Those were the days

[Lord Tyrion]

Driving to south Wales in a Ford Cortina for the annual summer holiday - four kids sitting unbelted in the back with a fifth cross-legged in the front passenger footwell by mum's feet, watching the tarmac fly by through the rust holes in the floor.

I remember sitting on my grandad's knee in the front seat, no seat belts in sight. People on knees, kids in footwells, standard stuff. Scary when you look back, we wouldn't have stood a chance in a crash.

 

[SatchFan]

I remember the burn marks on my legs from the leatherette seats in my Dad's Hillman Husky.

 

[D-S]

I remember sitting on my grandad's knee in the front seat, no seat belts in sight. People on knees, kids in footwells, standard stuff. Scary when you look back, we wouldn't have stood a chance in a crash.

Road deaths in the 60s and 70s around 7000 per year. Less than 2000 a year for the past 10 years. Considering the amount of cars now versus then and the road miles driven this is a huge change.
We have a lot to thank seatbelts, drink driving changes and modern car safety features/build quality for.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I can remember uncle, auntie, grandmother and two older brothers in the back, mum and dad in the front with me and younger cousin in the footwell around mum's feet.
Hillman Superminx.
One brother offered to get shut in the boot, but dad did not like that idea.
Dad thought he might bang his head! Much safer to be wedged in tight!
"Hold on to each other everyone - off we go!"
It was as scary as any ride at Gt Yarmouth in that footwell.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Sounds awful. Which does make one wonder why people are so desperate to go back to such times.

 

[IanM]

My folks had very little disposable income (posh way of saying "skint!") and I remember that up to the age of 15 (when my mates and I started Youth Hostelling) we went on holiday only 3 times. (max 2 hour away by car too)

I passed 11 plus, and then a scholarship exam to get into a private school on a bursary. I remember in the lower school returning in September and being told in class to write about where we went on holiday. When I said I hadn't been, the teacher told me off for lying in order to get out of the assignment! No one believed that I hadn't been away!

 

[Deleted member 21784]

Just goes to show that 'the good old days' were actually a bit rubbish

Very bland for sure

 

[D-S]

Was everyone dirt poor (but really happy) in those days?

 

[rulefan]

The ICI and British Steel buses would drop off at least 20 workers. Those buses don’t run anymore, and I’d be surprised if there’s 2 ICI workers on that road now.

I doubt there are even 2. ICI hasn't existed since the end of 2007

 

[Hobbit]

I doubt there are even 2. ICI hasn't existed since the end of 2007

ICI sold off all of the plants but retained ownership, as landlords, for a time afterwards. I hadn’t realised they’d subsequently been wound up.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The road I lived in in the mid/late 60’s had around 50 houses. I doubt there was more than 15 cars, probably less than 10. Now there’s at least 1 car per house. The ICI and British Steel buses would drop off at least 20 workers. Those buses don’t run anymore, and I’d be surprised if there’s 2 ICI workers on that road now.

My dad had a decent job, inc company car. Pretty much a non-drinker apart from a game of snooker and a beer with my uncle on Wednesday evening. Mum was a great cook/baker, and we ate well but cheaply.

The summer holiday was a week in a caravan down in Scarborough or maybe even Great Yarmouth. If we went foreign, it was to Scotland.

Mortgages were 2x, or occasionally 2.5x salary. Most mums stayed home. And as a result, there wasn’t a huge amount of disposable income.

1970 saw a change of job, for dad, and a trek from NE England to North Wales. The house sold for £6,500 but it was a huge stretch for them to buy a comparable house 12 miles from Chester for £10,500. And the week in Scarborough, in a caravan, became a week in Torquay in a chalet at Pontin’s. A treat was a meal out, once in a blue moon, maybe chicken or scampi in a basket.

But go back further to 1961 and I can remember my dad and granddad coming home from the shipyard on bikes. And tea could be a rabbit, I was told it was chicken, from a hutch in the garden. More a shed than a hutch, and anything up to a dozen rabbits. Bottom end of the garden was the veg plot, and it wasn’t a small plot. A day out then would be Redcar races for my dad & Granddad, and my mum, gran and me would be on the beach.

Life wasn’t harder or easier back then, it was what it was.

Indeed it was. Normal is what normal is, and back then we didn’t really know anything different from our normal. Minor variations yes, but different - no. So it was that dad brought home three chocolate bars for us every Friday, a Cadburys flake; a fudge; and a Fry‘s chocolate cream…one for each of the three of us. Otherwise Monday to Friday no sweets. Saturday was pocket money day and if I wanted to spend my 1s on sweets then I could. But when it was spent that was it until the next Saturday. That was just our normal…we knew no different.

A bit like the Glasgow weather I grew up thinking was just how the weather is…I never really even imagined what the weather in Surrey might be…in fact if asked I wouldn't have had the foggiest where Surrey was - but I don’t recall ever being asked…after all for us Glasgow kids of the 60s Southport was ‘down south’.

 

[Hobbit]

Was everyone dirt poor (but really happy) in those days?

I’m not sure almost everyone was dirt poor, although parts of Middlesbrough, as British Steel, ICI & the shipyards wound down were very poor. 95% of parts of Middlesbrough were unemployed in the mid 70’s.

I don’t think there were the social pressures to have the biggest tv, iPhone or holiday in the Maldives like there is now. Life seemed less complicated and simpler things were all that was needed to be happy.

