy a paper bag of “broken biscuits” and the pick n mix sweets shelf was fantastic..! I drove similar buses to that one shown also LT Route masters “ proper London red buses”, also coaches through the 1970/80’s. Like you I get quite upset visiting these wonderful old creations and Museums as they remind me of innocent days in my childhood, please continue to keep the memories alive for others especially children who will never have the fun we had all those years ago, Thankyou for sharing and keep safe. 😊
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I miss Woolworth so much too!!! Didn't the stores just have a particular smell? I loved the pick n mix and looking through all the stationary and records, I know there are similar shops but it's just not the same! I will indeed continue to share, I absolutely love doing it and thank you so much for your support xx
I was born in 1960 so this was bliss. I can remember most of the stuff you showed. We had a co-op store by us and I was taken as a child by my mum and can remember the novelty of being able to pick up your own goods and mum receiving her 'divi'. Our usual grocery shop was called 'Peagrams' and they served you individually. I was fascinated by the bacon/ham slicer that moved silently but in a mesmerising pass to cut the product, it was bright pillar box red with stainless steel. I'm so glad to have found your channel, I too love social history. Particularly all things food and kitchens. Thank you very much for posting - I just subscribed so I can catch your videos in the future.
Thank you so much! I love food too - I've been wanting to make some more videos about food history so please watch this space! I have a particular fascination with school dinners 😅 Thanks so much for sharing your memories, they are so important and I like to think they are a digital reference for years to come!
Another dad memory for me: the carbolic soap in the Co-Op - I could smell it the moment you picked it up 🤣 As a builder it was the only thing that ever got his hands properly clean. My mum hates the fragrance, but it’s so nostalgic to me
One very hot day I ran into the house picked up the dandelion and burdoch bottle taking a swig from the bottle neck as mam wasn't there to tell me off. The mouthful was swallowed before I realise it was brown vinegar. Pat Murphy's shop sold vinegar by the pint into your own container. Never-ever drank from the bottle neck again!
Ahh Lucy I totally get this nostalgia!! I’m an 81 baby and lived with my grandad in a council house when I was little. There was no money for updates to the house so it was an almost timeless mid century house even though it was the 80’s. Things didn’t move on too fast for some of us! These museums still hold familiar memories. My grandma still had a mangle when I was very little. We knew a different time pre 2000’s and I love to go back to the simplicity of it too. Thanks for sharing all that you do!! ❤
TOTALLY agree .. both my grandparents houses sound just like yours! And my childhood home was very similar, my parents were married in the late 70s so all their furniture was "retro" for ages! Some days as much as I love (and am addicted to) the internet I really pine for a time where everything wasn't accessible 24/7 .. you will remember everything being closed on a Wednesday afternoon and Sundays too. My Dad stressing because he had run out of smokes ... if it was a Sunday it was tough luck .. I do miss it! Just real REST!
They had a yellow roll up plastic screen inside the shop windows to stop fading… And most shops had a pull out awning above the display window to shield the hot sun and protect you from the rain…as you perused the merch…
Hi Lucy - you NEVER disappoint with your videos ! OMG, the Army Surplus store - I'd totally forgotten about those. We had one here in High Barnet - North London, and as a school boy in my teens, spent so much time in there, digging around in all the fascinating stuff. I still have some tools purchased from there, and the smell in there too - heaven ! I was born in 1955 and remember all those types of shops - Mum shopped in 'Williams Brothers' and she had a 'divi' card. I remember her counting out all her tokens each month. It really was a lovely era to be living in - everything seemed less hurried but exciting too with the advent of electrical gadgets, but now at almost 70, I feel it is all so different now and everything changes so fast - I can't keep up with it all ! Thanks Lucy, you have again stirred so many memories from my childhood - they really were happy days. Take special care 🙂 X X
You are so welcome! I wish for a calmer time too even being born in 1980s .. I feel like I'm getting old now as I don't understand the slang words and some of the technology. I'm quite happy in my little bubble of remembering a time before mobile phones though! The smell of the army and navy is just lovely isn't it / should have bottled it.
Thanks for sharing Lucy. I haven't been to the Black Country Museum for a long time so I haven't seen the new additions! I remember phone boxes like the one you went inside. They smelt of cigarettes!
That was fascinating, thank you, Lucy. I remember Dandelion and Burdock pop very well. We got it from the Corona regular delivery, and my favourites alternated between that, Cream Soda, and Limeade. Of course they came in glass bottles, which were returned the next time the lorry came round. When I went to the Working Men's Club with my dad, though, I usually had a Vimto!
The orange pop from the Corona man was possibly the best thing I've ever drank - nothing ever tastes the same, I loved the cherryade too .. and my Nan always seemed to have ENDLESS Cream soda!
I so love your videos Lucy. They really are so interesting. I can see you would have been an excellent teacher. I love how the UK values old buildings and things and preserves them. Such a treasure to learn from and thank you for sharing them. Shelley from New Zealand
Hi Shelley! It always amazes me people watch my videos from so far aware. We are super lucky to have such a broad selection of heritage to visit. I think museums are getting more aware they need to preserve it more than ever as younger kids are not as interested anymore at just looking at things in cabinets.
I remember going to an army surplus store with my dad in the 80's here in Ontario Canada. He worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources and required heavy duty items you just couldn't purchase in regular shops. He loved the durability and selection of really top quality clothing and boots. As a kid I was just fascinated with all the stuff you'd never find in any other shops. I loved the smell, touching the fabrics, wondering who wore the items and what stories were attached to each item. When I saw you tearing up, I thought "Oh Lucy, I'd be feeling the exact same way if I were there too." Thank you for sharing these amazing adventures. What a wonderful find 💚
They are brilliant places aren't they? Sometimes you would find someones name and number inside the items - these days you could look them up online but then it was a mystery! Dad LOVED the Canadian parkers - the warmest coat you could get - and very stylish too!
Yes I remember those too! Sometimes they included rank badges as well. Canadian ones are very warm indeed. Sometimes a bit too warm! I love the idea that although we might all be far apart geographically, we can still relate to one another through our similar experiences (and memories too!) ☺️
I was born in 1977 and I completely get how a lot of things in the 80's were still the same as the 60's and 70's. Slower, friendlier times I think. I've just been to watch the iron houses video. Again very nostalgic. My mum used Vim, made our sink shine better than anything nowadays, and my gran could've just taken one of those pinnies off to nip to the shop. Brilliant memories.
I remember VIM so well too! I can almost feel the sensation of it being scoured across the sink as I used to "help" sometimes. Those houses are so wonderful, I feel like they really nailed it - so glad you enjoyed :)
Thank you Lucy ❤ I totally understand your emotions of memories from these times and the feeling of happiness and tears. These places do the same to me! I once went into a retro cafe that opened for a while in our village. You'd have loved it, it was literally a museum inside, I instantly burst into tears because I felt like I was back with my nana. Glen Miller playing, lace table cloths, crystal sugar bowls with cubes and a mixture of original crockery. I saw china from the same set my nana had and I was awash with tears and warmth at the same time. I love your uploads 😊
It's so lovely and wonderful when that happens isn't it? I am so nostalgic and I love anything to do with family ties and memories- that cafe sounds brilliant! It's a shame often little places like that don't last long!
If you're ever in the North East you have to spend a couple of days at Beamish (You can't see it all in a day). I love the 1950's sunglasses, Grandma had a similar pair in the 70's.
Carbolic soap oh lord 😕I remember my grandma having this in her bathroom it was bright pink and stank the place out...... Plus it would kill any thing it came into contact with.... .. They should have made this mandatory during lock down 😂😂😂🔒 great trip down memory lane I'm 72 so I reme.ber our Co op. In our village opening.. Grannie always called it the COOP..... 😂EXAGGERATING THE C OOOOP😂😂😂
Aww thank you for sharing - that's lovely!!!! Believe it or not carbolic was still doing the rounds in school when I was a kid in the 80s... stripped the germs and your skin. Wonderful stuff 😂 I find the smell of it strangely comforting. I think it's the memories x
I was born in the 50’s just as rationing finished. We lived in the tiny workers terraced without bathrooms that were then pulled down in the 60’s. I can absolutely understand why you are drawn to that street! It really was like that, and going to town and shopping on the high street was a day out. Everything was busy and we always stopped for ham egg and chips in the Woolworth cafeteria.
I loved the Woolworths cafe in Birmingham city centre!! I had totally forgotten about it until your comment, BHS had a great cafe too, I used to like sausage, chips, peas and gravy 🤣
Hi Lucy. A Newfie Sub here who lived in Birmingham - Edgbaston. Love love love the Black Country Museum. One of my favourite places. I wish the new street had been opened when I lived there. Thanks for taking me back and on tour. Your videos are wonderful.
Thank you so much! Really kind of you. It's so wonderful isn't it? I never cease to find something amazing every time I visit and it seems to get better and better now they are bringing things up to date a bit.
