General Chat

Our bean flowers are mostly rows of stalks!! Every year something bites the flowers off up to halfway up the canes. A few small ones are just forming. You have given me an idea to try white flowered ones next year Mandy........whatever it is might not be attracted to white flowers!!! lol I can hope!!

Ann, what a shame about your beans ,hubby says it could be Slugs as they love beans .
We used to have two long rows of runners when we had the veg garden ,i could pick up to two carrier bags of beans a day .

On n off all day my lower L jaw has been cracking like it was broke!!
What's all that about? related to my ear?

David, you are falling apart, Don't you dare put vegatable oil in your ear. Pop into Tesc# and get some "EAREX" that will disolve any wax in your ear, and make an appointment at the Doctors/Nurse and have it looked at.
One year when we went away in a caravan, It poured of rain in the night. It was so bad, I put chewing gum in my ears, to cut out the noise. The next morning it was stuck solid, and Ros had to pick it out with match sticks. She said "no way am I taking you to hospital with that in your ears"

Lewis has been wonderful today, didn't want to go out and play, he said "I came to see you for the weekend" not to go out and play. He helped me water everywhere this evening. We sat together and watched the Footie in the conservatory., and left Ros to watch "Midsummer"
My runners are over 8ft high now and red flowers everywhere. If yours are being eaten. Get some copper tape to put round the Pots, or if in the ground some gravel around the bottom of the plants, Slugs and snails don't like the feel of it.

I have been outside for hours with Chris ,sat at the patio table listening to all the music from our past .The Stones,Dire Strates ,Pink Floyd ,Moody Blues,Bryan Ferry,Genisis,...and so on .Brilliant, and Annie Lennox who I think is just the best.
Ann we keep the cucumbers up with canes and wires.Ours grow to about 6 inches ,and thick.
I didn't realise how late it is .So of to bed now .Night Night xx

Frank I sent you a PM earlier ,Have a look at your messages.lol

Morning All,

BIL arrived yesterday and stayed the whole afternoon.He came with the O rings but they could'nt make them fit!! They were playing around with it for ages then decided to go to Holworthy to Mole Valley Farmers to see if they could get more rings. They were gone for ages and ages and when they arrived home they had bought a new washer!!!!!! When they tried it on the slabs it was wizzard. They let me have a go on one of mums white chairs that had been out in the garden for the year. It was really great and shifted the grime in no time.

Ann as to the cleaning of old slabs, we tried putting bleach on some and vinegar on others. I had some old pickling vinegar that was out of date. You could try a strong salt solution too. I poured the water out of a piece of boiled bacon on weeds on the patio outside the kitchen door and that place in nice and clean now!!

I like walnut whips too. You used to be able to get them in milk choc and plain choc. They were my favorite but I do like the Coffee ones. Never heard of the caramel ones.

Do any of you remember Pyramint?? It was a dark choc pyramid filled with mint cream. Came wraped in green paper?

Morning Mel and All,
Everything will be sparkling then with the new washer Mel.That was a nice surprise.
Frank,only you could stick chewing gum in your ears !!!!!!!!Poor Ros having to dig all that out.My sister went to bed with chewing gum in her mouth (naughty girl) and in the night it must have come out and it was stuck all over her neck and in her hair.I used to put my gum on my bedside table ,and freshen it up in the morning with a little toothpaste.

There is heck of a breeze here today and it feels more comfortable.We were woken up this morning with loud tapping on the window.I think it was a pidgeon lol

Received the pics Jane. My SIL and I looked at the in the afternoon. Both said how brave she was!!

Both mum and I have the giggles at the moment as she said she can't get out of her new chair as it always goes backwards when she tries unless she holds onto something!!! I gave her the frame to try and get up with that and we were laughing so much she could'nt get up. I had to give her both my hands in the end..................

Now I have a little story to tell you that we found quite interesting.

In the early part of the year I went into the local tip to see if they had any big plastic pots to plant up with bulbs bought nearly in flower. Had a good rummage round and found a nearly new pot. It was raining lightly and I was the only person in there. I had spied a broken walking stick with a load of broken junk. It was only about 2 foot 6" long as the end was snapped off but on the end there was a black metal fancy bit and I thought it could have been silver. I asked the man how much for this and that and he said 50p for the pot and I said this, and held up the broken cane. He said £1 for the two so I paid him. Came home as I only wanted the mounting on the end of the cane and I cleaned it and it was silver.

