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

[NewLion]

attending Premier League football

@MeganM3 the price of timber has soared in recent years. A lot used to be imported from Russia.

Also glass. Practically no glass manufacturers left in the UK so much of it is imported from China and prices have risen hugely, as have lead times. Very difficult for small businesses. And actually same situation with iron mongers. It is virtually impossible (if not impossible) to buy nails and screws manufactured in the UK now as businesses have closed, so again, has to be imported from China and the quality is far worse. All of these things have an impact on the prices of sheds/greenhouses etc ...

My Mum who at the slightest ray of sunshine had us in the North Sea in our pants until we were blue, told me off for spending longer in the sea than the recommended few minutes during a recent trip to the beach thanks to all her ‘cold water swimming’ buddies.

Trains. I used to be able to get to alondon for a fiver in my youth. Now peak time is over £50.

Swimming at local public swimming pool. Easy to spend £25 for family of four. This isn’t much in itself but it used to be affordable to go swimming once a week and that is a lot per week on a low income.

Totally agree about theatre, used to be around the £40 mark for the very posh seats in the 00s. I saw loads of Donmar Warehouse shows for £5 through under 26 schemes. Bus trips from my undergrad university to the RSC were £16 for coach and ticket!

Yes, that is good but we need physical libraries too..

There are 1000's of free accessible books online. It's just shifted from hard copies to e books. You can read them on your phone or tablet...

Booking really far ahead, and booking cheaper seats but using viewfrommyseat to check the view is the way forward! We had amazing seats for My Neighbour Totoro for £25 each when seats 7 or 8 rows forward were £200.

Its insane isn't it! Got stung for £16 for a glass of something reasonable last week. A glass of wine and a pint is £24 near me (SW London).

There's also so many cheap books available via Ebay, thriftbooks, & a lot of others

Why? I used to be a frequent library visitor for pleasure reading. But with the advent of e books I don't go anymore.

Our local library is now a community hub. Book clubs, mums & baby groups, knitting club, coffe morning for xyz ... they all use the space. It still has some books but the children's section is bigger than the adult one. There just isn't enough demand.

Driving an insured car for an under 21. Used to be popped on Mum or Dad's insurance policy for a few quid extra, now thousands of pounds for some young people.

Ha ha ha, 19 gigs a year- amateur level!!!! I and other people I know have done more than that in a year for one band.

Lots of theatres still do discounts for under 25s :

https://www.google.com/search?q=cheap+theatre+tickets+london+undrr+25&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&hs=osH&sca_esv=816abb5a51ae04a7&sxsrf=ANbL-n6-xfCsWnajo3bd-5f7feLuAZrGcA%3A1774939984245&ei=UG_LadKLDY-zhbIP6KzAgQc&biw=384&bih=723&oq=cheap+theatre+tickets+london+undrr+25&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIiVjaGVhcCB0aGVhdHJlIHRpY2tldHMgbG9uZG9uIHVuZHJyIDI1MgcQABiABBgNMgYQABgWGB4yCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFMgsQABiABBiGAxiKBTILEAAYgAQYhgMYigUyCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFMgcQIRigARgKMgcQIRigARgKSOshUIgJWOodcAF4AZABAJgBywGgAZIKqgEFMC44LjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgqgAqwLwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICDRAAGIAEGLADGEMYigXCAhwQLhiABBiwAxhDGMcBGMgDGIoFGI4FGK8B2AEBwgIFEAAYgASYAwCIBgGQBhG6BgQIARgIkgcFMS44LjGgB-Y9sgcFMC44LjG4B4gLwgcFMy05LjHIB5MBgAgA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

Old Vic, National Theatre to name two. Ballet & opera also do this.

The internet was ruined because it became everyone's hobby.

It was lovely in the early 90s when only geeks used it.

My library is like that too, & I love that. But they still have a great adult section.

I think it's nice to be able to browse. I also think it's better for the eyes to limit screen time. Otoh books are great if a physical copy isn't in the library or is too expensive.

Any ticketed event ! Price on the steep side and then you have to pay fees in top which can often bump the price up .
Taking my daughter and 2 grandkids to a candlelight concert cheapest standing / reduced vision ( all that was left ) and it's cost the price of another ticket in fees ,(£30) . Total rip off !!

Watching sport on TV. It used to be free!!! Well, you had to pay the licence fee but that was it. Free sport all the time. Now you have to pay multiple subscriptions on top of the licence fee. It's so so sad.

Yoga and pilates. Completely overrun with special clothing and expensive memberships to hot yoga and reformer pilates.

Yes this i have an older friend who has been doing pilates for years her teacher retired and my friend struggled to find a reasonable priced class,

Agree that things like walking in the countryside and swimming have been spoilt by turning them into mc hobbies. Large groups of self congratulatory people wearing identical kit.

Cinema seems to have down in price but theatre is ridiculous.

Yep. Used to be about £10 a night now it's cheaper to book a Premier inn.

Is that console games? Steam on PC has thousands of games that are actually quite cheap and just as good as the really popular one's. I have always avoid the new/most popular games as they have always been the most expensive one's.

agree that sewing is much more expensive now. have a good rummage through the charity shops to find stuff that I can pull apart and use. got a lovely skirt out of an old cotton bedsheet, which was worn and lovely and soft so it hangs nicely.

music and doing an instrument at school used to be really common. makes me sad at xmas when you see the brass bands and there are so few younger people now who can play. a friend of mine is a talented musician who does community stuff to try and support youth funding to do this. he grew up in tough times, in and out of care, but was able to do music at school - the chances of him being able to do it these days are probably nil.

I think it's also relevant that holidays, eating out & children's extracurricular activities became a lot more common more recently : so that has to be factored in.

Is this meant to be an example of reasonable pricing?

That would take me 2 extra shifts to earn and would mean leaving 3 members of our family out....

I went to see it in London and only paid £30 pp luckily. Still felt like a very expensive and special treat tbh!

I fond it frustrating that when the west end shows tour there are no cheap tickets avaliable but when they are in London there are lots of offers and deals.