General Chat

giving this a nudge for anyone who didn't see it during the daytime as I'm still interested in your thoughts to my original questions.

funny to should say bout boomtoom rats, lisa - they're on virgin radio now! ju x

i was born in the early seventies and things were definetly different to now,music,food,and the meaning of christmas were all different then.take for example food.diet was not priority in a persons life but since heart disease,cancer and other illnesses have developed we are alot more health aware now.christmas used to be a time of family all being together.sitting down to a meal and not being able to buy your presents till november.now it is so different.too commercialised.and as for the music what can i say.boomtown rats,kate bush,pink floyd there songs had meaning not like nowadaysxxxxx(:

CB, Why don't you retire to PORTLAND.iT IS MUCH WARMER than most other parts of the British Isles. - Rose

I note that most resondents refer to the times they were children/teenagers. This is understanderable, but what was life like for their parents then? They would have survived at least one world war, if they were luckey. They would be working 5 1/2 days a week, probably 8 hour days plus 4 or more on Saturday. Money would have been very tight. No or few holidays and certainly not abroad. I know discipline is worse now but there were the Mods and Rockers that were not much diferent from todays drunks. or yesterdays football hooligans. It seems that life is much better for the adults but maybe not so apreciated by the younger generation. Bob (born 1959)

The 40s series was based in West Wickham, Kent - now Greater London. I found it particularly interesting as I was born not far from there, and know the road in which they lived. There is a book about it. Joy

Gwynne, I think you're right, now that I remember. I think it was an Edwardian series.

Hi Andy, There have been 2 series , maybe more, where people had to live in a different era. C4 I think. One was the Victorian era the other the 40s. Gwynne

Jenny, I normally give reality tv a wide berth, but it could be an interesting experiment.

Jenny, I've been to both of them. I remember my aunties living in houses similar to those, they had electricity, flush outside toilets and cold water taps in the out-houses though. Would you enjoy black-leading the ranges/grates? They look so lovely and cosy when they are shiny with coal fires burning in them but I remember mum and the aunts wearing their cross-over pinnies and scarves over their hair with dirty smuts on arms and faces when cleaning and polishing them every week. Heather

Andy it would be great. If they do, I want to be top of the list. What a great idea. No joking, I do know how times were so very hard then. Who do we get in touch with to suggest it. LOL. Jenny. x

BTW Andy, good news is that they abolished the toll on the Skye bridge last month! Christine

Sorry forgot. I would have to have a big, long flannelette nightie and Lifebouy Red Carbolic soap. Jenny.x

Have they tried a reality tv series where 'celebrities' are forced to live for a fortnight as their ancestors may have done? I know they did that series (That'll teach them) where kids of today experienced a 1950s style education, and that was worth watching. Have been to Beamish before but not for some time.

Have any of you ever been to the Black Country Museum or Beamish up in the North East? They are both fantastic, although I do prefer The Black Country Museum. I would really love to live in one of the old houses. Just two up and two down type. Ok it would have to be in the country with a little brook flowing though. Kettle on the big black range, socks and knickers drying there also. Candles etc. Not too sure about the outside loo bit, but could cope with the old tin bath in the front of the fire bit, as long as hubby was there to keep pouring the kettle of hot water in and scrub me back. Go to the shops on a daily basis for the days food. No curries or fancy foods to worry about. Up with the larks in a morning and flop into a very soft feather mattress with a big feather eiderdown on top, at around 9pm each night. Make my own bread, beer and wine. No children to worry about. Oh it would be just great. What a sad person I really must be. Jenny.x

Andy and Christine, You've given me an idea. David and I were wondering where we should move to when he retires in a few years. We'd love to be in a place 'where time has stood still' and get away from the ratrace we've always lived in. Not sure about the weather up in the North of Scotland, though! CB >|<

Christine, I can well believe it about not having to lock your door. I know of one relative who lives in a remote area (not in Scotland) and still doesn't bother locking the door and laughs whenever we automatically put the 'Crook-lock' on the car steering wheel whenever we visit. I went up to Kyle last September and got talking to one local about the Skye Bridge and was aghast that they don't have some kind of permit. So, anyone living in Kyleakin just over the bridge on Skye and needs to go shopping in Kyle on the mainland, has to pay roughly a fiver for the privilege to go there and back. Anyway I digress from the main subject.

Andy, slightly off subject, but I know what you mean about time standing still up in the Highlands. I remember renting a cottage on Skye in the 90's and asking the woman about the key. She just laughed and said "We don't have one as we never have to lock the door" ! I've also been to places up there where you are asked to leave the entrance fee and help yourself to your change! But sadly even those places are changing as the 'modern' world encroaches on them. Things such as the Skye bridge and a lot more 'incomers' moving in have changed it. Christine

When I think back to my childhood in the 40s and 50s I remember how we all used to sit around the fire in the living room because it was the only warm place in the house. Now we have central heating, all rooms are used and children have their own TVs and games machines in their rooms so they probably spend less time with their parents. The attitude to money, borrowing and debt has changed such a lot too. My parents didn't have much money and wouldn't dream of having anything on hire purchase. My mother-in-law was very worried about us having a mortgage in the 60s and the amount we could borrow back then was based upon my husband's wages only. Most of us have credit/debit cards now which makes it easier to borrow and get into debt and it seems that once we have one credit card it becomes easier to get others. Heather

That's ok Jenny, the scope of my original question(s) was pretty much endless. Having been up to the west coast of Scotland for the last couple of years, I wonder how much life has changed up there over the years - especially in the most remote parts. Whenever I've been up there, I remember thinking that all around me seemed so far removed from life elsewhere in Britain that it did give the impression of a place where time stood still.