Pass It On: funny, fascinating and useful retro household tips from the 1950s

It’s the penultimate episode of Pass It On, but there’s no end of weird and wonderful tips from the 50s to discuss. Why, for example, would you need to know the best technique to post a chicken?

It’s the second part to Steve’s baking tips extravaganza, but he’s left with egg on his face (rather than in the bowl), and Connie and Chris spend far too long thinking about eating condensed milk straight from the can. We’ve extended the discount code – which gives you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk just by entering ‘darning’ at checkout – to 30 June 2020. You can help us make a case for a second series by buying the books and telling your friends to listen to season one of this podcast; book sales and downloads of the podcast help us prove that our kind, interesting little experiment is loved and wanted – and isn’t that all anybody wants?

Steve comes over all Mary Berry in this episode, as he shares tips from Sunday Post readers all about baking. And we discover Connie’s horror of cinnamon. We’re nearly at the end of our first year of publishing these podcasts, and when we hit our 52nd episode, we’ll be mothballing it for a little while – we think the fifties housewives would approve! We’ve extended the discount code – which gives you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk just by entering ‘darning’ at checkout – to 30 June 2020. You can help us make a case for a second series by buying the books and telling your friends to listen to season one of this podcast; book sales and downloads of the podcast help us prove that our kind, interesting little experiment is loved and wanted – and isn’t that all anybody wants?

Steve shares tips from the 50s on keeping kids occupied – and to Connie and Chris’s delight, they’re brilliant! We’re nearly at the end of our first year of publishing these podcasts, and when we hit our last episode in Spring of 2020, we’ll be mothballing it for a little while – we think the fifties housewives would approve! We’ve extended the discount code – which gives you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk just by entering ‘darning’ at checkout – to 30 June 2020. You can help us make a case for a second series by buying the books and telling your friends to listen to season one of this podcast; book sales and downloads of the podcast help us prove that our kind, interesting little experiment is loved and wanted – and isn’t that all anybody wants?

With lots of folks taking up knitting and other crafts at home, Steve thought it was time we took another stab – not literally – at knitting tips from the Pass It On books. We’re nearly at the end of our first year of publishing these podcasts, and when we hit our last episode towards the end of May 2020, we’ll be mothballing it for a little while – we think the fifties housewives would approve! We’ve extended the discount code – which gives you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk just by entering ‘darning’ at checkout – to 30 June 2020. You can help us make a case for a second series by buying the books and telling your friends to listen to season one of this podcast; book sales and downloads of the podcast help us prove that our kind, interesting little experiment is loved and wanted – and isn’t that all anybody wants?

Once again recording from our respective – and respectable – homes, we thought we’d dig into some cleaning tips from the 50s, since we’re all frantically swabbing every available surface. Or at least, will be after Steve’s tip about playing cards. The discount code for the Pass It On books, giving you 20% off at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, is now ‘darning’; it’s valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

The last time Connie, Steve and Chris were together, we promised you that the next episode would be filled with sewing tips. But then again, the last time we were all together, the world was in a very different place.  And now so are we, literally; this episode was recorded from Connie, Steve and Chris’s respective homes, and while we do get to some sewing tips, first, we took the chance to chat and catch up with each other. Stay safe, and if you’d like something to entertain and amuse you while you’re home, remember that the discount code which gives you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk is now ‘darning’; it’s valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

In this unusual episode for these unusual times, Chris is joined from Seattle by Glenn Fleishman, whose response to the current disruption has been to write and release a free book to help anyone who finds themselves working from home for the first time. Glenn shares the tips he’s learned over years of home working, as well as the expertise from his network of friends and colleagues; we’re sharing them here in case they‘re useful to you or your friends and family. And never fear – Connie and Steve will be back soon, but you may just have to forgive some slightly ropey audio quality!  To download get Glenn’s book, free, for Kindle, iBooks, PDF and more, visit https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/working-from-home/

In this episode, we let fate decide what tips we pick out of the Pass It On books. Well, Connie, but that’s roughly the same thing. You can follow along at home if you have a copy, and if you don’t, remember that the discount code, giving you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, is now ‘darning’; it’s valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve is determined to put a smile on Connie’s, Chris’s, and even your face with this selection of awww-worthy tips from The Sunday Post in the 1950s – but it’s he who ends the episode laughing so hard he can’t go on! The discount code, giving you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, is now ‘darning’; it’s valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

