MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Marilyn]

Heat ( fire?) has stained and cracked the brickwork...and the panel of ?glass has been so heat affected it didn't break in the expected way when objects were thrown through by two youths wearing distinctive hand knitted hats...

[Stanley]

It's fibre-board not glass Maz and covers another cast iron grill. Time I put you out of your misery. The pertinent thing to me is the way the cast iron grills let the weather in, even in winter. A cunning wheeze by the mill owners to cut down on the time the workers spent in there and also to cut down on the smell. The Gents was the same.



Try this one......

[chinatyke]

I know exactly what it is. My Chinese daughter bought me one for my birthday, such a thoughtful girl. A very useful gift.

[Marilyn]

Febby has one too...which is why I didn't jump in immediately. He used it last night...

[Bodger]

No problem to the elder readers
http://www.oldcopper.org/marks/h/5086-3661cc41%20a.jpg

[PanBiker]

CC41 mark (Civilian Clothing 1941) label to indicate government approved garments of the time during austerity and rationing. Not just limited to clothing but also used on utility items and furniture. Much sought after in re-enactment circles nowadays.

And no, I was'nt there at the time but do have an interest

[Stanley]

But nobody has said what either is for.... Mine was a nose hair trimmer and the utility mark was brought in during WW2 to signify that the object at was attached to had passed quality tests. By the way, my nose-hair clipper doesn't get used, it makes my eyes water! Try this one....

[Gloria]

Not much idea but could it be used for fishing something out of somewhere----- as in a loom---threads??????

[Stanley]

Much more simple than that Glo. Think about my dreadful habits.....

[Marilyn]

(oh gawd...must I think about/imagine your bad habits?)

Do you sit on the couch at night with a jar of Pickled Onions and stab them with that rather crude apparatus and 'eat them off the stick'? (not such a bad habit if you are the only one digging about in the jar and any after affects of munching half a jar of them are yours to enjoy in your personal air space...)

I honestly cannot think what you could use the object for. Looks like a cake tester.

[David Whipp]

Something for cleaning a pipe?

[Gloria]

Do you smoke a pipe Stan? is it for delving around in that??

[Tizer]

Much more simple than that Glo. Think about my dreadful habits.....

No thanks!

[Stanley]

David is spot on, it was made for me by my mate Paul who is a good welder (note the tidy little weld where the loop meets the stem.) Good for rodding out hard deposits. Yes, I still smoke my pipe despite everyone telling me I shall die! It would make a good cake-tester as well...... Try this one.....

[David Whipp]

Stanley's throat after a pipe or two...

[Stanley]

Not at all, my throat and airways are clearer than most. When did you ever hear me coughing? But you're nearer than you thought......

[plaques]

Looks like the drain down to my septic tank. Is this the "rodding" out you mentioned?

[Tizer]

Chimney flue needing sweeping?

[Cathy]

Underground stormwater drain, or a tunnel for smugglers that has since half filled up with silt.

[Tizer]

A hideaway for whistleblowers and past dictators?

[Bodger]

What were these used for during the war ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swim_bladder.jpg

During the war may be misleading, but i remember my mother using a product from them duing that period ?

[Stanley]

Tiz has got it. These are the flues under Swabs chimney at Middleton in the 1970s. We managed to get to the chimney bottom by laying planks over 8ft of flue dust.
Swim bladders are ringing a bell but I can't think what they were used for.

[hartley353]

What were these used for during the war ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swim_bladder.jpg

During the war may be misleading, but i remember my mother using a product from them duing that period ?

Swim bladders were used in fish based glues,or to obtain the product isinglass, my grandparents used this substance to extend the life of eggs, when ever I see pickled eggs behind the bar it reminds me of Grandmas preserved eggs.

[Bodger]

Hartley 353, spot on, my mother had a bucket in the cellar with isinglass in it,used for preserving eggs

[Tripps]

Or - as mentioned in the musical Oklahoma....

with isinglass curtains which roll right down
in case there's a change in the weather


" Isinglass is a semitransparent material formed by cleaning and drying the air bladders of fish such as sturgeon and cod. The substance is used in clarifying wine and beer and making glues and cement. Isinglass is also a synonym for any transparent material that is used to bring sunlight indoors while providing protection from the wind, rain and cold."