What was England like in late 1998/early 1999?

[breaksinthedayforyou]

Interested to know.

I am a late 90s baby and can't believe that was now over 25 years ago

One of my earliest memories is going into Woolworths in Poplar. I was in a buggy and remember feeling cold

It randomly occurred to me that 1998, my birth year, is going to sound ancient to my own grandchildren/great grandchildren. Much like my great grandmother shocking my mum years ago by being born 'in the 1800s' 😃

Labour government had just got in- was amazing for the godforsaken Northern town I live in. I worked for the local council at the time (still do!) we got a lot of funding and could really make a difference to the local community. With the current government we have regressed and services are down to the bone again- worse than pre 1997. Only essential services (required by law) these days.

Loved Woolworths though- pic and mix was epic! sorry if I've put a downer on your thread. It felt great at the time - I was 20 ish and living my best life!! felt very happy and hopeful for the future at the time.

They were the glory days OP. New Labour (before Blair became a war mongering puppet to America), Cool Brittania, YBAs - it was the best of times (not at all biased due to the fact I was 22 with the world at my feet and no responsibilities other than to myself).

Yes, it felt very hopeful and music was great. Other differences - I had a mobile phone but didn’t text. I only used email in my university IT room, and used internet cafes abroad. I wrote my essays longhand (although some people had basic computers and printed at the library). I did a summer job in an office and there was no email - lots of actual paperwork, with paper! And a tea trolley.

I lived in two cities that are now very gentrified and the areas I lived still had greasy spoons where you could get a cup of tea for 60p. We went out a lot! Pubs, clubs, gigs.

Sigh! Happy memories, getting the bus to town, getting a maccers, No internet or mobile phones (on a large scale anyway), heather shimmer lipstick, spice girls, shiny shirts were in fashion, local pub on a friday, youth club, the big breakfast i think was still on? Before school. Miss the 90s so much

I was living in London, fairly newly married and having an absolute ball! I remember Labour winning the election in 1997, it seemed like everyone took the day off and went down the pub to celebrate. I was living in a gorgeous one bedroomed flat in Zone3 with a little garden, the rent was 750 pm IIRC. We had enough cash to be out at least four nights a week, lots of clubbing at the weekends. We also went to lots of festivals for free working in the beer tents. I lived in London for ten years, most of them in the 90s, and feel extremely lucky to have done so, it was a great place to live in very exciting times. I left London in 2002 and ended up in Oz, but have great memories of that time.

I was in my early 20s when you were born. I went about in short dresses, little cardigans, opaque tights and clumpy shoes and my hair was a shiny bob and box dye red.

I recall a lot of casual sexism in my workplaces at that time (some old-school, and some ‘ironic’ from people who should have known better but affected a kind of lads’-mag-influenced manner). All the pubs were full of smoke.

I had no internet access, and nobody I knew had a mobile phone.

I did have a Sony Discman that I carried around in my bag so I could listen to Bjork CDs with a pair of those crappy foam headphones that are neither earbuds nor the over-ear type, but somewhere in between.

Gucci Envy, the best perfume ever, was still around 🥲

It was a lot better than it is now, felt a lot safer.

I was sixteen. Snogging in school fields. Sneaking in to pubs. Music was amazing. Camden market when it was in its heyday.

So much freedom, less restriction, rules were bent, no one cared what time you got home, bunking school, disposable camera you all clubbed together for, McDonald’s on the bus, “so and so has a free house!”, Nintendo and mix tapes with handwritten inlay cards.

we used to look up the cinema / club / gig listings in the newspaper and pay on the door.

Finally that one mate learned to drive and you were all off, squeezed in the back of a Vauxhall nova.

I remember drinking Metz all the time.

It was magical, but I was young so that does influence it.

Thinking about what hasnt changed.

Chicken shop. You can always count on chicken shop.

It was beautiful. But not as beautiful as the late 80s and early 90s. 😍

Was late 20s, feeling hopeful with new Labour, the IRA threat was receding and it was before 9/11 so feeling optimistic and secure.

Career starting to take off but happy in my house share in London living with best mate and lots of drinking/spliffs having a bit of money to have fun, a lovely extended adolescence in the best sense!

Ton of threads on this subject on MN

It seems the average age of MN etters is around 40-45

They all remember Tony Blair, Topshop, Rimmel Heather Shimmer and White Musk

Very positive ‘Cool Britannia’ type vibes as opposed to the grinding negativity of today.

Although I still worried about money back then - very low salaries and London rents were high.