We go full nostalgia this episode, as Steve picks tips that remind him of things he misses from his childhood. Mushy veg, being cold, and lots more make the cut – much to Connie’s irritation! The discount code, giving you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, is now ‘darning’; it's valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve challenges Connie and Chris to present him with some modern equivalents of the life hacks that the Pass In On housewives sent into The Sunday Post in the 1950s. Little do they know, he’ll be scoring them – and his own. Who do you think will win? The discount code, giving you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, is now ‘darning’; it's valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve introduces us to the most prolific Pass It On-er. So prolific that, not only don’t we get to cover all her tips she submitted to The Sunday Post in this episode, but that Steve couldn’t even include them all in his books which we base the podcast on! The discount code for those books, incidentally, giving you 20% off them at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, is now ‘darning’; it's valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve promises a special Connie-centric episode of tips and wisdom from Scottish housewives in the 1950s, but does he – can he – deliver? Oh, and we’ve finally sacked Santa, and the discount code, giving you 20% off the Pass It On books at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, is now ‘darning’; it's valid till 20 May 2020, and you just need to enter it at checkout! Chat to us at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

It’s the last of the three-parter on The Sunday Post’s 1960 vision of the future, but what did the gang spend most of their time talking about? The pools. If you know what the pools are, you’ll share Steve’s bemusement and frustration, and if you don’t, well, just press play! As always, there are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

We’re back to the future in this episode. Big tellys, TV detector vans, fracking, bar codes, subscription styling services, phalluses and more. It’s all here, folks. There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

In the first copy of The Sunday Post published in 1960, its journalists wrote about what they thought the next decade would bring. It’s fertile ground for intergenerational japes and discovery from Connie, Steve and Chris, but we’re not sure we could have predicted that it would have been the catalyst for finding out how recently Connie discovered where Fife was – hint: we can see it from the room we recorded in. There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

In this episode, Steve presents Connie and Chris with another list of – he says – sure-fire painting and decorating tips from the readers of The Sunday Post in the 1950s. But as usual, they’re sceptical, and as usual, they quickly find themselves on tangents. Plus, Steve reveals his favourite thing about paint, and if that’s not going to get you excitedly listening, we’re out of ideas. There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Planning on refreshing your interior décor in the new year? Let the Pass It On tips be your guide! On second thought, maybe not! There are some good ideas here, but there are towels being given our left, right and centre – can you work out why? As always, there are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

If you’re feeling a little delicate today after the Hogmanay revels, let us share with you some medical advice from the pages of The Sunday Post. Get yourself a bacon roll and some Irn Bro, and play it nice and quietly… There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Merry Christmas, if you celebrate it, from Connie, Steve and Chris! We returned to Tenement House in Glasgow recently to record a special Christmassy episode for you, in front of an audience – just the thing to enjoy when you’re lying catatonic on the sofa, up to your eyeballs in turkey and sprouts. And if Santa didn’t bring you a Pass It On book, remember that you can get 20% off them at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

It’s nearly the end of the year, and so Connie and Chris allow Steve an even more than usual licence to wallow in nostalgia. We’re looking forward to next week’s special show, recorded live in front of an audience, but for now, for this week, let us look back! There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

We’re thrilled to welcome Becky – the person behind the cleaning phenomenon that is Clean Mama – to the podcast for this very special episode, not least because Becky actually knows what she’s talking about! Connie, Steve and Chris put some of the Pass It On cleaning tips to Becky for her verdict, and discover to their delight that she’s doing exactly the same kind of inventive work in the US, with a simple store cupboard of ingredients, that the Pass It On housewives were doing in Scotland in the 1950s! There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

The gang are talking nylons in today’s episode – stockings that make a certain type of man blush, and which were such a feature of American GIs’ time in the UK. Plus there’s talk of how they don’t make umbrellas like they used to, and a throwback to Connie’s beloved meat stilts from right at the start of the podcast! There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

In the second of our two-parter on staying cosy and dry, Chris remembers freestanding gas heaters with terror, Connie tries to convince the boys that ‘woggles’ are a thing everyone knows, and we ask Steve what he thinks of Starbucks. Oh, and there are some handy tips from the 1950s as well! There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

As the cold weather starts to bite, join Connie, Steve and Chris for the first of a two-part episode on keeping cosy and dry. Steve shares a tip that reminds him of his grandmother (and makes us yearn for stoneware hot water bottles!), Connie is forced to confront the reality of Steve’s underwear, and Chris is clearly in the pocket of Big Duvet as he shills hard for electric blankets. There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve promises ‘a Connie episode’ this time round, as he rifles through the Pass It On books to find tips about personal grooming. But it soon becomes clear just how ignorant the boys are of a modern woman’s beauty regime, and frankly, it’s just a ruse for him to quiz the poor girl about her acrylic nails. There are far more tips in the Pass It On books than we can cover in the podcast, but remember, you can get 20% off the books this show is based on at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘thrifty’ at checkout; that code is valid till 12 Feb 2020! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

