Should we bring back House Wife of the year?

Gregor Samsa · 27-11-2020 04:17PM

House Wife Of The Year was nothing. Wang Laboratories in Limerick used to have an official "Miss Wang" competition among the staff in the 80s.

You can see a partial reference to it in this page from the Limerick Leader (1988)

http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/moyross067.pdf

3d4life · 27-11-2020 04:42PM

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

House Wife Of The Year was nothing. Wang Laboratories in Limerick used to have an official "Miss Wang" competition among the staff in the 80s......

Looking back, Wang were pretty good when it came to staff social activities. I have a vague recollection that the ( I think it was called ) 'John Player TOPS' was theirs one year. ( final broadcast by The RTE

)

These days that sponsor wouldnt be allowed and I very much doubt that HR would encourage similar shenanigans. Of course it was very tame compared with what went on in Sun Micro.:D

As for the prize of a cooker - turn the clock back 40 odd years and there were still quite a number of rural homes cooking on open fires - not much fancy stuff back then

fonecrusher1 · 27-11-2020 04:55PM

magic_murph wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF5V7jNXgzk

Good wholesome fun for all the family and a day out for the wives.

They're all lovely girls.

Well somebody had to....

Capt'n Midnight · 28-11-2020 04:34PM

Omackeral wrote: »

A housewife of colour would have to win.

Did you misread the title

BattleCorp · 28-11-2020 04:41PM

If yiz are bringing this back, yiz may bring back the John Player Tops of the Town. Great stuff altogether.

thejuggler · 28-11-2020 05:37PM

I have a childhood memory of seeing the final edition of this (renamed homemaker of the year including male contestants for the first time) and a male entrant won. Wokeism years before the phrase was coined. Anyone else remember this? Late 80s, early 90s I think....

Rubberchikken · 28-11-2020 05:42PM

Tops of the town was actually enjoyable, what I remember of it.
Better than the costly crap that rte seem to be churning out these days.

Tg for Netflix and DVDs.

Montage of Feck · 28-11-2020 06:08PM

Was it a requirement to dress like hyacinth bucket?

Montage of Feck · 28-11-2020 06:13PM

3d4life wrote: »

Looking back, Wang were pretty good when it came to staff social activities. I have a vague recollection that the ( I think it was called ) 'John Player TOPS' was theirs one year. ( final broadcast by The RTE )

These days that sponsor wouldnt be allowed and I very much doubt that HR would encourage similar shenanigans. Of course it was very tame compared with what went on in Sun Micro.:D

As for the prize of a cooker - turn the clock back 40 odd years and there were still quite a number of rural homes cooking on open fires - not much fancy stuff back then

Cooking on open fires in the 1970's! Oh come on now, maybe a few cooked on ranges but there's been rural electrification and calour gas since the 50's.

skooterblue2 · 28-11-2020 06:20PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Yes and the public should nominate women.
Everybody should nominate Louise O’ Neil and Roisin Ingle so we could see them have a cook/Hoover off.

Louise O'Neill is a single lady, think Rosin Ingle is divorced? Both high potential cat ladies.

freshpopcorn · 28-11-2020 06:22PM

skooterblue2 wrote: »

Louise O'Neill is a single lady, think Rosin Ingle is divorced? Both high potential cat ladies.

If they were Tom cats they’d certainly be neutered!

skooterblue2 · 28-11-2020 06:25PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

If they were Tom cats they’d certainly be neutered!

It would probably be best for all involved.

3d4life · 28-11-2020 06:50PM

Montage of Feck wrote: »

Cooking on open fires in the 1970's! Oh come on now, maybe a few cooked on ranges but there's been rural electrification and calour gas since the 50's.

True that there was bottled gas and that the rural electrification scheme had been going for many years.

Nevertheless there were many who cooked on open fires. I have seen this. It was part of the eco system of large families & having your own turf ( minimal income had to be matched with minimal outgoings ) that still existed back then.

SVI40 · 28-11-2020 07:11PM

Montage of Feck wrote: »

Cooking on open fires in the 1970's! Oh come on now, maybe a few cooked on ranges but there's been rural electrification and calour gas since the 50's.

In 1977 I spent the last term of 6th class in Camus, in Connemara. I stayed in a house with no electricity. They could not afford the £150 the ESB wanted to bring the cable to their home. Their brother lived the next house up the road, and he didn't have electricity either.

There were two gas lights in the house, one in the kitchen, and one in the parent's bedroom. All other lighting was torch, or candles.

They were subsistence framers, yet the nicest people ever. They put me, a 12 year old at the time, into the bedroom with the gas light.

This was organised by Gael Linn back in the day, and the 3 months I spent there cost my parents £15.

It was a different world back then.

Edgware · 28-11-2020 07:34PM

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I don't mind if you call it housewife of the year, I am definitely the wife in my marriage.

Ooooh Vicar!

Edgware · 28-11-2020 07:43PM

3d4life wrote: »

True that there was bottled gas and that the rural electrification scheme had been going for many years.

