Mumsnet Discussions - Do you remember when....volunteers needed for nostalgia feature on news events from the 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s

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Do you remember when....volunteers needed for nostalgia feature on news events from the 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s

(7 Posts)

By Thu 29-Oct-09 11:21:20 Add message | Report | Contact poster

I'm looking for Mumsnetters aged anywhere from 30-55 to talk about where they were and what they were doing when major news events from the 60s-90s took place (OK, Brotherhood of Man winning the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest wasn't strictly speaking a major news event, but you know what I mean...). Each interview would only take 5 mins over the phone, but I would need you to submit a recent photo.
The feature isn't really so much about the event itself - more about YOU and the way your younger self responded to it. Eg, you might remember watching the moon landings sat on the rug in front of your black and white telly while your mum served meat paste sandwiches - it's those little details I'm really looking for that would have our readers thinking, 'Yep! I remember our black and white telly, and eating meat paste sandwiches, too!'
The events I'm covering are:
1. The moon landing (1969)
2. England winning the World Cup (1966)
3. Elvis dies (1977)
4. Brotherhood of Man wins the 1976 Eurovision contest
5. Marriage of Charles and Diana (1981)
6. Torvill and Dean's Bolero triumph at the 1984 Olympics
7. Live Aid concert (1985)
8. Collapse of the Berlin Wall (1989)
9. Nelson Mandela's release from prison (1990)
10. Gazza's tears in the World Cup semi (1990)
11. The live OJ Simpson car chase (1994)
12. Labour's landslide victory (1997).
Eg (and this isn't terribly exciting), when Elvis died I was seven years old and on holiday at my Aunt and Uncle's. I was waking up in their scratchy old camp bed, when my brother ran in and told me Elvis had kicked the bucket. I had no idea what kicking the bucket meant and thought Elvis had broken his leg. Come to think of it, I also had no idea who Elvis was, but after seeing his photo in the paper decided I was in love with him, and carried the photo around in the pocket of my nylon flared trousers for several weeks.
If anyone can help me with this, I'd be really grateful. I'm hoping it'll be a really fun and interesting piece. If you'd like to take part, please email me at claire_aardvarkedit@hotmail.co.uk
Many thanks for reading!
Claire

Add message | Report | Contact poster By Wed 04-Nov-09 16:27:31

When Charles and Diana got married I was living in a sweet shop and we had the telly on in the shop, which was a first. All the customers would come in and say how beautiful Diana was and I thought when I grew up perhaps I could marry Edward (being the youngest) and be a princess too... I was eighteen wink

not really I was nine!

Add message | Report | Contact poster By Wed 04-Nov-09 16:23:47

I'm Texan and I remember my mother waking me up at 4am to see a real princess getting married. I was ten years old, had never heard of Lady Diana Spencer and was not that interested but Mom insisted that it was a big event. As I sat on the sofa wrapped in a quilt I was soon entranced by the ceremony and the new Princess Diana, though why she was marrying such an old man was a little confusing! There was a beautiful sunrise that morning which I thought was perfect for a princess.

I eventually fell in love with an Englishman myself and 26 years after Diana's wedding my mother woke me up again at 4am. This time I was in my home in Cambridge and Mom was calling from Texas. She was in tears and all I could make out was "She's dead... it was a car accident..." My first thought was that Mom was talking about my sister and I shouted down the phone "WHO'S DEAD?" She answered "Diana". I didn't really believe it so I went downstairs and turned on the BBC. This was before 24 hour television and the only thing on the screen was Diana's photo and the year of her birth followed by 1997. I surprised myself by bursting into tears.

Add message | Report | Contact poster By Tue 03-Nov-09 10:55:29

Forgot to add: Anon, many thanks for posting. If you'd like to take part in the feature, do please email me your details.
Best wishes,
Claire

Add message | Report | Contact poster By Tue 03-Nov-09 10:53:44

Hi Vanload,
We are missing out Diana's death, and that was a conscious decision - just because so much has been written about it(no offence to Diana fans, but we wanted to concentrate on other news stories). Do you remember any of the other events? If you do, please contact me at claire_aardvarkedit@hotmail.co.uk. Many thanks for posting, though - and if you can think of any other stories (especially those from the 80s) that you'd prefer to talk about, do let me know!
Best wishes,
Claire

Add message | Report | Contact poster By Tue 03-Nov-09 08:46:26

Surely, you're missing out Diana's death - that was the biggy for me. I couldn't walk to Ken high street without welling up for ages afterwards. I thought it was some sort of joke when I first heard, we we're staying in the country for the weekend, but living in south ken - it all felt very raw and real. And was probably the first time I'd experienced that sort of grief, bizarre but true. I was in my early twenties then.

Add message | Report | Contact poster By Sun 01-Nov-09 14:15:39

Charles & Di marriage... my parents took my sister & I by tube late the night before, we set up camp on the pavement en route. I wore my best drainpipe jeans & fred perry T shirt.
I remeber my sister trying to get her "flick" on her hair just right, for the wedding.
We all had plastic union jack bowler hats & danced with the policeman.
We got very little sleep & used those periscope things, i think they may of been given out free, we spent ages putting them together & they never worked.
In the end we had a great view as they drove past.

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Do you remember when....volunteers needed for nostalgia feature on news events from the 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s