it used to be posh but now it ain't

Davidboy

Cricky Jo firelighters... you were posh. To light the fire we had screwed up news paper, then sticks then coal. A match would light the newspaper that started things going, then you held a sheet of news paper in front of the whole fire to get a "draw" on the fire. I tell you it was an art not set fire to the sheet of paper as well!


Thanks se999, the pictures of the eels really brought back memories, and yes but no thanks, will not be using the recipe!!

Glad I am not the only one to miss the snow, used to be deep, really deep, I know I was only small at the time, but we had a field at the back of us, and it was great to try to run through the snow, and being so deep you would end up falling over.

Anyone remember the electric blackouts late sixties, early seventies. Only allowed electric so many hours a day, then turned off, no lights, no heating. Great having candles to see, I know I was doing my CSE's at the time, good excuse not to revise. No wonder I did so badly!! That's my excuse anyway!!

jazzyjustlaw

soba wrote:

I thought my friend was posh cos she always had lots of Easter eggs, we used to get a new pair of white socks each!

I think we were not bad off as 25 years ago when I was 8 I had 14 easter eggs. I think different people have different view on posh although we did own our own house when I was 11 albeit we bought a Council House. We were one of the richest in the street, always had a car lots of presents for Christmas but my mum was thrifty still is mind! She still wont fork out for central heating and what we loved was our soda stream. Ho holidays abroad but we had one in the UK every year. I feel quite lucky now!

Ruby_Pudding

Davidboy wrote:

And to leave the best to last....proper winters, where we had snow every year. Spent many an happy hour with frozen fingers and solid wollen gloves, then warming up in front of a real coal fire.

I miss proper autumn and winters so much!!! There was a tiny frost on the ground here this morning and I got all excited thinking about dark nights and parkin and bonfire lollies and halloween and fireworks and frost and snow and christmas!!!!

skylight

I'm only 30, but remember so many things!

When I passed my 11+, my present was my very own personally TV in my bedroom. It was colour as well and had a remote control too! No-one in the school had a TV in their bedrooms, not even the teachers!
We were the first family to have a Spectrum 48k computer (!!!) and we were the first 2 car family in the street.
I remember the first microwave oven in the street - Mum invited all her friends over, to show them how to make cake in it!

And - the neighbours talked (yes they really really did!) when Mum and Dad went away for a weekend break to York on their own! It was scandelous that it was a private "weekend break" and the family had already been on holiday that year!

Not that I would consider our family "posh". My Mum is definately a snob - but we're not posh!

beadysam

I remember eating pigs trotters, chitterlings, tripe, cow heel and veal chops! I remember when you could get a donut from the bakers for three and a half pence! I remember going to the top shop for a penny lolly and sherbet - it was 2 oz sherbert and a small ice lolly. I remember taking pop and cider bottles back to the shop for the deposit money. I remember Charley Brown lemonade - it was grey! I remember 10p ice creams! I remember when our local shop used to put glass bottles of coke in the fridge for you to collect later because hardley anyone had fridges.
I remember the hot summer in the 70's and the water shortage when we had stand pipes at the end of every street. I remember bus conductors. I remember packages from the butchers wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. I remember those old record players where you'd stack up a huge pile of singles on the arm so they played one after the other. I remember when you were served at the petrol station instead of filling up yourself. Memories memories....

henhog

What a fab thread -really brings back memories. I remember getting our first colour TV in the late seventies. My dad proudly set it all up and then went mad because we wanted to watch Champion the Wonder Horse which was in black and white!
I remember getting a continental quilt instead of blankets -it was so nylony that when we moved about under it at night it made sparks (sister and I shared a double bed)
I remember it being so cold and snowy in the winter that I came home from school for lunch and my legs had gone bright red with the cold. My dad told me to put my jeans on to go back to school (we did have uniform) and no one noticed all afternoon - I'd like to see this happen to day! We never seemed to have homework either and spent every evening out on our bikes, only having to come inwhen it was dark.
For holidays we bought a really old scout tent out of the paper, and we all slept in it. The baby slept in an orange box as a crib!
I remember cars jam packed - us three in the back with about four of our cousins sitting on our laps!
We also had potatoes with everything - when my mom got into spaghetti bol, she always put a few boiled spuds on the side!
My husband comes from a very middle class family and thought I used to make this up until he read Frank Skinner's autobiog and found nearly everything I described!

