What thing was ruined because it turned into a rich person's hobby?

[NewLion]

attending Premier League football

But wouldn’t people just put up their own sheds? They didn’t buy it in and get people to construct them. They just built them. Bare earth floors, too, I remember.

A chippy tea

Babies do not need swimming classes or sensory classes! It’s just a money making business.

I think theater has always been expensive, the cheap seats in the Gods has been a thing for a reason.

Football has got pricey but the clubs are also paying out big big money to attract top players.

Lego has never been cheap.
What has changed is small sets are bigger. I still have my 80s lego, lots of pocket money vehicles, 4 studs wide, now vehicles are at least 6 studs wide. and longer to stay in proportion.

Definitely agree there. You get people saying how a caravan holiday was the norm for them etc without looking and seeing that a week away will cost around £1k in season at today's prices, plus getting there, spends etc.

Haha. Have you considered moving into a caravan?

Pantomime

My dad built a shed back in 2022 to house straw and hay for chickens and guinea pigs. Bought sand for levelling and then used paving slabs that had been lying around for years as the base. Mix of scrap and bought lumber, bought corrugated plastic roof. I think the total cost was about £150?

It's the kind of thing that's cheap if you've had the means to be a bit of a hoarder for 30 years, and build up a tool cabinet slowly. That life isn't available to many people who've had to privately rent and move around a lot, or couldn't afford a large property in the first place.

Folk/trad music sessions can be spoiled by middle class musos who don’t get the culture/ettiquette….and “wild swimming” was just swimming for ordinary folk when I was young, didn’t need a wetsuit or special hat….There’s definitely a barefaced middle class acquisitive questing for “nice things that we don’t already have”…..

Oh what hell is this! My in-laws love it. Like being trapped in some sort of Mrs Brown boys stroke Benidorm nightmare.

Gardening. I see loads of bloggers (often US based I think) talking about how growing your own is cheaper, they are saving a fortune making their own preserves etc. I love the idea of all this but surely renting or buying a place with a big enough garden or having an allotment plus tools and consumables far outstrips the cost of some carrots and a jar of jam in Aldi. I know quality wise there is probably no comparison but we are talking about expensive hobbies here.

Even £33 a game is absolutely rich man's territory. No one goes to a concert every other week, most weeks of the year. That's a £16/week hobby - you need money for that!

I'm so glad you said that GF was gluten free.
I misread is as potatoes are CF and thought... why are spuds Cunt Fuckers now? 😆 🤣 😂

That's enough Internet for me today 😭

Cinemas can be expensive but it depends whether you have a cheap chain near you. Went with my husband to the Vue last weekend - booked online cheaper in advance) and cheapest seats, £4.99 each. Could have had a very cheap night out but opted for a small popcorn which was £7.50 and parking was £2 so £20 all in, took own drinks. Also screen was pretty empty so sat in better seats.

My old college pal crochets and knits and she said the price of yarn etc has gone right up. Loads of influencers making it trendy maybe? I honestly don't know. 🤔 🧶 😔

I’m often sidetracked by large glamorous houses to let for holidays. The type with great outdoor furniture, fire pit, games/cinema room, huge kitchen.

I’d love to take our family… until checking the dates and finding they cost £2500+ per night.

Who can afford £7500 for a weekend away?

If i was paying £7500 for a weekend away - it better come with a chef 👨‍🍳 and a housekeeper!

But I guess there must be folk out there with serious money.

Razing beautiful nature spots by the ocean that have been there for eons to build expensive golf courses with helipads.

Hawaii. Far from ruined but a price has been paid.

Potatoes may be gluten free, but chips are very often in a flour-based coating to make the outside crispper, so they're then off-limits for coeliac, plus the potential of contaminated oil.

Glastonbury. First few I attended were free!

Cinema. I used to buy tickets with pocket money, now it’s £30 a person if you want snacks as well (which the kids do).

This isn't a hobby but about 30 years ago I had some bamboo blinds, mainly because they were cheap as chips ( i was skint) but looked OK. Now theyre 'in ' and I noticed the other day they're very comfortably in the +£100 bracket. I mean it's not like bamboo is hard to grow either.

Horse riding is and always has been for 'rich people', its not something that was ever accessible to 99% of the population.

You're just naming an expensive hobby.

Concerts. I used to go to lots when I was young and they weren't expensive then, now they are out of my league.
Groceries!

I used to spend every summer cutting and spraying the bamboo growing in my lawn (from the neighbours' plants). Who knew I should have been letting it grow and harvesting it to make blinds!!

I have some sort of cane bedhead, they also are pretty expensive now.