Penny Apples

[Kirbstone]

Today 51 years ago was Decimal Day.

The Bank of England on this day 1971 ditched the old division of the Pound Sterling from 20 shillings, 240 pence into 100 New Pence. At that time Ireland used Sterling as its currency and we followed suit.

A certain little future entrepreneur, Bill Cullen, son of a stallholder in the traditional Moore St. Dublin street market scratched a living selling among other things 'Penny Apples'. Overnight their fortunes enjoyed a turn-around. Instead of having to sell 240 apples to earn one pound, they now arrived at that sum having sold just 100.

In the following years his mother managed to put enough by to buy a house of their own, so Bill got his very own bedroom for the first time. He got his first job in a Ford motor sales place and eventually advanced enough to set up on his own, borrowing enough to secure a Country-wide Renault franchise and he became a millionaire......from such a disadvantaged beginning.

He wrote a thick riveting novel about all this with the title: ' It's a long way from penny apples'

Tom

[joking1966]

What a fantastic story. A lot of hard work and a bit of luck and fortunes can turn. When the UK had to devalue the Pound in 1967, was Eire affected? Or more specifically was its currency affected?

[Kirbstone]

Yes,
Way back in 1967 Ireland was in the 'Sterling area' and our currency was Sterling with Central Bank of Ireland notes. I remember well PM Harold Wilson appearing on BBC TV explaining that although he had devalued formally against the US $ from $2.80 to $2.40 it 'didn't devalue pound in your pocket' !!

Only those travelling abroad would immediately feel the pinch. Wilson had applied a £50 limit on the amount that could be taken abroad the previous year 1966 and I think it was still in force. I'm not sure.

Anyway, as professional young bloods, three of us set off for Canada and the US for 5 weeks that year, starting from Ireland where there was no restriction on the amount of currency one could take. Travellers' cheques were all the rage then as it was aeons before ATMs & the like.

In the gym we hefted big weights regularly as rowing training and the Kg was something used elsewhere, we lifted Lbs, or pounds. After devaluation we found the weights just as heavy as before!!

Tom

[joking1966]

In the gym we hefted big weights regularly as rowing training and the Kg was something used elsewhere, we lifted Lbs, or pounds. After devaluation we found the weights just as heavy as before!!

Tom

Cheeky response.

[denimini]

In the gym we hefted big weights regularly as rowing training and the Kg was something used elsewhere, we lifted Lbs, or pounds. After devaluation we found the weights just as heavy as before!!

Yes, unlike the same model motor car getting more miles to the gallon in the UK than in the US.

[joking1966]

Yes, unlike the same model motor car getting more miles to the gallon in the UK than in the US.

Brining back memories. When I was a kid we were still on the imperial system in Canada. But of course we got American television and magazines. It confused the young mind as two why a Canadian car of the same make and model always got more miles to the gallon than the one just across the border in the US.

Then even after switching to the metric system, many things didn't change they just got labelled differently (Officially). So in a Canadian pub if I order a pint I still getter a bigger glass than when I am in the US and order a pint.