It's marked isn't it? We used to walk over the downs to a local pub and they had photos of the harvest from the early 1900s - the ox and cart in the fields. Another local'ish pub, near the Long Man is called The Sussex Ox (named after the breed of ox used to pull the carts down here) - apparently the last use of oxen for cart pulling was circa 1927. My mum, born in 1927 in Barnes, south London, used to follow the local horse and carts for manure for the roses.
That 'life' - horse/cart/oxen hadn't changed for millennia. People still had large families (my dad was one of seven children) as a pension. The world was still 'large'ish' - flight hadn't made a trip to Australia in a day nearly possible - it would have taken a day to get from Brighton to Eastbourne. The world population was an eighth of what it is now. The rise in population in this country had started a hundred years back (1800s), but was still, in 1927, about a half of what it is now.
What is the cause of the population change - is it medicine or just technology in general? Medicine (and understanding of germs - so better water sources etc) has changed the life expectancy in this country in that same period from 60 to 80. And historically, it had sat around 40'ish.
I'm just amazed we're handling these rapid changes at all. We're not fruit flies.
I have for years bought a couple of polypins of Harvey's bitter for Christmas. It is a tradition that is as old as my kids and beyond. In the past I have collected it from their shop in Lewes or bought it through a distributor in Eastbourne, but since Covid the distributor stopped providing it and the shop (which is crowded at the best of times) was a no-no.
So, yesterday, online I go (hi-ho, hi-ho...) - trying to remember how to navigate their site from last year. No delivery date on screen 1...2...3...through to payment screen and no date still. OK thinks I, must be an option after payment. Pay. 'Thanks for your order'. Oh bu**er. On the phone quick to their shop. Explain to a nice man (could have been an equally nice woman) and he changes the order and sets the delivery for Dec 14/15th. Grand. Thank you sir, says I. Then EMail from courier saying 'We have your order - it will be delivered tomorrow'. 'Bum' thinks I. back on the phone and same nice man answers. Explain the EMail - 'No issue' says he, 'my colleague is just tooooo efficient and had put the order on the delivery list while I was changing its details. Don't fret though sir, it won't be delivered tomorrow and is scheduled for Dec as arranged.'. 'Thank you' says I.
Time passes. It is now today. I Get up and switch on my laptop. 19 new messages. Oh look, one is from a courier. 'Dear sir, we have your parcels. They will be delivered between 8:10 and 9:10 this morning.'. Don't fret, thinks I, nice man has this under control - that is just a legacy message, a sham, a shadow of a message - like a ghost of Christmas past. I settle down to my second bucket of tea as the rain hits the window. I EMail my dear dafter (a daily good morning message) and am recounting my Harvey's escapades and yes - a courier van pulls up outside as I type. Bum thinks I. Bum, Bum,Bum is echoed in my brain. Nice courier man carries two 36 pint boxes to my door. Good service thinks I - ordered yesterday, delivered today. Can't fault that.
Shop doesn't open til 9 - hope same nice man is there.
What do you do with all those plastic bags for 'charity' that come through the letterbox every week? From what I can see, very little money reaches the charity - or an I mistaken?
Between us, myself and my MIL receive an average of 2 charity bags a week @B3 . Back in the day, they were quite happy to accept books, jewellery etc. but these days the vast majority only want old clothes. I have absolutely no chance of persuading her to part with anything, and after several clearouts since the first lockdown l have run out of stuff to donate clothes wise. I prefer any decent stuff to go direct to one of 2 (used to be three) local charity shops, but anything that was still wearable l put in the bags. (Such as a jumper with just a few bobbles for instance).
I do use them as bin liners, they are the perfect size for my kitchen bin .
Charity bags come through the door fairly often but if I leave them out to be collected (empty because I don't want to donate anything to them) they don't get collected. I use them as bin liners, occasionally to put stuff in for storage in the loft (dusty up there), and sometimes to take stuff to charity shops of my choice - they don't care what it says on the bag.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Posts
Back in the day, they were quite happy to accept books, jewellery etc. but these days the vast majority only want old clothes. I have absolutely no chance of persuading her to part with anything, and after several clearouts since the first lockdown l have run out of stuff to donate clothes wise.
I prefer any decent stuff to go direct to one of 2 (used to be three) local charity shops, but anything that was still wearable l put in the bags. (Such as a jumper with just a few bobbles for instance).
I do use them as bin liners, they are the perfect size for my kitchen bin
More info here.
https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/more-from-us/resources/charity-bags-advice-public