Are you an ap-tapper?

[loveallthingsitalian]

Memories, memories! I learned to touch type on an old sit-up-and-beg Imperial typewriter to a record (yes, an actual 78rpm), Nellie The Elephant or something silly, with cardboard tied over the keys so we had to look at the book we were typing from. I did an advanced course in electric typing - an old Golfball typewriter - anyone remember them? They were the latest hi-tec stuff on the market at the time. When my children were still at a malleable age I made them sit in front of a keyboard and type from the screen. It lasted a whole summer holiday and they HATED it but now they all say it was the most useful skill anyone taught them for office work.

AH YES, THE Olivetti golf ball which spun around but it had a flaw, if you were too fast a typist it wasn't that accurate at times.

Remember the daisy wheels which you could change for different fonts - big change from a drop down box with a huge choice even though we only use one or two.

My dad used to do the church magazine by stencil and as kids we used to have to turn the handle of the old gestetner like things processed as he didn't own an electric version. It was a real art form to get the stencil typed, on the machine and inked.

And I remember when tipex was allowed (prior to that we were only allowed to use a rubber which again was an art form to correct through several carbon copies)

Haven't seen carbon paper for years, remember when reps came to office to sell it and boy was it the hard sell (DF eat your heart out) one even cried to get us girls to buy from him. It was expensive but you had to use it until there was nothing left if it!

 

[Brissles]

I had Sno-pake which came in a little twosome with the thinner in a cardboard pack and lid - like a cruet set !

 

[thatu]

What was the name of those machines that did the accounts? Gestetners? Huge, noisy things that needed a lot of skill because the girl in our company who used it, Katie, was obviously a league above the rest of us - just like her mini skirts. The men in the office never seemed to phone Katie but always visited her office to check something on the accounts. Those were the days, my friend.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

What was the name of those machines that did the accounts? Gestetners? Huge, noisy things that needed a lot of skill because the girl in our company who used it, Katie, was obviously a league above the rest of us - just like her mini skirts. The men in the office never seemed to phone Katie but always visited her office to check something on the accounts. Those were the days, my friend.

I used 2 different machines - 1 was a cross between an abacus calculator thing and the other was a punch card accounts machine.

 

[Craftalot]

What was the name of those machines that did the accounts? Gestetners? Huge, noisy things that needed a lot of skill because the girl in our company who used it, Katie, was obviously a league above the rest of us - just like her mini skirts. The men in the office never seemed to phone Katie but always visited her office to check something on the accounts. Those were the days, my friend.

Was it a comptometer? Like this one? I remember using them too!

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Oh yes! Now what was the brand name of the punch machine?

 

[Craftalot]

Oooh, I can't remember the name of them, but I found this photo (web) which really brought it back - didn't we all look tidy and organised too!

 

[thatu]

Younger members of this forum are probably stifling the yawns on this thread .....

Not to worry - Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

I hated reading that on our 12-inch black and white screen because that meant at least an hour of nothing on the box.

 

[Craftalot]

Younger members of this forum are probably stifling the yawns on this thread .....

Not to worry - Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

I hated reading that on our 12-inch black and white screen because that meant at least an hour of nothing on the box.

Sorry to younger members but just one more: talking of B&W television, do you remember the "Potters' Wheel' interlude? It was the only one I rather liked from memory.

 

[Bid Up Side Down]

Public Information Films - about things like: road safety, safe swimming in the sea, litter, crossing the road, parrafin heater awareness, Charley says. All pure gold from the nanny state.

Also remember those high quality colour shorts from Shell, that featured far flung parts of the world? They were broadcast during the mornings, inbetween hours of test card, so Rumbellows/Radio Rentals and local Tv shops could demonstrate what colour TV was to prospective (and very well off) potential customers.

 

[Akimbo]

Public Information Films - about things like: road safety, safe swimming in the sea, litter, crossing the road, parrafin heater awareness, Charley says. All pure gold from the nanny state.

Also remember those high quality colour shorts from Shell, that featured far flung parts of the world? They were broadcast during the mornings, inbetween hours of test card, so Rumbellows/Radio Rentals and local Tv shops could demonstrate what colour TV was to prospective (and very well off) potential customers.

These films were called "Trade Test Transmissions" and being a sickly child I watched them all multiple times off sick from school!