Troll Towers sounds a special place but recognisable in some ways. Yes - social housing can be mixed but so can private if you have no money. Family remembers the days in a house with no heating except the coal fire which wasn't good if there was no sea coal on the beach. And yes you did learn to jump on the sparks which was bad for the carpet (which was free when we moved in). But the sea coal was free.
The result of the experience is that two of the family have do it yourself experts as partners and the third has decided that a decent rental with good back up is preferable as the partnership has no do it up/repairs skills.
Those who are do it uppers have skills in the barter market where needed besides skill of hand, but also the skill to pick the site to do up.
The garden is now enjoyable to sit in with drink and generally easy to maintain. Main expense will be replacing a few bulbs - some just haven't done the job. But that's on the list of fun expenses and may not happen.
My idea of frugal at the moment is the everyday - food, clothes, heating, lighting, water, what to do in proper retirement (no large allotment and associated no committee work). There's only so much to do in a small house and garden with just me. And only so many places to go on a bus pass in one day in a rural area.
Let's just say I can even walk past the charity shops at the moment.
I was always brought up to think it was normal to do things for yourself; needlework, knitting, woodwork, house improvements. Most houses at that time only had one or two fires to heat the house. I remember the frost on the inside of the window panes in the winter, and not using some of the rooms unless we had guests as it was too cold. We didn't use sea coal though as no sea.
Teenage years spent in a 7 bedroom Victorian farmhouse with grates in 4 of the bedrooms. As well as 2 of the posh downstairs and the kitchen range. No we didn't have "the staff" to run all of those. Can you just imagine the labour up the stairs and along the passages? Never mind the cost. Wonder if the landlord upgraded after we left.
Single glazing too.
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 9243 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 25 3:52 pm Post subject:
Same here MR.
Either cheap rentals or with grandparents in a "Home for Heroes"...the acre of ground was good, even if it was max 9" soil over chalk it made up for the glorified wriggly tin shed of a house .
When dad did buy a large house it was financed by student lodgers...the university pointed vegetarian students our way
Make do and mend has always been the family motto
Being frugal on the home front has meant that other interesting things and experiences were made possible
We had a modern semi; modern for the 1950s that is. An Ideal boiler in the kitchen and a coal fire in the lounge. No central heating and single glazed of course. As it was built in 1953 a permit had to be obtained and the downstairs was solid floor as timber for building was still at a premium. My father built two bookcases (which I am still using), a toy cupboard for me, two 'occasional' tables for the lounge (still have one of them), and a radio cabinet with a hastily added plywood front when I got to the walking stage. Mum made her and my clothes, and grandmother did the knitting. We grew our own veg and some fruit, so could afford to go on holiday once a year. We didn't have a car, so in the late 1950s Dad hired one for our holidays.
That was why I grew up with the idea it was 'normal' to do all those things ourselves, and as husband is similar we still do as much as we can in the way of doing up the house, and making things.
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 9243 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 25 3:33 pm Post subject:
MR I think that there are more like us around than would usually be thought.
We were late getting a car too..Dad prioritised paying the mortgage as we lived a mile from his work. Then we had a Ford Thames ( forerunner of the Transit) for days out and going to races , late 60s.
My father lived further from work, but he either caught a bus or cycled. When we moved to a new house in the 1960s Mum used to open the up and over door of the garage and Dad used to ride out on his bike. An interesting sight! I always either walked, cycled, or used the bus to junior school or caught the bus to senior school as that was quite a long way. Mum had a shopping trolley to do the shopping, but when I was a child, a lot of the tradesmen delivered. Eventually my father got a second hand car; a Morris Oxford. By the time he finished using it it had lost syncro into 2nd gear as well as never having it in 1st. I suppose it was for the same reason; the mortgage took up quite a lot of the money.
Thing is - people don't think like how we managed money back then. Different century, no war and the resulting poverty lived through by our parents.
dpack's description of troll towers is more familiar to more modern generations though possibly not quite as "interesting". More stories in the press about badly kept up social housing. Some of which are actually true rather than scabby tenants.
But I set this conversation off with the thoughts of what people expect nowadays of living standards. There seems to be no good reason to be self reliant and frugal for a lot of people what with credit cards and buy now, pay later options.
Reduce, reuse, recycle seems to belong to an older generation?
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 9243 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 25 11:22 am Post subject:
Looking at our family histories it looks like Make Do and Mend has always been there.
I think more younger people are catching on to the three Rs....but sometimes they have to push against the previous generation rubbishing what they are trying to do
There's a Sky stall in the Eldon Square that I pass regularly. Different staff try to catch innocent passers-by to sell them things. I've been had a few times and they do offer to sell me the telly I don't want.
What I want can be done quite well on the computer - obviously they haven't heard that gaming screens are quite decent and those of us with years of experience on a computer can manage quite well thank you. After 60 years with no telly, Sky is an expense that I don't see the need for. But that's not getting them paid is it?
It's like whether I need to replace the compact camera that is aged and hiccuping due to wear, tear, travel and use that I've had since the days before mobile phones were in everyone's pocket or handbag. The mobile phone has taken over quick snaps and with landline phones being phased out, a good mobile is required anyway.
Wants and needs as ever in a changing landscape of lifestyle I suppose.
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 9243 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 25 7:26 am Post subject:
In fact many mobile phones take almost as good snaps as standalone cameras, not least because some have lenses from reputable firms like Zeiss.
My camera died quite a few years ago....and unless I go more into photography I don't really need a separate camera as what the phone produces is generally of good quality.
for most folk a fairly modern phone camera is more than adequate
says the man with £7k of camera and lenses, tripod and accessories+photoshop subscription
i do take some extreme snaps, birds in flight, running mice tiny invertebrates etc which my camera will not go near
phone cam is about 3.5 M and the camera is between 35M and 70M or 5k video depending on settings and up to 9 high res snaps a second
big cam can shoot in far more modes than i need but for the ones i need it does very well, tis better than many pro level kits
No reason not to have special cameras if you want them. Good pictures depend more on the person taking them than the camera for most 'snaps', but for certain types of photography a phone just won't do. Same with all hobbies and interests. I am sure most people don't have a spinning wheel, but I do because I spin.
There are cafes up here (well promoted tourist area we are) that are up for sale. Recycled to new owners they might be in the future though some have been on the market for quite a bit. And a few long standing ones are closed and empty.
There's a big boom locally in crafters running artisan craft fairs and owning craft shops. Mind the turnover in the craft shops (everything from pottery to paintings, cushions, furnishings, knick-knacks ...) seems seasonal. See you next spring? Same owner or new? One has had so many changes it's now an accountant's office.
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