Consuming interest
Type Casting
By LESLIE ADRIAN As a consequence of typewriter crises I have been collecting facts and figures on the hiring of these indispensable mod- ern aids to communica- tion. Here, baldly, they are.
£1 and £2 for portables. They ask a £15 deposit if good references are not available, and will collect and deliver all but portables which is logical of them, I suppose.
K. Harvey's Typewriters, 34 New Bridge Street, EC4, will sometimes deliver. in 'their area,' like to have a deposit of £8 from unknown customers and charge 17s. 6d. a week for stan- dards and portables, £2 a month for the smaller machines and £3 for the larger. Long's Typewriter Co., 86 Queen Street, EC4 (most of the active hiring firms seem to inhabit the same postal dis- trict as Fleet Street, which is no surprise), prefer a £10 deposit from unfamiliar hirers, but reduce the monthly fee, for any kind of machine, from £2 10s. for the first month to £2 for subsequent months, or 25s. a week.
Thomas Mountford Ltd , of 22 Bride Lane (EC4, need I add), charge £2 10s. monthly for a portable (they do not hire out machines by the week) and as little as 30s. a month for a used typewriter, standard model. They will deliver and collect, need no deposit, but will ask for a reference. Householders (solid citizens) will be lent a machine by Typewriter and Office Ser- vices (38 Hammersmith Broadway) for £2 a month, but they have no portables, nor will they hire by the week, though th-:y collect and deliver.
It occurs to me to remind you, if you own an electric blanket, .that now is the time, before the summer ends, to have it checked and, if necessary, overhauled. The servicing of electric blairkets is something that ought to be done regalarly to ,mike sure that they are as safe as they can be. Not all of them, even when new, are entirely safe, since some models don't come up to the British standard. The Fire Protection Association reported recently that in 1956 elec- tric blankets and bed-warmers caused over 2,600 reported fires.
With constant use, even a satisfactory blanket can become dangerous. The thermostat may stop functioning and the blanket may overheat; fold- ing or creasing may also cause overheating; if the flex works loose or if insulation is poor, there is danger of an electric shock.
To avoid all this you should have your blan- ket checked, overhauled and, if necessary, re- paired. I have a Norvic and the makers recommend an overhaul every third winter. The usual procedure is to return the blanket to the makers by post. They will strip it dowr com- pletely and give it a thorough check If repairs are needed they will usually send you a form listing all the possible faults, indicating those that need correcting in your case and estimating the cost of repair for each item. You send the form back saying whether you want the repairs done or not. Prices vary, but a straight over- haul should cost you about LI for a single blanket, 25s. for a double. You'll be charged about 3s. 6d. for return postage and packing. You have, of course, to put yourself in the hands of the makers, but I would trust them not to invent faults. I'd say it was worth every penny of a pound or two every two or three years if only for your own peace of mind.
qtr
The great lime campaign is beginning to work. A correspondent tells me she has been able to buy limes from Sam Cook's in Swiss Cottage at 6d. each and another mentions limes at 4d. in Tunbridge Wells. This is more like it
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