Things that disappeared, without you realising?

[jennymanara]

What things have disappeared in society, and you did not notice until much later?
So when I was young in every shopping street you would see old women wearing coloured polyester macs and headscarves. And then one day I suddenly realised that I had not seen a woman wearing this kind of clothing for a long time.
The same with plastic rainhoods. You used to see these for sale in newsagents, and elderly women would wear them when caught unaware by the rain. Again disappeared.

Really? Horizontal binds yes, many houses have those here but hardly anyone has vertical blinds.

Yes, still very popular around here too. One of our friends is a vertical blind fitter and he's still as busy as ever.

y nan had the cat and glass one, think the fish was missing tho

That's what having the cat does.

We have vertical blinds and we close them when we go out so any would be burglars can't see the tv etc.

Faxes

Still very widely used in the NHS.

Hostess food trollies

This is bringing back memories.
My mum had a glass fish as did my friend's mum who I walked to school with.
I've noticed that macramae (?) Is making a come back. We had macramae plant pot holders which hung down from the ceiling when I was little. Taking if house plants, everybody seemed to have them when I was a child. People decorated things with shells too. Lampshades and plant pots were a favourite.
I loved visiting my grandmas sister as she had a toilet roll knitted doll, I thought it was lovely!

Budgies.

Everyone used to have a budgie, I don’t recall the last time I saw one outside a pet shop.

My Mum used to wear a headscarf when I was very little (probably stopped around 1982?). My Nanna certainly never left the house without one until well into the 90's (Ireland)

Mum was older than the other school mums and now that I think of it, she stopped when I went to school! Probably looked around the playground on my first day and quickly shoved it into her handbag.

Not just ornaments but collectable ornaments - Pendelfin rabbits, pigs, dragons, sets of decorative plates on walls.

Motorcycles with sidecars.
Babies left in prams outside shops. When I was a baby 50 years ago, the librarian told my mom to leave me outside. The library was on a steep hill and my mom refused.
Speaking of libraries, little cardboard tickets. And only being able to talk in whispers otherwise the dragons that worked there would tell you to shush.

I go past a lot of houses on my runs and never have I noticed anyone having vertical blinds! I thought they were only ever in offices.
We have horizontal wooden shutters at home. Which I keep open as I like seeing out. Then dp comes home and closes the bottom half as he prefers the privacy

Very rarely hear an ice cream van round here these days.

Collecting fancy paper and swapping it with friends

50s - 60s Walls Ice Cream bought from a peddle powered tricycle
Spanish Lady prints - like this one - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tina-by-J-H-Lynch-Tretchikoff-Era-Vintage-Kitsch-Framed-Art-Print-/112586744942

70s - Lava lamp (although I think brief revival in 80s)
80s - Holly Hobby

Comb-overs - The one good thing Trump has done - make them even less desirable than ever (if this is even possible). Scargill's was another famous one.

Milk being delivered to houses with the empty bottles left on the doorsteps.

Pipes. Both my grandads smoked a pipe, as did millions of men of their generation. When Harold Wilson was Prime Minister in the 70s he would puff away at his pipe while being interviewed on TV.

Some things go away then make a comeback, of course. Traditional men’s barbers had almost completely died out by the 90s, but have made a big comeback over the last decade, often run by Turkish & Kurdish immigrants.

*Faxes

Still very widely used in the NHS.*

The NHS thinks faxes are modern technology. They are still obsessed with writing letters to people, at vast and wasteful expense in terms of stationery, labour and postage. It’s bizarre.

Coloured pink & purple tissues, Victoria Plum (by Angela Rippon!) and Strawberry Shortcake

Vertical blinds still common among my folks, aunts/ their friends here, although I have just realised my mum must have hers for 20 years (didn't think she had them that long). She was recently telling me that you can replace the slats, and buy new ones in Dunelm, so they must still be popular enough.

My estate is a mix of shutters, roller blinds, curtains and nets.

Anyway... old stuff that is gone...

• kids cigarette sweets and liquorice pipes. We used to go round "smoking"
• sending photos off to be developed. Drop them into the newsagent by a certain time to have them back the next day.
• realising half the photos were shite
• my young

Oops...

• my younger colleague asked just last week, how did people book hotels/holidays before the internet. He hadn't ever thought of the logistics of having to ring or write to a hotel.
• arranging to meet someone at x time and just knowing they would be there... no re-checking in advance, or updates on how they were running late via text etc.

What is weird about watching classic,Eastenders and Corrie, is everyone smoking in the pub and cafe etc,I know it's only about ten years since the smoking ban came in but it's so weird to see now .

Very rarely hear an ice cream van round here these days

I literally read that as I heard an ice cream van.

Old (as in retired) men in suits.

I live in London on a development of new-build flats and lots of them have vertical blinds, especially the ground floor flats.

When I was little and a relative went abroad (or occasionally we did) I used to get a small doll dressed in national costume. My favourite one was a Spanish one in a red and black flamenco dress. I had a small collection of them. I was wondering recently when they stopped being a thing.

Really Larry?! Nothing near me. Sad times. Used to love hearing it drive up our road, the race to find either your mum and then her purse or emptying out your secret hiding place of money and racing to it before it drove off... the good old days

I'm in the north, we have vertical blinds on all windows and they stay closed all day so that nosey neighbours cannot look in.

Is it just me or are wristwatches going out of fashion? People seem to use their mobiles now (and why not, they are pretty much glued to said phones). Alarm clocks are definitely rare.

@bananamonkey yes, these are the type we have and that most of our neighbours have. They are practical and stylish, not officey. :D