On Lucy, you have done it again. I loved it all. I have very fond memories of the Co-op, as it was. And Camp coffee. My uncle used to drink that. He's 84 now and drinks tea. What a lovely museum. You bring it to life. I love the old buses. Going back to the Co-op, my family all shipped there and saved with them. Every year, just before Christmas we would go to the big branch that had different departments. It had special open evenings. My first Sindy doll came from the Co-op. I love these trips down memory lane.😊
Omg you just brought back such a strong memory to me of the coop department store in Shirley, I hadn't thought about that for years and years! We also used to go at Christmas! ❤️
My dad always wore a woollen donkey jacket with the toggles. In 1949 I lived in Reading with a foster mother, Aunty May, who came from Yorkshire. My foster sister and I were not allowed to shop anywhere but ‘Co-op’ otherwise you didn't get ‘Divi’. Times were still very hard and it made all the difference. We were always made to buy the cheaper Co-op own foods which we hated as kids. The bake beans were horrid compared to branded ones. The shop we used was still the one where you were served and you had to queue up at different counters for different goods. We were sent every Saturday mornings after doing our cleaning chores to get the weeks shopping. After that we got our 6 pence pocket money but out of that 1d was for Sunday school and another 1d was for church. The rest we could spend on ourselves. Oh heavens, I could go on writing all day. I remember the goods in your video but not a self serve, never saw one of those, not a Co-op, until the 1960s.
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, I enjoyed it so much, I am laughing about the baked beans because there were baked bean battles in our house brand vs the cheap ones!!! It must have taken ages to do your shopping that way, no one has any patience these days, I would love to see people try it now ..
@@malcolmhenderson3866I think donkey jackets had fake leather at the shoulders and men wore them mainly for work. A duffle coat was a bit more dressy if you like and available in grey, fawn and navy. Donkey jackets were mainly navy.
@@throughlucyslens i Hi Lucy, yes, really loved my visit, especially the high st co op, and post office, bought so many memories back. Yes, you were right too, those choc bars were bigger,wasnt they? and so much variety too,with the Cadbury s filled bars, wish they would bring them back.,that would be wonderful wouldn't it ? Thanks again Lucy and take care. 😊
Army surplus store brought back a teenage memory, I bought clothes and a canvas bag, cheap and sturdy. Grocery store, I miss how so many things came in reusable glass jars and drinking glasses. Aspirin bottle was glass with a metal cap. There was far less variety of food and over the counter drugs. And our drug store had a vacuum tube tester, sold replacement tubes for radios and TVs.
As a "Greebo" as I was (someone who loved Nivana and Grunge music) you just HAD to have a canvas bag from the A&N to mark you out as one of the tribe! haha. I remember the little glass bottles of pills, stuffed with a little piece of cotton wool to keep the pills from rattling around - that just sparked a really physical memory for me, the feel of the bottle and everything! Little pink pills.
I don't know if things have different names in the Midlands, but down here a donkey jacket is a short black jacket with PVC panels on the shoulders front and back. What you're holding is a parka.
Thank you, you're so kind! You will absolutely love it there. Pencil in plenty of time and if you can do two days it's free returns for a year with your ticket x
First of all you are amazing , I love your passion and the research you do to make this videos simply brilliant. I remember going on the D9 bus to school every day and have fond memories of sitting at the back opposite the door with the lights on inside. It was freezing cold but yet a very warm memory travelling from Dudley to Stourbridge Thank you. Oh and I’m glad we got to see the old telephone in the box. X
Hey Mickey, nice to meet you. Thanks so much for sharing your memories! I used to catch the number 9 from Birmingham City Centre to Halesowen to meet my now husband! I wonder if that was the route the D9 became? I always try and show little details when I can. It's those bits I love to see :)
@@throughlucyslens D9 is the bus Model number. They had a D7 in some parts of Dudley they looked the same but had no doors that closed at the back. Bus 9 still goes on that same old route I think. Not many bus route numbers remain now. Well the 74 Dudley Birmingham via West Brom is the same and I can remember getting that bus with mum when I was 7. Back in 1971. They were freezing cold in the winter but great memories though. X
Oh Lucy, what a treat to wake up to this on this Monday morning. What an incredible place, I want to be there now!! You bring it so much to life. I remember the Army and Navy stores and know what you mean about wanting to have some clothes now. So lovely that you had such wonderful memories of your dad. I’m sure he was there with you enjoying your experience. Loved the clothes shop too and remember making a blouse like the one in the window. I love the coop delivery vehicle. Would love one of those. Great to wander round the coop and I still remember our number. Ugh to the toilet paper but always loved the smell of the carbolic soap. Can still bring to mind the taste of the camp coffee too. Absolutely loved the iron house too and can remember lots of items from my childhood. Well I’ll get on with my lovely Monday now and have a spring in my step after watching this . Love your cat tattoo too. Thanks for being you Lucy you are an inspiration
Hope you had a lovely Monday! I am just in from work and reading your lovely comment. I hope Dad was with me! My Mom still LOVES Camp coffee - I can't quite get my head around the taste, I think it's maybe something you had to have in the past to like it. I also LOVE the smell of carbolic soap! Even though it used to strip my skin at school!
Yet again a very interesting tour accompanied by our lovely and authentic tour guide Lucy. 🤗 I've always known self service but I remember my Mum telling us of the time they went to the World Expo in Brussels in '58. My Gran and her sister always made a picknick for their family outings. This one day at the Expo they saw, for the first time in their life, a self service restaurant of Marie Thumas (a company that produced canned vegetables). They were in dubio and finally tossed a coin to decide whether they would eat their picknick or a cup of canned soup at Marie Thumas.
@@throughlucyslens no, the canned soup won. The picknick would probably have been better foodwise but didn't give the exiting adventure of sliding a tray around a self service restaurant. 😂
Born and brought up in Birmingham, i remember rationing. I was so proud at age 6 to get a new, blue upgraded ration book! I now live in South Africa and your wonderful videos bring back many many memories of my Birmingham childhood. I just love them! Anything about Harborne? I remember it so well. My mother's favourite dress shop (the window mannequins scared me) and the horse trough at the end of the High Street.
I've done a video about the Moorpool estate in Harborne but not the high street itself - I'm there a lot as it's just on the road from me and I'm sure it looks very different now! Let me see if I can get something in. Thanks so much for your lovely kind words xx p
Seeing the notices above the windows inside the bus brought back memories of the sixties for me. I remember all the buses in Leeds having a sign warning people, "No Spitting".
I think it was to stop the spread of TB wasn't it? The signs in Birmingham went a bit further saying "spitting spreads TB" Some of the busses here had them still in the 80s - to be honest though my stomach turns if I see someone spit - my Nan would stop people and tell them they were a dirty so and so ! haha x
Very informative. I've never been to the Black Country Museum but looks very interesting. I don't know if my locel store was a Co-Op but it was part self service and part counter service, and everything has got smaller. Confectionary was next to the couter part so no sneaking off with anything. As for that Army and Navy store, so amazing. I am a child of the seventies but once I was an adult I would buy second hand army coats. I had 4 over the years, including a british parka with lining. Unfotunately you can't get these things anymore. Thanks for bringing back those memories.
@@BYBabbra hi Barbara ,if you like original fishtail Parka’s…try “Red-Equipment” changing robe…..they are the same design as a 60s parka But better…various colours to choose from…youll be as snug as a bug on a Lambretta in one of those..
Excellent video Lucy. I feel the same feelings of nostalgia as you. I was born in 1974 and remember normality. I like your sunglasses. I came to you via the iron houses or the prefabs. Metal is a heat conductor!
My sunglasses were a lucky find! I'm a big fan of a mooch around the charity shops and i found them for 50p! Thanks for being here, I really appreciate it ❤️
Lol jeyes toilet paper one step sideways from newspaper and carbolic soap, loved the smell of it. It was the soap that was used at school. I remember before supermarkets going to the corner shop (lol Arkwright comes to mind but the shopkeeper wasn't like him). Aww Lucy you have done it again. Love the video thanks =-)
I have trauma from that toilet paper .. we had it at school .. I remember Mom packing a little pack of tissues in my school purse because I started to not use the bathroom because of the paper!
What a lovely cadbury's bars in the post office, I'd buy them all If I could😊🤗🤗thanks Lucy for great video👍👍😊😊 and... Sorry to say it again, but...I love your accent and I enjoy it as well every time!😊😊😊
LOVE this! Marvellous video, those museum workers have out-done themselves, wish we had something similar here. A chuckle - a friend said how her daughter had lived in UK for several years where the self-service had started (but not in Oz yet) so when she returned to Oz she was helping herself to the greengrocers goodies whilst her mum was running around after her apologising to the grocer *snort* Love the army store, ours were called Army Disposals, same sort of thing, used to be able to buy all sorts of 1940s goodies like army bicycle lights (yes, got one!) Thank you so much, Lucy, love these videos 💜
You are so welcome, always love reading your comments! It has made me laugh thinking about her running about with the frazzled shopping assistants putting everything back. Hey those army lights are worth a lot now - they get upcycled into fancy lights!
What a great video, Lucy, thanks. Although I’ve visited the museum twice before, the last time must be about 12 years ago so I can see it’s high time I went again! I was born almost 65 years ago. My first home was in the flat above my home town’s first supermarket, which had opened the week before. My Dad was its manager and his Dad had been an Area Manager for the company which opened it - then a National grocery chain. He (my Grandad, born 1900) had started work as a Grocer’s boy during the 1st World War, managing his first shop at 21. My mum used to swear by Oxydol and Lux flakes when doing the laundry so it’s good to see them back on sale in the Co-op!