It’s back tae al’ claes and purrich today, as the gang convenes for a regular episode after the excitement of our Tenement House special. All the usual good stuff is here – excellent tips, some personal revelations, and Connie having a go at Steve’s height – in this episode all about furniture. Plus, Chris ‘sings’, and… was Mrs Hinch inspired by Pass It On? You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – 🎁 as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

In this very special extended edition of Pass It On, we visit the Glasgow home of Miss Agnes Toward, now a National Trust for Scotland property called The Tenement House. Miss Toward lived there from 1911 to 1965, and her lifestyle and that of her neighbours was exactly the sort of thing we have been discussing in looking at The Sunday Post’s Pass It On tips. How do we know? Because she herself clipped Pass It On from the paper, and they’re still in her archive today! In this episode, Connie, Steve and Chris record on location in Tenement House, and we're joined by Rachel Campbell, Visitor Services Assistant at the property, to truly immerse ourselves in the lives of Pass It On-ers. Remember, listeners old and new can get 20% off the original Pass It On books this podcast is based on – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve sets out to help everyone’s households run better, with a selection of tips culled from across the Sunday Post, which show special, secret ways of doing things – true life hacks! There’s a massive tangent on playground games, and Chris get perplexed about a matchbox. You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Agreement dawns around the mics as Connie, Steve and Chris all say they’d like to see life skills taught in schools, Chris is perplexed by why a tip for using a brush which has become worn in the middle would be necessary, and we discover that there’s something about life in the 1950s that Steve doesn’t know! You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

As they look back at some of the adverts that appeared alongside the Pass It On tips in the 50s, Connie, Steve and Chris discuss whose job it is to polish shoes, the economic independence women gave themselves with Ann Summers and Tupperware, and they wrestle with the complex moralities of real versus faux fur. Connie also gets terribly confused about roller-skates.  You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Harking back – or droning on, depending on your perspective – once more to the ‘Make Do And Mend’ attitude of the Second World War, Steve rhapsodises about repairing stuff, Chris quotes Socrates as evidence that the kids are alright, and Connie wonders what everyone's favourite emoji is. You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

The trio’s manly triple bill ends in suitably manly fashion, with not just a tip about stowing razor blades in a child’s money box, but also Steve’s point-blank refusal to entertain the idea of complimenting a man on his clothes. Plus – the Scottish word that sounds like standard English. You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Fleming, Finan and Phin get stuck into more manliness this episode, including electric safety tips (and why one correspondent is talking about plugging things into lamps), an al fresco laundrette, and how the robots are taking our jobs. Plus! Connie is delighted to discover that she already swears by one of Steve’s tips! You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Cower! Quake! Be in awe of the manliness of Steve Finan as we delve into tips from The Sunday Post that were all about the boys. Well, they were still written in by women, on the whole, and some of them might still encode some dodgy gender politics, but heigh-ho – listen and decide for yourself! You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

In a special extended edition of the podcast, Connie, Steve and Chris are joined by the editor-in-chief of the world’s longest-running women’s weekly magazine to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II. It’s a complex subject – WWII is the deadliest military conflict in history – but it spurred the emancipation of women, exemplified the Pass It On spirit of improvisation and thrift, and generated a strong community spirit. Join the team as we pick out tips and more from The Sunday Post and The People’s Friend to get inside the heads of people living 80 years ago. You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Plus, we’ve got a special discount for The People's Friend 150th Anniversary Special, telling the story of the Friend through a century and a half of history; quote ‘homefront’ at dcthomsonshop.co.uk to get 15% off until 2 October 2019. Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve suggested today’s topic – sensible advice for sensible women – with some trepidation, but will it be as unreconstructed and misogynistic as he fears? Join us to find out! You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

The bland, vapid ‘Thought For Today’ messages that were published in The Sunday Post are the springboard for a conversation that more than ever reveals the generational divide among Connie, Chris and Steve, covering corporal punishment, the police and – you knew it was coming, even if we didn’t when we started recording! – political correctness. You can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – as a gift for a friend or even yourself! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘vinegar’ at checkout; that code is valid till 20 November 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

