Old Style Skills

sonastin

My OH is unbelievably practical. I think my hands were screwed on back-to-front because I can barely hold a screwdriver! It has become a running joke between us when I don't know something...
him "I thought you were well educated. Didn't you learn that in school?"
me "My very expensive private girls school education taught me how to earn enough money to pay someone to do that. Now get on with it!" (or taught me how to catch a man to do it for me - depending on whether I'm feeling 1950's housewife or 21st century breadwinner!)

Thankfully only really applies to DIY stuff. I can cook, clean, knit, etc. I can sew to a certain extent but the hands-on-backwards clumsiness makes it not very pretty. Important stuff goes to my ma to do properly! Have never really been interested in gardening but starting to learn a bit about growing fruit and veg stuff. I could probably do most stuff if I had to but feel very lucky that I've never been in a position where it has been absolutely necessary.

Downsizing__for_sanity

Actually - the younger generation are not all incompetent in managing a home or a budget. Surely that's why we enjoy this forum? I can cook, sew anything from a Tinkerbell costume to lined curtains, garden, grow veg and flowers, maintain my car, manage our budget and pensions, study full time, speak three languages and run a small (very small so far ) business.

Just because educators decided in the 80's or 90's that we would be better served by learning about food processing than actually learning to shop and cook it, doesn't mean that we are disinterested in what we eat and where it comes from. In fact, as you may have seen in the Telegraph today, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8759699/Modern-mothers-better-cooks-than-their-mothers.html

mothers these days are more likely to cook a wider range of meals than their own mothers. Thanks to the internet, it's easy for us to look up a recipe for something we've had in a restaurant or on holiday.

There has also been a revival in crafting amongst us "youngsters". We have recently set up a "Stitch and B*tch" group on our estate which is fun as well as having raised £600 for charity at our first sale.

Please don't patronise us or write us off. Remember, we are supposed to "have it all" and run a perfect home, have the perfect children and marriage, as well as holding down a wonderful career and making our own curtains. And who would go back to the glory days of the 1970's with power cuts, no central heating or double glazing in most houses?

And thanks in part to the decisions of the baby boomers and those they elected, we will work much longer for a lower pension, whilst they have avoided major war in their lifetimes, and reaped the benefits of a huge relative increase in house prices, and free degrees. We will be very lucky if we are able to pay off our student loans and have a mortgage on somewhere big enough for our family by the time we are 35.

(And - posters above - I can spell and use grammar correctly.)

DFS

lola34

I think in all generations and decades there were probably those who couldn't cook, OH's parents were young when they had him, he had never had Spaghetti Bolognaise until he met me as like the previous poster had metioned it was probably a relatively 'new' meal - although we are talking early 90's here, I was lucky in respect that my Mam sewed, knitted, cooked from scratch though most of the cooking has been self taught after leaving home its probably if you're the type of person who wants to try and learn to cook, I know of friends who think home cooking is sticking in a frozen meal which personally is my idea of hell on plate - but hey ho!! each to their own.

I just hope I can pass these skills onto my DS's, DS1 started secondary school and last year he did ironing, cooking, it sounds awful but he has asked to do it at home but sometimes its 'easier to do it myself' I must get rid of this 'theory' in my head.

Edited to say - that where I work we now run courses for parents to come and learn to cook 'from scratch' plus we have run knitting clubs, sewing clubs.

Slightly off key- I watched George Gently on Sunday night and was amazed to hear one of the characters on there comment that in the 60's the country was going to the dogs, kids didn't respect the police etc etc - I was always led to believe it was a bit of a golden age - the 'good old days' have times changed then or are have they always been the same on some level?? I thought it was very interesting.

Molly41

Downsizing__for_sanity wrote: »

Actually - the younger generation are not all incompetent in managing a home or a budget. Surely that's why we enjoy this forum? I can cook, sew anything from a Tinkerbell costume to lined curtains, garden, grow veg and flowers, maintain my car, manage our budget and pensions, study full time, speak three languages and run a small (very small so far ) business.

Just because educators decided in the 80's or 90's that we would be better served by learning about food processing than actually learning to shop and cook it, doesn't mean that we are disinterested in what we eat and where it comes from. In fact, as you may have seen in the Telegraph today, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8759699/Modern-mothers-better-cooks-than-their-mothers.html

mothers these days are more likely to cook a wider range of meals than their own mothers. Thanks to the internet, it's easy for us to look up a recipe for something we've had in a restaurant or on holiday.

