# The old red phone box



## whisteria (Jun 12, 2015)

When i think back to my younger days thoughts of built up housing estates and sounds of everyday living come into mind,
The things we didnt have then "but are so common now things that bring people together like that old red street  phone box.

Every street corner here in the uk had a phone box sitting there just waiting for the kids to gather around it "its seen us all grow up it's always been there a gathering place a place to be around,

Without warning the phone would ring and the first to answer it would be the little kid with a voice that would sing "Hello who is it?"
And then the instructions of who and what number house they wanted to talk to would come across the air waves to those little ears so keen to please,

"The excitement of being the first to pick up that phone and to be the one to answer the callers wish and say "dont worry mrs I'll go and get them for you" and then he'd put down the phone as rushed off trying his best to assist.

How many courting couples spent their hard earned cash feeling the importance of time spent alone "In that old red painted box 'complete with a phone?"

And then came the final goodnight words im sure we've all said    "No you go first!!!!!!!!!!   No you !!!!!!!!!!  and then the line went dead" only sweet dreames remained as the lovers walked home and then to bed.

Yes these little past thoughts have survided a life of thoughts and dreames in my head And such a little thing as a box called a phone and painted post office red 
Should still be here in my box of past thoughts on an estate with not much else to offer such all round use for the ordinary folk to use and enjoy like me and you.

And for those people who call was cut short thants BY an over excited little lad putting that reciever down !!!!!! they'll never know who was calling from some other side of town was it mum or dad ?
Yes times have changed and we've all moved on and to some people they dont talk much anymore "they feel its all been said" so they've removed those little used telephone box's that we once had     "all painted red".


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## Kadee (Jun 12, 2015)

Phone boxes have continued to dissapear in South Australia where I live, public phones that are left are only a half metal/ Perspex shelter,I liked the old red wooden boxes  ( Where we live there is a house with an old  red  box in their front yard) 
We find when we go to the City ( Adelaide) 200 km from where we live, phone boxes are handy, as most have been made into free public WiFi spots. We make a point of taking our tablets and use the free wifi to update any apps,We rely on Prepaid wifi at home.


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## LinuxFan (Jun 12, 2015)

Hmmmm - a nice romantic view of the red UK phone box. Sadly the truth is a bit different in my memory - I used to maintain them for BT, and some of them were far from savoury, having been used as a public convenience after an alcoholic night out for the lads. No great loss as far as I´m concerned - sorry.


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## whisteria (Jun 12, 2015)

Hello Linuxfan and Kadee46,
Thanks for your comments and thoughts on the old red phone box,
Yes im sure you did find the results of drunken yobs when you cleaned the red phone box years ago,
But its like a lot of things we're seeing taken away because of so called progress,
I did read about TOM JONES, "the welsh singer" buying the very phone box from his old street address because of the memouries it held for him,

Again in north wales not that many years ago this little out of the way village got electric in their homes, everyone was pleased at the time "but" now im told this life change has taken away a lot of the old village life, people spend more time indoors and the concept of a gentle life has gone.

I still know older people who have never been on the inter/net and wouldn't have a clue how to use one "but they do know how to write a letter using a pen and ink,

I feel that sometimes the older ways are still nicer.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 12, 2015)

I love them!  I hope they keep them in the rural areas, even if they don't work.


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## Meanderer (Jun 12, 2015)

They can always be recycled!


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## whisteria (Jun 12, 2015)

Or as so many yobs like urinating in them what about making street loos out of them?


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## Shalimar (Jun 12, 2015)

Meanderer, I want one! I have a small replica of a British phone box which houses my landline, but this is beyond cool!


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## Shalimar (Jun 12, 2015)

Wow, Whisteria, would it be possible to do that?


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## oakapple (Jun 23, 2015)

Some villages here in England have retained the old red phone boxes, but in towns, cities, larger villages they are Perspex and metal now, and a lot don't even have a phone in them anymore but have been left to degrade naturally!To be honest, who uses them? We all have landlines in our houses and mobiles when out and about.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 23, 2015)

oakapple said:


> Some villages here in England have retained the old red phone boxes, but in towns, cities, larger villages they are Perspex and metal now, and a lot don't even have a phone in them anymore but have been left to degrade naturally!To be honest, who uses them? We all have landlines in our houses and mobiles when out and about.



In rural areas in Scotland there are many places where you can't get a phone signal.  So if you are stuck they can come in handy!  