This is so fantastic ! Thanks so much for sharing, when I was a kid I loved the thought of living above a shop - probably fantasies of sneaking down and stealing the sweets 🤣
Hi Lucy - wow - this amazing episode really brought back some powerful memories for me. Especially when you were in the army surplus shop - omg I was right there with you, and I got a lump in my throat too as you recounted your memories of your dad and both of you enjoying being in such establishments. When I was a boy in South East London I too loved going in our local army surplus shop. It was full of old uniforms, coats, trousers, jumpers, gloves, jackets, berets, belts, helmets, boots, and all types of equipment and surplus military items of all sorts like tents and stoves and water bottles. It was an Alladin's cave. We schoolboys bought our school-bags in there, which were actually old British army issue gas mask shoulder bags, which were strong, being made of canvas and webbing, and held all our books nicely. The shop also had big boxes which were full of mixed badges which had been removed from the uniforms - thousands of them it seemed, and we boys would sort through them - usually on Saturdays - buy the ones we liked, collect them up and swap them back and forth. They sold cloth badges and metal cap badges too, so you could really build a collection up quite cheaply - as they only cost 30 or 40p each at the time. I remember buying a lovely warm parka winter coat in that shop and a sleeping bag for a camping trip. What memories. Thank you, Lucy. I love all your episodes and envy you as you visit these wonderful places. But I loved this episode the best as it touched on so many personal memories from my own experience.
You are so welcome, your comment has really touched me - the badges sound amazing!! If I see a box of badges in a vintage shop or car boot I have to look through every single one! My school bag was a canvas satchel from the army & navy too! Perfect for books and lasted forever!
I haven’t been to the Black Country Museum for 20 years. Also loved Beamish. And iron bridge Gorge Blists Hill (?). On holidays to the U.K. I’m a former Brit now living in Australia. We have a similar place here set up as a colonial gold rush village called Sovereign Hill.
Gosh it would be a dream come true to visit an Australian equivalent! Maybe one day! I'm going to Beamish for the first time in a few weeks and I am so excited, I've wanted to go since I saw it on Blue Peter as a child! 😅
Thanks Lucy another wonderful video the memories you have stirred brought a few smiles,. I was a fifties baby a sixties kid and a seventies teen eighties a Dad. and even had a hand written divi card. ❤
This is brilliant Lucy - what an amazing experience for people to have going there. Even though I hadn’t been brought up in the UK having had Scottish parents & living in a British colony this brought back memories for me too. That living room gave me strange tingles 😂😂 God Bless & thanks once again 🥰
I worked in a post office in 1990 but it was stuck in the 60s it sold 'foundation garments' from under glass cabinets and a lot were still there when I worked there we also sold wool haberdashery and greetings cards all the post office fixtures were original including the behind counter stuff . I too feel very drawn to the past and identify greatly with your passion and 'good' feeling of nostalgia. I was born in '66 ❤
"Foundation garments" I feel like I can't breathe thinking about them! The village post office was such a brilliant resource for so many wasn't it? Our local one used to sell all sorts - perfect to drag your Mom in when she had the family allowance in her hand 😅
I was often sent to a larger Co-op shop by my mother. When you queued to pay your money and a chit was put into a small metal cylinder that was transported by a vacuum system to the 'office'. Seconds later your receipt and any change due came whooshing back in another container. My favourite shops were those that sold Airfix kits. From 2/- (two bob or 10p) they gave me hours of pleasure. Last time I went to the Black Country museum there was a splendid fully functioning fish and chip shop that was well worth visiting. I wonder if it is still there?
Well done, excellent film, in my 70’s don’t remember self serve until the 1970 at Sainsbury’s. It is emotional we would buy army hats and charge around on bikes, happy days. Learn something new every time I watch your films
I love to hear from you, and your memories! I was born in 1980 and I remember a lot of shops not being self service too, particularly smaller grocers shops, haberdashery and where we used to get our school uniform!
Here in Australia we have a chain of stores called ‘Aussie Disposals’ that still exists (26+ stores) that specialises in military surplus items such as uniforms and equipment as well as outdoor and camping gear. Sounds similar to your Army and Navy type stores.
Thanks for another fascinating video. Looking forward to getting to the BCM one day . . . meanwhile, a memory from me is the “International Store” we had in our town. Tesco had arrived in the late sixties. We had had a Coop since (I think) the 1930s, but the International had started sometime in between. The building represents our changing times. The International represented the start of the supermarket revolution. When the bigger stores moved in, the building in the 1980s became a Curry’s electrical shop with HIFIs, TVs and white goods. When that was swept away with the arrival of the larger out of town stores, the old International became a Cafe Nero, which it still is today. Each iteration of the building reflects the trends of the time, and is a barometer of how things change and nothing stands still.
This is a brilliant insight! Not surprised it's a coffee shop these days! I used to love curry's when you could stand and watch rows and rows of tvs. It used to seem so glamourous!
I had the exact same book on the shelf in the post office, Well Loved Tales, The Elves And The Shoemaker by Ladybird books, I also had many more of the fairy tale books from this this series
Lovely, Lucy. The tunnel of time! I saw a box or Rinso soap on a shelf. We had it here in Argentina in the 50s, 60s, and they sponsored a radio comedy that I loved as a child. Thank you , I appreciate your videos so much
That's brilliant! I am so glad these videos can cross boarders and we can see similarities! I still have adverts playing in my head from when I was a child - the power of advertising!
Welcome and lovely to "meet" you! It's a smashing place isn't it. So interesting you visited in 1969 - that must have been an absolutely massive trip! Did the UK seem old fashioned compared the The States at that time?
I love the Black country museum. Been going since i was 14 and now 58. I try to go every few years, last time i went was just after covid and they were still building the new street. Its due a revisit from me. Thanks.
Enjoy it! I think I've been going for about 30 years, love to see it evolve and get better and better. I love it even more now they are concentrating on the mid 20th century. You will love it when you return x
Great video!!!... My Grandad wore a donkey jacket always..but you pointed to a parker...Donkey jackets were black wool, heavy and warm!!!... he was a Cumbrian so a proper northerner!!!... Im from Nottingham and we had army surplus shops all over the place and was gutted when they started closing down...Was always fun rummaging through them and seeing what you could find!!!...Plus My gGrandad always shopped at Co-Op... Keep up with the excellent vids Duckie...Sending love and best wishes from Nottingham...xxx
Thanks for your lovely comment - I knew as I was editing the video I got donkey jacket wrong but I couldn't work out a way to make it correct! Yes, Dad had the black jacket (like Trigger!) and the parker too. He liked most things from those stores, and you are right it's so sad they are all closing!Soon as I am back on the road there will be more videos to come, promise x
@@throughlucyslens awww thank you for replying to my comment!!!... I'm so sorry I wasn't being mean with what I said... I will say that I absolutely love your videos and seeing all those places... I was born in 76 and agree with what you said about being nostalgic about things because they hadn't changed much in the years before I was born... I personally love 50s and 60s..fashion,music,furniture and also vintage glass with a particular love of oversized brandy glasses, you know the coloured huge ones!!!... I remember when I was 17 buying 1960s dress and jacket sets from charity shops and getting my mum to take the dress up to a shocking length!!!... I've a wardrobe full of vintage clothes!!!... Anyway I've rambled on enough... You take care... Xxx
I work in the community so I am so lucky to still see people coming together and looking out for one another, I do agree you have to look harder these days though!
My Nan used to make us a cup of camp coffee whenever we, her grandchildren stayed over. She'd use one teaspoon of the coffee and made it 50% boiled milk and 50% boiled water. I loved it back then. But as i got older it never tasted the same, and the horrid taste of chicory used to linger on my tongue. I still can't drink coffee to this day. Strictly tea these days. But very fond memories of my dear old nan. Her sitting room was very similar to the oone in the iron house in your video. Another woderful video Lucy. Thank you.😊
Thank you! My Mom taught me how to make camp coffee - in the same way you describe, she still loves it. I've never been able to like it myself.. like you it's tea, I am tea mad! I drink far too much 🤣
Another great video Lucy! Looks like a lot has happened to the Black Country Museum since I was last there. I really miss there being a co-op on every High Street. In the north east the co-op was always more expensive than the other shops but had fantastic quality food. When I lived in London I found the prices competitive. Different policies I suppose. Many thanks for taking me on another one of your lovely days out.
Thank you for coming with me! There is a coop really close my house and I use it occasionally - like you say it's "expensive" but I don't mind shopping there when I need to because they still share the same ethical values, it's quite a big store and I'm always shocked it survives as there is also an Aldi within walking distance - quality I suspect like you say.
