Friday, 24 July 2026

An unexpected outing

 


Give us this day our daily bread . . .  Today's loaves - I made two smaller ones, planning to freeze one, but now Tam and Rosie will be here tomorrow night, so they will both be needed.  20% Rye flour (to use up) and the rest strong white bread flour.  Brushed with an egg-wash and then sprinkled with organic porridge oats.  Scrummy!  Tam's still not very well, so I shall let her rest up whilst I deal with Rosie.  Hoping I don't get the bug next . . .

Anyway, I finished the quilt border this morning, did a load of housework, watered in the greenhouse, and around lunchtime Pam phoned to see if I could accompany her to have her car MoT'd.  We hoped it would pass but you never know . . .  We popped along to Midway Plants and had a slow wander round, and she came home with 4 more for her newly dug bed.  The people at Midway sell a few collectibles too, so we had a slow browse around those, to kill time, and then went down for tea and cake at The Thomas Shop, which also has the original shop still all pretty much as it would have been more than 100 years ago.  I've done a post about it before but several years back now.  Lots of photos now . . .


A local mangle, too, Builth made by Price and Williams.  Keith's g. grandmother and grandmother used one like this (his g. gran had her own little laundry business, in the home, in Scarborough).


Keith would have loved this Green Man.  It's a nice one.


A modern Marie Lloyd and friends.  The real ones were an actual horse's skull.



I knew Thomas Crapper made toilets.  Didn't know his company also produced "bathroom tissue" too . . .  An improvement on squares of the News of the World or Izal (which was like using greaseproof paper!)



Those J & P Coats drawers would be a good seller . . . And the really old sewing machine too.







Curious weights, with a slot to hold them on an upright.









We sat outside with a pot of Earl Grey each, and shared a huge piece of chocolate cake with icing.  It was lovely watching birds across the nearly dried up river, in the trees and fields opposite.  Have a lovely weekend all.

9 comments:

  1. Interesting old shop to visit even has things I recognise, my mum had a Mangle I remember her using a boiler, sticking it in the butler sink to rinse then putting it through the mangel a couple of times before putting it on the washing line. I don’t know what happed to it after she bought a spin dryer.

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  2. I could spend hours in that shop. It looks fascinating.
    I'm not sure I liked the mention of Izal though. That is one thing from my school days I would very much like to forget. Horrible stuff!

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  3. Stopping by quickly to comment on the stack of slotted weights. I believe they were used on what I would describe as a platform scale. My Grampa Mac had one in the grainery. You put a sack of feed [or a grandchild] on the platform, then the various 'weights' were placed along a balance bar and moved until a reading was achieved. Wish I could give a better description.

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  4. What a lovely shop to visit. I hope Tam starts feeling better very soon.

    God bless.

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  5. Great shop. What a fun outing! Did the car pass inspection?
    Your bread always looks delish have fun w your girls
    Lizzy d gone to the beach

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  6. The shop museum looks an amazing place to visit.
    Hope you don't catch any bugs from Tam or Rosie, have a good day with them

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  7. That bread looks delicious and the trip out with your friend to the amazing shop must have been a fun day. I have a box of two Fairy Soaps as pictured and am using the last bit of the current one, shame it is no longer made, all the family come to me for cleaning any difficult laundry stains etc, they call it Jan’s magic soap as it works so well. Jan

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  8. A treasure trove! I used to have a mangle like that..useful in power cuts! I was sad to have to sell it when I moved south in '98. They can be adapted for use as clay slab rollers or by relief printers.
    In Limoges I saw a sewing machine like that in use by a cobbler

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  9. My conservatory looks a bit like that at the moment, I am sorting out all the things that my family have hoarded and need to sell them, Interesting colection though,
    Kathy

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