What is the best way to keep your ice-creams cold? Well, if you are an ice-cream lover then this is the product for you! Drikold, which is dry ice, has a very low temperature of -78°C. Traditional water ice that we all know and use has a temperature of only 0°C. It leaves no residue, is neither toxic nor flammable. It is made with a high degree of cleanliness and has no taste or odour. Dry Ice is made by compressing and cooling Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gas into liquid, and then allowing it to expand to produce CO2 snow. The snow is then compressed even further by a hydraulic press into useful sizes of dry ice blocks, slices and pellets. The properties of Drikold means that it still has many uses today: Blast cleaning, emergency cooling in case of breakdown, special effects in theatres and nightclubs, refrigeration, localised freezing of pipes. This photograph shows Drikold being given over to REAS Creamy Ices Ltd, to be used for keeping the ices nice and cold! Drikold was often used to refrigerate food that was being transported. 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Hi I’m Peter Flounders (Crolla). My great grandad was Sandy Rea, who had a shop on Stevenson Street in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, he sadly lost his life on the Andorra Star during World War 2, I’m hoping someone may have any photos of him, the shop or anything to do with him as my family have hardly any photos. I know its a long shot as no one has posted on this thread for a while. I’ve read some of the posts and found out a bit more about him, i’m just trying to find out a bit more about my heritage, and background, any information, stories and photos would be much appreciated, thank you.
For those who also didn’t know, ‘Whatever Happened to Benny Santini’ was the debut album of Chris Rea, released in 1978. The first single lifted from the album, ‘Fool (If You Think It’s Over)’ is arguably Rea’s best known song, and remains his biggest hit in the United States. The title of the album is a reference to a name Rea’s UK record label had considered christening Chris with to make him sound more attractive commercially!
Good to hear we have Steel flowing again at Corrus Redcar. Soon we will have the new international white water course running hopefully allowing more salmon to return to their home river the Tees.
Steel and Salmon all mentioned in the classic ‘Steel River’ written by ‘Benny Santini’ or the more famous Chris Rea.
I was a regular customer at Rea’s in Linthorpe Road in the 1970s. I was quite mystified one day when I went in to find all of the rather mature ladies behind the counter were wearing button badges declaring ‘Whatever happened to Benny Santini’. I didn`t know about Chris Rea, but they soon put me right.
As a resident of M’bro during the 50’s I can recall that the Rea’s Cafe (on the Linthorpe/Grange Rd. corner) to which Stan Laundon refers in his posting above, was in fact originally called the C&C Cafe (one of the owners names being Constantine). I also believe that Rea’s ‘Zedra Bar’ Cafe on Newport Rd (opp. Binns) was also operated by the same C&C company prior to Rea’s purchasing the premises. In fact, I have seen photographs of that particular Cafe taken in the 1940’s after it was attacked by locals when Italy entered WWII as German allies. The other ‘Rea’ ice-cream seller in M’bro was ‘Sandy’ (Sandro) Rea who operated from North Ormesby. He had lived there since well before WWII and was a popular member of the local community. Unfortunately, upon Italy’s entry into WWII, he was interned as a foreign-national. Being an internee, he was sadly on board the S.S. Andorra Star when it was torpedoed in mid-Atlantic en route to Canada, with the loss of practically all the Italian POW’s. I recall my mother telling me that the residents of N.Ormesby were devastated at this news. The later ‘Rea’s Cafes’ I always found were a bit ‘down-at-heel’, and generally ‘in need of a good clean’ as older women would say! Who can ever forget their sausage-rolls? A combination of Dayglo-yellow pastry and Dayglo-yellow sausage meat, Yuch! Their coffee too, despite the ‘shushing’ and ‘whooshing’ of the exotic Gaggia Espresso machines, would always somehow tasted like dishwater. Pacitto’s in Stockton was a more enjoyable experience, with much better quality service, food and ice-cream delicacies. Plus of course, the wonderful art-deco Lloyd-loom chairs and tables.
Hi Pat. I know that apart from the Rea coffee shops in Middlesbrough I do know of one that was in Billingham. Perhaps the author of the letter to the Gazette was mistaken about the location.
A letter in last night’s Gazette about the death of Camillo Rea mentions going to their ice cream parlour in Stockton. Does anyone know where this was, as I only remember Pacittos two shops in Dovecot Street and Yarm Lane, and also Rossis (Continental Cafe) next door to the Empire on the High Street.
A belated addition to this thread . . . I think the three wheeler vans referred to earlier were Reliants. Early versions of these has girder forks, were steered as described and the bodies looked generally similar to the Bradfords to the uninitiated. One of these Reliants is currently under restoration in the hands of a Bradford owner in Sussex. There may be more comments from those better acquainted with Reliants.
Sorry to be argumentative but the Bradford was a 4 wheeler and has a steering wheel. You may have thought the suspension as rudimentary as a bike but it was from a long line of 7, 8 and 10 Hp cars Jowetts made in Bradford. Please check out http://keithclements.co.uk/jowettnet/dt/contributions/brianhehir/brainhehirpics/thumbnails.html This will show some recent pictures of Australian Jowett Bradfords Compliments of the season.
Steve Frost – Steve as you are familiar with Jowetts you are well aware that these commercials were three wheelers sterring being by means of a set of motorcycle handlebars for a single front wheel. Front suspension was also 100% bike. In the Bradford area there is a mill, which in the 70″s was turned into an “industrial” museum. Apart from the old mill machinery there was a selection of Jowetts upto & including examples of both the Jupiter & the Javelin.
The van is a Bradford, made, amazingly in Bradford by Jowett Motors.
Frank Bowron – yes, the singer Chris Rea is from the ice cream family. Rea´s had three coffee bars in Middlesbrough – one opposite the Cleveland Centre – or whatever it is called these days – there was another close to the corner of Ayresome Park Road, near the park gates, and the other was close to Clairville Stadium. I recall a young Chris often serving me coffee and ice cream when my colleagues and I would take a break. We were at BBC Radio Cleveland at the time Chris worked there about 1970.
I remember Rea”s Creamy Ice Cream very well. Isn”t the singer Chris Rea from the ice cream family?