Another absorbing adventure, Lucy; thank you! Hubby Geoff was particularly interested that you featured Langer's stores in Enville Street, Stourbridge (I think you called it 'Enfield Street' in the video). Geoff worked right opposite Langer's from 5 September 1972 until early 1998, at Gwilliam Brothers (Electrical) Limited, which was established in 1933. Sadly, Gwilliams is long since gone, and the shop demolished together with so many other historical buildings in Enville Street. A family named Carr lived in a flat behind Langer's, and next door was Frank Ridsdill Butchers. Behind Ridsdill's was a meat wholesalers called Aston's. Herbert Langer had an extensive camping range, and even had tents set up outside of the shop, to the side and round the back. On the Gwilliams side of the street was an old fashioned ladies hairdressers, Bakers DIY (run by David Baker) and other shops. There was also a tiny little pub called, appropriately, The Cottage. Whether or not that survived the demolition of so much of Enville Street in the first decade of the 21st century we don't know. xxx
This is so lovely to hear from someone who remembers it, I would have loved to have gone in that shop! The army and navy in Harborne used to have tents outside too... my Mom who is from a large family went camping every summer in a huge ex army tent! She said it was great! We still have one of the "cot" beds - very comfortable!
@@throughlucyslens Wow, cot beds! I bet they were made to last. I seem to recall alot of cub and scout groups (maybe guides and brownies too?) had away weekends in those bog exc army tents. x
4:37 😮 omg was literally just gonna comment about still having my surplus fishtail parka from the 80’s (and yes mine too - that camo was the ultimate northern Dad jacket ‘round Yorkshire haha)
Hello Lucy , thank you again for another interesting video, I love visiting living life museums...we were on holiday earlier in the year in Northumberland and we visited " Beamish Museum " oh my it was amazing and I'm sure you would love it, ( one day when time allows ) now on my list is the ... "Black country museum " !! Thank you for showing us all around 👌🏻
You will love it! I cannot tell you how excited I am to visit Beamish - ever since I saw it on Blue Peter as a kid i've been DESPERATE to go! I am going in late September and counting down the days I tell you!
You talk about emotions, well I was in tears seeing the 1965 post office. We had a few in Cambridge that sold toys, sweets and all manner of lovely stuff. You’re also correct about the size of the flakes!
It's wonderful isn't it? They just got it SPOT ON - the post offices by me always sold toys too, we used to be allowed to have a colouring book and some new felt pens - or some fuzzy felt after Mom got the family allowance in the school holidays!
@@throughlucyslens 💘 Fuzzy Felt! I had that too! 😀 I particularly remember the Lucie Attwell books with the beautiful Cupid style illustrations, especially the pixies with the pointy hats 😀
Certainly worth another visit, there is also a maternity home that I haven't been able to feature as there are always lots of children in there playing (as they should be). you will love it!
Oh Lucy, in the Post Office, the very first book I bought, 'The Observers Bool of Horses and Ponies', never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think ! I've always been a Horse lover, it's the closest I got.
That's the one I spotted, too! I lost it years ago but recently picked up another copy from eBay. Looking through the photos really brought back memories. And like you, that was just about the nearest I got to owning a horse. x
Our neighbour had a horse and we thought she was sooo posh! Horses were what other people had. I love all animals, I'm a real animal lover .. and I had the observers book of aeroplanes - I adored it.
A fantastic trip down memory lane. It really shows how much things have changed in a relatively short time. As a child in the 1970s I remember being given money and a note by my grandmother and told to go to the corner shop to pick up her cigarettes. The note was if they questioned it. I was about 6 years old 😂 I can't think that would work for a child now note or no note 😂😂! I also remember our house getting a phone which was about 1978 / 79. Before that if far away family wanted to contact us they either had to write a letter or send a telegram. Thanks for triggering those memories for me after all this time.
I used to go the corner shop with a note to buy my dad's hamlet cigars too 😅... the individually wrapped ones out of the tin. I used to love the drama of the shop keeping unscrewing the lid .. I think it's really important to remember these details and hopefully I'm doing that with these videos and ALSO all the lovely comments that will be here as an amazing resource ❤️
You should go to Ironbridge and their museums hun. Your video is fantastic and that iron house takes me back as some of the furniture reminds me of when I was little. I was born 2 years before yourself and I am a brummie born and bred but my family are all from the West Brom/dudley area and i used to go to the museum loads as a child and I loved every minute of it x
Sorry it’s taken me so long to comment on this lovely, Dolly and me have both been sickly on and off for the last couple of weeks This was such a comfort watch. The army and navy store got me too. Dad used to get most of his work boots from there, and he had the same camo jacket, as did at least 2 of my uncles And oh my, those little aeroplane models! They totally brought back a memory of my grandad making those with us on rainy Saturday afternoons ❤
I hope you are feeling better? I've been working 7 days a week over the summer so I am just on the "come down" now. My Dad would often come home from work with one of those polystyrene planes - with the little plastic propeller - I think they were for him as much as us 😅
Hi Lucy. You mentioned going to an Army and Navy store in Harbourne, Ryders. My Nan lived right by it and you'll be glad to hear it's still very much going.
Thank you, Lucy. I enjoyed both your filming /pacingand your narrative framing so much.
Thank you, really appreciate that feedback :)
I love watching old TV shows when they go into grocery stores or shops. I stare at the shelves the whole time. 😂
Yes! Me too... I have been known to pause on them too 🤣
I was a child in the 60s, we had a coop in our village, i think my mum used to save green shield stamps.
We also had a private grocer and the wife used to scrub her floors on her knees daily. Also black and white chequers.
As a kid i was allowed to buy a few sweeties once a fortnight and half penny noggins were always good value.
Nothing was wasted and people had baskets to carry their shopping home. No single use plastics.
Lucy, as always a really good journey through time. 😂
Thank you for coming with me! You must tell me what Penny noggins are! I absolutely love sweeties! I remember when I could stretch a 10p bag for days but probably only get 2 sweets now 😂
Hi Lucy… I’m 72 years of age so you can imagine everything you see there is part of my history being brought up through the 1950/60’s… I share your enthusiasm and love for those times whole heartedly in fact given the chance I would return and do it all again! Woolworths was my favourite store to visit as a child as we could buy a paper bag of “broken biscuits” and the pick n mix sweets shelf was fantastic..! I drove similar buses to that one shown also LT Route masters “ proper London red buses”, also coaches through the 1970/80’s. Like you I get quite upset visiting these wonderful old creations and Museums as they remind me of innocent days in my childhood, please continue to keep the memories alive for others especially children who will never have the fun we had all those years ago, Thankyou for sharing and keep safe. 😊
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I miss Woolworth so much too!!! Didn't the stores just have a particular smell? I loved the pick n mix and looking through all the stationary and records, I know there are similar shops but it's just not the same! I will indeed continue to share, I absolutely love doing it and thank you so much for your support xx
I was born in 1960 so this was bliss. I can remember most of the stuff you showed. We had a co-op store by us and I was taken as a child by my mum and can remember the novelty of being able to pick up your own goods and mum receiving her 'divi'. Our usual grocery shop was called 'Peagrams' and they served you individually. I was fascinated by the bacon/ham slicer that moved silently but in a mesmerising pass to cut the product, it was bright pillar box red with stainless steel.
I'm so glad to have found your channel, I too love social history. Particularly all things food and kitchens.
Thank you very much for posting - I just subscribed so I can catch your videos in the future.
Thank you so much! I love food too - I've been wanting to make some more videos about food history so please watch this space! I have a particular fascination with school dinners 😅
Thanks so much for sharing your memories, they are so important and I like to think they are a digital reference for years to come!
Another dad memory for me: the carbolic soap in the Co-Op - I could smell it the moment you picked it up 🤣
As a builder it was the only thing that ever got his hands properly clean. My mum hates the fragrance, but it’s so nostalgic to me
Bet he used a lot of swarfiga too? I love the smell of that for the same reason!
One very hot day I ran into the house picked up the dandelion and burdoch bottle taking a swig from the bottle neck as mam wasn't there to tell me off. The mouthful was swallowed before I realise it was brown vinegar. Pat Murphy's shop sold vinegar by the pint into your own container. Never-ever drank from the bottle neck again!
The ladybird books , we had a huge collection they have been handed down and passed around for 50 years ❤
I adore them!! When my nephew was born I made him artwork for the nursery from ladybird books. They were ( and still are) so beautifully illustrated.
Ahh Lucy I totally get this nostalgia!! I’m an 81 baby and lived with my grandad in a council house when I was little. There was no money for updates to the house so it was an almost timeless mid century house even though it was the 80’s. Things didn’t move on too fast for some of us! These museums still hold familiar memories. My grandma still had a mangle when I was very little. We knew a different time pre 2000’s and I love to go back to the simplicity of it too. Thanks for sharing all that you do!! ❤
TOTALLY agree .. both my grandparents houses sound just like yours! And my childhood home was very similar, my parents were married in the late 70s so all their furniture was "retro" for ages! Some days as much as I love (and am addicted to) the internet I really pine for a time where everything wasn't accessible 24/7 .. you will remember everything being closed on a Wednesday afternoon and Sundays too. My Dad stressing because he had run out of smokes ... if it was a Sunday it was tough luck .. I do miss it! Just real REST!
The co- op was fantastic
Isn't it! We are so lucky to have it to visit x
They had a yellow roll up plastic screen inside the shop windows to stop fading…
And most shops had a pull out awning above the display window to shield the hot sun and protect you from the rain…as you perused the merch…
When I moved into my shop it still had the original awning but sadly it had been left to rot and was dangerous and had to come down 🥺
I miss those awnings so much
Did they get ripped off by pantechnicons? Did the manufacturers go out of business?
