What were you doing in 1996?

[NW3Lady]

I went from my 3rd to my 4th year of secondary school. We started having ‘Careers’ lessons which felt quite serious and scary. Which GCSE options to take was a major focus and topic of conversation, which seems so silly and inconsequential now. I’m not sure I can even remember what I plumped for in the end.

The Spice Girls were bloomin’ everywhere, there was no escaping them. Friends and ER were the shows to watch. We got internet for the first time - dial-up which took ages to connect and then hogged the phone line so that there were constant battles over it.

How about you?

Spent most of it pregnant with my 3rd.

Moved house (essential with no. 3 on the way).

No.1 started school

Was 26 and working in banking in London.

Bought a three bed semi 35 mins from central London for £60k on our fairly low salaries.

Saw Pulp headline the V Festival.

Got married to my lovely DH ( local church and old school style reception in a community centre with a free bar)

Honeymooned for three weeks travelling around California.

The day after coming back to work after our Honeymoon we were given free tickets to a London fashion week event at the Albert Hall which turned out to be Spice Girls first ever live performance.

Weekends seemed to involve endless clothes and shoe shopping trips (no idea how I afforded that!) and Sunday pub lunches.

Evenings were spent drinking wine and inviting mates round to watch the latest episode of Friends (especially if a double bill)

No mobile phone then as I refused to have one, no internet even at work!

Travelling the world. Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and India. I was 28. Newly single.It was magical.

The year I started primary school in the September. 😃

My daughters were 11 and three and being cared for by a relative as l was in a psychiatric hospitals thanks to my abusive ex husband... l was 38 years old.

Snogging, listening to Pulp, sneaking booze from parents to drink in a field with friends.

I loved the 90s

I was pregnant with ds2 and causing mayhem on the maternity ward!! I had pre eclampsia and was on bed rest. It was the same time as the Euro 96 football. I persuaded the midwife to wheel me down to watch the match. When I was wheeled back and my blood pressure was taken it looked like a pyramid. The Midwife put an * next to it and Euro 96 Penalty Shootout next to it!
When I went back in I was watching the cricket with my husband. Everytime there was a wicket I cheered.. The midwives charged in and moved me to the delivery room. Wilf arrived five hours later!!!

4th year at university

Turning 21, finishing University in the summer, and starting work for the NHS in the autumn. Where I have been ever since

Was in my mum's stomach not due till spring 97 😂

Was a pre teen being resentful about having to grow up. I loved being a kid and my friends were starting to be interested in boys and make up and I wanted to play in imaginary worlds and climb trees. It was a confusing time 😐

In 1996 I was in my last month of year 7! I’d just got a concrete bunch of friends and we trying to decide which of us was who. By that I mean which one of us was Sporty, Posh, Baby etc even though my heart did and forever will belong to Gangsta Rap. Little did I know my hip hop hero would be dead by September! I was pouring over my Smash Hits magazines and getting word perfect on Fugees Ready or Not. I got my very own CD player for Christmas in 1996.

Apart from Tupacs death, 1996 was favourite childhood year.

Sneaky fags (embassy No1) out my friend's bedroom window whilst revising for GCSEs, listening to Blur and Pulp, starting college and meeting one of my now best friends, listening to the fugees and No Doubt Don't Speak on repeat, falling in love with Leo in Romeo and Juliet and listening to the soundtrack constantly,.working at Tesco part time, starting clubbing, discovering the joys of ecstasy!

I was a bit like this too. I sometimes joke that I was at home playing with Sylvanian Families whilst they were all out at acid raves.

Been married a year. Pregnant with DD. I was frumpy and old before my time.
I’ve regressed since then!

I think I was the year above you at school so very similar

Went to Knebworth to see oasis which was FANTASTIC

I spent most of 1996 growing a baby inside of me💘

I was either working in an art shop after leaving college, or starting at University. I took a year off before going to Uni and then only did a year of my degree, so dates are a bit hazy around that time. I was more interested in music, going to gigs / festivals and being singer songwriter in a band.

I had a new baby, went back to work part time. DH worked in computers so we had computers at home from the 80s and internet in the early 90s ( though it wasn't very impressive).
The second half of the 90s is a blank for me as I had two babies close together.

Mid 20's. Music was great. Had bought my first house. Had fun friends and a nice boyfriend. Shit job but it didn't matter. Life was good.

Also got married. Great decision.

Teaching, married (still am) for 2 years and moved house to the Outer Hebrides! Great year!

Travelling down to London on national express coach (when the tea ladies still existed!) to stay with a boy I'd met on holiday, listening to Pulp on my Discman.

I was 15 and looking back, I had an enormous amount of freedom at a time without mobile phones. My parents really didn't have a clue about what I got up to. I can't imagine giving my own daughter that much freedom, which is sad really.

2nd and 3rd year of uni. Except I moved from doing a HND to a Secondary teaching course which meant I also moved from Luton to Brighton. On the day in early September that my mum and dad helped me move from Widnes (near Liverpool) to Brighton, my boyfriend (also from Widnes) got his first RAF posting after doing a training course at Cosford, near Wolverhampton. Knowing that I was going to Brighton, he applied for RAF camps like Brize, Odiham, etc. He got Kinloss (30 miles or so from Inverness). I thought he was pulling my leg.

But in August we’ve been married 27 years and in December we make our last mortgage payment. 2026 is going to be a good year!!

Got married to my lovely DH, sadly lost two parents; MIL in November and my dad on NYE. Nephew was born in October. A bittersweet year all told.