Memory Triggers

[Evil Sid]

Was sitting polishing up my few bits of silver the other night when I had one of those deja vue feelings that occasionally occur. It was a triggered memory from my childhood of the weekly brass ritual of my grandmother.

 

Every Sunday at two out would come the brasso and each of us were handed a tiny piece along with one of her may brass ornaments with the instructions "whoever gets theirs the cleanest gets a threepenny bit". My gran must have had the shiniest brass ornaments in Warrington as we each sat on the floor with brasso and old rag and rubbed vigorously at the brasses to earn our three pence and start again if her eagle eye spotted a bit that had been missed.

 

Amongst her collection were two brass nut crackers in the shape of a crocodile and were arguably the hardest of the lot to get shiny as you really had to work at the scales to get into all the nooks and crannies, next hardest was a pair of bells in the shape of dairy maids. Their long skirts being the bell part and the yoke with two buckets across their shoulders.

 

Although looking back it seemed to be a bit of a mean way to get the cleaning done It was a great way to pass a quiet Sunday afternoon, especially if it was raining and being Sunday no television until later on (only bbc 1 and itv at that time)

 

So I was wondering if there was anything that has triggered a similar memory of the past that you might like to share

[Derek]

That brought back a memory for me - I remember in Bob a Job week when I was about 11 having to clean dozens of brass ornaments in a house for an old lady - I reckon they hadn't seen Brasso since the last Bob a Job week. It took me hours, my fingers were a smelly black and my little arms ached. Actually, no, it wasn't Brasso - I've just remembered, it was a sort of cotton wool-impregnated polish - called Dur-a-glit, I think - I can still recall the smell - probably something that is considered toxic these days !

 

I was in the Liverpool museum on Monday and my memory was triggered by an old photo of the inside of a grocer's shop - do you remember that there always used to be a wooden chair by the door of almost every shop - I suppose it was because most people had to walk to the shops, not park close by and nip in and out. I'd always try to sit on the chair when I was a nipper, but my mum would make sure I got off if an older person came into the shop.

Ah, memories.

Derek

[Peter T]

I have come across two tins of Brasso recently. At the bottom of the tin, it says Duraglit. The stuff is made in Spain For Ricketts and Colman.

[asperity]

I use Duraglit on the brass surround to my gas fire. The hardest part is getting my hands clean afterwards :blink:

 

I used to have to do a lot of brass cleaning when I was an apprentice, including the ship's bell which, being on the forecastle, was exposed to the weather and took some elbow grease to keep shining :angry: