The Kleeneze man

We also had a Johnny Onions in Hampshire! Also a man with a knife sharpener on his bicycle who used to visit our village, the tally man used to call on our neighbours, Mum was horrified that people borrowed money.
The Kleeneezie man left us small tins of lavender furniture polish.
The Corona man used to deliver fizzy drinks.
Plus the man from the Pru came for our insurance money.
Bakers, the man from the Pools (football) .
And our local shops also used to deliver fish, groceries and meat.

Greyduster, my Welsh DH talks about Johnny Onions as well.We were really surprised to see him a couple of years ago in Rhayader, still on his bike!

We had an Onion Johnny in Glasgow and my mum did love a good Betterware catalogue! But what I remember really enjoying was when the rag man came with his horse and cart. My mum would give him old rags, i.e. anything she hadn’t already been able to reuse as dusters or floor cloths. In exchange she’d choose an ornament or trinket of some sort and there’d always be a balloon for me!

I remember the tallyman. I once bought a vacuum cleaner from him and my husband at the time went spare complaining about interest charges. We were both nurses and hard up then.

We had an 'Ingin Johnny' too. He cycled around with strings of onions dangling from his bike.

My deeply superstitious Scottish Gran always bought white heather from travellers.

When a young woman traveller with a small child asked if she had any old spare clothes for the bairns, Gran went into the attic to have a, look.

When she down the woman and child had disappeared…….and so had all the weekly washing off the clothes line.

We had a rent woman Miss Christie was her name. She came once a fortnight from the Council carrying a doctors type leather bag. No one locked their houses in those days. If my mum was out she would still come in and make herself a milky coffee and use the toilet. At Christmas time she always gave us a tin of biscuits and a calendar. The insurance men would also just knock and come in to collect their money. There is still a Kleenese/betterware man who come around and leave a booklet where I live.

Greyduster, I remember my Mum saying if I was offered anything rom a gypsy lady (heather irrc) I had to buy it otherwise they would put a curse on me!

There also used to be people who sold those metallic framed pictures?

My favourite caller to the house was the man to empty the gas meter. There always seemed to be a flurry of excitement. He’d empty all the 2 shilling coins out on the kitchen table. I was mesmerised by the speed of his fingers as he stacked the coins into piles of of 10. Then he’d read the meter and do his calculations while my Mum hovered in the background hoping there was a small overpayment. It made her day if there was a few shillings “rebate” handed back.

We also had Sikh gents coming round with their suitcases. Remember Dad buying a black ‘funeral’ tie from one of them, Mum was furious as an uncle who lived in Leicester had warned her that once you bought from them, they told their mates and you would be inundated with salesmen.

This was back in the late 50s, early 60s. We had never seen anyone with turbans before, as we lived in a very rural location.

As a child, I remember the rent man used to call once a week. I couldn’t imagine anyone now walking around the streets alone with what must have been a large amount of cash.

Once a year when the fair was in town the ladies used to come around selling lucky heather, my mother always bought some just in case.

My lovely Mum always used to try to buy some little item as she was sorry for them.

My Welsh DH talks about Sioni Wynwns (Johnny Onions) coming round on his bike when he was young. Here in South Yorkshire we had the oatcake man. He would call from door to door on a Saturday, selling oatcakes and pikelets from a large wicker basket covered with a gingham cloth.

I remember the Kleeneze man! A Greek man came round once or twice with lace mats. The only real regular was Johnny Onions from Brittany, he only spoke Breton but was understood by locals who were welsh speaking.

Kate1949 you must have read my mind as I came across your post. I remember a Sikh gentleman too being treated in the same way. Even travellers selling dolly pegs and “lucky charms” didn’t get as short a shrift as he did! I understood that was because people were rather afraid of travellers leaving bad luck if you didn’t buy something from them!

I remember in the 1950s a brush salesman coming down our street. He was a Sikh. No one had seen a Sikh before and nobody would open the door to him. Poor man.

I occasionally get a betterware catalogue left at my door or an Avon book. I don't buy anything from them though. I suspect many people can buy what they need via the internet now