Hi Lucy - you NEVER disappoint with your videos ! OMG, the Army Surplus store - I'd totally forgotten about those. We had one here in High Barnet - North London, and as a school boy in my teens, spent so much time in there, digging around in all the fascinating stuff. I still have some tools purchased from there, and the smell in there too - heaven ! I was born in 1955 and remember all those types of shops - Mum shopped in 'Williams Brothers' and she had a 'divi' card. I remember her counting out all her tokens each month. It really was a lovely era to be living in - everything seemed less hurried but exciting too with the advent of electrical gadgets,
but now at almost 70, I feel it is all so different now and everything changes so fast - I can't keep up with it all ! Thanks Lucy, you have again stirred so many memories from my childhood - they really were happy days. Take special care 🙂 X X
You are so welcome! I wish for a calmer time too even being born in 1980s .. I feel like I'm getting old now as I don't understand the slang words and some of the technology. I'm quite happy in my little bubble of remembering a time before mobile phones though! The smell of the army and navy is just lovely isn't it / should have bottled it.
@@throughlucyslens it’s a rusty mouldy smell with a hint of mothball lovely…
You can still join the Co-op and get divi on your purchases. Not cash though I think.
@@OrganisedPauper the prices are ever so reasonable at the co-op….its probably britains cheapest supermarket..
@@griswald7156 It's not that cheap, but being a member, which costs £1, makes it cheaper.
I never thought I'd see my mamma's cooker again ! Mmmm toast made under the gas grill, so much better than an electric toaster.
Ohhh and and I also sure butter used to be more buttery too - I know that probably sounds silly but it never seems to hit the spot anymore!
When I went to Ironbridge, I burst into tears at the sight of a real coal cart, and horse. Took me back to my childhood.x
These places are so special for that aren't they? Special memories in places you would never expect them x
The Elves & The Shoemaker book......OMG I oved this book
I had that one too - these little things are so touching aren't they!
I remember getting Dentyne cinnamon chewing gum from the post office back in the 70s, loved going with my mum because i knew she would buy it for me 😊
Omg!! Memory unlocked!! I used to love that stuff!!!
Thanks for sharing Lucy. I haven't been to the Black Country Museum for a long time so I haven't seen the new additions! I remember phone boxes like the one you went inside. They smelt of cigarettes!
Cigarettes and wee wee I remember ... never wanted to go inside!
That was fascinating, thank you, Lucy. I remember Dandelion and Burdock pop very well. We got it from the Corona regular delivery, and my favourites alternated between that, Cream Soda, and Limeade. Of course they came in glass bottles, which were returned the next time the lorry came round. When I went to the Working Men's Club with my dad, though, I usually had a Vimto!
The orange pop from the Corona man was possibly the best thing I've ever drank - nothing ever tastes the same, I loved the cherryade too .. and my Nan always seemed to have ENDLESS Cream soda!
OMG, the Corona man, I had forgotten about that!
I so love your videos Lucy. They really are so interesting. I can see you would have been an excellent teacher.
I love how the UK values old buildings and things and preserves them. Such a treasure to learn from and thank you for sharing them.
Shelley from New Zealand
Hi Shelley! It always amazes me people watch my videos from so far aware. We are super lucky to have such a broad selection of heritage to visit. I think museums are getting more aware they need to preserve it more than ever as younger kids are not as interested anymore at just looking at things in cabinets.
@@throughlucyslens Thanks for taking the time to reply 🥰 Yes, even the museums here are taking the interactive approach
i honestly absolutely love your videos so much!!!!
Thank you. You are amazing x
I remember going to an army surplus store with my dad in the 80's here in Ontario Canada. He worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources and required heavy duty items you just couldn't purchase in regular shops. He loved the durability and selection of really top quality clothing and boots. As a kid I was just fascinated with all the stuff you'd never find in any other shops. I loved the smell, touching the fabrics, wondering who wore the items and what stories were attached to each item. When I saw you tearing up, I thought "Oh Lucy, I'd be feeling the exact same way if I were there too." Thank you for sharing these amazing adventures. What a wonderful find 💚
They are brilliant places aren't they? Sometimes you would find someones name and number inside the items - these days you could look them up online but then it was a mystery! Dad LOVED the Canadian parkers - the warmest coat you could get - and very stylish too!
Yes I remember those too! Sometimes they included rank badges as well. Canadian ones are very warm indeed. Sometimes a bit too warm!
I love the idea that although we might all be far apart geographically, we can still relate to one another through our similar experiences (and memories too!) ☺️
I was born in 1977 and I completely get how a lot of things in the 80's were still the same as the 60's and 70's. Slower, friendlier times I think. I've just been to watch the iron houses video. Again very nostalgic. My mum used Vim, made our sink shine better than anything nowadays, and my gran could've just taken one of those pinnies off to nip to the shop. Brilliant memories.
I remember VIM so well too! I can almost feel the sensation of it being scoured across the sink as I used to "help" sometimes. Those houses are so wonderful, I feel like they really nailed it - so glad you enjoyed :)
Thank you Lucy ❤ I totally understand your emotions of memories from these times and the feeling of happiness and tears. These places do the same to me! I once went into a retro cafe that opened for a while in our village. You'd have loved it, it was literally a museum inside, I instantly burst into tears because I felt like I was back with my nana. Glen Miller playing, lace table cloths, crystal sugar bowls with cubes and a mixture of original crockery. I saw china from the same set my nana had and I was awash with tears and warmth at the same time. I love your uploads 😊
It's so lovely and wonderful when that happens isn't it? I am so nostalgic and I love anything to do with family ties and memories- that cafe sounds brilliant! It's a shame often little places like that don't last long!
If you're ever in the North East you have to spend a couple of days at Beamish (You can't see it all in a day). I love the 1950's sunglasses, Grandma had a similar pair in the 70's.
I'm going to Beamish at the end of September! I'm so excited! I absolutely can't wait I've wanted to go all my life - watch this space! ❤️
Carbolic
soap oh lord 😕I remember my grandma having this in her bathroom it was bright pink and stank the place out...... Plus it would kill any thing it came into contact with.... .. They should have made this mandatory during lock down 😂😂😂🔒 great trip down memory lane I'm 72 so I reme.ber our Co op. In our village opening.. Grannie always called it the COOP..... 😂EXAGGERATING THE C OOOOP😂😂😂
Aww thank you for sharing - that's lovely!!!! Believe it or not carbolic was still doing the rounds in school when I was a kid in the 80s... stripped the germs and your skin. Wonderful stuff 😂 I find the smell of it strangely comforting. I think it's the memories x
I was born in the 50’s just as rationing finished. We lived in the tiny workers terraced without bathrooms that were then pulled down in the 60’s. I can absolutely understand why you are drawn to that street! It really was like that, and going to town and shopping on the high street was a day out. Everything was busy and we always stopped for ham egg and chips in the Woolworth cafeteria.
I loved the Woolworths cafe in Birmingham city centre!! I had totally forgotten about it until your comment, BHS had a great cafe too, I used to like sausage, chips, peas and gravy 🤣
Loved the old post offices they were personal & freindly
Hi Lucy. A Newfie Sub here who lived in Birmingham - Edgbaston. Love love love the Black Country Museum. One of my favourite places. I wish the new street had been opened when I lived there. Thanks for taking me back and on tour. Your videos are wonderful.
Thank you so much! Really kind of you. It's so wonderful isn't it? I never cease to find something amazing every time I visit and it seems to get better and better now they are bringing things up to date a bit.
On Lucy, you have done it again. I loved it all. I have very fond memories of the Co-op, as it was. And Camp coffee. My uncle used to drink that. He's 84 now and drinks tea. What a lovely museum. You bring it to life. I love the old buses.
Going back to the Co-op, my family all shipped there and saved with them. Every year, just before Christmas we would go to the big branch that had different departments. It had special open evenings. My first Sindy doll came from the Co-op. I love these trips down memory lane.😊
Omg you just brought back such a strong memory to me of the coop department store in Shirley, I hadn't thought about that for years and years! We also used to go at Christmas! ❤️
My dad always wore a woollen donkey jacket with the toggles. In 1949 I lived in Reading with a foster mother, Aunty May, who came from Yorkshire. My foster sister and I were not allowed to shop anywhere but ‘Co-op’ otherwise you didn't get ‘Divi’. Times were still very hard and it made all the difference. We were always made to buy the cheaper Co-op own foods which we hated as kids. The bake beans were horrid compared to branded ones. The shop we used was still the one where you were served and you had to queue up at different counters for different goods. We were sent every Saturday mornings after doing our cleaning chores to get the weeks shopping. After that we got our 6 pence pocket money but out of that 1d was for Sunday school and another 1d was for church. The rest we could spend on ourselves. Oh heavens, I could go on writing all day. I remember the goods in your video but not a self serve, never saw one of those, not a Co-op, until the 1960s.
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, I enjoyed it so much, I am laughing about the baked beans because there were baked bean battles in our house brand vs the cheap ones!!! It must have taken ages to do your shopping that way, no one has any patience these days, I would love to see people try it now ..
Isn't a jacket with toggles a duffle coat as worn by Paddington Bear rather than a donkey jacket?
@@malcolmhenderson3866I think donkey jackets had fake leather at the shoulders and men wore them mainly for work. A duffle coat was a bit more dressy if you like and available in grey, fawn and navy. Donkey jackets were mainly navy.
