finding odd things when doing renos

Whilst renovating a pair of 1860 built terraces in Carlton melb we found many stashes of old garbage - it would seem someone use to sit in the attic and roll his own and have a few beers from the evidence of the stubs, old paper and tins.

The most frustrating thing was taking a cuppa with the builder. I asked him if he had found any interesting things over his career in building. He rattled off a few things and then said "This is special an old turn of the century coin" whilst oohing over it I asked where he found it thinking how sweet he carries it around with him. He said oh up in your attic and with that he went back to work.

I had the strange feeling that he was walking away with my coin...

We put a copy of the 'Australian' and a letter in a few airtight plastic bags and a letter under the floorboards in the attic.
 
Buzz Lightyear said:
I had the strange feeling that he was walking away with my coin...
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I have the strange feeling you were right. I believe you had every right to ask for it back as it was in your property and you owned it as you'd paid for it.
 
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Actually he is still working - I chased him up last week to fix some tiles - I have to say I was pleased he answered 5 years after the fact you are never sure if the builder is still about. Since writing this I am convinced it was a rare half penny that I could of retired on...

I heard a story the other day that went like this - A golfer after winning a major tornament was stopped by a lady in the car park. She told that her very sick child needed money for a life saving operation, he signed the cheque over on the spot. The next day at the clubhouse he was telling his friends who told him that she was a con woman know for that con. His reply - thank goodness there was not a sick child.

I am thinking positive thoughts - the new mantra - comes round goes round.

Buzz
 
One for someone else to find...

Love the thread !! It reminded me of a "message" I wrote sometime in the later 1950's. My Dad had died, Mum couldn't afford the repayments on the house they'd built only 2 years prior, so she found an 1880's house a Km or two up the road. We lived there for probably another 5 years.

During that time, she decided she needed to rent a room or two to help the "balance of payments". Problem was that legislation demanded a fire-retardant wall between the house and the "flat" - and it had to extend into the roof cavity.

Gyprock was acceptable - the part in the house was easy to erect - but the roof cavity still needed to be done. So we lifted a few leadhead nails, pulled off a sheet of corrugated iron (to get access), and built a wall up in the roof.

The thing I remember most about that wall was where I shared the "latest joke at school" with my Mum by drawing it on our newly erected wall. It was an overhead view of a Mexican riding a bike - a bit like this -O-

I also drew for her a picture of "North view of an elephant walking South" - not sure just how to depict that today - sorry. :eek: We probably also put the date - would have been 1957 or thereabouts...

Regards,
 
When I was in school back in 1972 Dad renovated the dinning room in our PPOR in Haberfield, Sydney. Under the carpets, lino, felt etc were old newspapers from WW1 regarding the sinking of the Emden in the Indian Ocean.

cava
 
I remember one old newspaper when I was in the flock of bats. There was an article from the early 70s or so- which was suggesting that, due to the advances in computing, within 30 years, the average person would only have to work a 15 hour week.
 
geoffw said:
I remember one old newspaper when I was in the flock of bats. There was an article from the early 70s or so- which was suggesting that, due to the advances in computing, within 30 years, the average person would only have to work a 15 hour week.
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Geoff,

I think that's about right!

I am at work for 40 hours a week but spend 25hours a week on this site and others like it:D
 
Cracked up laughing out loud at the body outlines. Best thing I heard was a friend in an old house in Niddrie pulled out the kitchen after living there for 5 years and found - another kitchen!!! It was huge of course, so the original owners had just put the new one in front of the old, and it was still big. They pulled the whole lot out and gained 1mtre all round the room. No wait, I do remember another better one, my friend over in Wantirna somewhere (when it was the wilds) bought a brand new home and some years later started digging up the backyard, and found jam jar after jar stuffed with money.
When we pulled up the old carpet in my old PPR there was huge black and white check tiles all down the long hallway and my kids wrote all over the white squares. Can't remember what though,
 
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