Phone box on Isle of Barra:


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## imp (Jun 23, 2015)

Where I grew up outside of Chicago, there were no phones located out of doors, but many businesses had one located within their premises. They were made of ornate wood construction, likely oak, with bi-fold doors which opened inwards, like those of an old school bus. Gradually, they began to disappear, to the point that today they are lusted after by the antiques hunters.

Actually, finding a public phone, a "pay-phone" as they were known by over here, has become a difficult proposition nowadays. When I travelled interstate for Sears-Roebuck, doing heavy facilities maintenance, I carried a pager, response to which required dialing a toll-free (800). One day, paged by my boss, enroute to some store disaster somewhere, I pulled into a convenience store to respond. Lo and behold, the pay phone there refused to honor an 800 number! Later, a somewhat angry boss relented after hearing the story, and actually laughed. He felt we should have those then new-fangled "Cellular Phones", but the cost was prohibitive.

Currently, most of the little two-sided cubicles on the wall which contained pay phones, are devoid of them. One of our favorite hang-outs here, the Edgewater Hotel Casino, has a pay-phone downstairs from which I occasionally call my nephew at work (a counselor in college). That phone accepts his 800 #, but requests money after 2 minutes use! I presume the providers are cautious about complete refusal, as an emergency situation denied access would provide "meat" for litigation", another subject of mine producing instant high blood pressure!      imp


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## whisteria (Jun 24, 2015)

arhhhhhhhhhh Its a true saying "you dont know what you miss until you dont have it anymore"

Like the village foot policeman, the ones that walked around and he knew who was who .


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## Ameriscot (Jun 24, 2015)

whisteria said:


> arhhhhhhhhhh Its a true saying "you dont know what you miss until you dont have it anymore"
> 
> Like the village foot policeman, the ones that walked around and he knew who was who .



I appreciate a lot of these things even more because I didn't grow up with them - like the phone box, post box, castles, historic buildings and ancient sites. After 15 years I still take none of this for granted.


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## oakapple (Jun 24, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> I appreciate a lot of these things even more because I didn't grow up with them - like the phone box, post box, castles, historic buildings and ancient sites. After 15 years I still take none of this for granted.


Ah, but you have gone over to the Dark Side (Scotland) where hordes of rampaging Haggis make the glens dangerous to go,
where a man playing the bagpipes appears in every country car park wanting money off the tourists, and where country shops run out of milk by ten in the mornings( or so we were told on  the Isle Of Skye!)


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## Ameriscot (Jun 24, 2015)

oakapple said:


> Ah, but you have gone over to the Dark Side (Scotland) where hordes of rampaging Haggis make the glens dangerous to go,
> where a man playing the bagpipes appears in every country car park wanting money off the tourists, and where country shops run out of milk by ten in the mornings( or so we were told on  the Isle Of Skye!)



Naw.  They were just taking the pish.  Tourists will believe anything.


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## oakapple (Jun 24, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> Naw.  They were just taking the pish.  Tourists will believe anything.


Nope, we didn't believe it, but you can't force a shopkeeper to sell you milk!The same shopkeeper told us that he had seen Nessie twice! Yeah, right.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 24, 2015)

oakapple said:


> Nope, we didn't believe it, but you can't force a shopkeeper to sell you milk!The same shopkeeper told us that he had seen Nessie twice! Yeah, right.



Uh huh!  I get that Nessie question all the time.  I've driven past the giant shops near Loch Ness that are packed with Nessie souvenirs and tourists buying them.    Oh well, it's more ££ for the economy.


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## oakapple (Jun 25, 2015)

That's true, and let's be honest, tourists love all the Nessie stuff, otherwise why would they be buying all the stuff?Helps with the economy of Scotland and delights people all in one!
years ago when the children were young, we rented a cottage a stroll away from Loch Ness, a lovely holiday really, but the children made us walk up and down at the lakeside every day in case we saw Nessie. they were both disappointed and relieved that it never showed.We had to keep straight faces when talking about it, not easy.


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## whisteria (Jun 26, 2015)

Many of the english have tried to copy the good fortunes of the Nessie story, but not one have found the secrete that sells both books and the nessie experience but all have a harmless way of entertaining the minds and imaginations "and thats a good thing if your taken in by it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Im off down the garden to talk to the little people and then my plants)layful:layful:


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