My mum Rene (Alice Irene Flitney née Harding) died in 1999. When my brother, sister and I went through her things we found an envelope full of old newspaper clippings and other bits and pieces. We looked through the papers and put the envelope away, but those yellowing pieces of paper keep whispering of half-forgotten times and places. Places like Butlers Cross, Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury, West Wycombe, Little Kimble, Wendover, Ellesborough, Southcourt and Princes Risborough.

Friday 19 December 2014

The Flitney Family at home for Christmas

Sepia Saturday 259 : Families, meals, and Christmas.

This is one of my favourite photographs taken at Well Manor Farm Cottages (Well, Long Sutton, Hampshire, United Kingdom) in 1959. Dad (Denis Flitney) is looking directly at the camera which is a shame because the reflection from the flash has almost obscured his ‘celery moustache’. My sister Sue has a big smile on her face as she notices what he is up to, mum and brother Tony are both in on the joke while I'm trying to hide, which is my natural inclination when anyone points a camera in my direction.  My sister’s then boyfriend (soon to be husband) Bob Wood took the photo, he and dad were constantly larking around and a piece of celery above the top lip was always good for a laugh.

L to R Sue, Tony, Rene, Denis and me (Barbara) trying to hide.

It’s hard to miss the highly patterned and very fashionable (at the time) fiberglass curtains. Mum sent away for them after seeing an advert in the Daily Mirror - 100% glass, never need ironing, perfectly washable, no sun rot, fade resistant, fire safe, no stretch and no shrink.  What the advert failed to mention was the importance of putting on industrial-strength gloves before going anywhere near the pesky things! Glass fibres in fingertips hurt.

We all loved Lucy, but we were not so keen on fiberglass fingers.

I'm not sure what’s going on in this picture, but I can imagine Bob saying something like "hold it" and we did. Mum with her cup of tea, me with a Christmas cracker, brother Tony with a plate of bread and butter with a cracker on top, dad pretending to eat a mince pie, and Sue flirting with the photographer! According to the captions in the album, the photographs were all taken on the same day, but I feel sure they must have been different days over the Christmas holiday. Either that or we were in the habit of changing our clothes twice a day! 



In this photo, Bob has come out from behind the camera, and we've been joined by Kosset cat (named after the brand of carpets by the same name). Sue must have been about eighteen when these were taken so that would make me twelve. Those were the days when mum liked to ‘set’ my hair on pipe cleaners. I was supposed to end up looking like Shirley Temple, but nothing could be further from the truth.  The pipe cleaners had a soft fleecy outer layer over flexible wires, which felt fairly comfortable when I went to bed but by the morning were nothing short of torture, which might explain the bags under my eyes.



It’s now time for a short Christmas break. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read my blog and to my sister Sue and cousin John for all their contributions. 


Best wishes for happiness at Christmas and in the coming year. 

Please visit Sepia Saturday for more holiday greetings.


32 comments:

  1. Oh the celery moustache -- what a funny FUNNY memory.

    And those fibreglass curtains really spoke of the times. The world was changing quickly with all kinds of new-fangled inventions. It wasn't long before "permanent press" polyester shirts came on the market. I remember my mother quickly replacing my dad's dress shirts with "no iron" shirts, but I think they were hot and sweat-inducing.

    Merry Christmas, Barbara!

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    1. Hello Wendy, permanent press polyester for the men and Crimplene for the women – I remember it very well! I had several A line dresses made of crimplene back in the 60s they looked pretty, but they were heavy and (from memory) most had to be dry cleaned, an expensive business even then.
      I hope you have a very Happy Christmas, Barbara.

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  2. We’ll be trying the celery moustache at the next opportunity! These are wonderful reminders of a family Christmas past. I hope this year’s is a happy one too and best wishes for the New Year.

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    1. Hello Little Nell, don’t forget to take pictures of those celery moustaches they will make a good post for next year’s Christmas blog!
      I hope you have a Very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year, Barbara.