Another brill video Lucy 🥰
Thank you for the added 1960s room.. a walk down memory lane for me 😂😘💚
I love that room. I wish I could just sit there for a bit on my own for a good cleansing cry - the happy kind!
Morning coffee are my favorite biscuits. Fab to see them in the coop.
Ohhh I haven't had one of those for years - you know what I am looking for next time I am in the supermarket ...
Thanks Lucy, for sharing this fantastic vid of black country museum. Really enjoyed the tour,
Great viewing.
Thank you June! Lovely to have you visit with me x
@@throughlucyslens i Hi Lucy, yes, really loved my visit, especially the high st co op, and post office, bought so many memories back.
Yes, you were right too, those choc bars were bigger,wasnt they? and so much variety too,with the Cadbury s filled bars, wish they would bring them back.,that would be wonderful wouldn't it ?
Thanks again Lucy and take care. 😊
Used to love The Army and Navy store in Cannock. Everyone at school had a green bag from there, used to write all over it..Happy Days x
Yes! I used to write on mine with tippex and permanent black marker pen 😅
Thank you for sharing, would love to visit, remember the camp coffee😅 I remember the co op share book😂
My Mom still has Camp coffee ... I have never been able to get on with the taste myself! haha
Army surplus store brought back a teenage memory, I bought clothes and a canvas bag, cheap and sturdy. Grocery store, I miss how so many things came in reusable glass jars and drinking glasses. Aspirin bottle was glass with a metal cap. There was far less variety of food and over the counter drugs. And our drug store had a vacuum tube tester, sold replacement tubes for radios and TVs.
As a "Greebo" as I was (someone who loved Nivana and Grunge music) you just HAD to have a canvas bag from the A&N to mark you out as one of the tribe! haha. I remember the little glass bottles of pills, stuffed with a little piece of cotton wool to keep the pills from rattling around - that just sparked a really physical memory for me, the feel of the bottle and everything! Little pink pills.
Another special video Lucy reminds me when I used to go shopping with my mom dad in the 1960s. ❤
Glad you enjoyed it, it's a smashing place they have really nailed it!
I visited this last week based on your videos..it was brilliant!!! What an amazing place.
Aww that's amazing to hear - and relieved you enjoyed it! It's totally super isn't it? x
I used to go to army surplus shops, loved buying and wearing the clothing. I, too, had a donkey jacket
It was so much fun wasn't it! You could always find something new!
"I was the kid at school in a donkey jacket" oh my goodness I just love that
... and canvas satchell and army surplus DMS .. wouldn't have it any other way!
I don't know if things have different names in the Midlands, but down here a donkey jacket is a short black jacket with PVC panels on the shoulders front and back. What you're holding is a parka.
That was a Parka not a donkey jacket. The donkey jacket had PVC panels on the top half across chest and back.
@@throughlucyslens canvas satchel was a Haversack
@@malcolmhenderson3866I'm in the middle and yes a donkey jacket is a black heavy jacket as you say and she's holding a parka.
This is fantastic. Definitely putting this on my bucket list to visit. Your enthusiasm as always is contagious. ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, you're so kind! You will absolutely love it there. Pencil in plenty of time and if you can do two days it's free returns for a year with your ticket x
Love what you do and I love your enthusiasm
Thank you x
Thank you. Means a lot x
You paint such a picture! Just a joy for me, Ed and Missy (the cat) to watch!
Thanks Darling, glad you Ed and Missy enjoyed it xx
Thankyou, I love these places and you do a lovely job of showing them to us.
Thank you, that's so kind of you, I enjoy it so much x
Fabulous video. Thank you ……. I loved it! Xx
Glad you enjoyed it! I loved making it! Cools have spent hours in that coop!
First of all you are amazing , I love your passion and the research you do to make this videos simply brilliant. I remember going on the D9 bus to school every day and have fond memories of sitting at the back opposite the door with the lights on inside. It was freezing cold but yet a very warm memory travelling from Dudley to Stourbridge Thank you. Oh and I’m glad we got to see the old telephone in the box. X
Hey Mickey, nice to meet you. Thanks so much for sharing your memories! I used to catch the number 9 from Birmingham City Centre to Halesowen to meet my now husband! I wonder if that was the route the D9 became? I always try and show little details when I can. It's those bits I love to see :)
@@throughlucyslens D9 is the bus Model number. They had a D7 in some parts of Dudley they looked the same but had no doors that closed at the back. Bus 9 still goes on that same old route I think. Not many bus route numbers remain now. Well the 74 Dudley Birmingham via West Brom is the same and I can remember getting that bus with mum when I was 7. Back in 1971. They were freezing cold in the winter but great memories though. X
I’ve never seen an exhibit like this! Very nice!❤🇨🇦
It's lovely isn't it - we are very lucky to have it - it's great and hands on for children to actually understand rationing x
Oh Lucy I've just found your videos! What a delight! I'm going to enjoy watching all. Thank you so much.
I'm so glad! You are so welcome here in my little corner of history and nostalgia x
Oh Lucy, what a treat to wake up to this on this Monday morning. What an incredible place, I want to be there now!! You bring it so much to life. I remember the Army and Navy stores and know what you mean about wanting to have some clothes now. So lovely that you had such wonderful memories of your dad. I’m sure he was there with you enjoying your experience.
Loved the clothes shop too and remember making a blouse like the one in the window. I love the coop delivery vehicle. Would love one of those. Great to wander round the coop and I still remember our number. Ugh to the toilet paper but always loved the smell of the carbolic soap. Can still bring to mind the taste of the camp coffee too.
Absolutely loved the iron house too and can remember lots of items from my childhood.
Well I’ll get on with my lovely Monday now and have a spring in my step after watching this . Love your cat tattoo too.
Thanks for being you Lucy you are an inspiration
Hope you had a lovely Monday! I am just in from work and reading your lovely comment. I hope Dad was with me! My Mom still LOVES Camp coffee - I can't quite get my head around the taste, I think it's maybe something you had to have in the past to like it. I also LOVE the smell of carbolic soap! Even though it used to strip my skin at school!
Yet again a very interesting tour accompanied by our lovely and authentic tour guide Lucy. 🤗 I've always known self service but I remember my Mum telling us of the time they went to the World Expo in Brussels in '58. My Gran and her sister always made a picknick for their family outings. This one day at the Expo they saw, for the first time in their life, a self service restaurant of Marie Thumas (a company that produced canned vegetables). They were in dubio and finally tossed a coin to decide whether they would eat their picknick or a cup of canned soup at Marie Thumas.
Thank you! I need to know.. did they eat their picnic?
@@throughlucyslens no, the canned soup won. The picknick would probably have been better foodwise but didn't give the exiting adventure of sliding a tray around a self service restaurant. 😂
Born and brought up in Birmingham, i remember rationing. I was so proud at age 6 to get a new, blue upgraded ration book!
I now live in South Africa and your wonderful videos bring back many many memories of my Birmingham childhood.
I just love them!
Anything about Harborne? I remember it so well. My mother's favourite dress shop (the window mannequins scared me) and the horse trough at the end of the High Street.
I've done a video about the Moorpool estate in Harborne but not the high street itself - I'm there a lot as it's just on the road from me and I'm sure it looks very different now! Let me see if I can get something in. Thanks so much for your lovely kind words xx p
Thank you for this.
My pleasure!
Amazing 😊thanks 🎉❤ vloggs happy history lessons to teach us all about history by a great history teacher with a great history utube channel always 😊
Thank you as always - and thanks for coming with me :)
Seeing the notices above the windows inside the bus brought back memories of the sixties for me. I remember all the buses in Leeds having a sign warning people, "No Spitting".
I think it was to stop the spread of TB wasn't it? The signs in Birmingham went a bit further saying "spitting spreads TB" Some of the busses here had them still in the 80s - to be honest though my stomach turns if I see someone spit - my Nan would stop people and tell them they were a dirty so and so ! haha x
@@throughlucyslens It never occurred to me that it was to stop the spread of TB, but that makes sense. I hate spitting too.
It's disgusting and so unnecessary!
Very informative. I've never been to the Black Country Museum but looks very interesting. I don't know if my locel store was a Co-Op but it was part self service and part counter service, and everything has got smaller. Confectionary was next to the couter part so no sneaking off with anything.
As for that Army and Navy store, so amazing. I am a child of the seventies but once I was an adult I would buy second hand army coats. I had 4 over the years, including a british parka with lining. Unfotunately you can't get these things anymore. Thanks for bringing back those memories.
British Parkers are the warmest cost you can get!!! So comfortable too. Brilliant how the lining can come out for a spring coat too.
@@BYBabbra hi Barbara ,if you like original fishtail Parka’s…try “Red-Equipment” changing robe…..they are the same design as a 60s parka
But better…various colours to choose from…youll be as snug as a bug on a Lambretta in one of those..
@@griswald7156 Thank you for the info griswald.
Excellent video Lucy. I feel the same feelings of nostalgia as you. I was born in 1974 and remember normality. I like your sunglasses.
I came to you via the iron houses or the prefabs. Metal is a heat conductor!
