50s thrift compared to now.

VJsmum

lilac_lady wrote: »

In the 50s, I lived abroad in the Chalet School world of Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. For my holidays I went to America and became one of Louisa Alcott's Little Women.

Oh were you head girl before me? I went there in the 70's!

THIRZAH wrote: »

I used to love the Chalet school books. If you've still got any some of them are really collectable now

Blimey, there's loads of us. My SIL is also a fan and she has loads of the books. I have given mine away which I regret now as they are still a bit of a "comfort read" for me - and i'm 48!:rotfl: I went to Aachensee (the real "Tiernsee") a few years ago. It was fun trying to spot where the "school" would have been.

katieowl wrote: »

It really does wonder if there is anything else that one says regularly that people are having a little giggle about when you've gone?

Kate

Spending all my time around students I get to hear a lot of the sayings. Teaching construction can lead to some giggles. TOday I had to talk about s l a g, steelwork gives a "permanent erection on site" and roads have a bell mouth, which I once constantly referred to as bell end

BitterAndTwisted

newroadahead wrote: »

I was born in the 60's into a "forces family" and moved from base to base until I was 11 when I was sent to boarding school (my mum had died when I was 10).
I remember having uniform at school and mufti consisted of 1 skirt, One pair trousers, three blouses. This was supposed to help not to show those that came from less well off backgrounds!!

Snap. My sister and I were sent off to boarding-school when we were 7 and 9 respectively. The usual schools for daughters of men in the army were either the RSD or RVPS. Soldiers you understand, not officers. They went to altogether more congenial schools, I hear. We went to the RSD and it was rather like prison: bars on the windows and we were allocated numbers. I was 68 and my sister was 47.

During term-time we were only allowed one jumper from our cases and wore them the whole term under either gingham or flowered sleeveless overalls. One week gingham and the next, flowered. And only two pairs of clean underwear a week *shock, horror*. One white pair of "linings" worn under a pair of "blues". But a bath on alternate evenings always with the door wide open and a full "strip-wash " on the others.

It was a tiny bit grim but a really good foundation for being independent and able to look after oneself. I also learned very well just how horrible and ruthless other people can be towards each other which proved to be an invaluable lesson for later in life.....

Justamum

lilac_lady wrote: »

In the 50s, I lived abroad in the Chalet School world of Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. For my holidays I went to America and became one of Louisa Alcott's Little Women.

I was an avid reader as a child but I've never heard of the Chalet School books. You can still get them on Amazon for varying prices from 1p to . . . £109.96 :eek:

I did read Little Women and found it nauseatingly saccharine

sb44

Here is an article I remember reading in the DM in 2008 which may be of interest.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1042702/Time-Warp-Wives-Meet-women-really-live-past.html

[Deleted User]

My eldest DD - now 33 found the Chalet School books when she was around 10 years old and has managed to collect the whole set (only in paperbacks - and some of them quite used) I think there are 69 in all. She still reads them now whenever she comes home to stay as they live in her room here!

anguk

sb44 wrote: »

Here is an article I remember reading in the DM in 2008 which may be of interest.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1042702/Time-Warp-Wives-Meet-women-really-live-past.html

I think this is the picture many people have in their heads when they think of the 1950's, a very rose-tinted view of middle-class England where men went to the office in their suits and women stayed at home baking cakes in their new fitted kitchen with the new-fangled appliances. They forget the poverty and hardship that went on during the 50s for working class folk.

sb44

anguk wrote: »

I think this is the picture many people have in their heads when they think of the 1950's, a very rose-tinted view of middle-class England where men went to the office in their suits and women stayed at home baking cakes in their new fitted kitchen with the new-fangled appliances. They forget the poverty and hardship that went on during the 50s for working class folk.

We think of it like this ............

sb44

However, some may remember it being like this.....

mummygems

Justamum wrote: »

I remember when I was at primary school there was a family of children who were always in really tatty, dirty, smelly clothes. Everyone assumed they were poor. I saw their parents one day and they were beautifully dressed in designer clothes. I must have been about 8 or 9 at the time, but it's stuck with me all these years (I'm now nearly 49) and it just seemed so wrong to deprive your children of the basics whilst not going without yourself. I expect there are still parents like that around.

We have a family like this at my DDs school. The young boy was walking in front of us the other day and he had on no socks and was missing the back of one of his shoes. His Dad was chain smoking and had on a perfectly good pair of shoes with sock! They have 5 children who are all always poorly dressed (i.e. no coats in the freezing cold/pouring rain etc) yet the father is never without a cigarette and the mother is the size of a house (now I am a large lady myself and i know its because I eat utter rubbish and far too big a meal however if my children needed shoes and I wanted to eat rubbish I know what would come first - always my kids)!

Also just wanted to say Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories, I do always enjoy reading about the ups and downs of life back then.

auntymabel

I loved the Chalet School books but only read a few of them. I had no idea there were so many! The was a very interesting programme on Radio 4 about them quite recently.

The one bit I remember from Little Women is when someone is standing in front of someones's linen cupboard full of neatly ironed piles of snowy white linen. It always made me feel a bit of a failure. Luckily, I've moved on.

Some things I hated about the 50s and 60s: being cold, boring Sundays until TV and Liberace, going to the greengrocers and getting what you given with no choice, children being left outside pubs at night with a bag of crisps while their parents were inside, no wheelchairs or mobility scooters for disabled people; they just had to stay indoors unless they know someone well off who had a car.