Frock & Roll...a blast from the past!

The picture below shows an original National Cash Register Company machine created around 1884 alongside a modern credit card reader (the black one to the right, didn't really give it enough attention as it's so everyday when the cash register is a first for me!) In any case what a sight! One I never thought I would see in a shop in Reading in 2010).

I happened across a new vintage clothing store in Reading called Frock & Roll which specialises in ladies clothes and accessories. Instantly it cheered me up and I wondered in to have a quick look. My friend Pam is a vintage junkie and  has got me hooked on vintage too! As I type elaborate plans are being made for a 50's & 60's 'new' wardrobe for me at the end of my LoseUrself4Charity challenge in December so Frock & Roll turned up in good time! As I looked around squealing and gasping in awe of the beautiful designs to the lovely shop owners delight!  

As my eyes wondered around the room I saw the most amazing thing...an 'old skool' cash register (pictured here). I did a little digging and found that it was an original from the National Cash Register Company. The inventor of the first working version of a mechanical cash register was James Jacob Ritty of Dayton, Ohio. He later sold his patent and eventually the National Cash Register Company acquired it and developed the design to produce more sophisticated cash registers of the time like this one. 

The company is still operating and is now trading as the NRC Corporation which is a technology company specializing in products for the retail, financial, travel, healthcare, food service, entertainment, gaming and public sector industries. 

Now here is a little info about the fabulous new vintage store, Frock and Roll, Reading


"A new independent store that is passionate,  maybe even a little obsessed, about all things vintage.  We specialise in ladies clothing and accessories from 1950s through to the 1980s and our shop is packed full of hundreds of one-of-a-kind original vintage gems, all handpicked by us.

So, whether you want to glam up for a night out or just go about your everyday errands in style, drop by soon at Frock&Roll you're guaranteed to find a fabulous bargain that will leave your friends green with envy!"

http://www.frockandroll.com/page4.htm

Taking Flight to save the day!

A model of an old war plane in Farnborough

Umbrella's for Peace

I went to Frimley Park in Farnborough a little while ago and whilst there I came across a display of painted umbrella's. When I enquired as to the identity of the artists I was told the umbrellas were designed by the children of St Bernadett's Primary. They have painted different symbols and pictures on their umbrellas, expressing the children's hopes and dreams for their future, that of peace amongst all peoples across the world. 

This was based on a project called 'Umbrellas of Peace' that was started in America after the 9/11  terrorist attacks in New York.

When world leaders come together with the likes of the UN and other independent agencies to broker peace deals; on balance their decisions are often based on the lessor of two evils, on compromise in the pursuit of achieving the diplomatic process to democracy. 

When terrorists, dictators, religious fanatics and dissidents set out on a quest to achieve their agenda, there is no limit to what they will not do, who they will not sacrifice to achieve their goals. Often very little humanity is employed in their determination to be accepted as right, to be heard and to be appeased. 

When children come together, their desire is to find peace, to join together regardless of race, colour or creed. Children harbour no unspent rage, bitterness or ill feeling. On the play ground they fall out, make up and genuinely move on and forward, never looking back or holding a grudge. Children don't see colour, they see people... children seek what is pure, what is true and right.

Children have the purest motive, the truth on their lips and love in their hearts... Yet when the world is torn apart by hate, children are the greatest casualty of all...

A labour of love

The purpose of the Lose Urself 4 Charity challenge I embarked on 32 days ago is to support a charity called Tekva Trust that help people in developing economies to establish a basis for their own food security. This could be in the form of improved farming techniques and crop rotation, more indigenous business projects that can generate income for the local people and / or communal projects that support the whole community. On my Lose Urself 4 Charity blog you will read just over a month's worth of diet diary reports from me. In them you will see that not only do I never go hungry but I have access to a variety of nutritious foods that are helping improve my health. Just one of the villagers is Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia or South America would be grateful just to have clean running water an one meal, any meal each day...

How then can we possibly ignore the plight of these people whilst we live lifestyles of luxury and plenty? How can we claim to have any human decency or Christian charity yet stand idly by and do nothing to stop this haemorrhaging of human life. Let us join together and make a stand against this moral wrong, and do what we can towards giving hope to this group of people and ensure they can access their Human Right to LIFE...

http://loseurself4charity.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Just.Rue?ref=profile#!/pages/Tekva-Trust/113838538631087?v=wall http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lose-Urself-4-Charity/112880245416276                             




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