It’s 5.30 on the Sunday nights of our childhoods. AIBU to ask you what you are doing?

[StudentProblems]

It is 5.30 on any Sunday night of your childhood. For me it’s approximately 1997. I am having my hair nit combed in the front room, having been told off for not eating all my roast pork. Dad is messing around with the fire because it won’t draw properly. It’s all a bit tense.

What are you doing?

It's mid to late 80s. I've just had a shower and I leave it running so my brother can get in after me. He's now screaming because I turned it to cold after I got out and he forgets to check. He falls for this alarmingly regularly. It doesn't get old, for me at least.

Once he gets out we sit in PJs in the back parlour playing draughts. Monopoly was banned by Mum a while ago, as they way we play the game never ends and delays bedtime. We had a late afternoon roast, but are allowed to make toast over the fire before bed. We will argue about who gets to hold the toasting fork and end up poking each other with it in a musketeer duel with hot fire irons. If we've been good (we haven't) we might get to watch London's Burning before bed.

Trying to talk my dm out of washing my hair and to persuade her that the Antiques Roadshow is really boring and we'd all be better off not watching it

Oh, or taping the top 40...so many memories

80's for me, we would be driving home from my grandparents house where we spent every sunday, straight in to the bath, hairwash and pjs then a big plate of buttery toast whilst watching last of the summer wine.

A very traditional Sunday, mid 1990’s. After church, roast lunch and a country walk or bike ride it would be a traditional “tea” with crumpets, sandwiches, cake or jelly, fondant fancies, party rings etc. Then we’d watch one of the children’s serial episodes that seemed to always be on in the 1990s: the Psammead or Just William. Then bath and bed.

Very comforting, looking back, though I didn’t realise it at the time. I’m trying to now recreate it for my own DS. I think it’s nice to keep Sunday special.

Sitting round the lovely wood fire eating boiled eggs on toast followed by cake with my mum and late dad. It’s the early 80’s and we are probably watching Antiques Roadshow, Miss Marple or Nanny (with the lady from Butterflies in it). Its very cosy.

Going with my mum to drop my Gran home, she always came for Sunday lunch and always got Vienetta for pudding. When we got home I would rush upstairs to tape the Top 10. We would watch something like Darling buds of may on a Sunday evening.

Ham and salad sandwiches arguing with my brothers who got the chocolate french fancies only two but three if us plus another cake

Sundays of my childhood lasted for about 300 hours

God, yes. The infernal boredom.

I lived in Germany in my early 20s (in the 90s), and Sundays there were like going back in a time warp.

I used to want to cry for sheer boredom. People weren't even allowed to wash their cars or mow their lawns.

Mine would be late 80’s, early 90’s. We always had a roast at 5pm on a Sunday so we would be finishing that, whilst watching Bullseye. Then it would be bath and bed. I’d usually listen to music on my headphones as I fell asleep.. ahh, to be a child again ❤️

Early 80’s, riding lessons in the morning, roast dinner at my granny’s, a ‘country walk’, then mum got dropped off home for a couple of hours of peace and quiet (and to iron the school uniforms for the week) while my dad took me, my sisters and my brother swimming, then home to fresh PJs, toast and jam, then bedrooms to read or finish homework. I tried to replicate the same as far as possible for my own dc when they were younger.

It was rugby special.. I'd watch with my dad... He worked all week as a chef, Sunday afternoon onky time off... I was not interested in rugby but it was only way to spend time with him. I remember half dosing n sofa not really understanding it all. But batman was on afterwards...

It's the early 1960s, Mum and I are at Benediction and evening Mass, we especially enjoy the singing at Benediction. We had our weekly Sunday roast at lunch time, with Yorkshire puddings and gravy served first. When we get home, we'll have a glass of egg flip to warm us up after our walk, before Mum gets tea ready.

Tea will be something simple, sardines or cheese on toast, egg mayonnaise or ham sandwiches, or hot sausage sandwiches, followed by fruit cake, or Mum's favourite coffee & walnut cake.

Then Dad will take over, and get the drinks ready, I'll get a small glass of wine or Marie Brizard in my own little green wine glass. Bowls of crisps and peanuts or a plate of cheese cubes appear, and we all settle down to watch Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

With luck it might be Rudolf Nureyev or the exciting Red Army Cossack dancers or an exotic dance troupe from Bali!

Bath before having to listen to Sing Something Simple, with the King Singers.

Supper of a Farleys rusk in hot milk.

Bed by 8.10pm

‘76 - ‘84. 6pm choir practice, followed by 20 min break with orange squash and biscuits before Evensong.

Early 80s - I’d have watched Super Gran and Bullseye. Then it was weekly bath night.
After drying my hair I will be watching Mastermind.
It will then be declared bedtime for me and my younger brother, however unbeknown to him my mum allowed me to sneak downstairs and watch That’s Life! (I must have consumed a lot of TV back then)
One particular Sunday I remember staying up until the fizz height of 11:15pm watching Come Dancing on the little black and white tv in my room. I can still remember exactly where on the dial I could find BBC 1, 2 and ITV now.
Happy days when things felt so much simpler!

Dizzy heights even!

Ski Sunday 😊

Recording the Top 40 on Radio 1 onto a cassette tape.

Making bubble and squeak from Sunday dinner veg for me and Dad's supper, then lying on the hearthrug to watch telly with Mam. I miss those simple days so much.

Early childhood around 1981 age 5 would be having tea in the living. Room.. Sausages and toast. And the teapot would be on the hearth of the coal fire

Later on around 1986 would be having tea in the kitchen with the TV on. A drama like the lion the witch... And always rpst potatoes and a pudding

Oh my Gosh

Early 80s

In a small tub by the fire
With my grandmother using a nail brush to brush our hair as we couldn't afford a brush 😢

It’s the 90s, had a Sunday roast with family, bath, watching tv in front of fire.

It’s 1995 - I’m 9. At 5:30 I’m curled up on the sofa waiting for my mum to bring in tea.

Tea will be sausage rolls, bread and butter, chocolate finger biscuits and battenburg cake. I’m going to pick the marzipan off the battenburg cake.

There’s a fire in the grate and I’m watching a video. When the rest of the family come in I will have to turn it off in time for the antiques roadshow / songs of praise / last of the summer wine / Heartbeat / London’s Burning (can’t quite remember the 1995 lineup!!)

Watching bullseye and having a bit of Sunday dinner at nana and grandads (always with ‘minty’ peas)
If at home we’d be watching Poirot or the darling buds of may (and I still remember that horrible feeling in my gut when the closing music of either of these programmes came on because it was school the next day!)