There has also been a revival in crafting amongst us "youngsters". We have recently set up a "Stitch and B*tch" group on our estate which is fun as well as having raised £600 for charity at our first sale.

Please don't patronise us or write us off. Remember, we are supposed to "have it all" and run a perfect home, have the perfect children and marriage, as well as holding down a wonderful career and making our own curtains. And who would go back to the glory days of the 1970's with power cuts, no central heating or double glazing in most houses?

And thanks in part to the decisions of the baby boomers and those they elected, we will work much longer for a lower pension, whilst they have avoided major war in their lifetimes, and reaped the benefits of a huge relative increase in house prices, and free degrees. We will be very lucky if we are able to pay off our student loans and have a mortgage on somewhere big enough for our family by the time we are 35.

(And - posters above - I can spell and use grammar correctly.)

DFS

I wholeheartedly agree with this post and really feel for my young adult kids for the future. I am trying very hard to instil OS skills in them but get a lot in return as regards the skills they teach me about using the internet and downloading etc. I think these have been the most money saving as i can compare and contrast and search for the best deals. This has saved me loads !!

squeaky

I don't think it's a case of tarring the younger generations with the "dumb brush".

There have always been a percentage of folks who live somewhere close to the "Old Style Way"... cooking from scratch, budgeting and shopping thriftily and so on; and there has always been a percentage of people who haven't got a clue. (Rather like Margot in The Good Life who had to cancel Christmas because Harrods failed to deliver it).

However there has been an increasing trend where, because more mums have had to go out to work, more of them are buying easy to prepare or cook meals because they just don't have the time or energy to cook from scratch (and yes, I know, some meals are quicker to cook from scratch than using "stab stab ping" microwave food ). This has meant that there are plenty of younger folk about who have never seen home cooking.

By the same token, there are more younger folks who do cook from scratch for a variety of reasons - all of which we've heard mentioned here on Old Style.

The steadily increasing pressure on budgets and a greater awareness and concern over healthier living has prompted a whole lot more people to "move over" the great divide (so to speak) and live their lives in a more Old Style way - whether they think of themselves as Old Stylers or not. Even we on Old Style come from two fairly broad camps - one who have always been Old Style, and others who have come to be Old Style for reasons of their own, be it better food, better budget management, or because the life style is what suits them.

So, while it may be true that more younger people these days don't have Old Style skills, it is also true that more younger folk do have them. They are both groups at each end of the broad spectrum of life skills that we do or do not have. And the one that's going to win out in the end...?

Old Style, I reckon

It's just after seven am as I write now and there are 116 people reading Old Style!! ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN.

With the exception of Freebies and Grabbit (both good [and old style] boards) - Old Style is consistently the most visited and busiest board on the site. If you want to check - just take a look at the forums index page which always show how many people are viewing... http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/index.php

Other boards that are busy and related, in a way, to the Old Style ethos are the Money Saving in Marriages and the In My Home DIY boards - both of which are very busy and have seen a lot of growth too.

Sambucus_Nigra

HariboJunkie wrote: »

:T Ooh can I have the method please????

I googled it - there are videos on you tube and recipes but it's just milk, citric acid, rennet and hot salty water when it's time to stretch.

Sambucus_Nigra

Downsizing__for_sanity wrote: »

Actually - the younger generation are not all incompetent in managing a home or a budget. Surely that's why we enjoy this forum? I can cook, sew anything from a Tinkerbell costume to lined curtains, garden, grow veg and flowers, maintain my car, manage our budget and pensions, study full time, speak three languages and run a small (very small so far ) business.

Just because educators decided in the 80's or 90's that we would be better served by learning about food processing than actually learning to shop and cook it, doesn't mean that we are disinterested in what we eat and where it comes from. In fact, as you may have seen in the Telegraph today, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8759699/Modern-mothers-better-cooks-than-their-mothers.html

mothers these days are more likely to cook a wider range of meals than their own mothers. Thanks to the internet, it's easy for us to look up a recipe for something we've had in a restaurant or on holiday.

There has also been a revival in crafting amongst us "youngsters". We have recently set up a "Stitch and B*tch" group on our estate which is fun as well as having raised £600 for charity at our first sale.

Please don't patronise us or write us off. Remember, we are supposed to "have it all" and run a perfect home, have the perfect children and marriage, as well as holding down a wonderful career and making our own curtains. And who would go back to the glory days of the 1970's with power cuts, no central heating or double glazing in most houses?