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  3. I never liked having my picture taken either, but now I wish I had some old Christmas photos of my whole family.

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    1. I would also like to have more old family photos – just so long as I’m not in them.

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  4. Weren't you the cutie? I've never heard of fiberglass curtains--guess there's a reason they weren't a hit in the States. LOL

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    1. Why thank you Eve. I’m glad you were spared the terror of the fibreglass its something that never leaves you! :-)

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  5. Hi Barbara, Must have been some "best ham" on the table somewhere! Why does celery never taste as good now as it did then? Love the Christmas card with the dog waiting for the sausages. xxx

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    1. Hi Sue, I don’t think anything tastes as good as it did back then. xxx

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  6. Hello Barbara,
    More magic from you,such charming pictures capturing the happiness of your celebration. Thank you for sharing them.

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    1. Hello John, it’s nice to have someone to share them with, thank you for taking the time to look.

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  7. I always learn something from Sepia Saturday - fibreglass curtains...who knew? My photo was from 1959 too!

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    1. I know exactly what you mean Alex! I’m continually amazed by the diversity of Sepia Saturday posts. I will be over to take a look at your 1959 photo as soon as I’ve left this reply.

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  8. Love the old TV in that first photo!

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    1. It was 'state of the art' back then - the nice thing is it's turned off in all the pictures, how different it is now.

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  9. Celery moustaches? I thought that sounded weird until I remembered we used to hang the wishbone from the turkey off our noses...and fiberglass curtains? We had some in our living room for a VERY short period of time -- because we kids kept getting stuck by them.

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    1. Hello Deb, I don’t remember the wishbone on the nose thing. We used to snap the wishbone, and the person with the largest part got to make a wish. Those fibreglass curtains were a menace! Barbara

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  10. Fibreglass curtains would probably be banned now. I've never heard of them.
    The postcard at the end of your post is cute.

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    1. Hello Lorraine, I looked online to see if you can still buy the curtains and found several pairs for sale on eBay. They should come with a health warning!
      The Christmas card at the end of the post came from a local flea market. I loved it and just had to add it to my collection.

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  11. Never heard of celery moustaches before. We usually just stick with the party hats and crackers, although they occasionally they might contain a plastic moustache.

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    1. Hello Jo, something new to try this year? Have a wonderful Christmas, Barbara.

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  12. I used to sleep on foam curlers back in the day. I tried doing it recently & was up & pulling them out in less than half an hour! Can't imagine how I did it back then?

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    1. Thank heavens for hair dryers and more casual hairstyles! I’ve spent the last 40 odd years straightening my hair, but I’ve given up the fight now and let the natural curl do its own thing. Just one of the many benefits of growing older!

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  13. A perfect set for this holiday theme. I can imagine the engineers who developed fiberglass trying to come up with some new use as a consumer product. Roofing? did that. Boats, been done. Wait - Curtains, of course!
    Have a Merry Christmas.

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    1. Hi Mike, thanks for your Christmas wishes and a very Merry Christmas to you too. Barbara.

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  14. I had forgotten about those type of curtains. Now I'm wracking my brains to remember what house they were in. I'm thinking it might have been in military quarters. But yeah, you're right, avoid touching. And Lucy advertising them is very funny.

    Thanks for sharing such wonderful shots. Have a wonderful holiday!

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    1. Thanks very much, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Barbara.

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  15. Hi! My grandmother is June Flitney. Her great grandfather was Samuel Flitney (1809-1886). Was Arthur's father Eli Flitney?

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    1. Hi there, I believe Eli was Arthur's father. Arthur married Daisy Clara Stopps (Flitney) and her son Dennis William Flitney was my father. Best wishes Barbara

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  16. Your Xmas card look just like one of the pics I presented.
    Funny what inspires us in naming our pets.
    I am speechless about those curtains...
    Those were the days!!!
    Happy new year to you!!
    :)

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    1. I must call in and take a look at your post. I'm interested to see the similarities in the pictures.
      Happy New Year, Barbara.

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I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara x

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