Stuff you took for granted that no longer exists?

[Confusednbemused]

Was saying to my daughter how I used to go to Boots or Superdrug and take free perfume samples to try at home before deciding what to buy and it occurred to me I've no idea when that stopped and the little strips of paper became a thing!!

What inanimate or service level thing do you miss which you used to take for granted?

Chips. Actual fried chips made from real potato. Almost nowhere serves chips that aren’t oven baked or air fried.

I remember being able to leave the front door unlocked or even wide open on a hot day. It was the norm back when I was young, everyone trusted each other.

Agreed. Come on Cadbury- bring them back!!!

Brannigan’s crisps at the pub!

I'm in NZ and have lost count of the times I have gone away and left my front door wide open! Anyone could wander in off the street - fortunately no-one has!

Meeting people who you want to date in real life.

When I was younger I’d meet people out and about who you’d chat to, spend some time with, have a drink or a snog before arranging a date. Or at work or a club etc.

A combination of dating apps, me getting older and there being less tolerance for harassment (which is a very good thing!) seems to have stopped this pretty much completely…

Duncan’s Chocolate Creams from Geraldos of Largs.

Department stores (particularly Jenners of Edinburgh and their 4th floor hairdressing salon), The Lady Magazine, and being able to walk into almost any place you fancied and get a job on the spot.

The classic M&S ham, cheese and pickle sandwich.

The old Black Magic chocolate collection with things like ‘Montelimar’. The chocolate roll from M&S that had granulated sugar on it.

Oh they look lovely but sadly not the same as chocolate candies which were firm and chewy inside.

Mine too. We don’t speak if the time I filled a Jag with 3 star.

Agree about Jenners. I could have sworn I saw The Lady magazine on shelves a fee months ago. Upon googling, I see the last issue was April 2025 so it must have been then that I saw it. What a shame.

Oh yes, I'd love it if they brought back the generation game! "A cuddly toy" "a toaster"!

Its hardly a 'reopening' its m&s moving into the old debenhams site. Its just a move. So there's still going to be a massive retail unit empty slap bang in the middle of the highstreet.

Im excited for the new m&s though! Cant wait!

I miss this! Hate standing in the cold handling a grotty, smelly pump dispenser watching the little screen. My GP told me they're one of the primary ways of spreading germs.

Oh my god. I can relate. Went to a festival with my daughter and was handed a spliff by the fire thinking it would be a nice mellow smoke like the old days. Not! I had to retire to the tent for a couple of hours because I didn’t feel normal enough to be in company. Never again. How do they smoke that stuff and still function?

Phone boxes. I get nostalgia for them. Conversation was private and brief and once you hung up you were free and uncontactable. A few years back DS thought they were for superheroes to change their clothes.

Cigarettes. The days when lots of people smoked and strangers would ask for a light. I loved the taste, the smell and the blissful relaxing feeling I got. It was a filler of dead time too, when waiting for someone I'd have a smoke and have that time to just be, lost in thought.

Cashpoints. Our Tesco used to have 4 in a row plus one at their petrol station. They closed two of the 4 in a row during Covid and they never opened again and they closed the one at their petrol station a few months ago.
Eldon Square shopping centre in Newcastle also got rid of all of their cashpoints. I just liked knowing they were there so that I could go and stock up with some cash in case of technology problems/glitches in the future

I always put on those little plastic gloves they have in a dispenser.

Decent quality clothing and not this polyester shite that's everywhere now.

Unfortunately they're not common here (Ireland), the dispenser is there alright but no gloves, more often than not.

My health and also specifically working, pain free spine and legs.

Freedom, health and carelessness.
I know you cannot buy that. 😊

Findus chicken lasagne.No tomatoes just white sauce and chicken.
Find us cheese and tomato lasagne.no meat.
Both were gorgeous.