Hugh Roberts has a blog post onHow to Participate in #WordlessWednesday
Break Away #WordlessWednesday
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Category Archives: Challenges
#SoCS Looking at Scents
The prompt for Linda G Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday (#SoCS) is “cent/scent/sent.” Use them in any form you like. Use one, use two or use them all. Bonus points if you use all three, and Cheryl will put your next drink on David’s tab. (I could never resist a free drink Linda!)
I have a fantastic sense of smell. My children often tease me about it because I smell things that no one else can smell. “You and your nose Mammy.” Scent is important. Sometimes it evokes a memory; it can give us happy feelings or sad feelings.
I have photos in my camera roll that make me feel warm, hungry, refreshed, excited and sometimes nostalgic. It’s not just the image that conjures up feelings, it’s also the smell associated with the image.
Here’s my favourites.
The refreshing scent of the sea and freshly washed up seaweed.
Frothy Nespresso.
Black Magic Chocolates.
Roses
Coconut Oil
Freshly Cut Grass
1 cent, 2 cent and 5 cent coins. (For when we play cards at Christmas) Copper coins remind me of childhood days!
Aw the lovely smell of Cotton after she’s had a bath.
My son sent me this photo. This little munchkin will be joining the family this Christmas. I can’t wait to hold him/her and inhale the most gorgeous scent of a new born baby. This is my favourite smell in the whole world!
Do you Remember the Big ’47 Snow? #100DaysOfOldDays
Day 99 #100DaysOfOldDays
“Do you remember the Big ‘47 Snow?”
That was a question my dad asked people of his vintage and older—strangers too! When they said, “Yes, I remember it well”, Mam would roll her eyes and prepare to listen to the ‘Big ‘47 Snow’ conversation for the millionth time. People he met who didn’t remember the Big Snow…well, he told them all about it!
If Dad had been still alive during the 2020 pandemic and the lockdown that came with it, I think he would have said, “This is like the Big ‘47 Snow.” Death, isolation, fear, uncertainty.
Over 7,000 Irish people died from COVID-19. In comparison to that, hundreds died as a result of one of the biggest snowstorms ever to hit Ireland. But the country suffered in many other ways from the impact of the 1947 snow.
Snow fell sporadically during January and February, and Arctic winds blew for several weeks before the eve of the 24th February, when the biggest snow began to fall. It continued all through the night and the next day. A blizzard driven by the bitter Easterly gales, whipped the entire country. I hear stories that it snowed for close to fifty consecutive hours at that time.
Railway lines were blocked by 6 ft drifts. Main roads were impassable, buses couldn’t run. Turf bogs were buried under six feet of snow. Emergency fuel consignments came in from Britain.
Co Wicklow was hit hard. Many people were unable to leave their homes for a month. Some houses were completely covered in snow and there were people who lived on only potatoes for weeks.
The country experienced blackouts and 1000’s of phones were cut off. Farmers had to take their animals to lakes and rivers to drink, having to break the ice there on a daily basis.
Lavey Lake in Co Cavan, was one of the many lakes that froze over. A man even drove his car across it.
The Bailieborough news reported that the Tuesday night bus from Dublin got stuck in the snow near Mullagh and many passengers set off walking to Bailieborough. After their six mile trek, they called to Shaffrey’s Hotel (now the Bailie) and Mrs Shaffrey fed the cold weary travellers and gave them a bed for the night.
There are many stories to be told about the Big ‘47 Snow—some tragic, like this one.
A water-filled quarry in Kimmage had frozen over and to the local children it was a winter wonderland playground. The Gardaí had tried their best to keep the children off the ice but they always found a way in. On Sunday March 2nd while about twenty children were playing hockey, the ice broke. About half a dozen of the children plunged into a black hole of icy water.
Passersby rushed to rescue the children. Some were saved but tragically three of them died in the freezing quarry. One of the boys who died had been thrown a rope but he had held on to the hand of a young girl in the water beside him, and he lost his grip on the rope. The girl survived!
It was indeed a bleak period for many.
My uncle Philip recalls being told the story of the roads being level with the ditches and 2 ft icicles hanging from roof gutters. Deliveries of bread were dropped at my grandparents’ house for the two shops further up the hill.
My mother-in-law Betty, remembers a two-year-old neighbour child falling deep into a powdery snowdrift and having to be pulled from it. Their well, which was also used by the neighbours, was completely buried. Their water for many weeks was melted snow.
Snow that fell in parts of Ireland during January remained until the middle of March because of below freezing temperatures. Between the days of January 24th and March 17th, it snowed for thirty of them. On St Patrick’s Day there was still snow behind the ditches.
