Mailbag, March 24, 2014

I ENCLOSE another picture taken by a works photographer at Morris Motors, Cowley, above.

This was a presentation to John Eatwell by Mr L J Ford, head of the planning department, in the mid-1950s.

I cannot remember what the presentation was for, but John and I were great mates. John lived at Didcot.

I was an apprentice at Morris Motors from 1950 to 1955. Subsequently, I worked in the planning department under Mr Ford.

RICHARD BROWN Eynsham Road Botley Oxford

Student nurse was a calamity

ONE memory of my time as a nurse at the Horton Hospital at Banbury was the day a student nurse put a tramp’s dirty clothes in the linen cupboard and infected everyone in the ward with fleas.

It was difficult to give her a job that she didn't cause a dozen jobs for everyone else to do.

On her first day on the ward, by mid-afternoon, she could not be found anywhere.

Finally, someone looked in the linen closet – there she was, just like Goldilocks, fast asleep on a pile of linen.

Considering nursing students weren’t allowed even to sit down on duty in those days, you can imagine how well that went down.

Her explanation was that she always took a nap every afternoon – not any more she didn’t! It became very difficult to find her jobs to do that she didn’t bungle.

One day, someone asked her to clean the thermometers and their containers. In those days, we kept each patient’s thermometer in a glass container in a bracket on the wall behind their bed.

There was cotton wool in the bottom of each to protect the thermometer and a septic solution put in for obvious reasons, then the thermometer was placed in it. These were thoroughly cleaned weekly or if a patient was discharged.

This student was told to gather all the thermometers and the containers and to clean them all. She gathered them in a large basin – our wards had 36 beds in them.

When she got back to the sluice room, she filled the basin that held the thermometers and containers with the hottest water she could from the tap. No thermometers and few containers survived that onslaught!

We thought the next project, a few days later, would be safe to give her. She was to clean each patient’s false teeth. She came back very quickly, said she had finished and what should she do now. We looked down at what she was holding in total horror. She had gathered up all the patients’ false teeth in a large basin, taken them to the sluice room and cleaned them all.

There they were, spotlessly clean, all grinning up at us in one large basin! Now I can look back and laugh, but not then!

We had to go to each patient – the more alert ones first – and ask them if they recognised their set of teeth, and to try them on.

Many had to try more than one set before they found the right ones. It took hours and it was totally the process of elimination. Oh, the fun of nursing!

DAWN GRIFFIS Vermont United States

An ode (of sorts) to food of the old days

A FEW more thoughts on how things were in the old days – Tea had only one colour, black – green tea was not British Coffee was drunk only when we had no tea, then it was Camp, and came in a bottle Cubed sugar was regarded as posh Figs and dates appeared every Christmas, but no-one ever ate them Sweets and confectionery were called toffees Coconuts appeared only when the fair came to town Jellied eels were peculiar to Londoners Salad cream was a dressing for salads, mayonnaise did not exist Hors d’oeuvre was a spelling mistake The starter was our main meal Soup was a main meal The menu consisted of what we were given, and was set in stone Only Heinz made beans, any others were imposters Leftovers went in the dog Special food for dogs and cats was unheard of Sauce was brown or red Fish was eaten only on Fridays Fish didn’t have fingers Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi Ready meals came only from the fish and chip shop The best tasting fish and chips had to be eaten out of old newspapers.

Frozen food was called ice cream.

Nothing went off in the fridge because we didn’t have one Ice cream came in one colour and one flavour None of us had heard of yoghurt Jelly and blancmange was eaten only at parties If we said that we were on a diet, we simply got less Healthy food consisted of anything edible Healthy food had to have the ability to stick to your ribs Calories were mentioned, but had nothing to do with food The only criteria concerning the food that we ate were – did we like it and could we afford it?

People who didn’t peel potatoes were lazy Indian restaurants were found only in India A seven-course meal had to last a week Brunch was not a meal Cheese came only in a hard lump If we had eaten bacon, lettuce and tomato in the same sandwich, we would have been certified A bun was a small cake Eating outside was called a picnic Cooking outside was called camping

BRYAN COLE (formerly of Oxford) South Australia

Four-year-old brother fell into the Thames

I WAS interested in the stories about the death by drowning of 11-year-old Rhoda Miles, who fell from Osney Bridge in Botley Road, Oxford, into the River Thames in 1885.

My late brother, Norman Brown, who was born in 1936 and who lived in St Ebbe’s, fell in the water of Castle Mill stream at the age of four or five.

He was carried downstream to where the stream meets the River Thames below a bridge that linked the gasworks at this point.

A worker at the gasworks spotted him and dived in and rescued him.

I wonder if any of your readers recall this story as my parents are no longer alive and Norman died in 2007.

The incident would have occurred probably between 1940 and 1943.

DAVID BROWN Jordan Hill Oxford

Icing on the cake for Davies family appearances!

WHAT are the odds on you publishing three photographs all on the same day in Memory Lane Mailbag, in which one entire branch of the Davies family of Cowley are featured?

On January 20, under the heading, ‘Archive photographs all starring the Davies family’, you published a photograph of my brother Tony and our mother Inez watching Cowley factory workers riding home on their bikes and my father Bill in his role as a greyhound trainer at a race meeting at Oxford Stadium.

• Happy families: The Davies family in Trafalgar Square in London in 1951 – Judy and Tony Davies with their mother Inez and grandmother Flo Bovingdon, who ran the Bon Marche drapery and haberdashery shop in Between Towns Road, Cowley

Well, lo and behold, and obviously unbeknown to you, on the previous page, I am in the photograph entitled ‘Fondant Memories’.

That picture highlights the achievements of my classmates at Temple Cowley School in 1962, with their Christmas cakes.

Kathleen Johnson’s daughter, Katherine Leach, says in her letter that her mother’s interest in baking started at school.

I am sure I can speak for us all when I say we were very lucky to have a great teacher in Mrs Clarke, who inspired us to cook and bake.

I am second from the left in the back row, behind Kathleen in the white cardigan.

I know several of the girls in the photograph meet regularly to reminisce. Sadly, distance prevents me from meeting them.

However, I know that if any other pupil of ‘the class of ‘62’ would like to rekindle their friendships, they would be more than welcome.

As for my Cowley family, you have featured us all. Perhaps as long-standing residents of Between Towns Road – our mother, Inez, and grandmother Flo Bovingdon owning and running Bon Marche, the drapery and haberdashery shop – many of your readers will be aware of us.

Tony and I had a wonderful, carefree childhood in a ‘village community’ and happy school days with many friends we still keep in touch with.

Thank you for your articles – they were a wonderful tribute to my parents and school friends.

JUDY MANSFIELD (nee Davies) Hampshire