Anyone got a shilling?

I had a coin meter for the electricity in my bedsit after I first graduated - that was the mid-80s! I think by then they took 50p pieces.

My grandma presumably had a meter in her terraced house, but mostly what I remember is her treadle sewing machine. And sitting on my grandad's lap, watching the horse racing

Also odd little details, like the thick protective cloth on the parlour table that was sort of leathery on one side and fleecy on the other - I think it went under the cotton table cloth to protect against hot items. And the front room that was hardly ever used except as an entrance hall, but I used to wander around it sometimes, gazing at the knick-knacks in the glass-fronted cabinets. I must have been five or so at the time...

An oilcloth Eyren, you can still get them, they are very practical.