Sawdust!

[Danniella]

Re: Sawdust!

Same here where I grew up. I often wondered why they layed sawdust on the floor. Was it to soak up any spilt blood from the butchering?

You have such a way with words Donny!! Lol

[Heather74]

Re: Sawdust!

Sawdust is a natural odour eater as well as a good sponge for nasty fluids.

[Donald the Great]

Re: Sawdust!

I seem to remember our local Butcher's in suburban Glasgow always had sawdust on its tiled floor, this was the late 70's, probably to stop people slipping during wet weather, or maybe another reason? I've not seen this practice since. Does it still go on? Seems really quaint now.

Same here where I grew up. I often wondered why they layed sawdust on the floor. Was it to soak up any spilt blood from the butchering?

[Trickyvee]

Re: Sawdust!

Our local butchers had sawdust on the floor and the carcasses were hung from the ceiling on the customer side of the shop! I also remember the sticky fly paper hanging down and what is it with butchers always being shouty larger than life characters? I was a shy kid and really didn't like him booming away at me.

[Richard1978]

Re: Sawdust!

When I was young me & my Dad stopped at a petrol station & a butcher's van pulled up at the pump opposite. My Dad asked me if they were going to fill up with blood, which I found funny, but couldn't let my friends laugh at it when I retold it at school.

As for meat, sometimes it's the opposite & some meat seems to needs to be hung for days before being cooked to bring out the flavour.

[Twocky61]

Re: Sawdust!

it was to soak up the blood.....

Exactly as people back then seemed to prefer rare meat where a cow for example had only a few minutes ago had walked into the butchers shop from grazing in the field lol

[Pussywillow]

Re: Sawdust!

I can see Mr Flint of Wokingham Butchers even now, standing there in his blue/white striped apron, pencil moustache and making flirty talk (which I didn't understand then) with his (mainly) female customers. I swear he wore a boater hat....

And THAT smell of blood and sawdust, oh yes.

[darren]

Re: Sawdust!

To soak up blood and fat. It kept down smells and made the floor less slipper.
it absorbed the blood juices etc WHICH MADE IT EASY TO CLEAN UP.

HAVENT BEEN IN A BUTCHERS FOR LIKE A VERY LONG TIME SO NOT SURE IF ITS STILL DONE.
OR PERHAPS FLOORS ARE MADE OF A DIFFERENT NON SLIP SURFACE WHICH MEANS NO NEED FOR SAWDUST?

[zabadak]

Re: Sawdust!

it was to soak up the blood.....

Could do with some on the Central Line, the number of times I get belted by people not taking their backpacks off!!!

[Mulletino]

Re: Sawdust!

I remember the lucky dips at school summer fairs were in a bucket of sawdust.

Sometimes it was very itchy so I would grab he first prize I touched.

And sometimes when you went to see Santa in a department store they'd either give you a gift or you'd get one yourself out of the "Boy's" or "Girl's" lucky dip barrel.
(now you don't, you just pay a fortune for a picture of a screaming kid with a fat man)

[Richard1978]

Re: Sawdust!

I remember the lucky dips at school summer fairs were in a bucket of sawdust.

Sometimes it was very itchy so I would grab he first prize I touched.

[culnara]

Re: Sawdust!

Yes, I have many memories when I was wee when My Mam would take us shopping and we would go into the butchers, always remember the smell of the sawdust and we always got a strawberry bonbon from the old butcher

[culnara]

Re: Sawdust!

Yes, I have many memories when I was wee when My Mam would take us shopping and we would go into the butchers, always remember the smell of the sawdust and we always got a strawberry bonbon from the old butcher

[Hooper68]

Re: Sawdust!

If somebody was sick on the playground.

[DSCOMAN]

Re: Sawdust!

it was to soak up the blood.....