Thinking about the old-fashioned foodstuffs thread and the thread about past luxuries that are now normal...

[goldenticket]

...do you think this holds the key as to why this country is in such a pickle?

Possibly. I do think people have far more stuff and far more choice than when I was a child. I remember my parents had a lot of second hand furniture etc, none of us had many clothes. And things like birthday presents - I would receive only a handful of inexpensive gifts (things like a colouring book and pens would be quite normal). People seem to have a lot more nowadays in general. And shops are full of far more choice.

Yes, almost undoubtedly.

We were well off, but still didn't have all kinds of things that were available.

It hadn't really occured to me just how thrifty my mum was - in feeding us, clothing us, everything really. Anything new for the house was saved up for and replaced only when really necessary. It makes me feel really quite guilty at how materialistic we all are now but I pity our kids when you can enjoy a new purchase for approx. 5 minutes before it's out of date and superceded.

Anticipation has disappeared because everything is available on demand. Does anyone remember the first punnet of strawberries of the season, the first new potatoes, the first peach - warm and fragrant from the tree. The last is a smell and a taste that is unforgettable and still reminds of the smell of freshly cut hay on a summer day and the clatter of horses hooves from the stable as I leant on the yard gate to eat it and brings back the lovingness of being at grandma's.