Dozens and dozens of spider lilies are popping up in my garden beds now autumn is on its way. My Mum used to get very excited by the one or two in her garden. I have been thinking of Mum and Helen's comment on my post last week about going back to the 70s "Paper bags for sale but still far too many unnecessarily prepackaged in plastic, items."
Let's go further back in time to the 50s and 60s of my childhood. Mum would go shopping at Mr Symes General Store, perch on a high stool by the counter and order 1 pound of this, 8 ounces of that and Mr Symes would weigh things out and put them in paper bags. She would then carry them home in her string bag. Perhaps she would pop into Mr Pitt's butcher shop on the way and buy meat which was wrapped in old newspapers. And at the bakery loaves were wrapped in tissue paper.
Back at home, each morning the milkman poured milk into the billy waiting on the front step. There were big bulk tins of flour, sugar, honey and golden syrup. In the cupboard there were preserves in glass jars. Glass soft drink bottles were returned to Mr Lobb's soft drink factory for refilling. Paper, string and greaseproof lunch wraps were saved for reuse.
Vegetable peels were buried in the garden as compost. Old paper and bones were burnt in the fire (we had a wood stove for cooking and heating water). This meant the rubbish bin collected each week had no more than one or two tin cans in it.
Now that is a way to get rid of packaging but would we be prepared to live that way again?
A simpler time, with wiser ways. Beautiful blooms.
ReplyDeleteWell said - simpler and wiser.
DeleteI grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney and remember the milk being poured into our billy on the front verandah, also carrying parcels home in a string bag. There was no pre-packaging of food and everything was weighed and put into brown paper bags. Mum's grocer would call on a Tuesday to take mum's order at our back door and it would be delivered into our kitchen the next day. I wouldn't like to live like that anymore. The Spider lilies are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThe grocer used to visit our house too and the groceries were delivered by truck that afternoon and the box unpacked onto the kitchen table. The grocer boy who took the orders rode a bicycle and carried his pencil behind his ear.
DeleteIt's a much slower time though very eco friendly. I don't think people can think living life that slowly anymore, waiting for someone to weigh and wrap every single item. People can hardly wait in a queue these days.
ReplyDeleteThat is in interesting observation about waiting in the queue. Remember how the checkout queues disappeared during COVID lockdowns. That was so nice.
DeleteI love your spider lilies. I saw them for the first time on a holiday a few years ago. Yours are gorgeous! I remember mum's old string bag, and going to this shop and that shop when I was a kid. It was my job to stand on the street corner with the shopping bags. Not a fun thing for me to do at the time but a good memory now. You described a lot of the things I remember as a kid and it brought back nice memories. Great post, thank you :)
ReplyDeleteI am glad to have jogged your memory and that those memories were sweet.
DeleteYou have taken us down memory lane. Plastics are a worry and hugely detrimental to our Earth. I wouldn't like to go back to those days too much hard work. I don't even go shopping anymore but order on line and just go to pick it up.
ReplyDeleteI am not keen on online shopping. I tried it during COVID but quickly went back to going to the shops when the scare was over. You are right about the hard work. Don't let me start on what washing day was like - then again maybe I will next week.
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