 

[Hobbit]

Indeed it was. Normal is what normal is, and back then we didn’t really know anything different from our normal. Minor variations yes, but different - no. So it was that dad brought home three chocolate bars for us every Friday, a Cadburys flake; a fudge; and a Fry‘s chocolate cream…one for each of the three of us. Otherwise Monday to Friday no sweets. Saturday was pocket money day and if I wanted to spend my 1s on sweets then I could. But when it was spent that was it until the next Saturday. That was just our normal…we knew no different.

A bit like the Glasgow weather I grew up thinking was just how the weather is…I never really even imagined what the weather in Surrey might be…in fact if asked I wouldn't have had the foggiest where Surrey was - but I don’t recall ever being asked…after all for us Glasgow kids of the 60s Southport was ‘down south’.

My mum got a Fry’s choc cream off dad every Friday. Can’t remember what we got but I remember we had to finish our tea before we got our sweets.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

My mum got a Fry’s choc cream off dad every Friday. Can’t remember what we got but I remember we had to finish our tea before we got our sweets.

Snap! I think mum got a Fry’s Turkish Delight (it was more expensive ). Dad chose who got first pick of the three chocolate bars for us. I didn’t feel deprived as I had no idea what other kids got sweets-wise from their folks. In fact far from deprived we felt grateful and fortunate.

 

[Voyager EMH]

We remember our physical and material environment very readily, but we should not forget the social views and behaviour.

Street and football violence.
Homosexuality was illegal until the 21 years of age consent bill in 1967.
Racism - the most shocking I can remember were signs in the windows of B&Bs in Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth "No Blacks, No Irish" - absolutely appalling.
Luckily - my mum and dad's views were very much live-and-let-live.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

We remember our physical and material environment very readily, but we should not forget the social views and behaviour.

Street and football violence.
Homosexuality was illegal until the 21 years of age consent bill in 1967.
Racism - the most shocking I can remember were signs in the windows of B&Bs in Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth "No Blacks, No Irish" - absolutely appalling.
Luckily - my mum and dad's views were very much live-and-let-live.

we were aware of the Glasgow street violence and gang culture of the 60s, the main reason my folks moved from a more inner city Glasgow neighbourhood to one of the ‘posh’ suburbs. And of course it wasn‘t racism (there was only a tiny ethnic minority community) but the religious bigotry and violence was pervasive and an anathema to my folks.

 

[jim8flog]

Road deaths in the 60s and 70s around 7000 per year. Less than 2000 a year for the past 10 years. Considering the amount of cars now versus then and the road miles driven this is a huge change.
We have a lot to thank seatbelts, drink driving changes and modern car safety features/build quality for.

That is probably because the average speed has dropped to less than walking pace in a lot of cities

 

[Hobbit]

We remember our physical and material environment very readily, but we should not forget the social views and behaviour.

Street and football violence.
Homosexuality was illegal until the 21 years of age consent bill in 1967.
Racism - the most shocking I can remember were signs in the windows of B&Bs in Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth "No Blacks, No Irish" - absolutely appalling.
Luckily - my mum and dad's views were very much live-and-let-live.

One of my sisters is adopted, and is of Fijian decent. Think V.J. Singh for colour. Being the only child of colour in the school in the 60’s was a very tough time for her, and it can still be a problem. As an aside, I remember the BNP candidate getting a bit mouthy in her local several years back, a pub her and her husband had used for years. I think he got more bruises than votes off the locals.

 

[clubchamp98]

The road I lived in in the mid/late 60’s had around 50 houses. I doubt there was more than 15 cars, probably less than 10. Now there’s at least 1 car per house. The ICI and British Steel buses would drop off at least 20 workers. Those buses don’t run anymore, and I’d be surprised if there’s 2 ICI workers on that road now.

My dad had a decent job, inc company car. Pretty much a non-drinker apart from a game of snooker and a beer with my uncle on Wednesday evening. Mum was a great cook/baker, and we ate well but cheaply.

The summer holiday was a week in a caravan down in Scarborough or maybe even Great Yarmouth. If we went foreign, it was to Scotland.

Mortgages were 2x, or occasionally 2.5x salary. Most mums stayed home. And as a result, there wasn’t a huge amount of disposable income.

1970 saw a change of job, for dad, and a trek from NE England to North Wales. The house sold for £6,500 but it was a huge stretch for them to buy a comparable house 12 miles from Chester for £10,500. And the week in Scarborough, in a caravan, became a week in Torquay in a chalet at Pontin’s. A treat was a meal out, once in a blue moon, maybe chicken or scampi in a basket.

But go back further to 1961 and I can remember my dad and granddad coming home from the shipyard on bikes. And tea could be a rabbit, I was told it was chicken, from a hutch in the garden. More a shed than a hutch, and anything up to a dozen rabbits. Bottom end of the garden was the veg plot, and it wasn’t a small plot. A day out then would be Redcar races for my dad & Granddad, and my mum, gran and me would be on the beach.

Life wasn’t harder or easier back then, it was what it was.

Sounds a bit like my childhood.
but I was a lot happier than the kids now that all look like they have just lost a tenner.
if they look up at all from there phones.

 

[Fade and Die]

Add Olive Oil to number 21. Only available at the Chemist for things like earache!

Saw this on FB, thought it could be posted here, early 70s Berni Menu…