If Only They Could Talk.

Nothing very intellectual this week. Stand up the man who said 'How do you mean this week!' I sat wondering what to write about, I never find it easy. People who find something to say every day amaze me. But good luck to them although its not for me. But I digress. I looked round my room where I work for inspiration. And there it was. My latest addition to my collection/museum. One knife cleaner, circa 1880 I reckon, bought from a car-boot in Castleton a week or two ago. The sort of thing that would be used by servants in the 'big houses' many years ago. And I got to thinking, what a story it could tell if it could talk. Where did it come from. Where's it been for the last few years. Who used it over the years. What's happened to the people who used it. It's got a Manchester inscription on it but that doesn't mean it's always been in the area. (Although Castleton isn't that far from Manchester.) So many questions, so few answers. Any suggestions.
Also near my computer, another of my treasures. (Nothing ever gets put away, but it brightens up my little unimportant life !) A butter churn, marked with the name 'Blow'. Funnily enough e-bay is full of them! I reckon its around a hundred years old but I might be wrong, I'm just a daft old collecter, not an expert! Again where's it been, who used it; I'm sure it could tell a tale. I keep meaning to give it a try, it might amuse the grandchildren. Anybody any experience out there on what to do. I've only got a rough idea. Grumpys blast from the past. Next week, two old toys that might amuse!

Answers to 'I Know What That Is' dated 21st January.

Item One

A hat stretcher, actually I think it is a Bowler Hat stretcher used in a tailors shop to keep hats in good condition. I had never noticed until I looked closely that it is inscribed with the name of William Plant and the address 51 Hilton Street, Manchester. The number 2 is also inscribed several times. I have read there is a museum in Stockport dedicated to the hat industry. Anyone out there know if Hilton Street still exists?

Item Two

A blood circulator. Patent number 13932. Inscribed with the name D Macauras. Presumably originating from the 1920's. The only mention of the name Macauras I can find is in the Middleboro Gazette, Minnisota in the mid 1920's. Any information gratefully received.

If you place the circulator against the bare skin of the body, a leg for instance and turn the handle rapidly the end rotates. A not unpleasent sensation that I presume would break down blood clots. Again any other observations greatfully received. And no rude suggestions concerning alternative uses!

Item three.

A grappling iron/hook, often seen in old movies where the prisoner in the yard escapes by throwing it over a wall and climbing up the attached rope. This particlar one in my possession belonged to a police force. I am told it has been used on several occasions to recover bodies from rivers and canals.

So there you have it. I thoroughly enjoyed this blog and even I learnt something . We must do it again!

Bye Bye October. Grumpy's Alternative News.

October, politicians still whingeing, banks still raking it in, and times are still hard; but who cares. There was enough to distract from the humdrum if you looked closely.

People never cease to amaze. Plenty of idiots for a start. The young woman driving on the M4 at ninety miles an hour and trying to inject heroin at the same time. Evidently she is studying four A levels to gain entrance to university. I wonder what subjects!

The comedian Jimmy Carr, cleared of driving whilst using his phone as he was only using it to record a joke. A pathetic response, Mr Carr.

Harriet Harman, alleged to have been involved in a car accident, witnessed, whilst on her mobile. Plus not stopping to exchange insurance details . (She was banned in 2003 for driving at 99mph on the M4.)

Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man has capped his wages this year 'to set a personal example'. He 's only drawing £2.3 million instead of £6 million. That's all right then.

Plus Andrew Robathan, Tory MP who bleats 'I could lose my second home' if the rules on MP's allowances are changed. (He has a £2,000,000 townhouse plus a farmhouse in the country.) Are these people real? Do the people at the top ever think before speaking. In fact do they ever think.

David Blunkett is donating his brain to medical research. I have a better idea. Compulsory purchase the brains of the five people mentioned. You will then be guaranteed brains that have never been used.

Who else made the news. I see a man was jailed after claiming £75,000 in Manchester for severe back and leg pain. (He was seen break-dancing at a work event.) And his job? Benefits Officer!

Likewise the pensioner claiming disability who was spotted break-dancing on 'Britain's Got Talent'.

Misguided, the teacher who was turned in by his own pupils when he rewrote their essays in a school in Tamworth. The pupils objected to the changes even though they got higher marks.

Unlucky, the pensioner in Berlin whose £16,000 blew from his car. The police helped him recover it. Including the receipt that indicated it was smuggled money. Unlucky also the family locked in the Nat West Bank in Fulwood when the staff locked up and went home. One way to keep customers I suppose. The same goes for the man in Plymouth whose wife ordered him to sell his collection of 7,500 Happy Meal Toys. Only he was doubly unlucky in that they did not attract a single bid and he had to take them all back home again!

Anyone who follows my blog will know of my doubts concerning flying. One day I must get round to trying it. But is it any wonder I have grave misgivings.

There was a brawl on an Air India Airbus at 30,000 feet. Passengers you might expect but it was in fact the aircrew. Evidently they came to blows over a claim of sexual harassment. It is alleged that at one stage the plane was left unmanned during the scuffle. This sort of thing does not exactly impress. And it has been denied that the reason a Northwest Airlines flight overshot its destination by 150 miles was because the pilots had been taking a nap at the controls. The pilots claimed they were not asleep, 'merely having a heated discussion over airline policy and they lost situational awareness'.

I also noticed an 86, yes 86 year old man from Ohio who crashed a plane killing himself and his five passengers had been warned by his doctor not to even drive a car! (He had been treated for macular degeneration.) And you wonder why I'm not a fan. If I ever do get round to flying I know exactly where I'm going to sit. I'm going to sit on the black box, at least that's always recovered.

Having got a bit morbid, lets finish on a more amusing note. (Though not everyone shares my dubious sense of humour!) A young man on a train mooning at railway staff got his trousers caught in a door and was dragged half naked off the platform. Fortunately only his pride was hurt. And finally a woman gave her husband a potion and dragged him off to the woods, thence to attack him with a knife before running off to a prearranged lover. Very serious, I admit, but I bet it's the last time he takes horny goat weed, even for a bet!