Blackpowder Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Ahh log chopping sinking the axe in an elm log and sticking it there swinging and thumping it half over the county before the log perhaps split. Real tough specimens were attacked with a series of iron wedges a legacy from my blacksmith grandfather. Certainly got two even three warms from your fuel in those days, in gathering sawing and chopping before the fire was even lit. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sussexboy Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I can remember chopping kindling. We had a billhook for the sticks and used a big oak log to chop stuff on. Had a full size axe for the bigger stuff. Used to roll news paper up into tight tubes and knot them for fire starters and often held a sheet of newspaper over the front of the fire to get it to draw. Still do the same today in our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I have open fires still and chop the chips, my dad used to do it for exercise until he was 78 and moved into a centrally heated bungalow. Mums job was the newspaper firelighters. Many is the time he set fire to things - usually his eyebrows when lighting bonfires with Petrol - never got the match in quick enough and was enveloped in the burning vapour cloud. Love a log fire and still chop enough for winter. We used to make decorations for Christmas from logs and ivy/mistletoe, Christmas tree branch bits and shoe whitening and glitter - still do. Also everyone in the village went to the Boxing Day hunt meet - Still have one down the road in Tarporley and it really draws the crowds. Not many meets these days but just watching a chatting, a glass of whisky in dads hand. Excellent stories to tell the kids - just like my grandparents used to bore me with ! Saw a woodland trust guy on TV saying how good hazel branches were for growing peas up and ash poles for beans - amazing, never done anything else ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 (edited) Dad always had his peas, beans and sweet peas growing up branches. He used to dig a huge deep trench across the veg plot and all the veg peelings and grass clippings etc went in it for months before the soil was put back and the beans planted. I can still remember the salty taste of beans now as Mum used to take any excess crop and putt them in large glass sweet jars layered in salt on the pantry floor for later in the year. Dad always left a few beans on the plants till late on to get big and we would take the large beans produced and dry them in the airing cupboard for next years seed. Edited September 19, 2014 by loriusgarrulus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayano3 Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Can you remember these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schylling-CTK-Classic-Kaleidoscope-Tinplate/dp/B000ELSZW0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Can you remember these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schylling-CTK-Classic-Kaleidoscope-Tinplate/dp/B000ELSZW0 They still make them - my wife bought me a wood one with semi precious stones inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorismyhero Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 and periscopes made out of a couple of mirrors and cardboard...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Little gliders made out of balsa flat packed that came in a thin paper bag. You put them together and flew them briefly. They inevitably ended up on the roof of the house or in a nearby tree to high to retrieve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Little gliders made out of balsa flat packed that came in a thin paper bag. You put them together and flew them briefly. They inevitably ended up on the roof of the house or in a nearby tree to high to retrieve. Still a loot bag favourite today :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmytree Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Ahh log chopping sinking the axe in an elm log and sticking it there swinging and thumping it half over the county before the log perhaps split. Real tough specimens were attacked with a series of iron wedges a legacy from my blacksmith grandfather. Certainly got two even three warms from your fuel in those days, in gathering sawing and chopping before the fire was even lit. Blackpowder That brings back memories! Clearing elm trees after dutch elm, father in law had loads on the farm which we cut up with a 2 man chainsaw and a tractor powered sawbench, we had a block of something, wax maybe? that we used to rub on the belt. I did it while it was running until the day one of the clips that joined the belt caught my shirtsleeve and ripped the sleeve off after bashing me against the mudguard of the tractor. A real white knuckle and bum clench moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 That brings back memories! Clearing elm trees after dutch elm, father in law had loads on the farm which we cut up with a 2 man chainsaw and a tractor powered sawbench, we had a block of something, wax maybe? that we used to rub on the belt. I did it while it was running until the day one of the clips that joined the belt caught my shirtsleeve and ripped the sleeve off after bashing me against the mudguard of the tractor. A real white knuckle and bum clench moment! very similar with me, working for an agricultural contractor near Stow Maris Essex, ditching and taking down dead elms, As a teen I was cutting logs on a large circular saw (no guard in them days) when pushing through a difficult knot it went through quick and I fell forward and the saw cut through the front of my coat, how I managed to pull back I still don't know, it would have split me down the middle, had several near death experiences as a youth, mostly to do with electricity or chain saws, even one or two since but that's on boats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 very similar with me, working for an agricultural contractor near Stow Maris Essex, ditching and taking down dead elms, As a teen I was cutting logs on a large circular saw (no guard in them days) when pushing through a difficult knot it went through quick and I fell forward and the saw cut through the front of my coat, how I managed to pull back I still don't know, it would have split me down the middle, had several near death experiences as a youth, mostly to do with electricity or chain saws, even one or two since but that's on boats Was the only safety gear offered a pair of brown trousers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Was the only safety gear offered a pair of brown trousers? Ha any colour you liked but brown was the best option, safety wasn't an issue especially in farming then, things like 2 cwt sacks, cutting up asbestos with an angle grinder, painting a barn roof, I turned a tractor over and crawled out from under, no safety cabs, a long list, in my late teens I worked on deep sea trawlers from Lowestoft, I seem to remember that being a bit dangerous ! happy days (straying a lot from OP) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Swans, red squirrels, rabbits, hedgehogs, eels, pike, perch, chub - they were all on our table during WW2. Occasionally we got a tin of corned beef or spam. Snook/whale meat were a favourite when things got better. Big excitement when sweets were taken off the ration - Premature really as you still needed money so as to enjoy the new found delights on offer at the local shop. Bread and dripping was always my favourite treat though - Still is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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