Any ex (or current) Milkman or Milk ladies on here?

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bluenotebob

Veteran
Location
France
A mate of mine once wrote off a milk float - it would have been back in the early 1970s.

His round was on the edge of South London - somewhere around Coulsdon, I think - anyway, one of the hilly bits.

He'd stopped on a steepish slope to make a delivery - hadn't put the hand brake on properly - nipped off to deliver some bottles to a house, turned round and the float had disappeared - it had careered off down the hill and smashed into a wall.

Shortly after that, he became a carpet fitter.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
PS, John did come around to my house whilst I was at the hospital and gave my mum my 2/6, by then it was 25p for the days work, even though I only did about half of it.

The milkman gave your Mum 2 and 6....

That happened a lot in the 70s.
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
My mum married the milkman 😁, she lived in a small village and said the whole village showed up at the church to see if mum was showing , They waited 4 years to have kids to prove everyone wrong 😂
Dad's story ,he had to go onto a different round after marriage which was very rural . In the bad winter of 1963 it took him 24hrs to complete his round due to snow but he got round and everyone's milk was delivered but was late the next day , have photos of Dad on snow drifts higher than the milk lorry
 

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
A bit off topic, but the thread has stirred a memory.
My grandad paid a bob for a flexi disc promotion single from the milkman.

IMG_5191.jpeg

I can still remember part of the lyric.

🎶 Take advantage of your Express milkman
Save yourself a shopping chore,
He can bring you many kinds of items,
He’ll deliver to your door,

Come rain, come shine, come winter too,
He’ll deliver them to you🎶

Something like that.

EDIT: HERE it is on the tube of you.
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
I used to milk dairy cows and take a jugful back in for my mum/the house - does that count?

I also milked cows but lived on the farm. Most of ours went off every day in a tanker but some who lived nearby got milk probably illegally but pocket money for the seller.
 

Tenkaykev

Guru
Location
Poole
This thread has reminded me of Pat Mustard, the milkman from Father Ted 😁
 

annedonnelly

Girl from the North Country
My dad used to talk about when he helped out on a milk round. He was probably a teenager. This was in Gateshead where there was, and still is, a large Jewish community. He talked about delivering on the Sabbath when he'd also help out by lighting a fire for them as they weren't able to do that themselves on the Sabbath. Also that the money would be ready on the table for him to pick up as they weren't allowed to touch it.

My milkman has a van rather than a float but in the 30+ years I've lived here he's only missed a few days when he had an operation on his leg. He's never had a holiday.
 

All uphill

Still rolling along
Location
Somerset
I helped our milkman on Saturdays which was his day to collect payment. His Morris Minor Pick up was not old but was thoroughly rusted out - it was steam cleaned every day.

The milkman had three regular coffee stops on the round and while he had a chat I would continue the round driving the pick up (I think I was 14 years old).

Payment was in cash, of course, and there were no written accounts or tally that I ever saw.

The milkman gave me a choice. 10 shillings for the morning or I could put my hand in the big leather bag, grab a handful of coins and keep whatever I got!
 

Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
Another little anecdote I can think of was on the road where I used to live, Russell lane, which is on a hill, another milkman was on his way back to the depot in Reservoir Road, Oakwood, when he lost control of the float, the brakes were never very good, and overturned and crashed into the front garden of a house on the corner of Thorndene Road and Russell lane. We had to transfer the crates and what bottles that could be salvaged onto our float whilst the breakdowm crane was summoned to drag the float out of the front garden.
 
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