After being harangued by his co-presenters about how useful his tips are, Steve promises ten bits of advice that are still relevant today. That does not stop the trio getting off topic, as Connie and Chris find more and more creative ways to confuse Steve. Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve finds himself up against the wall after it is revealed that he employs a window cleaner rather than doing it himself. Eager to distract Connie and Chris, he highlights one of the few tips sent in by a man to the Sunday Post – but are his intentions as innocent as they seem? Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve goes through some of the ingenious ways that people dealt with and prevented accidents in the era of ‘common sense’. Connie and Chris are introduced to a bizarre use for leftover egg whites, and explain to Steve what microblading is. Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve wonders if household tips that were fashionable in the 1960s and 70s will ever become popular now. His curiosity is challenged by Connie and Chris’s cynicism towards the utility of sour milk or the artistic value of barbola. Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve once again exudes the authority of The Sunday Post and the many tips it received on maintaining carpets and linoleum. Desperate to promote the resourcefulness of the past, he faces an uphill task as Connie and Chris promote Ikea and introduce him to ‘yolo’. Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Connie and Chris introduce Steve to ‘Yeezys’ as he explains there was no such thing as trainers in post-war Scotland. Yet all is forgiven when Steve is left flabbergasted that Connie already uses one of his tips! Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Connie reveals herself as the infamous ‘Spider Catcher’ as Steve explains how the housewives of the 1950s used to keep insects off their windows. The generational divide becomes clear for all to see, however, when discussing what Steve means by lime chloride. Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

In only episode five, Steve reveals his second favourite tip from all the Pass It On write-ins. This leads to fists flying over the great debate: does milk go in first when making a cup of tea? Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Chris and Connie press Steve on the gender politics of ironing, after he reveals he didn’t do any until he left home. Hastily Steve provides some insight into the pride people took in ironing anything they could, from nylon underwear to gloves! Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve explains how knitting used to be a matter of pride and a necessity of Scottish life as he talks Chris and Connie through some of the ingenious tips sent into the Pass It On column. But will Chris feel intimidated by the skillset of the generation that came before him? Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

Steve works through his fear of white vinegar to talk Chris and Connie through its many uses. Perplexed by post-war Scotland’s hatred of flies, the trio explore how vinegar was used on floors, glue, and jam. That is, if they don’t get distracted by the prospect of fish and chips. Remember, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019! Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

More than 50 years ago, a Scottish newspaper called The Sunday Post started a little column where readers, usually women, could write in with tips for running a household. We recently rediscovered these in our archives, and have been republishing them as a series of books; the tips are often funny, sometimes delightfully dated and dubious, occasionally even useful! But they’re always fascinating, as a capsule of social history, forgotten knowledge, gender expectations and more. Welcome, then, to the Pass It On podcast, where we really dig into all that! Connie is the host – the modern equivalent of the generation who wrote into Pass It On – and she’s joined by the author of the books, Steve, who’s of a generation to remember these tips in use. Between them in age is Chris, and though the tips themselves are our starting point, they're just an excuse to explore changing attitudes to housekeeping, gender equality, privilege, thrift, throwaway culture, and more – we hope you enjoy it whatever age you are or wherever in the world you live, and that you subscribe now to join us as we discover, talk and learn!  As a special thank you for listening to the podcast, you can get 20% off the Pass It On books themselves – stuffed with thousand of tips! – at dcthomsonshop.co.uk, using the discount code ‘podcast’ at checkout; that code is valid till 28 August 2019. Let us know what you think of the show at twitter.com/ThePassItOnPod or facebook.com/PassItOnTips, and if you know anyone who’d enjoy the podcast as much as you do – pass it on!

The Pass It On column was a little bit of genius more than 50 years ago in The Sunday Post, a newspaper published in Scotland by DC Thomson. Readers would write in with household tips, such as how to get furniture dents out of carpets, how to dust behind an immovable wardrobe and – my personal favourite – how to get a dent out of a ping-pong ball.  My name is Steve Finan, and I couldn’t help but be struck by how these tips tell you so much about the people making their homes in the 1950s – about what they valued, about their pride, about their inventiveness – and so we collected them into a book.  Now we’re making a podcast about these tips, and the thrifty, endlessly creative people who came up with them. Hosting – and keeping me in my place! – is Connie Fleming. Connie’s a young, modern woman who has just bought her first house, so we’re going to see what she makes of the wisdom – or otherwise! – of her forebears. It’s all very useful and informative, apart from the bits that are absolutely irrelevant.  To make sure you don’t miss a moment, subscribe to the show now wherever you find your podcasts!