My dc are similar age to you.

Nowadays, shops have promotions and sales all year round. Then, you had the January sale and July sale, which started in January 1st and July 1st. You looked forwarded to these, and saved money to:spend in them. Next in particular was a big sale, and people would queue To get into the stores when they opened at 6am, and then buy huge amount of clothes, the next years worth sometimes.

Used to buy second hand clothes from NCT sales. You gave in clothes, and if sold, got a percentage of the sales.

People had computers but not laptops but computers and monitors. Mobile phones were phones, and not mini computers.

Maternity leave was shorter. People generally went on maternity leave a month before their due date.

My memories of 1998 are getting off the bus in July to snow and sitting on my desk watching out of the window as the filmed casualty across the road.

As a northern working at the Royal mail sorting office in Bristol, staring out of the window at the snow wondering where the gritters were. Wasn't much fun trying to get home.

I was 26 and a first year at uni having completed a foundation year the year before. There was a shift in student altitudes as it was the year student fees came in.

In 1999, everyone was talking about the new Millenium. Around March, there=was a discussion about getting pregnant and having a millenium baby.

Also a lot of fear over the Millenium bug affecting computers, and society as a whole.

loved those days... I had a Nokia that was as heavy as a brick that I used play snake on. life was a lot simpler, but I was only 14. London seemed much more laid back, not as many chains.... felt like we had proper seasons back then. there was actually less racism in some ways, and there was a sense of national pride and Britain was still seen as a force to contend with. the NHS was slow but effective. we went to local comps and they were fairly good.

I was in my late teens. Lots of alcohol, drunk in fields, round friends’ houses or underage in bars.

Huge optimism about the future owing to the new government and the optimism of youth. Even though tuition fees had just been introduced, university felt like the key to a good future and it didn’t matter what degree subject you chose.

Quite a lot of friends went for a year out in Australia, which was largely undocumented (pre social media) and few photos. This was just before budget airlines so travel seemed more UK based or longer, inter-rail type travel.

Some things felt more European - I can’t remember when it became easier to pass through European borders but it was definitely made easier at some point. And we used to do well in Eurovision at this time!

Cars were much smaller, and teenagers would drive old bangers themselves. Actually, it felt like young adults/teenagers were more separate to their parents (see above re drinking). So you were more likely to make your own way to parties/university/friends houses/part time jobs. My parents didn’t really know what I was up to and kept out of my “studying”.

Shopping for clothes - the whole Saturday would be spent traipsing the high street (if no Saturday job). I had no money to spend on clothes but would look in every single shop including designer shops and Ted Baker. The city centres were really busy at weekends. The only food we’d spend money on would be McDonalds or a Boots meal deal.

I love these threads, especially hearing about different generations’ experiences of this time.

I was a young child, and petrified of the millennium bug. Went to lots of parties dressed as insects. I think I thought we were all going to die at midnight

I started uni then, I was 32.

Because of disability I had a computer and a modem that connected via the phone line and I would put it on for about 30 seconds to see if I had email.

My 'grant' I think it was the last year of them, came as a cheque I had to collect from the uni.

Someone on my course was impressed I did an online shop (that might have been a couple of years later).

Someone from the uni asked about contacting us and I suggested email but most people said no put it on the noticeboard.

I'd been living in London and had a mobile phone from those days, it cost £17.50 a month and that was without calls!.

I bought a new TV, it still had a CRT.

I was married with a mortgage. It felt like a breath of fresh air when Labor got in. Interest rates had dropped in previous years and it felt like we all had money to spend. DH is a programmer so we had email and Internet at home. We even used a brand new website called Amazon to order books that would turn up about 4 weeks later. I think I spent about 2 years planning what to wear for New Year 2000. In the end it was much like any other New year.

I was in my early twenties and newly married. We had a cute little house with a mortgage of just £40,000 and we worked overtime to afford our 2 weeks in Tenerife every summer.
I remember it as a very happy go lucky time in our lives, Saturday nights on the town and Sunday lunch in the pub watching the match.

There was no social media so we were just happy living our own lives, didn't feel any pressure to keep up with others or try to 'make memories' just for the likes.
We emigrated in our late 20's so Britain has stayed frozen in time for me and it makes me sad to read all the negativity now.

It just felt like a happier, easier, far less complicated time.

I had just met my husband, returned from major trip to Nepal and India, New Labour just in government. Playing 'things can only get better'. Mortgage rate was 8% ( caused by Tories of course).