Regarding Biscuit Barrels

[Texas]

Does anyone else remember these essential items of days gone by? There was always one on the end of the 'sideboard', (that's another item of furniture that has disapeared). You'd have the sideboard, on one end the biscuit barrel, then a bowl of some sort, either glass or wood with fruit in it, then perhaps the radio, or wireless as they used to be known. I suppose all these items have gone out of fashion now, but maybe some of you 'oldies' remember them.

[telman]

I remember the wireless , still got one. They are still broadcasting. fruit is available.

[Texas]

I'll bet you can't get Hilversum on your wireless.

[Allen]

The sideboards gone....

Still got the radio by the side of the computer.

Still have the biscuit barrel and fruit bowl, kept on the kitchen worktop.

[poppypoppy]

yep..my mom and dad still have a sideboard...remember the biscuit barrel and mom used to have a very large wooden fruit bowl..and if anyone came to tea...she used to get her 'best' fruit bowl out..which was a fancy glass one...LOL...she filled it with fruit every weekend...and it lasted us all week...oh good days...

[BLITZER]

Yes,I remember the sideboard,also the bicuit barrel. Still got it 70 years on.

Remember the kitchen cabinet,very popular in the 50's,also the £25 Hoover washing machine,the latest in technology at the time. The Ideal home exhibition at Olympia in London,was an Aladdin's cave of household goodies,especially in the post war years. Loved all the demonstratrions,and free samples!

[mylee]

Blitzer I shall be going to the Ideal Home Show in March its now at Earls court , very different now don't get many freebies these days.

[DUFFEMS]

Does anyone else remember these essential items of days gone by? There was always one on the end of the 'sideboard', (that's another item of furniture that has disapeared). You'd have the sideboard, on one end the biscuit barrel, then a bowl of some sort, either glass or wood with fruit in it, then perhaps the radio, or wireless as they used to be known. I suppose all these items have gone out of fashion now, but maybe some of you 'oldies' remember them.

 

Very often, the wooden fruit bowl was one which one of the sons had made at school in woodwork class (only boys allowed then!).

Our biscuit barrel was chrome, very 1920's influenced in shape, it had a plastic insert so that you could wash it not that it had biscuits in very often as we were like gannets in our house.

Didn't it smell like the biscuit containers in Gowers & Burgons/Meadow/Co-op?

If you had visiters on a Sunday did you have tinned salmon followed by tinned fruit?

[Bilge]

Ah yes the biscuit barrel. Ours was red tin with pictures of teapots on it and a brass coloured knob on the top. You were supposed to remove the circular thing from the lid and dry it out by the fire or in the oven or something. We never did this of course and it still worked fine. Chocolate digestives (when we had any) were generally hidden by my mother below a layer of more boring biscuits (eg Rich Tea or Garibaldi).

 

We also had the sideboard with wireless and fruit bowl formation. At one stage we were also given a sideboard and wireless in one - a radiogram. It had one massive design fault though - you had to physically move the entire thing round the house to get better reception of some stations. So eventually I sawed it up and burnt most of it on the fire!

 

I've still got our old wireless even though it no longer works. A Ferguson one made of red/brown leather and brass. My mum pronounced it 'whylus' (like 'stylus' ie 2 syllables rather than 3), so it was a surprise to me when i first saw the word written down and realised the derivation. I had just associated the word with the sound of the winding of the tuning wheel and the trebly noises in between stations.

[Kidorry]

Very often, the wooden fruit bowl was one which one of the sons had made at school in woodwork class (only boys allowed then!).

Our biscuit barrel was chrome, very 1920's influenced in shape, it had a plastic insert so that you could wash it not that it had biscuits in very often as we were like gannets in our house.

Didn't it smell like the biscuit containers in Gowers & Burgons/Meadow/Co-op?

If you had visiters on a Sunday did you have tinned salmon followed by tinned fruit?

That sounds like our house.Can you remember the jam tarts they sold I always thought they were vile,tasted like putty.But then after my mothers cooking every thing tasted worse because my mother was a great cook.