Forums
Posted By: Helles Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 12:06am
Mainly for the old arses like me, but how did you get cash when times were tough?

Personally, I got up early and went into the tower grounds to search the rides for money that had been lost by the trippers. I made and sold firewood. I used to search the numerous grids for lost change. I tried (usually unsuccessfully) to fiddle the fruit machines in various arcades. I looked for lemonade bottles to take back and get the deposit on.

Probably seems a bit strange in these days of plenty but times were hard and most of us in those dark days did these things.
Posted By: poodlepup Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 12:12am
yes i collected pop bottles off people to take back
for pocket money
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 12:25am
I'm not that old, I don't think, but I used to collect old newspapers, well before there was this recycling malarkey. got a few coppers for every bundle from my friends dad. He had a shedfull of papers. No idea how much he got.
Posted By: Nomad Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 8:33am
Use to search the bushes on golf courses and sell the balls to the golfers,

and collect pop bottles

Nomad
Posted By: lansyp Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 8:57am
we used to take newspaper to the chip shop and the veg shop ,and walk down to saughall massie and work the milk rounds at silly o'clock in the morning
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 9:10am
Under New Brighton Pier at low water. They had slot machines on the pier. Folk would drop their pennies - sometimes a threepenny bit and they would drop through the gaps in the planks. Sometimes enough for an ice cream or two. The biggest haul was (once) I found half a crown below the pier. Yesssssssssssssss !

Alan Sugar ..... you've got NO ideas !!!
Posted By: Tatey Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 9:29am
Pinzgauer,

Did you ever find the white £5.00 note that I dropped!
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 10:35am
Yes indeed ! I'll gladly return it to you of course.


and the number on the note is .................. ???
Posted By: derekdwc Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 11:26am
outside a lot of shops on the pavements in grange Rd used to be grids/gratings? (wonder why) and we used to get bamboo canes and split one end slightly and put a match across the split end similar to a Y
and if we saw anything of interest put the cane down and pushed against the object until the match slipped out and the ends came together and caught it.Also a Saturday job in market,
pop bottles and beer bottles to be returned
Posted By: Helles Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 11:27am
Originally Posted by Pinzgauer
Under New Brighton Pier at low water. They had slot machines on the pier. Folk would drop their pennies - sometimes a threepenny bit and they would drop through the gaps in the planks. Sometimes enough for an ice cream or two. The biggest haul was (once) I found half a crown below the pier. Yesssssssssssssss !

Alan Sugar ..... you've got NO ideas !!!


Forgot the pier. On a busy day you listened for the cash dropping and then it was a mad search to find it. Strangely you could tell by the ping if if was a penny or silver. I once found half a crown in New Brighton baths. I was rich.
Posted By: derekdwc Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 11:34am
Once found ten bob note in a field and being young asked one of the older lads what it was, It's nothing throw it away
The next day he had a new pair of cowboy guns and holsters.
His mother soon sorted out what had happened though
Posted By: Historybook Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 12:41pm
I used to collect pop bottles and take them back to the shop, that was when we had corner shops that is !.

When i got a bit older i used to sell a few bags of logs to earn a bit of money.

I also once found three crisp one pound notes near our house, a few days later it turned out that my dad was missing three quid from his sunday best pants !!!!. To late i had aready bought a mountain of stuff from the model shop !!!.
Posted By: buddy Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 12:56pm
Returned pop bottles, medicine bottles to chemist, old newspapers to local chippy in return for bag of chips, pole with soap on the end for retrieving coins from grids/gratings
Best find was 3 x £10 notes (separated)in a packed bookies about 30 years ago - could you imagine the cry if I'd asked who's lost £30 quid!!!
Posted By: Roslynmuse Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 3:08pm
Remember when I was about ten or eleven, just got of the train at Rock Ferry, absolutely bucketing down, waiting for the rain to calm down, saw someone make a dash for it and leave a sream of coins behind them on the path out of the station. The rain deidn't matter so much then - it was more important to get those coins before anyone else did!
Posted By: Helles Re: Getting cash to survive - 9th Jan 2011 6:55pm
Then of course there was carol singing (Well we called it that), snow clearing and penny for the guy. Usually set up outside NB station or one of the pubs. Had a decent guy in those days, not a teddy bear with a mask on. laugh The storm grids outside the Chelsea Reach (Ferry Hotel) were a good place to find money and easy to lift up as well. You could also get a tanner if someone let you take their deck chair back and they gave you the ticket. Dive bomber at bottom of tower grounds used to shower cash all over the place as well.