SnowyOwl_2

beadysam wrote:

I remember when you were served at the petrol station instead of filling up yourself. Memories memories....

This still happens where I live (rural N.Ireland). Moved here after a long, long stint in London - when somebody came to put petrol in my car I got terribly confused, didn't know what the heck the poor bloke wanted! Thought I had done something wrong or that he thought I was "suspicious looking"!!

Oh and I believe pigs trotters and the various bits of entrails you mentioned, are still available though now chopped up, reformed and labelled "value ham" and "value sausages". Yeeeeeeuk!

I remember when shops used to sell single cigarettes to kids in school uniform for about a penny each.

Sheel

jw1096 wrote:

I remember being around 10 and having a sachet of Linco Beer Shampoo - I loved that stuff! I dont think that ever came in bottles - or am I wrong?

Years ago I bought a beer shampoo that came in a drinking glass which I still had until recently , think it might have been Linco Beer , but not 100% sure

Apparently Linco beer shampoo is still available

Sheel

Davidboy wrote:

Anyone remember the electric blackouts late sixties, early seventies. Only allowed electric so many hours a day, then turned off, no lights, no heating. Great having candles to see, I know I was doing my CSE's at the time, good excuse not to revise. No wonder I did so badly!! That's my excuse anyway!!

Yes I do. I was working (my first job) in a department store and during the blackouts we used to play with a ouija board :eek:

BWZN93

Davidboy wrote:

Cricky Jo firelighters... you were posh. To light the fire we had screwed up news paper, then sticks then coal. A match would light the newspaper that started things going, then you held a sheet of news paper in front of the whole fire to get a "draw" on the fire. I tell you it was an art not set fire to the sheet of paper as well!

Lol! If you think thats posh, you should see my boyf's mum - she actually buys a 'log' from sainsburys or wherever, one of those things in a wrapper you just stick in the fireplace and set light to the corner of! I mean, come on - where's the fun in that???

Last Autumn, I visited there and decided to go firewood hunting as I was a little bored in deepest darkest Dorset and took the dog for a walk too. I came back with armfuls of fallen twigs and logs, and spent an exceptionally happy afternoon building a fire just as I'd been taught in Army Cadets (Yes, I was a tomboy, one of those awful kids you saw with a dirty face falling out of a tree!), with a ball of newspaper in the bottom, thin twigs and 'kindling' and building up to the bigger stuff. I even made myself a newspaper wick that came out of the side, so I could set fire to it and it would just travel to the middle and light the fire, all without firelighters.

Awesome!

I also miss doing things like army cadets - I loved running around and doing 'dangerous' things, like rock climbing, and skydiving (although skydiving was at uni - not in army cadets). certainly made me tougher and more resilient - and more confident about holding my own in a primarily male environment. its certainly a shame that kids today only seem to 'hang out' with their mates and not broaden their horizons in other ways.

I had one evening a week free as a kid, I swam, did St. Johns Ambulance, Army Cadets, trampolining, and then weekend camps with Army cadets too. None of it was expensive either, swimming was £1 a week (local pool offers), Trampolining was 50p, and a weekend away inc food etc with army cadets was £5, plus the pocket money for additionals like tuck and what have you. And this was only in 1995!

In return, I got proper qualifications in first aid, duke of edinburgh's award (with army cadets), and then other knowledge - like cooking, cleaning, ironing, sports, shooting and weapon handling, Im a marksman (lady!) and living off the land!

All cool!

I miss it!

Jo xx