Parcel Posting

PJ dropped me at the post office this morning so that I could send some more envelopes of stash The only available counter had that young woman serving. I try very hard to be civilised but I am sure she really delights in being rude. Once again I had to sort out the parcels, weigh them, stick stamps on and then when I asked if she wanted me to put them in the box she said yes!! So off I went, she asked me what I was doing so I told her and then she said "no, put them on the side"!!! I really MUST remember not to go to her again.
In a good note - I have had my hair cut and the spikes are back!!! Love it! I managed to catch up with my friends in my groups so I have had fun chatting with them We hope to go see 'The Iron Lady' tomo and we might just fit in another film!!

Continuing:-

Monopoly money

As a family we often played Board games and card games of an evening, especially in the winter months.  One of our favourites – well the grownups – was Monopoly and as I was to young to join in this game, I took turns looking after the banking money, moving the pieces etc.  This money fascinated me and I used to play a separate game with it, sorting out the money into piles, making patterns etc.  I used to really irritate my sister who was short on patience anyhow, but the others would be on my side so she had to wait while I counted it out every time someone passed go or won a contest. 

One day, while wandering round the house, I went into the front room and was ‘just looking’ around and inside the gas meter (!?!?!?!) I found a box with all this money in.  So I took some, only a small amount and then put the box back so no-one would know.  Next day I told Frieda and the others that I walked with to school that I had lots of money and we could go to the sweet shop on

Albert Road

on the way to school.  Well!  Into the shop we traipsed and chose what we wanted, it was wonderful, absolute freedom!  Then I came to pay and produced the money with a big flourish!!  The man behind the counter looked at it and then looked at me …... there was a silence ………… then the man said………. “this is Monopoly money and you can’t use it to buy sweets with.  It is only pretend money to use in the game.”  We had to hand back all our sweets and I was not flavour of the month, laughed at as the story went round the class, but I didn’t really lose any friends over it and I put the money back where I found it and nothing was ever said.  Years later I told Mam about it and we both roared with laughter!!!

We also played Cardgames – especially on a Sunday night.  I joined in the simpler games and then the adults would play ‘Newmarket’ and I could stay up and watch so long as I was quiet, the problem was that some members of my family – Dad and Tony – would always let me play.  They told me what to say and which cards to throw out.  And I was always good to put the money on the ‘horse’. 

The game went like this: 1 pack of cards plus the Ace of Spades, Queen of Hearts, King of Diamonds and Jack of Clubs from another pack or packs.  The cards were than dealt out to everyone at the table plus an extra hand (Dummy) to the person sitting on the left of the dealer.  This Dummy hand was only picked up if the dealt hand was considered no good, if the dealt hand was considered good then the dummy hands could be sold.  Then the dealer began by playing their first card.  The object of the game was to play all your cards, the points on any cards left in your hand were totalled up and the loser made the tea.  All players paid a kitty into the middle of the four cards (horses) and a bet could be placed on the ‘horses’ of choice.  It was this money I was allowed to place or collect.  So the first card went down and the player called it out, Seven of Diamonds – always started with a seven of diamonds (or the next seven) and if the first player didn’t have a seven then it went round the table anticlockwise to the first player to have a seven of any suite.  Then the next player with an eight or six of the same suite or a different seven played their cards.  And so it went on but everyone had to call out what they were playing, laying the next card or cards in the run.  As a ‘horse’ was played, the player collected all the money on that card and the first player to play all their cards won the kitty.  It was only halfpennies and pennies that were used but it was all good fun, and I enjoyed the game so much that I have a small basket of tin ‘coins’ for when we played after I had moved into School Road.