My sunglasses were a lucky find! I'm a big fan of a mooch around the charity shops and i found them for 50p! Thanks for being here, I really appreciate it ❤️
Lol jeyes toilet paper one step sideways from newspaper and carbolic soap, loved the smell of it. It was the soap that was used at school. I remember before supermarkets going to the corner shop (lol Arkwright comes to mind but the shopkeeper wasn't like him). Aww Lucy you have done it again. Love the video thanks =-)
I have trauma from that toilet paper .. we had it at school .. I remember Mom packing a little pack of tissues in my school purse because I started to not use the bathroom because of the paper!
What a lovely cadbury's bars in the post office, I'd buy them all If I could😊🤗🤗thanks Lucy for great video👍👍😊😊 and... Sorry to say it again, but...I love your accent and I enjoy it as well every time!😊😊😊
Thank you' means a lot!! Very kind of you ❤️
LOVE this! Marvellous video, those museum workers have out-done themselves, wish we had something similar here. A chuckle - a friend said how her daughter had lived in UK for several years where the self-service had started (but not in Oz yet) so when she returned to Oz she was helping herself to the greengrocers goodies whilst her mum was running around after her apologising to the grocer *snort* Love the army store, ours were called Army Disposals, same sort of thing, used to be able to buy all sorts of 1940s goodies like army bicycle lights (yes, got one!) Thank you so much, Lucy, love these videos 💜
You are so welcome, always love reading your comments! It has made me laugh thinking about her running about with the frazzled shopping assistants putting everything back. Hey those army lights are worth a lot now - they get upcycled into fancy lights!
I remember going into shops like this with the ration book when I was little.
Thanks so much for sharing. I hope they have done a really good job x
Amazing place, many things brought back my childhood. Thanks for a great video.
You are so welcome, I adore making these videos and sharing the memories x
What a great video, Lucy, thanks. Although I’ve visited the museum twice before, the last time must be about 12 years ago so I can see it’s high time I went again!
I was born almost 65 years ago. My first home was in the flat above my home town’s first supermarket, which had opened the week before. My Dad was its manager and his Dad had been an Area Manager for the company which opened it - then a National grocery chain. He (my Grandad, born 1900) had started work as a Grocer’s boy during the 1st World War, managing his first shop at 21.
My mum used to swear by Oxydol and Lux flakes when doing the laundry so it’s good to see them back on sale in the Co-op!
This is so fantastic ! Thanks so much for sharing, when I was a kid I loved the thought of living above a shop - probably fantasies of sneaking down and stealing the sweets 🤣
Brilliant video as always Lucy, thank you! ❤ing the Cavern t shirt as well! x
It's brill isn't it! Christmas pressy! Wanted one when I visited but didn't have the pennies so Santa came through :)
Hi Lucy - wow - this amazing episode really brought back some powerful memories for me. Especially when you were in the army surplus shop - omg I was right there with you, and I got a lump in my throat too as you recounted your memories of your dad and both of you enjoying being in such establishments. When I was a boy in South East London I too loved going in our local army surplus shop. It was full of old uniforms, coats, trousers, jumpers, gloves, jackets, berets, belts, helmets, boots, and all types of equipment and surplus military items of all sorts like tents and stoves and water bottles. It was an Alladin's cave. We schoolboys bought our school-bags in there, which were actually old British army issue gas mask shoulder bags, which were strong, being made of canvas and webbing, and held all our books nicely. The shop also had big boxes which were full of mixed badges which had been removed from the uniforms - thousands of them it seemed, and we boys would sort through them - usually on Saturdays - buy the ones we liked, collect them up and swap them back and forth. They sold cloth badges and metal cap badges too, so you could really build a collection up quite cheaply - as they only cost 30 or 40p each at the time. I remember buying a lovely warm parka winter coat in that shop and a sleeping bag for a camping trip. What memories. Thank you, Lucy. I love all your episodes and envy you as you visit these wonderful places. But I loved this episode the best as it touched on so many personal memories from my own experience.
You are so welcome, your comment has really touched me - the badges sound amazing!! If I see a box of badges in a vintage shop or car boot I have to look through every single one! My school bag was a canvas satchel from the army & navy too! Perfect for books and lasted forever!
I haven’t been to the Black Country Museum for 20 years. Also loved Beamish. And iron bridge Gorge Blists Hill (?). On holidays to the U.K. I’m a former Brit now living in Australia. We have a similar place here set up as a colonial gold rush village called Sovereign Hill.
Gosh it would be a dream come true to visit an Australian equivalent! Maybe one day! I'm going to Beamish for the first time in a few weeks and I am so excited, I've wanted to go since I saw it on Blue Peter as a child! 😅
Thanks Lucy another wonderful video the memories you have stirred brought a few smiles,. I was a fifties baby a sixties kid and a seventies teen eighties a Dad. and even had a hand written divi card. ❤
I love that ! 80s Dad were the best - I know from experience :)
This is brilliant Lucy - what an amazing experience for people to have going there. Even though I hadn’t been brought up in the UK having had Scottish parents & living in a British colony this brought back memories for me too. That living room gave me strange tingles 😂😂 God Bless & thanks once again 🥰
Very welcome! That living room is so special isn't it! They just got it absolutely spot on - nothing fancy just something everyone remembers x
I worked in a post office in 1990 but it was stuck in the 60s it sold 'foundation garments' from under glass cabinets and a lot were still there when I worked there we also sold wool haberdashery and greetings cards all the post office fixtures were original including the behind counter stuff .
I too feel very drawn to the past and identify greatly with your passion and 'good' feeling of nostalgia. I was born in '66 ❤
"Foundation garments" I feel like I can't breathe thinking about them! The village post office was such a brilliant resource for so many wasn't it? Our local one used to sell all sorts - perfect to drag your Mom in when she had the family allowance in her hand 😅
I was often sent to a larger Co-op shop by my mother. When you queued to pay your money and a chit was put into a small metal cylinder that was transported by a vacuum system to the 'office'. Seconds later your receipt and any change due came whooshing back in another container. My favourite shops were those that sold Airfix kits. From 2/- (two bob or 10p) they gave me hours of pleasure.
Last time I went to the Black Country museum there was a splendid fully functioning fish and chip shop that was well worth visiting. I wonder if it is still there?
It's still there and I am happy to report the chips are still absolutely delicious :)
Well done, excellent film, in my 70’s don’t remember self serve until the 1970 at Sainsbury’s. It is emotional we would buy army hats and charge around on bikes, happy days. Learn something new every time I watch your films
I love to hear from you, and your memories! I was born in 1980 and I remember a lot of shops not being self service too, particularly smaller grocers shops, haberdashery and where we used to get our school uniform!
Loved your video, I was born in 69 brings back so many lovely memories from childhood, my local high street was like that, thank you ❤
You are so welcome, I am glad you enjoyed it! It's wonderful isn't it?
Here in Australia we have a chain of stores called ‘Aussie Disposals’ that still exists (26+ stores) that specialises in military surplus items such as uniforms and equipment as well as outdoor and camping gear. Sounds similar to your Army and Navy type stores.
Wow;
I would love a look around one of those! I always think they feel like museums you can actually buy from! X
Thanks for another fascinating video. Looking forward to getting to the BCM one day . . . meanwhile, a memory from me is the “International Store” we had in our town. Tesco had arrived in the late sixties. We had had a Coop since (I think) the 1930s, but the International had started sometime in between. The building represents our changing times. The International represented the start of the supermarket revolution. When the bigger stores moved in, the building in the 1980s became a Curry’s electrical shop with HIFIs, TVs and white goods. When that was swept away with the arrival of the larger out of town stores, the old International became a Cafe Nero, which it still is today. Each iteration of the building reflects the trends of the time, and is a barometer of how things change and nothing stands still.
This is a brilliant insight! Not surprised it's a coffee shop these days! I used to love curry's when you could stand and watch rows and rows of tvs. It used to seem so glamourous!
I had the exact same book on the shelf in the post office, Well Loved Tales, The Elves And The Shoemaker by Ladybird books, I also had many more of the fairy tale books from this this series
They are so beautifully illustrated. I love them! I loved Puss in Boots!
I really enjoyed this video, thank you so much
You are so welcome, absolutely thrilled you enjoyed it x
Hello from Tennessee. Love your content. It's so interesting!
Thank you so much! Really lovely to hear from you :)
Lovely, Lucy. The tunnel of time! I saw a box or Rinso soap on a shelf. We had it here in Argentina in the 50s, 60s, and they sponsored a radio comedy that I loved as a child.
Thank you , I appreciate your videos so much
That's brilliant! I am so glad these videos can cross boarders and we can see similarities! I still have adverts playing in my head from when I was a child - the power of advertising!
Hello from Philadelphia!! New sub here...many things reminded me of my first
trip to England in 1969. Fascinating...thank you so much.
Welcome and lovely to "meet" you! It's a smashing place isn't it. So interesting you visited in 1969 - that must have been an absolutely massive trip! Did the UK seem old fashioned compared the The States at that time?
Another great video! Love that I get to "tag along"
... and you are always absolutely welcome!!
I love the Black country museum. Been going since i was 14 and now 58. I try to go every few years, last time i went was just after covid and they were still building the new street. Its due a revisit from me. Thanks.
