Calling Oldies 3

how could I forget the cry of the Evening Post paperboys. My young brothers aspired to be paper boys and would practise for hours. It sounded like Ah-Eevnin peeo-oast and had a definite tune to it. I can still hear them now. I used to long for curls seahorse and occasionally had ringlets, but otherwise I would sit in class after swimming lessons and try to curl my hair up on my neckline, trying to look as athough I was just twiddling my hair while I was deep in thought. We had ribbons tied on top except for when we were allowed plaits for a while. My Mum got our hair permed when we were 12!! I can't believe it when I think back. It was in the early days of perming (1951) and it stank and took so long. It was so uncharacteristic of her. I think she just found doing our hair too much bother with my brothers being four year olds.

Speaking of Milk Deliveries ...Ours was delivered in Billies ... we paid with metal tokens (later replaced with plastic ones!! real flash!) This was delivered by milkcart that had wheels like a bicycle and was scooped into the billy from the vat on board this cart...lol. We thought it was real flash when we got our milk in Quart bottles with the cream on top as focuson mentioned. Like Seahorse I absolutely abhor porridge to this day. Gagged on the stuff from Day one and have never altered my opinion of the stuff since. Ugh!! I couldn't even cook the stuff for my kids (who loved it) unless I totally changed it with cocoa and vanilla essence and eggs and honey... ugh I cannot even stand the smell let alone the look and taste of it. To be offered Weetbix to me was like heaven because we were made to eat porridge every day too seahorse. Weetbix was only 2/6 a box then (750g box) and milk was (my first memory was 4d a pint) all relative though I guess.

Those Evening Post cries created a unique atmosphere in the afternoon city streets of Wellington. But some Wellington customs got me into trouble, especially in my early years of marriage. In all my young days growing up in Wellington, the "dustman" as we called the rubbish collectors, always came to the back door to empty our rubbish can into his own collection bin. It was still going on when I married in 1947 and brought my young bride to the capital. She thought it was great, never having to put the rubbish out as she had to do in Christchurch

Another wellington landmark I remember were the old swimming bath (on the site of the Freyberg Pool now) these were segregated, men in one pool and woman in the other with the water coming in from the sea. Seem to recall a sandy bottom to the pool also. Have photos of my mother there in the 30's. She worked at James Smiths in the clothing department and used to model for their fashion parades. Used to tell me they were not supposed to let a prospective customer excape without making a purchase

I remember the old pool down at Oriental Bay with the seawater oldbnz, and while at Wellington Girls' College we used the Thorndon Pool for lessons. That hasn't changed much, but I see a lot of young folk using Freyburg now to train. What about the two pylons on Mt Victoria. I've never felt the same since they removed one of them, although that was relatively recently one could argue. What about the old shops in Cuba Street - C. Smiths. Whitehead and Pears, Evans

I remember when we first arrived in NZ (1967)we bought a side of lamb from the meatworks for $7.50 - I remember writing home about it! And the rent of our first flat in Onehunga was $15 per week. The six o'clock swill ended when we arrived .....

we only changed to decimal currency in 1967 so that must have been just before you arrived. Our rent for a 3 bdrm, 2 living room house with large section was £12.50 which changed to $25 between five girls all flatting together.

Can't remember what toys I had as a kid. I loved reading and also just disappearing with my friend for the day. The kids are now into their 30's but have kept so many of their toys. The grandkids love playing with them and like to know whose dad 'this' belonged to. I make it us as I go along as I can't remember. There are match box cars, tonka toys, old books, old games, lego. And, a red plastic train set which seems to be the most popular

There was a hill where the present runway has been formed, and we would play up there, and sit there should there be aerobatic displays, or a big 3 engined plane visit. Our family sat up there one autumn day to watch a parachute jump by the famous parachutist, "Scotty" Fraser. We watched in disbelief when what looked like a sack left the aircraft and tumble down into Lyall Bay; "It couldn't be him" we all said. But when a speed boat left the sandy bay and headed out for where the splash had come, we realized it must have been him.

I had a cane dolls pram and stilts, a pedal car and trike and a few dolls and teddies. My favourite doll ( I still have her) was Patsy - a plastic one which you could remove the head arms and legs. She had short auburn curls with a short stump line along the front where I gave her a haircut once and it never grew back?

Rongatai was a small, grass airfield in those days The Cooks Stait Airways flew their de Havillnad biplanes to Blenheim and Nelson from that small field. And right next door was the Miramar Golf Links, which, over the years, was to lose land along its 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes to provide increasing space for the growing airport. I caddied on the links for several years, watching the de Havilland factory go up, and seeing the debris from a small 'plane that came down close to the Gold Club house. We boys salvaged bits of the fuselage as souvenirs, some of them carrying blood, but unhappy events followed in my life, and in supertitious belief that I had done the victims wrong, I threw the bits away.

We used to go blackberry picking behind the old catholic church in Wellsford. There where heaps of bushes there and mum used to make jams, pies etc, yummy. Also we used to go mushrooming in the stockyards behind our old house. Used to come home with bucketfulls.