Dolly Blue - I've found some!!!

entwisi · 21-03-2009, 19:35

Some time ago I mentioned that i was trying to find somewhere that still sold it. It appears teh factory shut down many years ago and nowhere had any left.

Well, today I found a shop that sells it! Its imported from India and is a powder rather than a block but its teh same stuff and works lovely!!!!!

So if you want some you can get it at the PakFoods store ( used to be Nagyal) on Blackburn road Nr Little Paris for 59p!

for thsoe that don't know what it is, its basically a blue powder that you put in cold water, when your whites have been washed, dunk them in for a few minutes and then rinse and dry and it makes your whites REALLY white. Perfect for babies bibs/grows, mens white shirts, ladies blouses, net cutains etc.

Margaret Pilkington · 21-03-2009, 19:40

Aah, that takes me back a bit.....dolly tub, posser and dolly blue....mangle and remember 'buttons to the middle'!

My main memory of dolly blue though is when a couple of my brothers knocked down a bees nest and were stung something awful......My Ma dragged the zinc bath out, filled it up with cold water and put a couple of dolly blue bags in there and both of the lads were immersed in the water untill the stinging stopped.

Less · 21-03-2009, 21:21

The shame is that there was a bloke, had a hardware shop on Blackburn road, you went in there, asked, and he'd say just hang on I think I might....It could have been anything, you could hear drawers being opened his feet shuffling and eventually he produced exactly what you wanted. his shop no longer exists but if you ask Mick he'll point you to a thread about it.

His shop even had that age old paraffin smell about it, (or maybe that was his deodorant?).

Mick · 21-03-2009, 21:23

years ago i used to go camping near the dolly blue works in back barrow in the lakes
they had a cat that used to wonder about the factory and was covered in dolly blue.
one year we where there the cat had kittens and they where actually blue skinned

david1 · 21-03-2009, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by mick

years ago i used to go camping near the dolly blue works in back barrow in the lakes
they had a cat that used to wonder about the factory and was covered in dolly blue.
one year we where there the cat had kittens and they where actually blue skinned

The building is still there , but its been transformed into flats now ..

K.S.H · 21-03-2009, 21:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Less

The shame is that there was a bloke, had a hardware shop on Blackburn road, you went in there, asked, and he'd say just hang on I think I might....It could have been anything, you could hear drawers being opened his feet shuffling and eventually he produced exactly what you wanted. his shop no longer exists but if you ask Mick he'll point you to a thread about it.

His shop even had that age old paraffin smell about it, (or maybe that was his deodorant?).

Would that be the one at bottom of Lonsdale St?
Sold everything in there, was his mothers shop originally - Mrs macks we known the shop as, little old woman with only one tooth, you could hardly see her for all the stuff piled up in the shop but she new where everything was

david1 · 21-03-2009, 21:53

Just found a link too " the dolly blue works " ;-

Countryside: Dolly Blue

Royboy39 · 21-03-2009, 21:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Aah, that takes me back a bit.....dolly tub, posser and dolly blue....mangle and remember 'buttons to the middle'!

My main memory of dolly blue though is when a couple of my brothers knocked down a bees nest and were stung something awful......My Ma dragged the zinc bath out, filled it up with cold water and put a couple of dolly blue bags in there and both of the lads were immersed in the water untill the stinging stopped.

Ye but I bet their danglers looked like the had been in the arctic for a month?

SPUGGIE J · 21-03-2009, 22:00

How many more uses does this stuff have?

Retlaw · 21-03-2009, 22:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Less

The shame is that there was a bloke, had a hardware shop on Blackburn road, you went in there, asked, and he'd say just hang on I think I might....It could have been anything, you could hear drawers being opened his feet shuffling and eventually he produced exactly what you wanted. his shop no longer exists but if you ask Mick he'll point you to a thread about it.

His shop even had that age old paraffin smell about it, (or maybe that was his deodorant?).

Sounds just like Key Joe's, his shop was in Warner St, place were littered with all sorts, old clog irons and other stuff, he reckoned he could find you a key to open any lock. Whewells Hardboard had it for a while before the moved to Bridge St.
Retlaw.

Margaret Pilkington · 21-03-2009, 22:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Royboy39

Ye but I bet their danglers looked like the had been in the arctic for a month?

Royboy I can't say that I looked....I would only have been 9 or perhaps 10

Royboy39 · 21-03-2009, 22:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Royboy I can't say that I looked....I would only have been 9 or perhaps 10

Ye but.....you would'nt get me into a tub with dolly blue, 9 - 10 or 90.

Margaret Pilkington · 21-03-2009, 22:30

Well, it did seem to cure their bee stings pretty well.
And they weren't given too much in the way of choice......our Ma was(is) a formidable woman.

steeljack · 22-03-2009, 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPUGGIE J

How many more uses does this stuff have?

not sure about its green credentials but it used to be used by the old timers on construction sites for following the flow of water drainage/seepage/ leaks

something they didn't teach in Uni to the engineering grads

Mick · 22-03-2009, 07:31

You could also put in a lime wash to paint the back yard walls it made them very white and killed all the weeds