Things you don’t see outside any more

[AlterEgo]

Ghislaine Maxwell.

 

[32475]

Old men with missing limbs or other injuries from wartime injuries. In my memory they always wore suits, shirts and ties with the appropriate arm or leg material folded neatly.

 

[Killingworth]

Only place I've ever seen double red lines is on the approach to Liverpool airport.

Double red rew thread warning? In addition to having a very long tunnel Totley has double red lines outside the primary school on the A621.

 

[The exile]

There was at least one in Birmingham in the late 70s, i vividly remember this as my Dad nearly crashed into it!

Edinburgh still had horse-drawn Co-op milk delivery into the 1980s (1984, I think). Hadn't seen the earlier post!!!

 

[GusB]

Cars with a different colored door usually because it had been replaced with one from another car.

on the subject of parking restrictions further up what is supposed to be the difference between double yellow lines and double red lines

Regarding cars with mismatched parts, I'm guessing that the demise of the local 'scrappy' has a lot to do with this. My 1978 Dagenham Dustbin had lots of bits that were simply acquired by wandering round the scrapyard. When my dad pranged his Cavalier, a replacement front grille was sourced from such a yard.

Dog turds that have dried and gone white. There’s no more bonemeal in dog food any more.

Mentioned previously

 

[gg1]

Old fashion X or H shaped TV aerials, obsolete by the 70s but many stayed up until they literally fell apart, last one I saw was probably 10-15 years ago.

Cars with large amounts of visible rust thanks to vastly improved anti corrosion protection.

Parking meters - does anyone know when they disappeared? I've been driving since 1992 and a car owner since 1998 and don't recall ever actually using one.

Free range dogs - ie people keeping dogs the way most people keep cats, letting them out during the day to wander.

 

[Gloster]

Young or healthy people getting up and offering older or infirm people a seat on the bus, tube, train, bench, etc. And children who didn’t do so quickly enough being ejected from their seat by a mother who would apologise.

 

[Busaholic]

Double yellow means don't park there but you can stop briefly to drop off or pick up someone.

Double red lines means don't even think of stopping at all! That is how I understand it.

Bit more complicated than that.

Double yellow basically allows for loading/unloading for up to fifteen minutes, plus parking for blue badge holders for up to three hours. If there are double yellow striped lines on the kerb as well, then only drop off/pick up is allowed. Single yellow on the kerb starts to stray into more obtuse regulations! As I said, these are the basics - variations abound. I've had to become much more versed in this stuff since becoming disabled in a town which is doing its darnedest to 'discourage' cars without making any provision for those who absolutely need one to lead anything like a decent life.

 

[MattA7]

Young or healthy people getting up and offering older or infirm people a seat on the bus, tube, train, bench, etc. And children who didn’t do so quickly enough being ejected from their seat by a mother who would apologise.

I saw a younger guy doing this a few months ago however it got a negative reaction from the older man who started saying “are you implying I’m old” etc so that could possibly be a reason why people don’t do that as often. Another tricky one is pregnant women, are they pregnant or simply rather overweight.

 

[Busaholic]

I saw a younger guy doing this a few months ago however it got a negative reaction from the older man who started saying “are you implying I’m old” etc so that could possibly be a reason why people don’t do that as often. Another tricky one is pregnant women, are they pregnant or simply rather overweight.

I hardly ever use public transport now, but on the occasions I do I am frequently offered a seat. not so much because of my age but my increasing difficulty with walking and keeping upright. I have declined the offer on occasion, but graciously. Men and women of all ages and races offer ime; children, I've no idea, as I'd always try to avoid such travel when they are likely to be around en masse. The guy quoted above does a disservice for those of us who are grateful.

 

[D6130]

Also on the topic of post, the green, square box atop of a column that the postman used for storage of mail on their rounds. I can’t think of a name for them, I hope fellow readers know what I mean! There used to be one at the end of my road but it was removed around 8 years ago.

These were known as 'Dead Letter Boxes' and were used by postmen/women to temporarily store their heavy bags while walking around a particular street or estate with a handful of mail for that small area. In some parts of the country they were painted either red or grey. They have largely been superceded by wheeled trolleys of the type that most continental countries have been using for decades.

 

[Killingworth]

Starting handles on cars. Last used mine on a Wolseley 1500 about 1968.

 

[birchesgreen]

Starting handles on cars. Last used mine on a Wolseley 1500 about 1968.

My first car, a K reg Lada Riva, still had the hole for a starting handle though it was covered with body work and not really considered usable (no handle was provided anyway!)

 

[GusB]

Young or healthy people getting up and offering older or infirm people a seat on the bus, tube, train, bench, etc. And children who didn’t do so quickly enough being ejected from their seat by a mother who would apologise.

I saw a younger guy doing this a few months ago however it got a negative reaction from the older man who started saying “are you implying I’m old” etc so that could possibly be a reason why people don’t do that as often. Another tricky one is pregnant women, are they pregnant or simply rather overweight.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't!

 

[island]

Phone booths themselves, there's still some in Chesterfield but I'm not checking next time I'm up there as generally the only thing that's plastered in there are the frequent users ...

(Doncaster has some phones on the side of their information displays, the local drug using population have to use these, slightly less private for them ... )

These are, legally, phone kiosks rather than information displays – until May 2019 a phone kiosk could be erected with very few formalities and then used to display advertising. This was much cheaper and less faff than getting permission to put up an actual advertising hoarding. The kiosk operator doesn't charge for calls and just writes the small cost off as an operating expense. No new kiosks can be erected this way, but those which have already been installed are grandfathered.

Double yellow means don't park there but you can stop briefly to drop off or pick up someone.

Double red lines means don't even think of stopping at all! That is how I understand it.

