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Are You Old Enough to Remember This?

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When I was a kid:

We didn't get driven to and from school

We didn't have snacks between meals

We didn't have takeaways, fish & chips the exception.

We had sweets at the weekend only and there was not the choice We have today.

We didn't have remote controls for TV, garage door, curtains, lights and so on...we actually got up!

We played outside in most weather

We walked everywhere with mum as most women didn't drive, dad used the car (if lucky to have one) for work

Women didn't have automatic washing machines, remember twin tub and turning the mangle? Nor did they have most other electrical items to help with housework

We did jobs for neighbours, remember bob a job?

I could go on but it isn't rocket science to work out why this country has an obesity problem!

Lynibis
over a year ago
What do you think of this?+20 points
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davidstockport

I can remember back further than that to when there were no TVs (to have a remote controls for). To when only a very small number of families had even one car. Most tradesmen just had a bag of tools and a cart to push materials round in. (and usually did a better job than most do nowadays),

We didn't feel deprived because it was the way it was for everyone in most areas (they'd call it povery nowadays).😀

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Lynibis

Yes, I agree. We never had a car or a telephone, dad couldn't drive and I had left home and had my own family before they got a phone.

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davidstockport

Lynibis I do recall that those who wanted a phone needed a good reason before they could even get on the waiting list, then were often put on "party lines" which meant they had to share the phone line with someone else, so couldn't use the phone if the other person was using it. They often had to put up with neighbours, who didn't have a phone, waking them at all hours of the day and night asking could they use theirs.

There wasn't much point having a phone really. most of the people you would like to call didn't have a phone,😀

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Mick82

davidstockport my poor next door neighbour was the one in our area they came from far and wide to use her phone she used to make a small fortune though

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davidstockport

Mick82 It's hard to think that it was only in the 1970s that the vast majority of people didn't have a phone or phone number, now we take it almost for granted that everyone has, I'd hazard a guess that most people have at least two, even many very young children have one of their own.

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stevea808

I can remember everything on that list. Personally I think it was a much nicer way of life, even though people didn't have much.

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Lynibis

I never felt stressed, bullied, lacking in confidence or any of the other things kids nowadays seem to suffer from. If you had loving parents life was good and not burdensome. I pity kids today missing out on what we had but I suppose there are compensations. I don't remember obesity being much of a problem but like many others I am well overweight now, not enough moving and no one to cook proper meals for.

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davidstockport

I also think that although people didn't have much they appreciated what they had, and weren't as wasteful as many are nowadays. Too many nowadays waste their money then moan when it's all gone.

We didn't need to lock our doors back then, not because people were more honest, but because we had nothing worth stealing😀

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Mick82

stevea808 we didn’t have much but had everything we needed

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davidstockport

Mick82 I actually feel sorry for many people nowadays who have much more than they need and are up to their eyes in debt, and actually think that is the way things should be.

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BORDERJOE

Yes, yes, yes ...... Lynibis ..... no fast food places and we couldn't even afford a coffee till we began working full time, no gym clubs and fees.... real life kept our weight down and heart rate up. etc etc

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Ann1984

I can remember most of these we took in turns to turn tv over or even holding buttons in with a matchstick shared a Sunday bath sweet day was a Sunday if we ate all our food. Played out in every weather rain was best getting absolutely stinking. I still today love seeing kids play in mud hate it when teachers apologise for kids coming home dirty. I so wish times never changed

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Lynibis

Oh me too. I must admit though that I love the idea of past times with modern medicine, education and great TV! I could do without the internet, if it had never been invented we wouldn't know any different.

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Ann1984

Lynibis they could always do what we needed to do and use a library. I would love to turn time and made mine watch the bbc program back in time

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Lynibis

Ann1984 I was just watching an episode of Lewis, as you probably know set in Oxford. A professor was lamenting the fact that she sets them work and they go on Google and just copy bits from all the various sources. No brain or intelligence required, therefore not actually learning anything or using their own initiative.

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tara73ziva

I can remember all of these I used to play out rain hail or shine and only went back home for meal times we had so much fun building camps in the woods or going out on bike rides, bilberry and blackberry picking, and even shovelling the snow from neighbours yards to earn extra pocket money, kids to day should go back to doing these things instead of sitting in doors on the PlayStation/Xbox

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Lynibis

Oh yes, I had forgotten blackberry picking. Kids building dens was a favourite and doesn't go out of fashion today. Up to the age of about 8 my grandson and I built tents in the garden with old sheets and washing line, he loved it. Blankets on the ground piles of cushions reminiscent of a Bedouin tent, and then we would read, talk, eat lunch and have water pistol fights! He's far too grown up now at age 12 lol!