For weeks the country was a sheet of frozen snow and black ice.
Everyone who lived through The Big ‘47 Snow has stories to tell about it. Dad always enjoyed sharing his, and loved hearing other people’s memories too.
1947 is a memorable year weatherwise for the Irish, but for the Cavan people it’s memorable for a different reason. Sure wasn’t that the year Cavan beat Kerry in the All-Ireland final!
White is the Rose #WordlessWednesday
The Messages #100DaysOfOldDays
Day 98 #100DaysOfOldDays
Kate O’Reilly, from my hometown, recently posted a collection of photos on her Facebook page, that she took in a museum in Limerick; Old Irish Ways. I wish I had some of these photos in the earlier days of our 100 day project. A couple of the photos brought back so many memories of times gone by.
This photo in particular! In the 70’s, some shops still looked similar to this. Soden’s in Bailieborough was one. The old weighing scales and meat slicer on the counter. The old cash register. Newspapers and comics laid out. Cigarettes in 10’s and 20’s, visible to the customers.
“I’m going up the town for a few messages,” Mam would say when was going to the shops.
On a week day she bought something for the dinner, and bread and milk. Nothing that wasn’t needed! Although, sometimes she’d buy five penny bars but end up eating a couple of them on the way home, so we’d get half a penny bar each.
We loved the Friday shopping that was brought home in a big cardboard box—or two. They contained much the same as every other week, but it was still exciting to empty them. Maybe there’ll be a sandwich cake this week, or digestives instead of the usual Morning Coffee biscuits.
When we went shopping with Mam, we had absolutely no say as to what went into the trolley. We wouldn’t dream of trying to sneak anything into it. Christ, you didn’t take those kind of risks when you were a 70’s child! We also took little notice of what Mam put into the trolley. But when the big box landed on the kitchen table, we dived right in.
We were a sliced pan family. Some people were Batch Loaf…religiously!
There would be at least four sliced pans in the box—brown for Dad and white for us. And a bag of wholemeal flour for making the brown cake.
There would have been a pot of Mace strawberry jam, Mace marmalade and Mace diluted orange. (Mam always kept a check on the pennies and bought store brands whenever possible.)
She bought cream crackers, which she had to hide from us. There was always Morning Coffee biscuits, sometimes Marietta. It was later in the 70’s that the bourbon and custard creams became regular items in the shopping box.
A box of loose Lyons tea. It was well into the 80’s before Mam bothered with tea bags. Tins of beans and alphabet spaghetti. Tins of creamed rice and peas. Jelly and Instant Whip for Sunday. She had to hide the jelly with the cream crackers, because in reality it was a big fat square jelly sweet…a giant wine gum! And it smelled so delicious…of course she had to hide it!
Birds Dream Topping was an alternative to fresh cream. It was such a treat to get it, which wasn’t very often.
“Give it a whirl.”
Birds powdered custard. Oxo cubes. A box of Bisto—the one you had to mix into a paste with cold water. Never instant gravy.
There might have been a sachet of Apeel powdered orange drink and Rise and Shine from Kelloggs.
A four stone bag of potatoes. Carrots, parsnips and onions for the stew. And cabbage and a turnip. Always!
We would get some sweets on a Friday. Penny bars, lollipops or jellies.
Porridge, cornflakes and Weetabix were our cereals. And I’ve just remembered…Ready Brek. I hated it!
Apart from the tall plastic container of Saxa salt and the smaller one containing white pepper, Chef Brown Sauce and Coleman’s mustard were the only condiments on our table. If there was a bottle of tomato ketchup in the box we got excited! In the summer we had Chef Salad Cream.
So what fridge items were in the box? Bottles of milk—even though the milkman delivered to the door every morning. Sausages and corned beef. Calvita cheese and Easi Singles. Eggs. A big square tub of margarine; the soft spreadable creamy type that lasted a week. It went on the spuds, the bread and for making buns. And a lump of boiling bacon.
On the top part of our fridge there was a small freezer box so there was very little frozen food in the shopping. There was always frozen peas and fish fingers. Sometimes frozen burgers. We got excited if there was a block of ice cream and a packet of wafers.
Most of these things still exist and some are in my own shopping bag every week. But some are very hard to get or no longer exist.
3 Hands washing up liquid. I’d completely forgotten about it until I spied it on the top shelf in Kate’s photo.
Floor polish in a tin. You had to get down on your hands and knees to polish the floor with this stuff.
Mam used Daz washing powder (and sometimes the Mace brand) to wash the clothes. Daz gave your whites a bluey white.