Red lines in London originally meant that a road is managed by TfL rather than the local authority. Now, double red lines mean no stopping at any time (except for taxis or disabled badge holders who may load/unload).

Bit more complicated than that.

Double yellow basically allows for loading/unloading for up to fifteen minutes, plus parking for blue badge holders for up to three hours. If there are double yellow striped lines on the kerb as well, then only drop off/pick up is allowed.

Double yellow kerb markings in fact mean no drop off/pick up at all, according to the Highway Code.

Single yellow on the kerb starts to stray into more obtuse regulations! As I said, these are the basics - variations abound. I've had to become much more versed in this stuff since becoming disabled in a town which is doing its darnedest to 'discourage' cars without making any provision for those who absolutely need one to lead anything like a decent life.

Indeed. I think there used to be triple kerb stripes at one point too.

 

[Non Multi]

In the summer of 2020 just when I thought the year couldn't get any more strange, I saw a long haired boy busily trying to fix his Raleigh Chopper bike on the kerb a few streets away from home. That actually freaked me out.

 

[52290]

Dog turds that have dried and gone white. There’s no more bonemeal in dog food any more.

You don't see many dog turds of any sort on the pavement these days, dog owners seem careful to put them in their little plastic bags. The danger to pedestrians now is from cyclists and, more recently, electric scooterists.

 

[Busaholic]

You don't see many dog turds of any sort on the pavement these days

You do round my way.

 

[AlterEgo]

You don't see many dog turds of any sort on the pavement these days, dog owners seem careful to put them in their little plastic bags. The danger to pedestrians now is from cyclists and, more recently, electric scooterists.

Dog turds have increased a lot in my area thanks to Lockdown 1 and the increased dog ownership among people who oughtn’t own dogs.

 

[Non Multi]

Cars built with just the driver's side door mirror. Charming(!) customised windscreen sun strips with the names of the front seat occupants.

 

[MattA7]

You do round my way.

In my area it is an absolutely nightmare was never a problem where I used to live (perhaps because council officials went out in swarms to fine dog owners) however my current location is a nightmare

 

[PG]

In place of the old Queue This Side ("Queue? What's a queue?"), maybe each bus stop should now have a sticker with a different piece of info very relevant today:- "No, missus, you can't use your free pass before 9:30"

Another useful one would be: "Let passengers get off before you get on!"

In the summer of 2020 just when I thought the year couldn't get any more strange, I saw a long haired boy busily trying to fix his Raleigh Chopper bike on the kerb a few streets away from home. That actually freaked me out.

Hope he didn't adjust his brakes too tightly otherwise might have got the infamous Chopper crotch injury from the gearshift lever

Cars built with just the driver's side door mirror. Charming(!) customised windscreen sun strips with the names of the front seat occupants.

I remember the first time not long after passing my test borrowing a friends car which only had the drivers mirror and thinking "How the heck are you supposed to reverse park without a nearside mirror?"

 

[Killingworth]

7

I remember the first time not long after passing my test borrowing a friends car which only had the drivers mirror and thinking "How the heck are you supposed to reverse park without a nearside mirror?"

But you had an offside mirror? Just a tiny interior mirror on my first Morris Minor and a small rear window.

When did indicator lamps first appear and become standard? They were after sale additions in the early 50s.

Trafficator arms were meant to light up and stick out to indicate a change of direction but weren't very reliable.

Hand signals. I used them every day when cycling but not sure I did in that old Minor - the window didn't wind down too well.

 

[Caboose Class]

Four foot of snow outside the front door!

 

[Snow1964]

Dog turds have increased a lot in my area thanks to Lockdown 1 and the increased dog ownership among people who oughtn’t own dogs.

Gas lamps. They were there before they were replaced by those greenish white mercury arc street lamps.

There are a couple of gas lamps still in use outside Ham Gate to Richmond Park

But ornate metal poles with prongs to lean a ladder on, have virtually disappeared. And concrete lampposts which were common on most new estates in 1970s and 1980s seem to mainly gone too.

 

[DelW]

When did indicator lamps first appear and become standard? They were after sale additions in the early 50s.

Trafficator arms were meant to light up and stick out to indicate a change of direction but weren't very reliable.

I think that amber flashing turn indicators were required from the beginning of 1965. A number of popular cars had minor redesigns then, to incorporate them.

Prior to that were the trafficator arms you mentioned, also some cars flashed their sidelights (so white at the front and red at the rear) as turn signals. I once owned a MK1 Cortina first registered in May 1964 which flashed white at the front.

One of the problems with trafficators was that at speed, wind resistance was enough to stop them folding back in (which I think relied on gravity alone). As a small boy on motorway trips, one of my duties as back seat passenger was to wind down the relevant window, reach out and push one back down when needed. Seat belts were unknown in those days of course.

 

[Tracked]

Hadn't seen one for a very long time, but on Friday I saw a coal van delivering to someone's house a couple of streets away

 

[DelayRepay]

And concrete lampposts which were common on most new estates in 1970s and 1980s seem to mainly gone too.

The concrete lamp post outside my house was chopped down by the Council just before Christmas, and replaced with a metal one.

As we're doing cars, I learned to drive in my mum's old Austin Metro which had a manual choke and only four forward gears.

When the car was replaced with one that had five gears, mum was suspicious of the fifth gear and refused to use it. When she finally got used to having five gears, the car was replaced again with one that had six

 

[D6130]

Hadn't seen one for a very long time, but on Friday I saw a coal van delivering to someone's house a couple of streets away

We still have a coal merchant here in Hebden Bridge, based in the former coal yard at the station - although no longer rail-served of course. He delivers around the area using a flat-bed Land Rover.

 

[MattA7]

Streetlights on wooden poles served by overhead wires are probably not to common now. Although personally I quite like these traditional looking street lamps much better than the modern nonsense common place today.