Simply Thimbles

Hi all, Time flies doesn't it? Seems like only yesterday when I last posted to this blog. Can't believe it was March 2015! I think I must have been asleep because I have no idea why it has taken so long to post. These thimbles show the passage of time. All of it a lot before mine, I hasten to add. These little ladies show the changes in fashion in the United States from 1900 through to 1947. Originally part of a collection from Avon in the1980s. The four above are from left to right, 1910, 1900, 1928 & 1927. These four are 1923, 1938, 1942 & 1947. The 1920s must have been a great decade for fashion in the US, with 3 examples from that era included in the collection. In fact the 20s were a time of great change and not just for clothes. It was the interim period between two world wars. People thought that with the end of the First World War, conflict was over and there was a new, vibrant, buzz for the future. It was the age of bobbed hair, the Char

I quite like vintage cars. I also like vintage sewingmachines . So imagine my surprise when I found out that the White Steamer was made by the same company that made White Sewing Machines. How cool is that? When Thomas White, the founder of the White Sewing Machine Company bought a steam car back in the 1890s, it inspired his son, Rollin White to develop a steam generator which was made up of stacked coils.  Water was pumped into the top of the coils with steam being produced in the bottom coils closest to the fire. Not only did his design allow water input to be regulated, it also allowed temperature control. He patented the design describing it as being a quicker, safer and more economical way to generate steam power. Even with the improvements though, the engines still had to warm up enough to start producing steam. That’s probably why the combustion engine became more popular. It was a lot quicker to get going. Eventually, when steam power could no longer c

Route 66 is the historic and iconic road leading across the USA from Chicago Illinois to Los Angeles and more recently, Santa Monica California . Passing through Missouri , Kansas , Oklahoma , Texas , New Mexico and Arizona along the way, it is probably the most famous road in the USA . Originally covering a distance of 2,448 miles, it has been immortalised in songs like “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”. It was known as the “mother road of America ,” and has a cult following that I haven’t seen or heard of for any other road in the world. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985 when it was replaced by newer, faster interstates. Although some parts have been preserved, it is now impossible to travel the original Route 66 for its full distance. Some sections have been abandoned. Other parts of the road which travel through Illinois , Missouri , New Mexico and Arizona are now a tourist attraction renamed “Historic Route 66”. In Winslow Arizona, for instance, you can f

It's amazing what you find hiding on your desktop when you're looking for something else. I don't mean an actual desktop, I'm talking about the desktop on my laptop. When I'm working on something, I always save it to my desktop so I can find it. It's a trait that really, really annoys the IT people I've worked with. You see, the more stuff you have on your desktop, the harder the computer has to work just to wake up in the mornings. Somedays, I know just how it feels. You see, every document and photo sitting on your desktop becomes part of the starting sequence or boot-up routine for your computer. The more it has to load, the longer it takes to start. Until, eventually, you've got time to go pop the kettle on, make a cup of tea, come back, drink it... and still have to wait ten minutes for the PC to wake up. IT techies everywhere, fed up with solving problems caused by overloaded desktops are yelling, "Use Shortcuts!" My desktop g

Hi all, Most people will be aware that man first landed on the moon in 1969. What might not be so well known is that the world's first supersonic flight was also in 1969. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound which at around 768 miles per hour, is pretty quick. Although not as quick as 7 miles per second which is the speed Apollo 11 had to travel to escape Earth's gravitational field. 1969 was definitely the year for speed. Up until 1 st October 1969, flights had been subsonic, meaning that they were slower than the speed of sound. Concorde's first supersonic flight meant people could now travel across the globe in a fraction of the time. Concorde was a collaborative project between the UK and France and was heralded as a triumph in modern engineering. The planes were operated by Air France and British Airways. The name was chosen to reflect the partnership between the two countries. The words “Concorde” in French and “Concord” in English,

Hi there, These guys are the characters from Dad's Army, a British TV comedy from the 1970s.  It was a sit-com about the Home Guard during the Second World War. Originally called Local Defence Volunteers, the Home Guard was made up of men who were either too young or too old to enlist. Most were too old. Hence the nick-name Dad's Army.  Their job was to defend the home front against possible invasion. In the early days, the Local Defence volunteers had to wait for equipment as the regular army had priority.  This is where most of the more comic moments of the TV series came from.  The never-ending enthusiasm to invent ways of hindering an invasion using whatever tools they had to hand.  The re-runs are still popular today.  An everlasting tribute to the real band of Dads and Grandads, all of them volunteers, who watched over and protected our coastline and homes. Dad's Army is and always will be one of my all time favourite comedies.  Which is why I read with some