Remember the little muslin bags that contained a cube of blue stuff? It was stirred around in the washing to make the whites whiter. It was called Bluing. I think it’s still available in liquid form but maybe not in the wee muslin bags.
Vim was a scouring powder for cleaning the sinks and the toilet bowl. It came in a fat cylinder box with holes on the lid so you could shake out just as much as you needed. Waste not, want not.
Mam used Sunlight and Lifebuoy carbolic soap for household cleaning. We had Palmolive and Shield soap for bathing. Although, I have memories of being scrubbed at the kitchen sink with the carbolic soap on a summer’s evening, when ordinary soap wasn’t enough to remove the mud, grass or tar marks on our hands and knees.
There was definitely no liquid hand soap or shower gel in our bathroom. We had bubble bath sometimes. Mam had nice soap for herself; Lux, Camay or Imperial Leather. (She still buys Imperial Leather.)
Camay created a soft creamy lather that gave a woman a complexion as smooth as porcelain. Most of the adverts showed women washing their faces with Camay soap and being amazed at their beautiful soft skin afterwards.
But this particular advert has a more humorous slant to it! I think it’s very funny!
Iodine was used for cuts and grazes. TCP was also put on cuts and used as an antiseptic for most skin ailments.
Any mention of a stomach ache and we were fed Milk of Magnesia or Syrup of Figs. I didn’t mind Syrup of Figs, but dreaded Magnesia.
Here’s an old-fashioned metal list of the messages.
Our Telefón Boxes #100DaysOfOldDays
Day 97 #100DaysOfOldDays
For years there was only one phone box in Bailieborough; on the Main Street outside the Post Office. I have many memories of standing outside it with Mam waiting to make a phone call. She would sigh when the person inside would load more coins into the slot.
Mam’s calls were short and to the point. They were seldom calls of long conversations with friends. They were calls of necessity!
This photo was taken in Westport.
I remember back to the days when she had to ask the operator to put her through. There was no dial on the telephone. There was a winder and a slot for the money. Similar to this one in the picture.
It was maybe in the early 70’s that the telephones changed from having to deal with an operator, to the ‘dial-it-yourself’ method. The telephone now had a dial and all you had to was dial the phone number, when Bridie answered on the other side, you put your money in and you were through. The longer you wanted to chat with Bridie, the more money you had to feed into the slot!
In every phone box there was a phone book. Bridie’s number was in it along with everyone else’s in the country – except those who kept their number private.
If it was a thing that the local hooligans had vandalised the phone book, you’d call the operator and give her Bridie’s name and address and and she’d put you through – or give you Bridie’s number so you could self-dial.
To meet the growing need for a public phone, a new telefón box was installed in town; on the Cavan road beside the Model School. It was bit more private than the one in town. Not so many people around to earwig on private conversations.
Using the public phone box wasn’t always straightforward. Sometimes you might be told by some bossy biddy blocking the door, that you can’t make a call because she was waiting for a call. She wouldn’t let anyone into the phone box until she got her ‘important’ call. Mmm…
I loved the dial phone and when they went all posh with the push buttons it wasn’t the same experience! Now they’re all touch screen phones. Sigh!
A lot of the old phone boxes these days are now fitted with defibrillators. I think it’s a fantastic idea!
Lucy’s drawing today; the payphone!
Tramp with Panache & Poison #100DaysOfOldDays
Day 96 #100DaysOfOldDays
After glorifying Impulse body spray yesterday, I couldn’t ignore our favourite 80’s perfumes.
The first bottle of perfume I got as a present was L’Air du Temps by Nina Ricci Paris (1982). My aunt gave it to me one Christmas and I felt all feminine. I no longer wanted to play Turn the Terrible Tank with my brother. I loved the bottle more than the perfume. It was an ornament on my dressing table for years.
I couldn’t afford expensive perfume in the 80’s. Any expensive ones I had were usually given to me as presents.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t get cheap perfume given to me too. I remember the wee bottle of Panache and Tramp, nicely wrapped under the Christmas tree. Panache was my favourite. Still available to buy via Amazon I see! I wonder if I’d still like it as much as I used to!
I’m watching these perfume adverts on YouTube and it seems like yesterday when they were on television.
“She’s wearing Tramp and everybody loves her. Shouldn’t you wear it too!”
“Whoever you are and whoever you’re with, Tweed says just what you want it to say.“
There was Lace and Pink Lace by Yardley. This advert had a very romantic vibe to it.
