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The Cinema and Jam Jars

Ringo

I like to not get involved in these matters
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Messages
3,021
Location
Stockholm
My Grandmother used to tell me that during/after WWII (can't remember which), kids could get into the cinema for free if they brought a cleanly washed jam jar. I presume which the cinema would then sell back to whoever made jam jars!?

Anyone heard this before?
 
But what would they keep their minnows and sticklebacks in?
 
Empty popcorn boxes, of course! ;)

Has nobody heard of this? My gran must have been pulling my leg. I always thought it was something to do with reusing glass etc under the war effort. Maybe she just fancied winding me up?
 
Yeeessss... it does ring a bell I think I've been told something similar by my parents in the past, if they didn't get in free they certainly had a discount or something like that. I'll have to ask my mother tomorrow unless Google throws up any light on the subject ;)
 
Google finds:
For Romsey children between the wars matinees were an important part of the week. Children also came when they could from the country around, usually on bicycles, and eagerly joined the queue. Every effort was made to earn the necessary twopence admission charge. Jam jars were taken to the jam factory - where Waitrose now stands, and bundles of rags or rabbit skins to Hougez on the other side of the Hundred. Any extra pennies were used to buy sweets, oranges or buns, which were aIl eaten during the performance.
http://www.romseynet.org.uk/romseyanddi ... s_indx.htm

Close, but no coconut!
 
My mother told me that when she was a child cinemas charged a "fee" of one jam jar to see a film. It would have been in the 1930's when this happened.
 
It is true so far as I know. I had actual evidence that it was a real deal. My next door neighbour always used to tell us little folk that he used to go to the pictures and pay with a jam jar. I assumed he was off his nut, well he actually is off his nut but this tale turned out to be true. I only just found out a few months ago by way of this evidence but I cannot recall the place I procured it... not very helpful is it.
 
I asked my snobby mother if she had ever got into the cinema for free with a jam jar and received a *I think not!!* and a look that could kill but she can remember other kids in her street doing it. Apparently it was my dad and his chums who used to take jam jars to get into the matinees during the 30s/early 40s as well as collecting glass pop bottles for extra pennies.
 
According to my dad, during WWII there were discounts for kids at the flicks if they brought jars, tin cans, lead piping, etc, which was collected for the war effort (aircraft factories and a leadworks were not far away). It was all legit, as he lived opposite the cinema and a corporation truck would come to collect the assembled offerings every Monday.

It would be interesting to see what sort of proportion of recycling occured then, under a lot of Luftwaffe duress, compared to now.
 
TheQuixote said:
I asked my snobby mother if she had ever got into the cinema for free with a jam jar and received a *I think not!!* and a look that could kill but she can remember other kids in her street doing it. Apparently it was my dad and his chums who used to take jam jars to get into the matinees during the 30s/early 40s as well as collecting glass pop bottles for extra pennies.

I used to collect pop bottles for extra pennies and that was in the mid 70's you got 5p per litre pop bottle and 1p for beer bottles later on it was 10p of the litre bottles. great for pocket money and great for recycling
 
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