Listers, I have really enjoyed the vignettes about home delivery of bottled milk. When I was growing up, here in the States (in the 40's), the milk would freeze on the porch during the winter. In the process, the milk would push the freezing cream out of the bottle. When you went outside to retrieve your milk, you would have these frozen "tubes" of cream. We would sprinkle sugar on them and have "ice cream". That was before we knew what ICE-CREAM really was. More interestingly, was the Iceman, who would arrive with one foot square cubes of solid ice for your icebox. (To me a refrigerator is still an icebox). What I remember the most is how the ice was handled. The Iceman would grab a set of huge black metal tongs that were "S" shaped scissors with a large rivet-pin in the middle and sharp points on the ends. These tongs had large looped handles on either end, which he would grab with gloves, and smack the large ice cubes with the tongs. If he was experienced, he could i! mbed the teeth of the tongs into the ice and carry it with one hand, with the bottom pin pointing upwards to hold the weight. Then he would load the ice into the bottom compartment of the icebox. Surprisingly, the large cubes would last quite a while. Did they have Icemen in England? Regards, John Farrall Burke, Virginia