SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

I'm at (or getting very near ) a person of a "certain age" but as I've never been in an old bookies (nor modern ones) I know nowt of "Chalker Uppers" in volovojack's fascinating post. I do though recall my mum occasionally going to Scholey's (? spelling) bookie's on Osmondthorpe Lane in the early to mid 1950s to bet a few pre-decimal pennies (1/- at most) when betting was probably illegal but the police only very rarely raided the premises.

Writing up though has reminded me that it used to be commonplace to see words/prices painted (always white that I recall) on shop windows using a small paint brush and can. It might still be common but I've not seen that practice for a long while now (not counting short-term spray-on things like fake Christmas snow).

Your are right Leodian when you say the police turning a blind eye. they used to "Turn Over" bookies premises every so often and for instance my brother ran a bookmakers upstairs in a disused billiard hall that is those premises immediately behind the old Midland Bank bottom of North Street. the Bobbies would raid,close the office and my brother said he would have to be in the Town Hall the following morning, get fined two or three pounds (which his boss paid) and be back in the office in time for that days racing.

volvojack wrote:

jgl1954 wrote:Wing mirrors on cars....they're all on the doors now. You don't see many aerials either nowadays.

or the indicators that used to come out of the side between the front and rear door and light up orange, sometimes they would stick and not come out so you would have to open the window and hit the car side with your hand as you steered around the bend.

Yes, I don't know why they were so erratic, surely it was just a simple solenoid operation.

jgl1954 wrote:

volvojack wrote:

jgl1954 wrote:Wing mirrors on cars....they're all on the doors now. You don't see many aerials either nowadays.

or the indicators that used to come out of the side between the front and rear door and light up orange, sometimes they would stick and not come out so you would have to open the window and hit the car side with your hand as you steered around the bend.

Yes, I don't know why they were so erratic, surely it was just a simple solenoid operation.

The old bangers i drove i always thought it was the rain that had got in there, sometimes they would not even light up

volvojack wrote:

jgl1954 wrote:

volvojack wrote:

or the indicators that used to come out of the side between the front and rear door and light up orange, sometimes they would stick and not come out so you would have to open the window and hit the car side with your hand as you steered around the bend.

Yes, I don't know why they were so erratic, surely it was just a simple solenoid operation.

The old bangers i drove i always thought it was the rain that had got in there, sometimes they would not even light up

They were solenoid operated and the usual problem was lack of any maintenance and lubrication. The French used similar, but their's would pop in and out repeatedly when on, difficult to miss. I remember being in the car one icy morning, when my father managed to spin the car 360 degrees, when he turned to give the B pillar a thump to get the indicator to work

On the subject of motor cars fortunately there are none that have the old windscreen wiper system, mainly Ford models Prefect and Popular that worked in conjunction with the accelerator, can't quite remember the finer points but basically it could be pouring with rain and the wiper blade would move only a couple of inches across the screen. driving in the dark was quite an experience.

Still i wish i still had one with the prices they make these days.

volvojack wrote:On the subject of motor cars fortunately there are none that have the old windscreen wiper system, mainly Ford models Prefect and Popular that worked in conjunction with the accelerator, can't quite remember the finer points but basically it could be pouring with rain and the wiper blade would move only a couple of inches across the screen. driving in the dark was quite an experience.

Still i wish i still had one with the prices they make these days.

When I lived in Hereford I used to have a Ford Popular and the wipers worked off the vacuum in the manifold, so the faster you went the less vacuum was created and so the slower the wipers.

I haven't seen a grasshopper in very many years. They were a very common sight in gardens when I was a lad back in history (well it often seems like it was historical!).

Flag Sellers, apart from "Poppy Sellers" Once a year. when i was a kid we used to take an envelope with 100 flags in plus a tin and stand in Kirkgate Market by one of the entrances on a Saturday morning. the reward for selling all of them was a Tanner 6d.
Don't think you would get a 12 year old to do that nowadays.. The money collected was for Children's day at Roundhay Park.

Think they call them BEGGERS today