Two boys playing in the harbour at St Ives, Cornwall€¦ · Two boys playing in the harbour at St Ives, Cornwall Ref: 10999379 Mary Evans Picture Library. ... Which shops did you

Copyright © 2020 Everyday Miracles Ltd T/A The Daily Sparkle®

Two boys playing in the harbour at St Ives, CornwallRef: 10999379 Mary Evans Picture Library


Sailing And Boats

Questions To AskDid you like sailing? What sort of boats have you sailed or been on?

Have you ever rowed a boat? How about with friends or family on a boating lake? What about pleasure-steamers?

Why do you think so many British people love the sea, boats and sailing so much, even if only watching the comings and goings in a harbour?

What about if the weather is rough? Have you ever listened to a shipping forecast? Did you have a barometer? How do you use a barometer?


Front cover of ‘Practical Householder’ magazine December 1955 Ref: 11984446 Mary Evans Picture Library


DIY

Questions To Ask

Did you buy DIY magazines such as Practical Householder? Do you remember Barry Bucknell, Mr DIY, on the television?

Did you do DIY about the house? If not yourself, who did DIY jobs in your family? What sort of jobs did you / they tackle? How successful were you / they at DIY jobs? What were the success stories? And what did not quite go to plan? Which jobs about the house did you enjoy doing? And which were you not so keen on?

Why did people do DIY rather than getting a tradesman in? Why do you think that DIY was so popular after the war and through the 50s and 60s?


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WASTE NOT WANT / CHILDREN’S TOYS

Questions To Ask

What does the phrase ‘Waste Not, Want Not’ mean to residents? What other phrases are like that? (Example: ‘Make Do and Mend’.) Why were these especially important in the past? Are they still true today?

Children’s toys particularly were much simpler in times gone by. Many were made from old bits around the house. Children seldom had new toys bought from the shop. Did anyone in your family have a go-cart? Who made it? What was your favourite toy as a child? Was it hand-made or shop bought? Were your parents good at making toys?

What was it like by the time you had reached adulthood and may have had your own children to bring up? How different are childhood toys compared with today?

What ways did you or your parents have to waste not, want not? Chat about examples: mending clothes, repairing shoes, passing down clothes, reusing wool and other items, deposits on lemonade bottles, returning the empties.


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DAILY NEWSPAPER

Questions To Ask

Did you get a daily paper? Which one? How was it delivered or where did you buy it? How much did it cost? Why did you like that particular paper? What other daily newspapers are there?

Did you also take a Sunday paper? Which one? Did you bother with the colour supplements and the magazines? How are the Sunday papers different from the weekday daily papers?

Did you or any of your children deliver papers? What is it like to do a paper round? How else are newspapers sold? Did you have a favourite newspaper seller on the streets? What did they shout?

What is it like reading a newspaper? How does it feel in your hand? How do you fold it? Which pages did you look at first? What were your favourite pages or bits of the paper?

What can you do with newspapers after you have read them?


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SHOPPING

Questions To Ask

What was it like shopping for food and essentials before supermarkets? Where did you shop? How did you get there? How often did you go shopping? Which shops did you visit? Was there a choice of grocer, greengrocer, butcher, baker, fishmonger? Whose shops did you prefer to go to, and why?

How did you carry your shopping home? What sort of things did you buy?

How has the food you can buy changed over the years? How has the packaging changed? When did you get your first fridge? What about your first freezer? How did you keep food fresh before fridges? How has frozen food changed shopping?

What was the first self-service grocers or supermarket in your area? What did you think of supermarkets? Did you prefer the personal service of the old shops or the choice available in supermarkets? How has shopping changed?

Documents

Two boys playing in the harbour at St Ives, Cornwall€¦ · Two boys playing in the harbour at St Ives, Cornwall Ref: 10999379 Mary Evans Picture Library. ... Which shops did you