Can anyone remember tradesmen such as rag&bone men and Knife-grinders?

Not at all specific to the UK actually!

I live in Canada, and as a matter of fact, we STILL have a knife sharpener come around in his van (used to be a hand cart way back when I was a kid) every week or two!

And the "rag & bone" men are now called "recyclers" and you find them every garbage day, checking on what people have thrown out.

I certainly remember the rag and bone man on his horse pulled cart. I'm 53. You always got to choose a gift when handing over a load of rags. Ours always had balloons, and those little writing pads with a blue front, about 4x4". I don't actually remember a regular knife grinding person, but occasionally there would be a knock at the door asking if you were interested in this service. I also remember the pop man calling around - raspberryade, limeade, dandelion and burdock, all in glass bottles with rubber stopper tops. You got a penny back for returned bottles.

I do,we would get balloons and goldfish for rags ,it was a great day when the rag and bone man came on his horse and cart ringing his bell. The knife grinder would only come in spring and summer and sit out on the pavement sharpening knives and garden implements.We also got door to door salesmen with stuff in a suitcase . Just about everything could be delivered ,milk,bread,meat,groceries,greengroceries.laundry, fizzy pop, I don't recall a fishmonger delivering though. We also had a mobile shop come around once a week. all gone now but what good memories.

I was born 1949 and don't so much remember the tradesmen in their horse and cart but the 'Rag Man' whom came round the streets in the early 1950's. You brought old clothes to him and you were rewarded with something like a balloon. The 'presents' from the horses I remember very well. I also remember the 'coal man' coming with his horse and cart and carrying bags (1 cwt) of coal up the stairs in the tenements of Glasgow. Both these tradespeople hard horns that they blew loudly to let all know they were in the vicinity. The icecream man was more sophisticated and had a biclycle with a carrier on the back from which he sold icecream.

Yes I can, I'm not 50 yet and grew up in the midlands in England.

I remember the rag & bone man with his horse & cart coming down our street. We used to pester our parents for stuff to take out to him and he would let us pat his horse and give it carrots, if we gave him good stuff he used to give us a goldfish or a colouring book with crayons. He was always mysterious as I never knoew where he came from or where he went, let alone what he did with the stuff we gave, they were the first recyclers I guess.

The knife grinder was less frequent and memories of him are not as clear but he had a bike with a grinding wheel on the front, he used to set up in a particular spot and people used to take their knives & scissors to be sharpened. I don't recall we ever used him though.

Thanks for the memory!

Yes, our rag and bone man would give either a cream or white donkey stone in exchange for the rags. The knife grinder used to come around every six weeks or so.We also had in winter a man who came round in a horse and cart selling black peas from a boiler kept hot by calor gad, health and safety woueld go barmy today. We had an Ironmonger who used to come round in his van on Saturday afternoon, he sold all kinds of things, mainly paraffin, coal bricks and bags of logs.

Actually we had them here in the States too. My Mother n law used to get my wife to mind when she was a little girl by telling her the rag man would get her. And the knife grinders would travel around the country side sharpening the farmers wives kitchen knives and the farmers tools.

Yes, and we also had a Packie man. Nothing to do with race, the one that came to us was actually a Welshman. He got the name because he packed all his wares around in a huge suitcase. It was mainly household linen, but also dress fabric, lace and ribbons etc. He would come to my grandmother, all the local women would be there for tea that day. It was a great event when he opened up that case. Us girls would be in the background trying to see the ribbons and other pretty stuff he had.

There was also "Ingin" (onion) Johnnie on his bike.

The coalman and milkman also came round by horse and cart.

And the Co-op had a grocers van and a bakers van that did the rounds.

We still have a fishman that comes round every Friday with fresh fish, but all the rest have gone.

Thank you for the memories

Beulah

I was given a tiny yellow chicken by the Rag and Bone man when I was a child. Mum was horrified, Dad thought it was a scream. I kept in in a box by the fire to keep it warm. The man who lived across the road from us kept chickens and gave me some food for it and it thrived. I remember that I named it Hetty. When it got bigger I gave it to the man with the chickens and it lived for years. That was about 60 years ago. Couldn't happen these days of course.

Last I saw of it was a few years ago in Morocco, knife-grinders on every corner of the medina right before a holiday where sheep will be sacrificed, rag-pickers picking through trash set in front of homes, and fish-mongers and bleach-sellers pushing carts loaded with their products each morning yelling as they passed by.