Easier to be OS in the olden days?

candlelight_2013

Ah the dreaded liberty bodice. I was what was called "bonny", so I probably looked like your friend Jackie, and it flattened my chest.

All 3 of us girls had long hair, and periodically Mum would take it into her head that we should have ringlets. Saturday night we would have our hair washed and rags put in. These were strips of fabric, usually old sheeting, and were wrapped around a length of hair and tied at the top. We then had to sleep with these in, and you just knew Sunday morning when they were pulled out that it was going to hurt. It was a form of torture, but all Mum would say "beauty has a pinch" whatever that meant. We hated having it done so it wasn't vanity on our part.

Candlelightx

suki1964

meritaten wrote: »

I meant to say too, that once 'In' as a Saturday girl, if you were honest and reliable - you got offered full time work in your 'holidays'. so for two years I did the Easter and half time breaks, the six week summer holiday (covering for the girls on their holiday breaks) Autumn break and Christmas and New year! and the yearly 'Stocktake' on a Sunday.
I loved the summer holiday one - I got to be the one in 'charge' of a 'counter' and had Saturday girls working under me!
Hated Christmas one though - the customers were very stressed and rude usually! and on Christmas eve we had all the drunk guys come in at the last minute searching for presents for their wives! We did have that sussed though - they were sent to 'Ginnys' counter where she had a range of Scent 'Coffrets'! We thought it great to go home an hour early! (shut at 5.00pm instead of 6.00pm), but as everywhere else was shut too, we just went home!

Clippies were a rare breed here Mrs LW! working with so many men wasn't considered 'seemly'. the bus conductors were mostly younger men whose main ambition seemed to be driving a bus. they were mostly quite brash blokes and could keep the passengers amused! I have this memory of one young man, fag hanging from his mouth, making change from his bag and yelling out down the bus at a departing passenger 'Oi - you just wait a minute - I haven't taken YOUR fare'!

I too got my first ever Saturday job in Woolies (Kensington High street ) and was taken on during the holidays, indeed I went full time when I finished school in 1979. I loved it. Back then, all the supervisors and above were called by their surname, never by first name. I remember not being allowed to use the lifts, having to use the stairs. I started out on confectionary, and we sold a lot of chocolate and toffees to the Arab ladies who would be staying in London They couldn't get enough of the stuff. They bought by the case load.

Oh how we hated the budget as VAT rates would go either up or down and every price ticket had to be changed. Was ok if it went down as we could just sticker over,,if it went up we had to carefully peel the old price off first

I used to have to get the first bus out of the garage in the mornings to get me there on time. One of the old route masters. It was Freezing in the winter. By time it had got to my stop, the condensation had started to drip, all nicotine stained. I soon learned not to wear white lol

The clippies were strict with kids back then. They put up with no nonsense, they were more then happy to put you off the bus if you were cheeky. If you bought a child's fare and lit up a cigarette, you were told to put it out or pay an adults fare I remember one day walking along the road in school uniform smoking and a policeman came up to me and not only took my fags off me, but took my name and address and turned up at my house that night to inform my parents. I didn't half get a belting Not so much for the smoking,but for bringing the police to the door. Oh the shame

Mum and dad divorced in 1975. That was also a shameful secret to be kept. Indeed my dad's mother went to her grave never knowing. We kids were never allowed to discuss it, esp as it was mum who had left. Something unheard of back then. If times were hard before they became harder.Dad had to stop work to look after us. Then his dole money was stopped so he tried to make do on child benefit. When it got to the point that the council were about to reposes the house he had to go back working Jobs were few and far between and dad had no option but to work away Monday to Friday. Us three had to look after ourselves aged 7,11 and 14. There was never any money for extras, my school coat was stolen one winter so my last two years at school I walked the three miles there and back with just a jumper and scarf (I'd out grown my blazer and that was now keeping little sister warm). We walked at that time as we never had a spare 2p for the fare

We had to manage the house, do all the chores, shop, cook and fend for ourselves and try to manage school work, all without telling anyone we were on our own. The neighbours knew of course but said nothing , just helped out the best they could. Can you imagine that being allowed to happen in this day and age?

