to want to go on a visit to the 70s

[morningtoncrescent62]

I'm not dewy-eyed about the 1970s, and I know it was a time of unchecked sexism, racism, homophobia etc., with levels of child abuse that are only now becoming evident. I don't want everything to go back to how it was then. But I do sometimes feel left behind and overwhelmed by how much has changed since I was growing up - a bit like having culture shock when you go to an unfamiliar country. I just long to have a couple of weeks in the early 70s. I'll sing a few New Seekers songs, hang out on a picket line for a bit, do some shopping in Woolworths and C&As and then I'll come back and get on with my life here. AIBU?

Did anyone see the t.v. show, 'Back in time for the weekend' ? Each weekend was themed for a different decade.

Going to the "late night pictures" in Leicester Square and not being able to see the screen through the cigarette smoke.

Sitting on top of the bus in a fog of cigarette smoke.

Smelling like an ashtray for much of the time really. What's not to love?

Pop to New Zealand!! That's like the uk in the 70s.

I loved Radio Caroline and used to listen to it in my radio under my covers at night. One night I was listening to it and there was shouting and it suddenly went dead.... The next morning my policeman dad came off his shift to tell us his exciting tale of how he had been involved in the raid on Radio Caroline as it had come into English waters. I was beyond angry and made him promise to never mention anything to my friends. I used to cringe at school when my friends used to talk about how awful and unfair it was that they had taken Radio Caroline off the air

It was a much simpler time. Better in some ways, worse than others. The odd thing right now is that we seem to have the theory of a better time, while the practice is getting harder and harder for many. More extremes, more divisions.

I wish we could turn the sheer noise of constant modern communications down a bit sometimes!

Sorry Sparkling!

I thought the 70s were fab for this reason:

When l was about 5 or 6, there were loads of power cuts, so we had to use candles.

We used to play a game called "Murder in the Dark". This seemed to involve getting round the room on the furniture, you weren't allowed to touch the floor. When you did you had to go and hide behind the curtains. All done with candle light, and utterly utterly unsafe! Dm used to go mad and try to ban us from playing it. We totally ignored her, we thought it was fantastic!

I often wonder if the present times- with the proliferation of social media, multiple TV channels and comfortable housing- really are a greater culture shock for those of us who were young in the 70s than the 60s and 70s - with their increased car access, foreign travel, women's lib, youth culture, easily available contraception, exotic drugs, hippies- were for those who were young in the 20s and 30. My FIL was born before WW1 and brought up his sons in the 60 and 70s. I bet there had been some changes.

Remember when you actually used to ask people "Are you on the phone" - because it still wasn't odd for households not to have a phone! Public call boxes where 2p would buy you a good chat. Cigarette machines on the outside of the corner shop - sneakily buying 10 No6 for the walk to and from school Carving 'Donny Osmond' into your wooden desk at school and being absolutely astonished at the girl in the 5th year who GOT PREGNANT!
And those dreadful knee high tights that were all the rage for some inexplicable reason - they had a name - can't remember it though

I lived on a Northern council estate where most of the men were out of work due to the closure of the local steelworks.

My Dad was one of the lucky ones as he wasn't employed there and my Mum worked full time.

I remember kids knocking on the door sometimes asking for fifty pence for the metre...and my Mum always giving it.

And I remember kids round for tea ALL the time. I thought I just had loads of mates but in reality, those kids families didn't have enough to eat.

I also remember kids crying with hunger at school and being given biscuits and I remember the cold weather. It was always cold.

I had a happy childhood though...sunday school, brownies and playing in the street!

I feel like this but about the 1990'sas thats when i grew up

i would love to go back to the 1990s

Physical items were so expensive then - hence protractors and other such treats for Christmas presents. 'Stuff' is so cheap now. Clothes were not a throw-away item, they were treasured.

I remember when the LP cost the same price as the concert ticket - about a fiver. Think of the disparity in price now!

I can remember my mother had a top loading washing machine with an electric mangle to squeeze out the clothes afterwards.
We had a coal fire in the front room and I remember the ice inside the windows and th frozen toothpaste.
I remember the agonising from my parents whether they could afford to have the emersion on for hot water all the time rather than just before we needed it.
And I remember Pontins being a real once in a lifetime treat holiday

I'll come for a day trip. Ironically we have spent the weekend at a caravan park with a lido. DD is 7, the same age I was when we went in 1976. She absolutely loved it! (As did I) Some things don't change.

