Simply Thimbles

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 long...

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...

Hi there, Ironing has never been one of my favourite pastimes. I know it's something that has to be done but I always put it off. Usually because I've found something better to do. There is a pile of washing waiting for me right now, nicely stacked in the airing cupboard, waiting patiently. It's going to be there a long time, or at least until I run out of other clothes. I'd honestly rather de-ice the freezer than pick up an iron. I'm not alone. I know lots of people who hate ironing and find it a boring chore.  Why is that? Why is it such a chore? Is it because it hurts when you accidentally iron your fingers as well as that tricky hem that just will not lie flat? It never ceases to amaze me that we can fly across the globe, we've even sent man to the moon and yet, after all this time, we are still ironing clothes. These days ironing is easy. With fabric conditioners, modern fabrics and hi-tech modern irons, it really is a breeze compared to wha...

Hi there I found this thimble at a local car boot sale for 50p. It's Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther cartoon series. I love the way that thimbles can turn back the years and remind me of things that I didn't even know I had forgotten. One minute I'm walking around a car boot sale on a wet and windy present-day Saturday, the next I'm transported back to the care-free sunny Saturdays of youth, sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes glued to our first ever colour TV. Well, not literally obviously, it's a thimble not a time machine. Anyway, the slight down-side is that thimbles can highlight the passing of time.  When Eldest and Youngest saw this little guy, they hadn't got a clue who he was.  Watching him on Youtube didn't help much.  They thought it was too slow and didn't really get the humour. They thought it was weird. These days they are into sparkly vampires and Manga. Ah kids. They have this uncanny knack of making you feel... old!...