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SarahHorsfield

Yea I am old enough

Old enough for beta video machines 😂

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eyeballkerry

Yes, a lot on the list is very true. The only one that isn’t, is my mum had a car as my parents were divorced. We still walked to school though as there was no bus route. Plus I used to walk the longer way to my friends house so we could walk together. So exactly your point about obesity.

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Imnotcheap

I vaguely remember remote control that was on a wire

I remember when my daughter was young telling her we didn't have smart phones or even mobile phones or internet ect she asked if there was trees lol

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Lynibis

One day there will be no one alive who remembers the days prior to the internet but I think it's important that today's youngsters realise that it is a relatively modern invention.

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Lynibis

Just an afterthought rather than a new topic.........

If there was a concerted effort by government and business the obesity crisis could be dealt with in part. For example I have often mentioned that where I live is not conducive to walking. However, I live near the sea and the non tourist end has about half a mile of parking bays following the coast but parking fees are beyond the pale. As they are not being used anyway why can't our council give you an hour's free parking for those who want a seafront walk rather than having to pay to walk.

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Imnotcheap

the town i like in has no parking charges so im always shocked at prices elsewhere

our local tole bridge has a set price of £10 a year for your car if resident your council could do similar scheme

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Lynibis

Imnotcheap the last time I parked out of town at a nearby shopping area it cost 60p per hour, now it is £1.10.

The bags I have to buy for garden waste a few months ago were £6.50, they are now £9.10. Councils are greedy so and so's despite paying £100 per month council tax, and that's with the single person's reduction. Our council could do what you suggest, but they won't.

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PinkElephant26

Love this chat Lynibis. I'm in my 30s and always remind my kids about the things we didn't have but reading this chat makes me think I had it easy 😆

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Lynibis

Actually, it could broaden out to so many other things, not just the way of life. For example as a kid there was no such thing as duvets, electric kettles, toasters, microwaves, fridge freezers, dryers etc. But there have always been have and have nots and I can't see that changing in the next millennia! Some people are just more capable than others.

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KarenMassey

my dad never drove a car. we used buses and trains. the TV had 2 channels and the cabinet was bigger than the screen. It was rented rather than bought.

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Lynibis

Yes! And by today's standards the picture was horrendous!

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Mick82

KarenMassey ours had a coin slot on the side you had to put 50p

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Imnotcheap

i remember 4 channels. we didn't moan about lack of stuff on tv as much then

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didbygraham

I also remember all those things but am a lot less nostalgic about them. The food was horrible. TV was rubbish and stopped at midnight. Having to do everything manually. all the clothes were in drab colours. Bullying was acceptable. Children who were being abused were never believed so it was a waste of time even mentioning it. Teachers could get away with anything and be as nasty as they liked. Teachers could cane you for no reason. Sure I am painting a depressing picture but life was not as rosy as some like to think it was.

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Lynibis

Well I certainly don't agree about the food, it was a lot healthier and mostly home cooked. TV was rubbish compared with today's TV but as we could not forsee today's TV it was marvellous at the time, a new invention! I loved stuff like The Avengers, Ponderosa, The Big Valley.

All the other things go on today as well except physical punishment but then each generation tries to improve on the one before. It sounds as if you had a hard time. I did too living with a divorced strict dad and no mum, lack of money, winter ice on the inside of windows, cardboard stuffed in shoes with holes, hand me down clothes etc. But this chat was about the difference kids don't know about then and now, not just bad, depressing stuff. May as well say people were executed 70 years ago. Still are in many countries.

Of course there was bad stuff, maybe you could start a chat on how things have improved, I would certainly contribute.

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Grannyclock

Just a personal opinion, but it seems that people nowadays are constantly in search of happiness but I think contentment is a better think to aim for.

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Lynibis

I agree but they mostly seem to crave fame, notoriety and wealth. They forget to be kind, caring and are mostly self obsessed. Happiness and contentment often comes with living for others because by doing that you receive also.

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lilyflower

Lynibis I can remember all of them, plus picking brambles and spuds and collecting rosehips to be taken into school and getting pennies per stone, you also got a badge if you collected a certain amount. Collecting glass bottles from the grass verge and claiming the deposit. A holiday, if lucky, was a week in a tent.

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Lynibis

Ah yes, kids today don't know what they are missing lol. I used to love fruit picking. We never actually had holidays, no money, no car but my uncle would sometimes take me along with gran and my cousins, but no real memories of it.

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Grannyclock

I actually think we were lucky. It cannot be easy growing up with drugs, online bullying etc. It was easier back in the ‘good old days’.

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eaoac56

My children laugh when I say I used to earn £10.80 a week.

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Lynibis

I can Trump that lol. My first job was with NAAFI before I joined the Navy. I earned the grand sum of £7 8s 6d per week and I had to give £3 10s to my parents for my 'keep'.

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