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A half crown felt like a £50 note does these days.

Carpets and a few other things were always sold in guineas (21/-) which was also useful in betting odds.

Talking of money reminds me of times long gone by
when playing in those 2 big spaces on the prom by
Portland Court (maybe what you call The Dips now).
I came across which to me was alot of money lying
on the grass, no notes just half crowns, 2 bob pieces,
shillings etc. Took it all home and my Mum and Dad
said I must turn it in police, which I did. After
1 month nobody had claimed it so I was the owner.
Good times.

Oops, just realised, gone way off topic. Apologies

I remember when I was a young boy, my mum would send me down to the local corner shop with £1. I'd stagger back with a bag loaded with shopping. You can't do that nowadays, too many security cameras.

Agree with you Snowy and Dilly - maybe not the worse kind of animal cruelty, but its unecessary cruelty that can lose lives.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ar-after-mid-race-injuries-a6976496.html

Even though my Dad was a horse racing devotee , (and like Snowshoes I remember as a kid winning a tanner or so on OXO winning one year) -- as soon as I was living away from home I began to realize how unecessarily cruel it could be. Its just the overly risky fences I object to ,and I think whips should be banned entirely .I saw the end of the race on a news flash, and obviously exhausted horses were still under whip pressure right up to the end. Wrong. Very wrong.

The rules on the use of whips is very strict and its not all bad. It is compulsory for a jockey to carry a whip and this is partly on grounds of safety.

A lot of whip use these days is against the jockey's boot not the horse. The whip is an energy absorbing device and only allowed to be used back hand and a maximum of 8 times over the sticks.

If they want to reduce the number of occasions the whip is used then perhaps deduct a second for every time the whip is used.

Its funny that the Grand National is the only horse race that many people go out the way to see and yet it is one of the most dangerous races, yet these same people decry the "cruelty" of the race. Why don't they choose a safer race to watch?

Before I get shot down - I haven't stated my opinion on whips nor horse racing.

O.K. Granny, here I come: 1 shilling (1/-) = today's 5p.

12d. = 1 shilling = 5p

In case you thought racehorses only get killed in the Grand National or only at Aintree, it's not the case at all.
100s of thoroughbred horses die every year.

Have a look here (you might be shocked):

Click me

A death rate of about 0.1% per year, probably less than the number that die from injuries in the wild?

Chris and DD,

That's what I said first time. What went horribly wrong ? Lud and his thrupenny bit...I suspect.