Around the house

Rotary dial phone

Few homes had a phone back then. It sat on the tea table under a white lace doily, and some families even fitted a tiny lock into the dial so the kids could not make calls.

To dial, you put a finger in the hole, pulled it round to the stop, let go and waited for the dial to whirr back before the next digit. Neighbours with relatives far away gave out your number and came over at the agreed time to wait for it to ring.

Do you remember? Whose phone number was the first one you knew by heart?

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