During the 1950s and 1960s, my father became a Voluntary Organiser for the Guide Dogs for the Blind. Each year he would run a competition to coincide with the annual Hayes Carnival and Fete. For months before the carnival, he would advertise for silver paper and milk bottle tops to be collected and brought to his shop at Hayes End.
Silver paper and milk bottle tops were recycled in those days and were a reasonable source of revenue for collectors. Each year he asked that the milk bottle tops were washed before they went into the collection, each year our garage smelt vile, with the smell of 'off milk'!
The heaviest collection won a prize, usually a box of chocolates or similar, the winner announced at the Hayes Fete which followed the carnival.
A novel way of collecting money for the Guide Dogs, but I can still smell our garage!
In this Civic Bulletin, my father submitted an article about the training of Guide Dogs and how he helped to raise money by organising bus trips, theatre outings, dog training, collections taken during dances and giving talks to clubs.
On the back page of the Bulletin is the advertisement for the Town Fete and Carnival Day, to be held on Saturday 13th June, 1964.
Not only did we store all the silver paper and milk bottle tops, dad also entered into the carnival (parade). Very early on the morning of the parade mum, dad and I were up early, cutting all the hundreds of roses in flower in our garden. The flowers were then attached all over the car and the large model of a guide dog fixed on the roof of the car. Many times dad won a prize in the decorated floats category.