Posted By: Tatey Re: Getting cash to survive - 10th Jan 2011 7:46am
Originally Posted by Pinzgauer
Yes indeed ! I'll gladly return it to you of course.


and the number on the note is .................. ???


Sorry, but I can't remember!
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Getting cash to survive - 10th Jan 2011 7:54am
Originally Posted by Helles
Then of course there was carol singing (Well we called it that), snow clearing and penny for the guy. Usually set up outside NB station or one of the pubs. Had a decent guy in those days, not a teddy bear with a mask on. laugh The storm grids outside the Chelsea Reach (Ferry Hotel) were a good place to find money and easy to lift up as well. You could also get a tanner if someone let you take their deck chair back and they gave you the ticket. Dive bomber at bottom of tower grounds used to shower cash all over the place as well.



I honesly love reading your reminiscings of "old" Wallasey. cool
Posted By: bert1 Re: Getting cash to survive - 10th Jan 2011 11:33am
Two occasions come to mind were penny for the guy is concerned. One was using a bloke who was propped up against the wall of the Pelican pub, next to the door, who was obviously in a alcoholic coma and out of it, as people were leaving the pub we asked for a penny for the guy, "where's the guy" they all asked, there we said, pointing to the drunk, they all called us a cheeky shower of buggers, we got loads of money anyway.

The other occasion we just put one of the lads in a wheelbarrow and put a mask and hat on him, we went round knocking on peoples doors, done alright out of it until we knocked on one door, The bloke who answered had obviously had it up to the cap badge with kids knocking on his door, he tipped the wheelbarrow and its contents into a small fish pond he had in the front of his house. Got nothing there, though my mate got a hiding off his mother for going home wet and stinking of crappy water.
Posted By: BandyCoot Re: Getting cash to survive - 10th Jan 2011 1:54pm
We used to have a pole with a blob of sticky soap on the end to fish down grids for dropped money, the drains were scooped out for cash as well. Bidston tip was searched for scrap lead, copper, brass etc. as was Pats field in Corpy Road and the Scrappy up by Gags Hill. We used to take the proceeds to the bally in Back St Anne Street or if his prices were low there used to be another just round the corner. Empty jam jars were worth a penny as were lemonade bottles. Running messages for the occasional kind neighbour was usually well rewarded. Cleaned up elephant s...t at Gag's Hill when the circus was there but the b.....d didn't pay us so that was a bummer. Apart from that you had to hope that your Grandad was bevvied and would give you a dropsy or your own old man had a good week at work.
Posted By: Helles Re: Getting cash to survive - 10th Jan 2011 5:16pm
Originally Posted by BandyCoot
We used to have a pole with a blob of sticky soap on the end to fish down grids for dropped money, the drains were scooped out for cash as well. Bidston tip was searched for scrap lead, copper, brass etc. as was Pats field in Corpy Road and the Scrappy up by Gags Hill. We used to take the proceeds to the bally in Back St Anne Street or if his prices were low there used to be another just round the corner. Empty jam jars were worth a penny as were lemonade bottles. Running messages for the occasional kind neighbour was usually well rewarded. Cleaned up elephant s...t at Gag's Hill when the circus was there but the b.....d didn't pay us so that was a bummer. Apart from that you had to hope that your Grandad was bevvied and would give you a dropsy or your own old man had a good week at work.


Chester zoo sell it don't they? Good for the garden. Zoo poo! Good memories bandycoot.
Posted By: DavidB Re: Getting cash to survive - 10th Jan 2011 6:00pm
Originally Posted by Pinzgauer
Yes indeed ! I'll gladly return it to you of course.


and the number on the note is .................. ???


5?
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Getting cash to survive - 10th Jan 2011 8:20pm
CORRECT !!!!!! It will be in the post ...er..mMmmm. er. Tomorrow. (If only I had your address - shucks )
© Wirral-Wikiwirral