Yesterday while the boys were out SIL and I were looking at the hall mark on the cane and trying to see what it was. She took pics of it with her camera and then enlarged them so we could see it better.

Out came the book of silver hall marks and we were looking threough to see if we could match anything up. We had decided that the makers mark was J.H but the book did'nt have anything that matched. Went on the net and after a while I found the right kind of initials for the makers as Henry Howell & Co London. Looked him up and found that he had a big factory in Algate and did accessories like umberella's and canes and things. Then put in Henry Howell Cane Makers and came up with a whole bunch of info. It turned out they were the biggest firm in the whole to make mountings for walking sticks and canes.

Henry's nephew, Jonathan Howell cmae to work for him and he was a cane maker born in Wilts.

I looked up Jonathan on the census and found him!!! down as a Cane and Stick Maker. He married a Florence Mary Maddy in 1882 in London.

So thats why I did'nt come back to the thread yesterday!!

Next I will post the story of the Henry Howell & Co factory story so you can see what we found.

The Henry Howell Walking Stick Legacy
A favored piece in my own collection is an example I own of a Howell walking stick. In its time, the cane manufacturer known as Henry Howell & Company, London, England was the largest and one of the world’s most prestigious makers of fine walking sticks. Their canes are much sought after by collectors today and are often, but not always, identified by the distinctive Henry Howell Co. badge or button. This is a small (1/4” to 3/8”) brass disc inlaid into the wood of the shaft and stamped with the maker’s mark. Howell canes that which pre-date the use of this marker can also be identified by the initials HH incised on either the ferrule or the collar.
The Howell shop, established at number 76 Aldersgate in London in 1832 by John Howell, was highly regarded among Londoners and featured high-class hosiery and a variety of fashion accessories. After John’s wife, Sarah, died in 1851, the shop was jointly operated by John, his son Henry, and daughter Amelia. A few years later, a nephew, Jonathan, was recruited as apprentice from a branch of the family living in Wiltshire. Among the high end accessories offered in the family business would have been a line of fashionable walking canes.
In 1859, Henry married a widow named Sarah Akerman, whose first husband had been a manufacturer of walking sticks for the wholesale market. Three years later,
Henry had left the family shop at Aldersgate and established a cane merchandising concern under his own name on Old Street in London in a building formerly occupied by James Thomas Akerman, a long time manufacturer of walking sticks, parasols, and umbrellas. It is unclear whether Henry purchased and took over the existing cane works, or if he began anew merely occupying the site of the former manufactory. What is known is that Henry Howell & Company flourished as a business, expanded rapidly to become one of the world’s leaders in the production of high quality walking sticks, and made Henry Howell a very wealthy man.
In 1867, Jonathan, the sole remaining proprietor of the original family store on Aldersgate, closed shop and joined his cousin Henry in the manufacturing of canes. Henry and Jonathan continued to expand the firm together until 1888, when Henry, a childless widower, died and left everything he owned to Jonathan. By 1895, Henry Howell & Co. employed 460 people and declared itself the largest single manufacturer of walking sticks in the world. The business continued to thrive for many more years under the able stewardship of Jonathan Howell and probably reached its pinnacle around 1910. Henry Howell & Co., however, was destined to suffer greatly in the wake of the great World War. A devastating loss of many of the skilled laborers needed to man the factory, along with a simultaneous somber turning away of the public’s taste for the frivolities of fashion, and further accompanied by an unfortunate series of dry winters that decimated the umbrella portion of the business, all worked together to drain the company of its assets, weakening its financial position in the years between the wars. Shortly after Jonathan Howell’s death in 1934, the new directors, in a desperate effort to maintain a forward-looking position, invested the remainder of the company’s cash reserves in the building of a new factory at Burnt Oak, Hendon. The project quickly floundered and
Henry Howell & Co. went into receivership and was no more. But many of the thousands of beautifully crafted Howell canes produced in the company’s happier days can still be found in the antique markets and make a welcome treasure to any collector appreciative of the history of walking sticks.
Editor’s note: All of the historical material, as well as the wonderful vintage photograph of the Howell factory, has been graciously contributed by Chris Howell, the great, great grandson of Jonathan Howell. Chris is working towards the publishing of a complete history of the Howell Cane Company and would greatly appreciate any additional information, anecdotes, photographs, advertising, etc. associated with the company. Correspondence to Chris can be established by contacting this website.
In addition to the telltale “button” or round plate inscribed “Howell London England” as seen in the picture below, the classic Howell maker’s mark has the letters “J.H.” stamped inside a diamond shape. Most Howell canes had the diamond background; however, there were some that had the “J.H.” stamp inside a rectangular background. Unfortunately, there are many other makers who used the initials “J.H.” inside a rectangle, in addition to other background shapes, but it is fairly easy to determine which are not Howell sticks.
I challenge any reader to find a stick with a Howell button AND a hallmarked silver or gold embellishment with a date pre 1884. The makers’ punch will NOT be a Howell one, but would be evidence for the stick having been sold in Henry Howell's Aldersgate shop before Henry actually began making them.