And thanks in part to the decisions of the baby boomers and those they elected, we will work much longer for a lower pension, whilst they have avoided major war in their lifetimes, and reaped the benefits of a huge relative increase in house prices, and free degrees. We will be very lucky if we are able to pay off our student loans and have a mortgage on somewhere big enough for our family by the time we are 35.

(And - posters above - I can spell and use grammar correctly.)

DFS

I didn't see anything about this being about age...

Butterfly_Brain

I just hope I can pass these skills onto my DS's, DS1 started secondary school and last year he did ironing, cooking, it sounds awful but he has asked to do it at home but sometimes its 'easier to do it myself' I must get rid of this 'theory' in my head.

Good for him ... I must admit that I found it hard to let both of mine loose in the kitchen, but they have proven themselves time and time again, they don't learn until they make a few mistakes and as such if you have to say anything bite you tongue and wait for them to say something first and then when they do gently suggest a solution, if they haven't got one themselves.

I think that what we were taught in the 70's gave us a really good start in life skills and it wasn't this namby pamby you must eat this or that. It was good wholesome meals, how to sew and repair things and we even did child care. So it is the education system that has failed our children.

Butterfly_Brain

Downsizing__for_sanity wrote: »

Actually - the younger generation are not all incompetent in managing a home or a budget. Surely that's why we enjoy this forum? I can cook, sew anything from a Tinkerbell costume to lined curtains, garden, grow veg and flowers, maintain my car, manage our budget and pensions, study full time, speak three languages and run a small (very small so far ) business.

Just because educators decided in the 80's or 90's that we would be better served by learning about food processing than actually learning to shop and cook it, doesn't mean that we are disinterested in what we eat and where it comes from. In fact, as you may have seen in the Telegraph today, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8759699/Modern-mothers-better-cooks-than-their-mothers.html

mothers these days are more likely to cook a wider range of meals than their own mothers. Thanks to the internet, it's easy for us to look up a recipe for something we've had in a restaurant or on holiday.

There has also been a revival in crafting amongst us "youngsters". We have recently set up a "Stitch and B*tch" group on our estate which is fun as well as having raised £600 for charity at our first sale.

Please don't patronise us or write us off. Remember, we are supposed to "have it all" and run a perfect home, have the perfect children and marriage, as well as holding down a wonderful career and making our own curtains. And who would go back to the glory days of the 1970's with power cuts, no central heating or double glazing in most houses?

And thanks in part to the decisions of the baby boomers and those they elected, we will work much longer for a lower pension, whilst they have avoided major war in their lifetimes, and reaped the benefits of a huge relative increase in house prices, and free degrees. We will be very lucky if we are able to pay off our student loans and have a mortgage on somewhere big enough for our family by the time we are 35.

(And - posters above - I can spell and use grammar correctly.)

DFS

Wow..... Talk about sour grapes!

The so called baby boomers had more struggles than the younger generation think.
We had poll tax , food shortages, and interest rates at 15%
Normal wages were a pittance and when we bought our first house in 1982 and we cashed in our life insurance endowments in order to get the deposit together. We really struggled and had to learn very quickly how to stretch the budget, even though I had a frugal upbringing it still came as a big shock. I also worked two jobs, in an office during the day and then cleaning in the evening and weekends.
We didn't have a posh car but an old banger that got us from A to B and most of the time we walked to save money.
All of our furniture was second hand and we had no double glazing and no central heating in our first house until we saved for four years for it.
So don't tell me that the baby boomers had it easy.
The trouble is that today people expect to be handed everything on a plate.

Every generation has had it's hardships and in the 70's most people were in council housing.
Blame the politicians not people who have struggled against the odds to get where they are today.

CH27

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Wow..... Talk about sour grapes!

The so called baby boomers had more struggles than the younger generation think.
We had poll tax , food shortages, and interest rates at 15%
Normal wages were a pittance and when we bought our first house in 1982 we struggled and had to learn very quickly how to stretch the budget, even though I had a frugal upbringing it still came as a big shock.. I also worked two jobs, in an office during the day and then cleaning in the evening and weekends.
We didn't have a posh car but an old banger that got us from A to B and most of the time we walked to save money.
All of our furniture was second hand and we had no double glazing and no central heating in our first house until we saved four years for it.
So don't tell me that the baby boomers had it easy.
The trouble is that today people expect to be handed everything on a plate.

That is so true!
I'm 43 & when we bought our house almost 20yrs ago interest rates were high.
We had a second hand cooker, fridge, washer & sofa.
We made do & replaced stuff as we went along. We didn't get into debt it.
Now people seem to want to move from their parent's home into an equivelant house without realising the sacrifices made over the years to have that home & it's contents.