Not A Question, Just A Memory.

[sandyRoe]

My question about ragmen prompted a memory from when I was 4 or 5. We were living in a room in a tenement and at that time the ragman would come by shouting: 'Any old rags?' I was sitting on the stairs and a woman came out of another room with a pillowcase full of stuff in her hand. When she saw me she asked me to bring it down to him. I did, and he dipped his hand in to see what treasures he'd been given. When he withdrew it it was covered in mess. Someone had had an accident.
He was a good sport, and after wiping his hand clean on the outside of the pillowcase, gave me a balloon as a reward.
I can't remember if I blew it up or not. ☺

[ummmm]

Was she a woman scorned?

[Canary42]

Are you sure it was a balloon ? ! ! !

[atalanta]

Our rag-n-bone man was just like Steptoe. Horse and cart, handbell, shouts of "any old iron". He could get jam jars when my mother wanted to make jam. He tool rags, scrap metal and all sorts and sometimes let us have a goldfish in return. The original recycler !

[stuey]

Remember the men who used to come around on their bikes yelling out "Knives sharpened.", or something like that. And every Sunday morning, the Oatcake Man.

[Old_Geezer]

They still come down this way occasionally.

[Togo]

Our ragbone man had a horse and cart like Steptoe and used to shout. 'Ragbone, 19 carat gold fish for old rags' at the top of his voice.

[pusskin]

We used to get cups with a in exchange for a bundle of days.
Had to look careful in case we were given a chipped one. Happy days lol

[Peter Pedant]

// I can't remember if I blew it up or not. ☺//

with your lips ? ugghgh ! you dirty boy !

we still have them up t North

[Peter Pedant]

we had a fresh fish van once a week
he shouted - chippy chippy cho !

a bit like " in principio" from the old Latin mass

we asked him once - egged on by the parents and it was
Fresh fish ! Fresh Fish Ho !

[ another memory ]

[pusskin]

Whoops. Bundle of rags to get your free cup !!!

[Mamyalynne]

Our Ragbone man was very Steptoesque too - I remember returning one day with a Goldfish when Mum wanted a Donkey stone,she wasn't amused.

[Togo]

Ha ha mamya. Donkey Stone. The thought of one of them being rubbed on my grannies front doorstep still puts my teeth on edge. But not as much as the thought of a clout for standing on the step immediately after she had just finished making it all lovely and matt grey.

[Mamyalynne]

Don't tell anyone but I have four under my sink still.

[Chipchopper]

I remember the rag-and-bone-man, in my area offered not only goldfish but also medicinal leech's

[Maydup]

Off to google Donkey Stone....

[Jackdaw33]

I was too young to remember but my mother told me that when I was two I yelled for a goldfish when the ragman came. Apparently the rags my mother gave him were not enough to warrant a goldfish so to pacify me she also handed over a good cardigan. That goldfish lived for eleven years.

[Togo]

It lasted longer than the cardigan would have.

[Togo]

Just a thought sandy. A jest even. I believe you are from across the water from Wales. If I was a betting man I would gamble on, you blew it up.(^_*)

[sandyRoe]

I really can't remember but I probably did. After all, he had wiped his hands.

[askyourgran]

My Mum used to donkey stone the steps, and then one day dad painted the edges of the steps with cream paint, really posh we were then, all the rest of the street (well most of them) were still donkey stoning.