Message from Sheila.

Sorry mel I thought I had got you on threads but was not sure
how are you doing any more lovely memories. I have been looking through some old photoes found one of me age nine with
my hair permed oh my gosh |I look like I have had a fright does anyone else remember perms the ones where you were plugged in to something that looked like a pea collander and you were plugged into for ages .I also remember scrumping apples we used to sneak into someones garden and pinch the apples once I got caught with a pile in my skirt I would lift it up
and put the apples in it fine until I got caught and my brother ran off he said he would tell my mum if I did not climb up on a chair
and open the newly made pickle onions for Christmas nicely sealed once broken the seal the onions were not so good. Mum
went mad and I always got a whack with the handbroom all the best SHEILA.

Afternoon all,
Lovely sunny day ,but the wind keeps blowing the brolly's over ,been busy getting ready for a barbeque , got son and family and sister and BIL coming round ,probably all have a dip in the pool .
BBL

That was a good find Mel,and nice that you found the history of the makers of the stick.I remember seeing a programme about a lady and I think her son who found a beautiful set of Jewelry at the tip,and I think it was worth about £250,000 !!!!!!!!
My hair was curly enough without perms lol.It has gone straight over the years,and darker.Well it's lighter again these days thanks to my hairdresser lol

Enjoy your BBQ Mandy.Not sure what we are having,There are a couple of chicken breasts that need to be cooked today so 2 of us can have them and the other 2 pasta and sauce .No roast again this week.I don't seem to have cooked one for weeks and weeks.

I think we have just spotted a rat in the garden!!!!.Haven't seen one for a couple of years.Probably from the chickens next door.We need to keep our eyes peeled.I don't want RATS again.
It is very cloudy here now ,no sun at all.Just watching the Mens Final.

Cloudy here too and rain then stopped play. OH not sure what to put round the pond now and have been trying to work out how decking on the sides would look?

Had lunch and think we will have steak tonight, mushrooms, toms amd chips.

Can't seem to get myself going today and I have lots I could be doing.

Glad weather is nice for you Mandy!

David hows the ear today. Have you tried laying your head on a hot water bottle.

Where is the sun???.It is sooooo breezy too.I have been sat here for what seems like ages watching the Tennis which thankfully has now finished.I have enjoyed it though.Until next year.
Quiet day here today.I hope David's ear is a bit clearer and not so hot.
Mel I think I could quite fancy a steak.Must put it on my shopping list for one night next week.

aternoon all,-------
Its as hot as HE####L & Humidjust poped out to water ''weed's ---and pots where do these weeds come from wish the flowers grew as quick---

Tha was quite a find Mel I thought you'd found a lost Rellielol xx

No Shirl not a relly but I thought it was interesting and it gave me something to do with SIL. Occupied her too.

We have still been thinking of all the different ways we could edge to pond and turning over things between us. It's the curve at one end that is causing difficulties.

I refuse to cook anything new again lol.Have just done a Lebanese salad ,couscous, chopped parsley, chopped mint,spring onions.lemon juice,olive oil,and chopped tomatoes.....Complaint ....too much parsley .THEY WILL EAT IT !!!!!.I don't think it matches my rice pudding .Thank goodness.It is actually quite tasty.