On the other hand I am very glad we travelled there in a car with air conditioning and had an actual car seat each.

Hmm - that accounts for my previously inexplicable aversion to Elton John.

Actually it might be this

www.eltonjohnworld.com/index.php/archives/43-2002-07-july/220-onemoreeltonjohntantrum

Sundays were sooooo boring in the seventies, nothing on telly, no shops open, my parents would go to the pub then snooze most of Sunday afternoon. I well remember the summerof 76, the shops would put their drinks in the freezers and I loved a can of lilt to drink while I flicked through Look-in magazine.
I remember it as a pretty drab era, brown clothes from the 'club' book, a new whimsy ornament every week with my pocket money, and 'white goods' were brown, beige and orange.
Everybody seemed to smoke and if you mentioned it was bothering you, well, you were told to shut up and stop moaning basically.
There were however, Banjo bars so it wasn't all bad, but whoever enjoyed drinking Tab?

1976 was the best year for music and the radio seemed to be on all the time - everywhere and on the beach.

Knee high tights were called pop socks - in every colour

DH and I (both born in 1990) recently binge watched Life on Mars and concluded that the 70's looked really grubby. To quote DH: "whenever I think of the 70's I just picture... brown"

I'm torn. I was 5 in 1970 and my mum was a widow. Lots of suspicion from the neighbours if she as much as said good morning to their husbands, no proper safety net for her financially so she worked full time and was always worrying - no central heating, washing machine or any other white goods really - we only got a fridge in the late 60's; only two baths a week , open fire to get dry by, black and white tv..... on the other hand 'The double deckers', 'The tomorrow people'; playing in the woods and near the railway line behind our house for hours on end, being allowed, nay forced to walk to school from age about 7; lovely hot 1976 and caravan holidays

I'd go back to the 80's I miss it! And I'd like to visit my dad and tell him to prioritise his wife n kids not his mother and I'd take a good walk around the area I spent lots of time in . Oh how I miss it so very badly and my dad I miss him too .

nylon sheets and the power cuts yes, I remember I was allowed to stay up and watch 'Henry V111' with Keith Michell on a Tuesday night form 9 -10pm and the power cut would always start just before it ended :(
Being horribly jealous of Lena Zavoroni and wanting to be on Opportunity Knocks even though I had no talent at all.

usual
That was me exactly. Right down to the wrap around cheesecloth skirt. I used to rag my hair wet and let it out when it dried, the ringlets lasted about three hours . We'd go to the pub after work (aged 16, no ID) and drink Barley wine which is disgusting, and watch some local band doing their best impression of Led Zeppelin.

I remember reading Enid Blyton and wanting to go off and play and not being allowed to, just like kids today. Lots of queuing in the bank, the electric showroom, the post office, everywhere - though at least once I could read age 3-4 I'd be left in WH Smiths while my parents did the bill-paying, and no-one worried about that.

Sundays trekking off to the laundrette which was about 40 minutes walk away, with a big wicker shopping basket on wheels. Did two loads, came back.

Drawing on the condensation on the windows in winter mornings.

They closed our cinema in 1979 so there was just an office block with cinema-shaped hole for the next 20 years (outs hometown!)

And the Irish were blamed for everything instead of blaming all social ills on Muslims and/or immigrants. My neighbour was upset that her granddaughter was called Kathleen as it was obviously why she was being bullied at school.

Definitely lots of being bored, people shouting abuse at my mum for having a disabled parking badge, me not allowed to go to mainstream state schools because disabled kids didn't have to be let in.

The weather was better though, mostly dry summers but not too hot except in 1976 (when I had whooping cough for months, as couldn't have the form of the vaccine then).

This reminds me of listening to my Gran and Great Aunt reminiscing about the days before the Toilet Roll.
You had to cut up squares of newspaper and, if you wanted to be posh, you used pinking shears
"Couldn't do it these days with that black print: you'd never get it off your knickers!"