What can you remember that makes you seem ancient?

[CormoranStrike]

I remember us getting our very first colour TV.

I can remember a rag and bone man coming up my granny’s street - can’t remember if it was a horse drawn trailer or not.

Granny had an Anderson shelter.

I remember not having to wear seatbelts.

When everyone used to smoke at work and in pubs.

Shiny toilet paper.

Our local pub does excellent fish and chips on a Thursday and Friday, and he always brings out some scraps with the food.

There were only 3 TV channels - BBC1, BBC2, ITV

And there seemed to be an awful lot more telly to watch then, even though we have 50+ channels now.

Old enough here to remember John Noakes and Lesley Judd on Blue Peter. Blue Peter's 21st birthday. Oh, and anyone remember 6p pieces, the 'new shilling'?

I think the PP who mentioned the air raid wins the thread though, unless someone remembers the declaration of war?

bonbonours you can still get non-homogenised milk with a 'top' but you have to go to Waitrose for it.

We get green top (unpasteurised) from our milkman. The cream on top sometimes stops the milk from coming out!

The Salvation Army band playing at the top if the street every Sunday morning . . .

'Twas great!

Ooh yes, and then marching to the beat of the bass drum to the street they were visiting next.
I remember when almost everyone went to Sunday School. Ours was in the afternoon, and most of the local children (except the Catholics) attended. You got a sticker every week with a Bible story picture on it, and stuck it in a stamp book. When it was full I think you got some kind of prize.

We had a pay phone in the house. Had to save up 2 pence pieces for it

I remember the rag and bone man with a horse and cart. Half day closing on Wednesdays. Green Shield Stamps. The Black & White Minstrels , flood warnings at school (like fire drills) before they built the Thames barrier, the three day week, power cuts, Shiphams meat paste, Crossroads, lying in the boot of mum’s estate car in a sleeping bag alongside my sleeping sisters for long journeys, women wearing house coats, buying fags for my mum and sweet cigarettes for me at the corner shop, Woolworths.

Not sure if this has been said - the daylight saving experiment we had in the late 60’s when we didn’t change the clocks in the autumn. I remember having to wear a yellow fluorescent jacket to go to walk to school in because it was so dark in the mornings.

Also

• the rag&bone man,
• actually remembering phone numbers (I can still remember my friends’ home phone numbers some 45 years later!)

- entire towns closing for Wakes weeks - the wearing of a “housecoat” being the norm - learning how to change a plug - mending things (from ladders in tights to hairdryers to bed sheets)

I don't remember it as such but I do remember having fluorescent (orange and silver) armbands at about that time. Must have been connected and wouldn't be a bad idea now.

We walked everywhere and fluorescent armbands were essential winter accessories.

Factory Fortnight - shops closed on Thursday afternoons anyway, but in factory fortnight they closed every afternoon.
Shoe factories - this town has about ten shoe factories and every one has closed and been replaced by housing.

"when walking at night, where something white" public information film and a woman in a white headscarf.

'Twas Shipyard Fortnight up here in t' NE Ladym

mending things (from ladders in tights to hairdryers to bed sheets)

I well remembered repaired tights - all the women looked like they had really bad leg accidents and were scarred for life!

You got a sticker every week with a Bible story picture on it, and stuck it in a stamp book. When it was full I think you got some kind of prize.

You did, Ladym

Mr Schaden's brother got a book ("The Grey Men") - not even a churchy one - an adventure story about Kabul, or somewhere similar

Our Sund at School Prize a were always strongly Christian, either Bible stories of stories about prominent Christia ns. A local Christian 'celebrity' usually a representative from a Christian organisation presented the prizes. Cue much hilarity of they couldn't read the name in the book (these were simple times) and a very popular boy named Clive has his name reads out as Olive.

Autocorrect has done its magic there, but you get the gist.

Walking to the phone box every Sunday evening and queuing to put 2 pence pieces in the telephone to chat.

Queuing at the stand pipe at the end of the road for water between certain hours (1976).

Not wearing seatbelts, I don't even think the car HAD seatbelts, and my sister (aged 4) falling out of the car on a roundabout. If that had happened today she'd be dead as it's so very busy. Back then, my dad slowed down, she hopped back in and we all laughed. Not another car on the road.

Only having a radio and listening to children's stories whilst sat on it. Television came much later to our house.

Only having access to a car on Saturday afternoon. My father worked Monday -sat lunch. We were piled in the car to drive to the nearest town to do food shopping every Saturday pm.

I don't know how my mum coped with no access to shops within a three mile walk during the week and three small sick children.

My Dad tuning the radio to pick up the Police frequency. Mum terrified he’d be arrested!

Steam trains!

The little beany dolls you used to get in matchboxes.

Collectable cards in cigarette packets.

@strawberrisc yes! The tiny beanie dolls. They made ones with animal heads too. I found mine in the attic, in recent years and they had disintegrated.

No electricity in our first house when I was a child. We had a gas lamp downstairs, and had to take a candle to bed.

Three TV channels. And outside loos. Although we did have a bathroom upstairs. No one I knew had en-suites or even 2nd loos (unless they were outside)
Shops all closing on on Wednesdays, and Sundays.
Not wearing seatbelts ( I don't think they had them in the back then)
Coal fires. And a coal bunker outside.