Enjoy it! I think I've been going for about 30 years, love to see it evolve and get better and better. I love it even more now they are concentrating on the mid 20th century. You will love it when you return x
Thanks for your lovely reply always so humble and kind and caring always ❤😊🎉
Always! 🥰
Great video!!!... My Grandad wore a donkey jacket always..but you pointed to a parker...Donkey jackets were black wool, heavy and warm!!!... he was a Cumbrian so a proper northerner!!!... Im from Nottingham and we had army surplus shops all over the place and was gutted when they started closing down...Was always fun rummaging through them and seeing what you could find!!!...Plus My gGrandad always shopped at Co-Op... Keep up with the excellent vids Duckie...Sending love and best wishes from Nottingham...xxx
Thanks for your lovely comment - I knew as I was editing the video I got donkey jacket wrong but I couldn't work out a way to make it correct! Yes, Dad had the black jacket (like Trigger!) and the parker too. He liked most things from those stores, and you are right it's so sad they are all closing!Soon as I am back on the road there will be more videos to come, promise x
@@throughlucyslens awww thank you for replying to my comment!!!... I'm so sorry I wasn't being mean with what I said... I will say that I absolutely love your videos and seeing all those places... I was born in 76 and agree with what you said about being nostalgic about things because they hadn't changed much in the years before I was born... I personally love 50s and 60s..fashion,music,furniture and also vintage glass with a particular love of oversized brandy glasses, you know the coloured huge ones!!!... I remember when I was 17 buying 1960s dress and jacket sets from charity shops and getting my mum to take the dress up to a shocking length!!!... I've a wardrobe full of vintage clothes!!!... Anyway I've rambled on enough... You take care... Xxx
I wish we had the society values we had back then. Life may have been hard but people were much more caring of each other
I work in the community so I am so lucky to still see people coming together and looking out for one another, I do agree you have to look harder these days though!
My Nan used to make us a cup of camp coffee whenever we, her grandchildren stayed over. She'd use one teaspoon of the coffee and made it 50% boiled milk and 50% boiled water. I loved it back then. But as i got older it never tasted the same, and the horrid taste of chicory used to linger on my tongue. I still can't drink coffee to this day. Strictly tea these days. But very fond memories of my dear old nan. Her sitting room was very similar to the oone in the iron house in your video. Another woderful video Lucy. Thank you.😊
Thank you! My Mom taught me how to make camp coffee - in the same way you describe, she still loves it. I've never been able to like it myself.. like you it's tea, I am tea mad! I drink far too much 🤣
Back in the 50s, we used to have Camp coffee in a glass of cold milk.
Fantastic visit Lucy - love exploring the past!
Love you coming with me to explore x
Another great video Lucy! Looks like a lot has happened to the Black Country Museum since I was last there.
I really miss there being a co-op on every High Street. In the north east the co-op was always more expensive than the other shops but had fantastic quality food. When I lived in London I found the prices competitive. Different policies I suppose.
Many thanks for taking me on another one of your lovely days out.
Thank you for coming with me! There is a coop really close my house and I use it occasionally - like you say it's "expensive" but I don't mind shopping there when I need to because they still share the same ethical values, it's quite a big store and I'm always shocked it survives as there is also an Aldi within walking distance - quality I suspect like you say.
Another absorbing adventure, Lucy; thank you! Hubby Geoff was particularly interested that you featured Langer's stores in Enville Street, Stourbridge (I think you called it 'Enfield Street' in the video). Geoff worked right opposite Langer's from 5 September 1972 until early 1998, at Gwilliam Brothers (Electrical) Limited, which was established in 1933. Sadly, Gwilliams is long since gone, and the shop demolished together with so many other historical buildings in Enville Street. A family named Carr lived in a flat behind Langer's, and next door was Frank Ridsdill Butchers. Behind Ridsdill's was a meat wholesalers called Aston's. Herbert Langer had an extensive camping range, and even had tents set up outside of the shop, to the side and round the back. On the Gwilliams side of the street was an old fashioned ladies hairdressers, Bakers DIY (run by David Baker) and other shops. There was also a tiny little pub called, appropriately, The Cottage. Whether or not that survived the demolition of so much of Enville Street in the first decade of the 21st century we don't know. xxx
This is so lovely to hear from someone who remembers it, I would have loved to have gone in that shop! The army and navy in Harborne used to have tents outside too... my Mom who is from a large family went camping every summer in a huge ex army tent! She said it was great! We still have one of the "cot" beds - very comfortable!
@@throughlucyslens Wow, cot beds! I bet they were made to last. I seem to recall alot of cub and scout groups (maybe guides and brownies too?) had away weekends in those bog exc army tents. x
4:37 😮 omg was literally just gonna comment about still having my surplus fishtail parka from the 80’s
(and yes mine too - that camo was the ultimate northern Dad jacket ‘round Yorkshire haha)
Serious dads shopped at the A&N 😂😂😂
This cool you visit such interesting places.
I am SO LUCKY!!! I just keep finding more and more .. :)
Hello Lucy , thank you again for another interesting video, I love visiting living life museums...we were on holiday earlier in the year in Northumberland and we visited " Beamish Museum " oh my it was amazing and I'm sure you would love it, ( one day when time allows ) now on my list is the ... "Black country museum " !! Thank you for showing us all around 👌🏻
You will love it! I cannot tell you how excited I am to visit Beamish - ever since I saw it on Blue Peter as a kid i've been DESPERATE to go! I am going in late September and counting down the days I tell you!
I love museums like this 😊 thank you for sharing ❤
Very welcome, I love having the opportunity to show you :)
You talk about emotions, well I was in tears seeing the 1965 post office. We had a few in Cambridge that sold toys, sweets and all manner of lovely stuff. You’re also correct about the size of the flakes!
It's wonderful isn't it? They just got it SPOT ON - the post offices by me always sold toys too, we used to be allowed to have a colouring book and some new felt pens - or some fuzzy felt after Mom got the family allowance in the school holidays!
@@throughlucyslens 💘 Fuzzy Felt! I had that too! 😀 I particularly remember the Lucie Attwell books with the beautiful Cupid style illustrations, especially the pixies with the pointy hats 😀
I always enjoy your videos, and I shall have to visit the museum, as last time I went these new places hadn't opened.
Certainly worth another visit, there is also a maternity home that I haven't been able to feature as there are always lots of children in there playing (as they should be). you will love it!
Oh Lucy, in the Post Office, the very first book I bought, 'The Observers Bool of Horses and Ponies', never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think ! I've always been a Horse lover, it's the closest I got.
That's the one I spotted, too! I lost it years ago but recently picked up another copy from eBay. Looking through the photos really brought back memories. And like you, that was just about the nearest I got to owning a horse. x
Our neighbour had a horse and we thought she was sooo posh! Horses were what other people had. I love all animals, I'm a real animal lover .. and I had the observers book of aeroplanes - I adored it.
@@skyboswell Still have mine somewhere around the house. Without the dust jacket though. Glad you got to replace yours. Yes, memories indeed.
@@throughlucyslens Yes, animal lover here too, aeroplanes, more than one step even further away.
A fantastic trip down memory lane. It really shows how much things have changed in a relatively short time. As a child in the 1970s I remember being given money and a note by my grandmother and told to go to the corner shop to pick up her cigarettes. The note was if they questioned it. I was about 6 years old 😂 I can't think that would work for a child now note or no note 😂😂! I also remember our house getting a phone which was about 1978 / 79. Before that if far away family wanted to contact us they either had to write a letter or send a telegram. Thanks for triggering those memories for me after all this time.
I used to go the corner shop with a note to buy my dad's hamlet cigars too 😅... the individually wrapped ones out of the tin. I used to love the drama of the shop keeping unscrewing the lid .. I think it's really important to remember these details and hopefully I'm doing that with these videos and ALSO all the lovely comments that will be here as an amazing resource ❤️
love it lucy
Thanks Mandy x
You should go to Ironbridge and their museums hun. Your video is fantastic and that iron house takes me back as some of the furniture reminds me of when I was little. I was born 2 years before yourself and I am a brummie born and bred but my family are all from the West Brom/dudley area and i used to go to the museum loads as a child and I loved every minute of it x
I haven't been to Ironbridge since I was a little kid - I really should get back there shouldn't I? x
Dandelion and Burdock. Awesome. Wish we had that in the US. Love the authenticity.
It's soo tasty! I can't quite think what the USA equivalent might be .. maybe root beer? But the good stuff with cane sugar not sweeteners x
Excellent.
Thank you :)
Sorry it’s taken me so long to comment on this lovely, Dolly and me have both been sickly on and off for the last couple of weeks
This was such a comfort watch.
The army and navy store got me too. Dad used to get most of his work boots from there, and he had the same camo jacket, as did at least 2 of my uncles
And oh my, those little aeroplane models! They totally brought back a memory of my grandad making those with us on rainy Saturday afternoons ❤
I hope you are feeling better? I've been working 7 days a week over the summer so I am just on the "come down" now.
My Dad would often come home from work with one of those polystyrene planes - with the little plastic propeller - I think they were for him as much as us 😅
Hi Lucy. You mentioned going to an Army and Navy store in Harbourne, Ryders. My Nan lived right by it and you'll be glad to hear it's still very much going.
Ohhh that's great news! I think I am going to go and get some dog walking boots :)