Once I started work things got a tad easier. My wages were £42.50 for a forty hour week (£2.50 London weighting). I used to have to give £20 towards the house, it kept us fed for the week and paid little sisters bus fares and pocket money, school trips etc. I didn't resent it,I was proud of the fact I helped out. And the £20 a week I had to myself, I learned how to stretch. Clothes were bought at petticoat lane market on a Sunday. I wore stockings to work so when I snagged one on the trolleys in work I didn't have to throw away a whole pair lol. I used to treat myself to single once every two weeks, a bit of make up the alternative week. And there was always a couple of quid to go to the pub or the social club at the weekend ( half a cider was about 12p and I can still remember cigs going up to 50p a packet and quitting as I couldn't afford to smoke any more

Nope, definitely don't romanticise life in the 70's It was hard for most, and a lot harder for others.

moments_of_sanity

Suki, I too came from a family that divorced in 1976 and I was the 'only' child I knew whose parents weren't still together, it was awful and the teasing and bullying that happened because of it is still a strong memory today.

Mum kept me and my Brother and my Dad moved away to London so we saw very little of him, maybe once, twice a year. Mum had to go back to work and this meant working Monday to Friday from 7am - 5pm, she had to walk the 5 miles each way as she couldn't afford the bus fare. This meant at the age of 5 I was responsible for getting my 7 year old Brother who has learning difficulties (yes, that also added to the bullying) to the bus stop about 20 minutes walk from our house so that he could get the bus to the 'special needs school' (as it was called then), I would then go onto school which took me about 35 minutes, spend all day at school and then do the walk back to collect my brother and walk us both home. Once home I had to look after him until my Mum came home from work.

Money was so short that one evening Mum decided to cook us something 'different' and was so awful none of us could eat it and we were used to eating food we didn't particularly like (even the dog refused it) so we all went hungry that evening as there was nothing else to eat. Mum did her very best and made sure we had clothes but this meant she went without, eventually my Nan stepped in and bought her a coat from a charity shop so mum could be warm on the walk to and from work. We had no central heating and would scrape the ice off the inside of the windows on cold morning and before Mum left for work she would put the fire on and hang our clothes over the airer so they would be warm, it was a mad dash to get downstairs and get in them as the house was freezing.

We were allowed to play out but it meant I always had to take and look after my Brother and God help me if anything happened to him! I also remember opening the front door to 'let the dog out' and this seemed something which all dog owners did, we never worried about the dog coming back as she always did, although sometimes we would get a call from my Nan saying 'Cindy is sitting in my living room, do you want me to send her home or will you come and collect her'?

mardatha

I dont remember the cold being awful, but I do remember the gorgeous patterns the ice made on the inside of the windows and how you could scrape it off with your nails. And I loved - and still love- staring into a fire and seeing things in the flames and embers. Kids now miss so much.

suki1964

mardatha wrote: »

I dont remember the cold being awful, but I do remember the gorgeous patterns the ice made on the inside of the windows and how you could scrape it off with your nails. And I loved - and still love- staring into a fire and seeing things in the flames and embers. Kids now miss so much.

My granny had a coal fire, her only heating , and I loved it. Grandad would toast us crumpets and toast in front of it for tea and come the winter we would have hot chestnuts that he roasted on the coal shovel

Granny used to look after us when we were little during the school holidays. Every day at 11am mrs Williams from upstairs used to come down for coffee. Camp coffee made with sterilised milk served in a cup and saucer, was lovely, a real treat as tea was the norm

Lunch was always a cooked meal, usually of the suet pudding variety, served with the obligatory over cooked cabbage and boiled spuds and gravy. She always used to ask " bisto or oxo? " and we always wanted oxo lol

She could barely read or write and was partially sighted, but she loved her Judy and Mandy comics,which took her all day to read with the help of a huge magnifying glass. She used to save the free gifts up till there were three of them then gave us all one each and we took it in turns to get the cut out Judy from the back page

She also had that box of delights that was the button box.

When grandad went to get his pension he always came back with jelly babies for himself.if he was in a really good mood he would share one - and it was only the one lol

Granny used to save the wee tokens that came on the jam and we all got a golliwog. I think most households had one around the early 70's

I also remember she used to spend the whole day in a pinafore dress. The only time she put on real clothes was to leave the house, and always wore a hat

I remember having to go to the laundry with her and mum on a Friday night. All the dirty wash bundled in the pram covered in a sheet. It was a huge hot place where you sat on hard benches waiting your number called. Them mum and she went through to use the big sinks with wash boards and mangles and the huge big driers. We used to amuse ourselves by learning the alphabet , playing jacks or French skipping. Then when all done back home to a chip supper with a penny worth of crackling bits

englishrose89

I find all your memories absolutely fascinating. Born in 1989 I know my mum didn't have a washing machine until I was about 2 but that's about it. She tells me she was thrilled when someone gave her a spin dryer. She was in the Maggie thatcher era and my parents lost their house when mortgage rates rocketed and my dad,who was then a builder, couldn't find any work.

I used the same silvercross pram for my 3 children that my mum had for me and my 4 siblings. its up in the loft as you never know, one of mine may use it.

