HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Marilyn]

I am the opposite to my dear sister - I am an early riser and find it the most productive part of my day.
But I'm generally ready for my bed by 9pm, and therein lies the problem, because I have to put up with hubby watching TV in bed (some nights until midnight). I can't wait for that TV in the bedroom to break down. It will not be replaced when it does!

[Stanley]

Cathy and Maz..... you know which camp I am in. I love early mornings, always did even when they were forced medicine.

[Stanley]

If you are a bloke and not into fancy hair styles one of the best ways to save money is to spend £40 on a good electric hair clipper. Mine is made by Wahl in the US and is very good quality. With a haircut costing over a fiver a time you soon start to show a profit! Remember that there is only three days difference between a good haircut and a bad one! Go for it!

[Tripps]

With a haircut costing over a fiver a time

That's a good deal - it costs me £11 and that's with the senior discount. It's £13 for the less mature customers. You get a good class of conversation though - I now know a lot more about Lithuania, and the Puglia region of Italy, and have got quite a taste for Primitivo red wine.

[Marilyn]

I was going to say a similar thing. My hubby loves the "chat" at the barber shop.
His barber is either from Manchester or Bradford...( Bradford I think)...so there is a lot of sport talk. The barber does most of the talking and uses some colourful language ( no-one else gets much of a word in). I'm encouraged to wait across the road on a bench in the park for hubby if I finish my running about before he has finished at the barber.
Hubby always emerges looking 10 years younger than when he went in ( it's the short hair stuck down so flat I think) and he always says "That Barber could talk the ears off a Donkey!".

[Stanley]

I talk to myself as I shear the hair off..... It was a good day to do it, my head enjoyed the sun!

[Stanley]

If the leccy goes off, get the Primus stove out and have a brew!

[Marilyn]

Selling it short, Stanley.
You could cook a three course meal on there!

[Moh]

Hubby pays £5 pensioners' rate at his barbers. He too. like Cathy, likes a lie in - opposite of Stanley - as hubby too used to get up at unearthly hours so now he is making up for it.

[Stanley]

I wouldn't like to try it Maz but it's still a good stand-by!
Horses for courses Moh. I always enjoyed early starts. I can still remember broad daylight and birds singing as I loaded bottles at Marton on my own at 03:30 in the morning. The world is so fresh and quiet at Sparrow Fart!

[Marilyn]

I'm always cheery in the mornings. Used to drive my son nuts when I had to wake him for school, because he was the type to wear a scowl and not talk for the first hour he is up. I would be throwing all the curtains open and admiring the sunrise...the child thought I was bonkers.
"Why can't you be like normal Mums?" he used to ask.
However, as an adult he works shift work, and is often up at 4 am. When I stay at his place we can finally have some decent early morning conversations because he has now become quite cheery at that hour too.

[Stanley]

I wasn't an early riser in my school days Maz. It was going to work on the farm and milking at 5AM that started my conversion. I remember that when I went in the army the lads complained about getting up at 6AM, to me it was a lie-in!

[Stanley]

Pick the right day for washing the heavy loose covers and cushion covers off the sofa. Possibly the biggest washing challenge in the house! OK in Oz I suppose but the biggest job here in the UK is drying them!

[Stanley]

Actually the biggest job is replacing well-made loose covers! Get help!

[Marilyn]

Haven't had to do it for years, Stanley ( we are all leather here) but I always found that replacing them slightly damp worked best. A bit easier, with a bit of give and "wiggle" room. They then shrink that tiny bit more when fully dry and give a lovely flat finish.

[Stanley]

That's exactly what I do Maz. They always look better the day after. I do the same with curtains as well, they dry well and their weight irons them!

[Stanley]

The only time I do any ironing is if I need a smart shirt for a formal occasion. If you stop ironing you don't die! Give it some thought......

[Stanley]

Don't allow news of the US resiling from Paris stop your own small but important efforts to help the climate like using alternative energy, cutting consumption and recycling. In the end this is the right thing to do. Trump is just wrong!

[Stanley]

I can actually remember the tips for housewives in my mother's Woman's Weekly, I read everything that came into the house! I can remember that rubbing soiled cuffs and collars with dry soap was the standard treatment! I doubt if much of that goes on these days with the powerful detergents we have now. The odd ends of bars of soap were put in a pot with some water and when they had dissolved were used for spot treatment of stains.

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz's sister sent this link to us:
`The nation's favourite spirit is the secret to clean, streak-free mirrors' LINK

Mrs Tiz got a laugh when she replied with: "I was surprised there was some work involved - just drinking the G&T seems to clear the mirrors here!!"

[Stanley]

I think that the old Woman's weekly had more tips on cleaning mirrors and windows than anything else! Particularly in the days when the air was so polluted. 'High Tech' solutions were mixing methylated spirits with the water, the lower tech and most popular option was to use newspaper with vinegar. Nowadays I just use detergent and warm water.....
I like Mrs T's comment, she's right. I once had a mate who swore that the best way to cure a knock in an engine bearing was to have a couple of stiff whiskies.

[Stanley]

If you live on your own and cook for yourself, cooking a batch of food is a good plan. You can then freeze the excess or, if like me you don't get bored with food, just leave it in the pan to mature and reheat as necessary. If you keep the lid on the pan and use your head it doesn't fester but improves! People today are frightened of food in room temperatures, that's how I was reared and I am still here! The trick is to keep everything clean and be aware of cross-contamination. Nobody has a cleaner sink, surfaces and chopping board than me! Bleach and boiling water is wonderful!!

[Tizer]

The trick is to keep everything clean and be aware of cross-contamination. Nobody has a cleaner sink, surfaces and chopping board than me! Bleach and boiling water is wonderful!!

Fancy a job as executive in charge of NHS Hospitals?

[Tripps]

I do all that you recommend - However my luck ran out on Friday. Politely known as an 'upset tummy'. Not sure what caused it, but the entire contents of the fridge, and the half box of eggs (main suspect), were put into the bin. Seems a bit drastic now, but a good idea then.

I'm 'back to land' now and the 4lbs I lost has returned. That's a shame.

[plaques]

Politely known as an 'upset tummy'.

Otherwise known as Montezuma's Revenge. Link. I've been convinced for so time that once we hit the holiday season there's an outbreak of

I don't know where I picked that up

. Those returning from these cheapo breaks should have their foreheads stamped 'unclean' until the quarantine period is over.