The advert for Just Musk was very seductive indeed…although they did say at the end…
“Shouldn’t be allowed.”
Well, this housewife has been good and she’s been sweet but now she’s ready for an “Aviance” night. And judging by the face on her man, he’s going to help her! (I think I feel a hot flush coming on!)
Aviance Night by Prince Matchabelli.
Le Jardin de Max Factor featuring a young and beautiful Jane Seymour, was more of a sweet romantic advert with a subtle hint of seductiveness.
“If you want romance to come on strong, you have to come on soft.”
Poison (1985) was among some of the more expensive perfumes that were very popular in the 80’s. It was not a favourite of mine. It was too strong and heady for me, but that’s when I was a teenager. My nose may have changed since then!
This advert for Poison is different than the others. You could read it in several ways. Non-feminine? A message of strength? Animalistic properties?
I found one perfume advert that’s not geared towards hooking the man of your dreams. It’s a little bit flirty but more about the woman wearing perfume because she likes it!
In the early 90’s I had Chanel No.5 and I have to say, it’s still one of my favourites! This Chanel No. 5 advert is from 1965.
“Is it any wonder every woman alive wants Chanel No. 5. Tempt her with Chanel, and let yourself be caught by the spell.”
Have perfume adverts really changed that much over the years?
Here’s Lucy’s drawing today. Poison.
This Handsome Young Man #100DaysOfOldDays
Day 93 #100DaysOfOldDays
This handsome young man is my grandfather – my mother’s father.
He was one of thousands of young Irish men who joined the British Army during World War II. He served with the Royal Pioneer Corps.
In 1942 he was shot and sent home an injured man. After being vindictively branded a coward, he returned to his station in the Netherlands.
Although the war ended in September, the Pioneer Corps continued their engineering duties rebuilding bridges and the like. On December 18th 1945 my grandfather was shot and killed by a sniper who hadn’t realised the war had ended.
Today’s artwork is by my brother Terry. Obviously this is who Lucy has inherited her artistic genes from!
Jack Charlton Lifted our Spirits #100DaysOfOldDays
Day 94 #100DaysOfOldDays
Photo Challenge by Of Maria Antonia. Choose a prompt from Maria’s list. Today I’ve chosen Black & White.
This is a mural of Englishman Jack Charlton on Ridgepool Road in Ballina, Co Mayo. Jack was a keen fisherman and often fished for salmon on the banks of the River Moy.
Jack Charlton has a very special place in the hearts of the Irish. When he led the Republic of Ireland football team to their first World Cup final in 1990, almost every human being in the country went football crazy. They had the attention and the support of people who weren’t even that much into football.
It was a month like no other! Pubs overflowed with people gathering to watch the games. Some business’s closed early to let their employees off home – others who couldn’t close had big screens up so no one would miss out on a match.
Italia ’90 lifted the spirits of the Irish people. We gathered, we sang, we laughed and we prayed – and all the grannies in the country lit candles for Jack and his team.
The buzz and excitement that we experienced at home, made us less envious of those who were lucky enough to make it to Italy for the finals.
Even though we were disappointed when we lost to the Italian team in the quarter-finals, we remained proud. Half a million people gathered in the streets of Dublin to welcome them home, myself included!
The song, Put ’em Under Pressure nearly caused an earthquake on our wee island several times during Italia ’90. It still gives me happy goose bumps!
What Colour was Your Impulse? #100DaysOfOldDays
Day 95 #100DaysOfOldDays
In the 80’s I couldn’t afford to buy expensive perfume, but I could afford Impulse body spray!
We all owned one or two cans of it. And when a new fragrance came out, we’d have to buy it immediately.
They smelled fantastic, they were handy and completely affordable. The only problem was, they didn’t last very long because we used to douse ourselves in it.
Impulse wasn’t just for wearing on a night out, it was for every day. School, Mass, walking round town. Every day was Impulse day!
The earliest ones we had were Always Alluring, Delightfully Daring, Instantly Innocent, Mysterious Musk, Possible Playful, and Suddenly Sassy. In 1986, three new scents came out; Elation, Electric Musk, and Temptation.
“When a man you’ve never met before suddenly gives you flowers, that’s impulse!”
Did you get those flowers? Well, I didn’t!
Impulse is still on the go, but some of the original fragrances from the 80’s are no longer available.
Can anyone name these three originals? My favourite was the pink one! Was it called Gypsy?
Was the gold one called Hint of Musk or Mysterious Musk? And the black one was something exotic…?
Look at how much Walmart was selling Always Alluring for. No longer available – so someone has more money than sense!
Rambles of a Raring Writer 