Please continue with your stories, good and bad. I just love them.

iris

I love reading everyone's stories and they make me realise how lucky I was.


I was born in 1945 and was an only child. I lived with my Mom and Dad in a semi (bought new in 1940). We had a bathroom and hot water, although I do remember having chilblains.


By the time I was about 4 my grandma died (she had come to live with us because she was ill) and then we bought a car. I presume this was because my Mom had been left some money. I also remember my Mom being left my grandma's two houses and I used to go with her to collect the rent, but I remember them being condemned and the council put a compulsory purchase order on them, but Mom said the council didn't pay her the going rate and she was very upset.


If it rained my Dad would come and collect me from school to save me getting wet (he was a bricklayer and so if the weather was bad he couldn't work).


Mom had a washing machine of sorts. I remember she put the hot water in the machine, together with soap powder (it wasn't electric) and then put the washing in it and then closed the lid which had an agitator on one side and there was a handle on top which she furiously wound back and forth to clean the washing. There was also a mangle on top with a handle. Does anybody remember having anything like this?

nursemaggie

My mum had a washing machine similar to that Iris it was green and I used to agitate it during the holidays and help her with the mangle. The handle was on the side.

My aunt had an electric mangle but she still used a wash board and a dolly tub and dolly legs. She still used them after she got a washing machine. He put the washing in the washing machine after she had washed it. Mum used to laugh.

Mum's sister was nearly 20 years older than her like DS20 who is 19 years younger my middle one. People used to think my Aunt was my grandma which really annoyed her.

I had chilblains every year as a child.

Don't blame you saving your Silver Cross Pram Englishrose


Yuk camp coffee I hated it and sterilised milk. No wonder I still drink mainly water as I hate tea even more. I can't bear the smell of tea.

Predaleko1984

Loving all these fascinating stories. I just love how people lived back then. My Mum tells me stories of her upbringing in the 1970s.

I was born in 1984. My Mother had me quite young and married my Father quite young as well. Their first home when they got married had no colour TV (which they didn't get until 1987), and no washing machine where she used to go to my Nan's or the local launderette round the corner.

When my sister came along Christmas 1986, she would take me and her for miles in a pram during the snow to walk to her Mums or to go shopping.

We lived in a couple of houses with no central heating, just one gas fire in the living room to heat up the whole house. Our bedrooms were very cold and one of our houses had very bad damp.

My Dad was forever in and out of employment, so our incomes would vary from having plenty to having little. On top of that, Dad never really played a role looking after us so my Mum looked after all of us (had another sister in 1994 and a brother in 2001). Christmas was always a big affair and my Grandparents always used to help out with us. There was always something to do at my Grandparents, and we were forever helping out there.

My parents split in 2003. I stayed at home as I had a job and college back in Birmingham with my Dad. My Mum and siblings all went to Weston-super-Mare (I joined in 2012). I just stood up on my own two feet. Ran the house with cleaning, budgeting and paying the bills and was very careful with money. Have always been like this.

Since the death of my partner three weeks ago, I've just had to scrape with the little money I have and make food last. My flat has no central heating, but I have been keeping warm with blankets and jumpers.

moments_of_sanity

Predaleko1984 wrote: »

Loving all these fascinating stories. I just love how people lived back then. My Mum tells me stories of her upbringing in the 1970s.

I was born in 1984. My Mother had me quite young and married my Father quite young as well. Their first home when they got married had no colour TV (which they didn't get until 1987), and no washing machine where she used to go to my Nan's or the local launderette round the corner.

When my sister came along Christmas 1986, she would take me and her for miles in a pram during the snow to walk to her Mums or to go shopping.

We lived in a couple of houses with no central heating, just one gas fire in the living room to heat up the whole house. Our bedrooms were very cold and one of our houses had very bad damp.

My Dad was forever in and out of employment, so our incomes would vary from having plenty to having little. On top of that, Dad never really played a role looking after us so my Mum looked after all of us (had another sister in 1994 and a brother in 2001). Christmas was always a big affair and my Grandparents always used to help out with us. There was always something to do at my Grandparents, and we were forever helping out there.

My parents split in 2003. I stayed at home as I had a job and college back in Birmingham with my Dad. My Mum and siblings all went to Weston-super-Mare (I joined in 2012). I just stood up on my own two feet. Ran the house with cleaning, budgeting and paying the bills and was very careful with money. Have always been like this.

Since the death of my partner three weeks ago, I've just had to scrape with the little money I have and make food last. My flat has no central heating, but I have been keeping warm with blankets and jumpers.

My sincere condolences Predaleko x