Stuff that your Dad used to get from work...

[marknotgeorge]

My dad was a coach driver when I were a nipper. They let him keep all the freebies given away with fuel. Our drinks cabinet is to this day stocked with Shell's finest.

I think we've also got one of the promotional Bova Futura models in Boyden's colours. It looked like this (In fact, I think that's me dad!):

 

[Salty seadog]

Sports gear, my dad is a PE teacher and as kids we had the lot, rugby balls, tennis/squash/badminton rackets, cricket bats, pads, gloves, basketballs and all associated getup and balls. We were the only kids I know who had their own rounders bat and ball.


....oh, and stationary......

 

[Alex H]

Snap! My Dad did exactly the same. The steel ball bearings commanded a high "Marble to Ball Bearing exchange rate" (which was great for me, as Dad could get as many as I needed!)

Snap, Snap! Did they all work for the same firm? Ransome, Hoffman Pollard in my Dad's case (also needle bearings, but they weren't so much fun)

Dad worked with computers from 1963, he'd brought home a few obsolete parts from work as a kind of 'museum' of the technology. My favourite was one of these,


A ferrite ring core memory unit.

I used to fix punch card machines fitted with those in the early '80s

 

[Globalti]

My Dad was the village doctor so it wasn't unusual to come home and find a bottle of Scotch or a couple of pheasant on the doorstep, left by grateful patients. Also in the old days the drug companies used to hand out all kinds of promotional stuff, usually desk gadgets, with brand names like "Amoxycillin - for that nasty little infection" or whatever printed on them.

 

[MontyVeda]

My dad was a milkman, you can guess the rest.

 

[stephec]

My dad was a milkman, you can guess the rest.

He drove the fastest milkcart in the west?

 

[chriswoody]

My old man worked for an engineering firm, who were subcontracted to BAE. He used to bring home random lumps of machined metal, that were allegedly reject bits of Tornado wing sweep mechanism's or bits of helicopters.

We also used to get free trips to the Farnborough air show, were he would point out Helicopter control rods he'd made bits for.

 

[lazybloke]

I only ever got boxes of stripey continuous stationery; white with green stripes, tractor-feed. Useful for scribbling/drawing/paper aeroplanes.

It was often used. This was long before the data protection act.

 

[Venod]

Stuff like this, dad worked at a glass works, these were seconds! we still have quite a few pieces, some on show, some consigned to the loft.

 

[User482]

Dad worked in a paper mill. We got free bog roll.

 

[Zimbob]

My father was the local Harbour Master, so my first bicycles were the ones dumped there by the local ne'er' do wells, after the obligatory 6-month period

 

[Vidor06]

It was my grandad mainly, who worked in the Harland & Wolff shipyard and he brought home lots of welded things and red lead paint tins! No harm done there, of course.

 

[Grant Fondo]

My old man worked for an engineering firm, who were subcontracted to BAE. He used to bring home random lumps of machined metal, that were allegedly reject bits of Tornado wing sweep mechanism's or bits of helicopters.

We also used to get free trips to the Farnborough air show, were he would point out Helicopter control rods he'd made bits for.

Snap! My dad worked for BAE and brought home loads of weird stuff. He once made a bumper subframe and bolts for my ancient Morris Minor, which he said were scrap parts from exocet missile casings that BAE were making under licence to Aerospatiale... the car did appear to go ever so slightly faster when he finished the work.......

 

[cbs]

My Dad worked for a local company called "Rivets" (actually the Bifurcated and Tubular Rivet Company) within their automation division. We had plenty of rivets, many more than we needed, which was pretty much none!

 

[Grant Fondo]

My Dad worked for a local company called "Rivets" (actually the Bifurcated and Tubular Rivet Company) within their automation division. We had plenty of rivets, many more than we needed, which was pretty much none!

Rivetting!