a.twiddler
Veteran
I feel pretty ancient sometimes, and other times I still feel young at heart.
I was born in the reign of the Old Queen, but only just. Winston Churchill was Prime Minister. The De Havilland Comet had just gone into service with BOAC. British Railways were still building new steam engines, in fact we still had a comprehensive railway network with nowhere (apart from the remoter regions) being more than 15 miles from a railway station. Streets were empty of parked cars in most places. This was due to cars being unaffordable for most people though from the thirties onwards mass production had been slowly making them more affordable.
Food rationing was still in force. There were no motorways. "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole was No 1 in the wireless charts. Or you could buy a 78rpm record for your gramophone or radiogram.
Capital punishment was still a thing. National Service also.
Many houses still had outside toilets and no bathrooms.
TV was a rarity, both due to the cost of a set, and lack of a signal in the regions. The TV sets then had tiny screens and were in black and white, often with a huge cabinet. Board games, reading, conversation were things that took its place. People would listen to the "wireless" which is what my parents' generation called the radio.
For entertainment, people would go to the cinema. Cinemas were easy to find. Your local fleapit would be quite cheap, or for a grander experience you could pay more to visit a swankier establishment. Better sound, bigger screen, more up to date films. Probably smelt better, too.
No one knew what a supermarket was. With limited transport, people shopped locally.
People tended not to travel much, when they did, it was an occasion, or for a particular reason.
Coal fires or coke stoves were everywhere. When the colder days came, so did the smoky sooty smells. I remember the feathery patterns of ice on the inside of bedroom windows in the winter. Well wrapped up in bed with a hot water bottle, we were fine.
Everybody smoked, non smokers stood out.
Most people had similar experiences in their lives. WWII and its related hardships was a common bond for many British people, for many years afterwards, but it must have been hard for people with different backgrounds to fit in. When people talk about the "good old days" it's probably because they were a member of a particular social group at that time.
I can't help feeling that people are much more accepting of others in our modern times, because we've been exposed to different viewpoints and a wider range of experiences than our forebears.
There you go.
That's how old I am!
