Bluebottles

[barry1010]

Haven't seen a bluebottle for many years, they used to be very common before we had a fridge. They would hurtle themselves at the mesh of the meat safe, horrid things

Have you seen any lately?

[Hazlinny]

No, Barry and don't want to!

[bookbinder]

Now you mention it, barry, no, I haven't seen any for a long time. Quite a few wasps, though, just recently.

[Buenchico]

They can be a pain in the posterior when I've put three bowls of moist cat food down for the Troublesome Trio. It can only be a matter of minutes before the food is covered in bluebottle eggs, meaning that I've got to throw the whole lot away.

Things don't seem to have been too bad in that respect over the past couple of years though, suggesting that there might well have been a welcome decline in bluebottle populations.

[bookbinder]

This might be handy:
https://www.ehow.com/how_5157465_rid-bluebottles.html

[Barmaid]

Buen - fly eggs used to drive me mad. Now I only put down what I think they might eat in one sitting and then cover it with a collapsible food net if there is anything left. They have biscuits all the time so they ain't going to starve (despite what they might tell me).

Have not seen any blue bottles so far, but over the last few days a few flies in the house. I've fired up the electric zapper and got the tennis racket zapper out.

[Lie-in King]

There was a flying horse disguised as a bluebottle outside, batting the window the other day. No way that was a real one. Not that size. Uh-uh. Not possible.

Nips off to Google meat safe...

[barry1010]

LiK, a meat safe is simply a cupboard with a chicken wire or mesh front so the air can circulate, usually kept in the coolest part of the house.
Ours was made of some sort of metal with an enamel interior but they could also be made of wood. It was usually only used on a Saturday after we'd fetched the joint for Sunday dinner from the butcher - no Sunday trading back then. If there was a thunderstorm before we could cook a pork joint it would go off very quickly so we didn't eat pork when storms were forecast.

[ferlew]

Now you mention it - I can't recall the last time I saw one. (Thank goodness)
I did remark to my son recently that I've barely seen a house fly in the last 2/3 years either.

[Lie-in King]

Barry - ta, I've gathered that & am obviously too young to remember the pre-fridge era... ;-))

[barry1010]

I can see that from your photo, LK

[Lie-in King]

The mane needs attention, but I don't scrub up too badly as a rule :-)

Honestly, I'd heard the term before (probably a crossword answer), but a meat safe was a new thing to me. Always a good day when you learn something new :-)

[Lie-in King]

Further... were/are(?) they particular to a region? I'm thinking it odd that I don't recall any of my family ever saying "meat safe".

Unless it was my brother, but that would have been completely out of context.

[hellywelly4]

I grew up in the Leicester area and meat safes were common things to have, although we never did, don’t know why. We had a pantry, though.

[barry1010]

Our meat safe was kept in the pantry which also had chicken wire over the openings for air flow.
I assumed they were nationwide

[Lie-in King]

I grew up in Wembley & we had a pantry, though it was called a larder by everyone. Thinking about it, I do now recall the tiny window with metal mesh across it, but it's escaping my brain if we ever kept meat in there.

If it helps with the phraseology, mum & her lot were from Gloucester-ways & dad & his mob were from Cheshire.

[barry1010]

I don't miss coming home in hot weather to the rancid smell of turned milk.

[237SJ]

I remember my Mum had a meat safe when I was very young. I think the mesh on the front was made of zinc. We have bluebottles here - they fly down the garden and seem to be funneled through the french windows. I`m always removing the damn things.

[barry1010]

You may keep them, no need to share, sj

[RATTER15]

As we only feed our hound's raw meat on our veranda, we are always on the lookout for flies. Mind you, they do have a tendency to lick their bowls clean, and often a little robin comes in and picks up any morsels that are dropped whilst the hounds are eating, for some reason, the hounds really don't mind, but no flies so far.

[jourdain2]

We had a meat safe in the 50's and most of the 60's until a fridge made an appearance. It was kept at the top of the cellar steps (nice and cool) and was a pain to edge around- but it kept the dratted flies off.
'Bluebottles', hmmm! A widowed lady I know (lives in the village)is rather reclusive and has given me instructions to keep looking for bluebottles when I pass her house on my daily dog-walk 'Just in case'!