Nevertheless there were many who cooked on open fires. I have seen this. It was part of the eco system of large families & having your own turf ( minimal income had to be matched with minimal outgoings ) that still existed back then.

I agree with you. Down our way in Roscommon we had electricity, running water but we still did a lot of the cooking over an open fire ( and didnt feel under priveledged) The turf fire was kept going late in the night and first up in the morning got a fire going from the embers. The advantages of Donnacha O Malleys free secondary education was beginning to take effect but even before that we had people from our village who emigrated to the U.S. and their children rose to elected office.

Mad_maxx · 28-11-2020 07:50PM

magic_murph wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF5V7jNXgzk

Good wholesome fun for all the family and a day out for the wives.

were enough kathleens and bridies born in the past twenty five years ?

Mad_maxx · 28-11-2020 07:54PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

If they were Tom cats they’d certainly be neutered!

no " toxic masculinity " there

3d4life · 28-11-2020 08:06PM

Edgware wrote: »

... The advantages of Donnacha O Malleys free secondary education ....

If I had to pick just one thing that changed the country for the better in my lifetime it is this

Itssoeasy · 28-11-2020 08:14PM

Was the final of this held in Neptune stadium in cork one year or was that another thing. I know gay Byrne was at something here in cork but I couldn’t remember if is was this or something else.

Hyperbollix · 29-11-2020 01:04AM

I don't what all the sneering is about. The sister bagged herself a high flyer there a couple of years ago and she's counting the minutes til she can jack in the job, pop a few sprogs and pretend to be a domestic goddess all day. If this thing was on TV she'd probably apply for it an all.

Trouser Snake · 29-11-2020 01:19AM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Yes and the public should nominate women.
Everybody should nominate Louise O’ Neil and Roisin Ingle so we could see them have a cook/Hoover off.

Either one, I'd give the job to Henrietta.

29-11-2020 01:38AM

I don’t think there’s the makings of a decent housewife under 30 years of age now in Ireland. Even 10+ years ago there was slim pickings around if a fella had any sort of expectations that the house would be clean and tidy when he got home and that the dinner would be enjoyable. Microwaves and Roombas are a symptom of the sickness that’s affected people and their values about family and home life.

Bring it back but you’ll have to import the contestants from somewhere else, where dinner doesn’t come frozen in a plastic container and where cleaning to maintain the home you’ve built isn’t sneered at by ill tempered singletons.

Atlantic Dawn · 29-11-2020 01:53AM

How to measure each house wife would require lots of set tasks...

Fry up - how she was able to put together a fry for the man of the house after a rake of pints the night before
Working the cooker - Being able to provide meals for a large group of people with a standard cooker
Make Up while under pressure - Being able to maintain the out of salon look while working like a slave for the evening.

gctest50 · 29-11-2020 01:55AM

JayZeus wrote: »

I don’t think there’s the makings of a decent housewife under 30 years of age now in Ireland. Even 10+ years ago there was slim pickings around if a fella had any sort of expectations that the house would be clean and tidy when he got home and that the dinner would be enjoyable. Microwaves and Roombas are a symptom of the sickness that’s affected people and their values about family and home life.

Bring it back but you’ll have to import the contestants from somewhere else, where dinner doesn’t come frozen in a plastic container and where cleaning to maintain the home you’ve built isn’t sneered at by ill tempered singletons.

Sounds like looking for a second mammy

29-11-2020 02:00AM

There's a real bang of incel and bitter divorced 40 year old off this thread

Geuze · 29-11-2020 02:12AM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Yes and the public should nominate women.
Everybody should nominate Louise O’ Neil and Roisin Ingle so we could see them have a cook/Hoover off.

Over and over again, I have to say it, the Irish are awful witty.

We don't have heavy industry, couldn't build a car like the Germans, but we do have Swift / Joyce / Yeats, etc., and this lad.

skooterblue2 · 29-11-2020 02:17AM

Geuze wrote: »

Over and over again, I have to say it, the Irish are awful witty.

We don't have heavy industry, couldn't build a car like the Germans, but we do have Swift / Joyce / Yeats, etc., and this lad.

I am all for exporting Louise O Neill and some other sunday indo hack journalist to the Central African Republic or Mali, then they will have something to complain about!!

twowheelsonly · 29-11-2020 02:28AM

looksee wrote: »

Going back maybe 40 years I personally knew a 'housewife of the year'. Nice person, friend of mine though we lost touch, could talk the talk...but housewife she was not. God knows what the criteria were but taking a quick look at their house obviously was not part of them.

My mother was a finalist one year (can't remember the year but was around '78 or '79 I think ) and her biggest fear was that someone would come to have a look around the house

She had the cheek to cook Duck for the final - we didn't even know at that time that you could eat a duck !! On the Late Late the week before Gaybo asked her if it was "Duck a la Orange". No, says she, that's what you get in France. Mine is Duck with Orange Sauce

Rrrrrr2 · 29-11-2020 02:33AM

Can of worms- you’d every “sort” trying to level in- transgender, non binary, self identifying, pansexual etc housepeople

Should we bring back House Wife of the year?

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