Listening for the ice cream van's whistle was a nightly event when we were wee.
On Friday night (pocket money night) we listened in anticipation of a cone or, <gasp> choklit wafer if my grannie was feeling flush.
Most other nights however, we listened coz we were on the lookout for single shillings from the van...in those days our electric meter only took single shillings and they were a precious commodity.
Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
I remember that, Catherine, and when the meter man came you had usually overpaid and you got shillings back. Oh the desperate searches for a shilling when all of a sudden the lights / tv went out, especially in the middle of a good programme!
"You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."
C.S.Lewis
The best I can remember was Jock Thompson who had
a horse-cart. He used to stop at ma grannies at the
bottom end of Alexander Ave.He sold veggies & lemonade
plus a few more items, Struthers lemonade--is it still made?
Gibby Walker was the mob. fish man.Anderson was the fruit
and veg man in stevenston.I always thought the Mobile
fish & chip van was one of the favourites. It was always
around at tea time & available late at nght at the bottom
end of hayocks outside what used to be Patersons paper
shop. those were the days
We have often spoken about that Chip Van at Hayocks Road and thought if it were today they would not be able to operate with all the health regulations. Have often wondered how often the cooking oil was changed, probably never. And we are still all kicking around remembering how good they were.
i remeber tommy ballantyne with his horse and cart, we bought penny caramels from him, when u gave him your penny he would make it dissapear and said if u can guess where it is u can have it back you never could guess where it was and it always came out of your ear,he did ofcourse at times give u it back anyway,manders ice cream and carino.s and also bambimos from largs i remember,and of course my uncle jimmy whyte had a horse an cart goin round sellin fruit an veg,he also sold herring and had a couple of horse an carts sellin briquettes and also a lorry selling them.
James Barr (brvhrtjimmy)
Yes ,I remember Tommy Ballantyne and his horse as I said before he had a place in Wellpark Rd. when I lived there and I used to go up there and wait and get a ride on the back of the horse to my house at 39.Then Sammy came round our way when we lived in Pirnmill Rd.up the scheme.I also remember my mum getting paraffin from Eddie Boyd evey week for our wee heater in the kitchen which sat at the back door and when it was opened the heater blew out with the draught.Also the icecream vans Carinos and Manders ,even my children couldn't wait till they came round. Great times wish I was young again Milda
Meg Gordon wrote: There was a blue fish van - was he called something like Jim Gentleman?
Alex Gentleman as I recall. The standard joke at the time was "Did you know his wife's a gentleman?" which wore thin after a couple of hundred airings!
Around that time, Bickett the butcher also had a van - the grandfather of the lad who now carries on the family tradition in Saltcoats.
What Ardrossanite in the 50's could forget Mary Howie with her horse and cart selling vegetables - and her famous cry - CARROTS. TURNIPS, LEEK and PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARSLEY?
Maggie T - I passed Mr. Ashton's house in Park Road today.
Morag - Was that nice smelling stuff WINDOLENE (pink in colour)? And was it peculiar how everything was LEMONADE - NO MATTER WHAT FLAVIOUR IT WAS - it seems stuped now ORANGE LEMONADE, LIME LEMONDADE, ETC.
Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.
