Way we were

100 years ago

Enrolled midwives residing in the City of York numbered 68, of whom 21 possessed the certificate of the London Obstetrical Society, 6 the certificate of some other training institution, and there were 41 totally untrained. Of these 27 previously "certified" midwives, 6 were nurses at the Union Workhouse, 3 at the Barracks, and 1 at the County Hospital. Of the total 68 enrolled York midwives, 51 had so far sent in notice to the York Local Supervising Authority, of their intention to practise as midwives in the city. About 20 women known to have hitherto practised, more or less, as midwives in the city, had not registered under the recent Act. They would be able to continue as nurses - not using the title of midwife - until April 1, 1910, after which they would be unable to practise as midwives at all; they then would only be able to act as nurses under the direction of a qualified medical practitioner.

50 years ago

The Minister of Housing and Local Government was asking local Authorities to assist in protecting the public from ill-advised purchases of older houses likely to be included in slum clearance schemes. People who wished to buy for their own occupation, including tenants who were considering buying the homes they rented were especially in mind. The Minister advised local authorities to issue a general reminder to the public through the Press, and in any other way they thought proper, that they were preparing a comprehensive programme of slum clearance.

25 years ago

If metric sent you apoplectic, you were advised to calm yourself. It was something we had to learn to live with, like French fishermen and farmers. And anyway, there was plenty of help at hand. The Metrication Board had produced lots of leaflets for free, which were available from council offices, consumer advice centres and the Metrication Board in London. A particularly useful one for the housewife was Metrication in the Kitchen. There was no need to throw away recipes, scales or other kitchen equipment just because they were in ounces or pints. With a conversion table handy, you could switch from imperial measures to metric without too much fuss. Most metric recipes were based on a weight unit of 25 grams -- slightly less than an ounce -- and a liquid measure of half a litre, which was slightly less than a pint. If you were in any doubt, you could always look at the label on a metric pack, which by law had to also show the quantity in imperial measurement.

Updated: 11:51 Saturday, September 24, 2005