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?

The 80’s: We would have had a roast for lunch on a Sunday so supper was always ‘tea’. Crumpets, scotch pancakes, ham sandwiches and some cake. Maybe Battenburg or Swiss roll or home made if my Mum had had any time in between all the other cooking.

Dad would be watching sport on the tv and reading the Sunday papers and we would be waiting for The Antiques Roadshow. Mum might be ironing school shirts for my sister and I and a few work shirts for my Dad. At the end of the 80’s and the early 90’s my sister and I would be nagging my Mum if we could go out for a few hours (probably to the pub). If she gave in I would be putting on my Heather Shimmer lipstick, LouLou perfume and my DM boots.

1996. I’d be feeling sick and shaky and panicky because the weekend is almost over and I have to go to school tomorrow. Best case scenario I’ll be ignored and excluded, worst case I’ll be picked on and called names, possibly even physically assaulted. There’s no escape. Teachers don’t care. My parents don’t care. I daren’t cry because my mum will say I’m upsetting her. If I tell her how I feel she’ll start crying and saying “Why are you doing this to me? Why are you putting this on my shoulders and making me feel bad?” So I say nothing. I just sit there with my stomach in knots. The last time anyone except my family spoke to me was over three years ago so I’m used to it by now.

I'm screaming because I don't want to go to school tomorrow. No one is nice to me there, not even the teacher. They just didn't understand how I saw the world.

Also screaming because my bum length hair is being brushed because it's so knotted.

Doing the family ironing. My mum will be at church and I will have gone in the morning purely to get it out the way. My mum would make me do the ironing as she hates it and I don't mind and can watch my choice of tv (only time in the week) and be alone in the lounge. This is my routine from aged 11 to 16.

Probably 1991
Lying on my dads back as he lay on the floor, watching tv over his head. Probably just had or about to have a nibbly tea (sandwiches, crisps and pickles) before bath and bed.
I miss my dad.
I’m not crying you are.

For me it's 1960. We are having our usual Sunday 'party' tea. This consists of sandwiches followed by jelly with tinned fruit and evaporated milk. Sometimes we would have a Victoria sponge cake from Sayers.
After tea we'd have a bath and be sent to bed after watching a half hour of television in black and white.
No nits or nit comb for us , we didn't seem to have them in our class at school .

1995. Roast dinner is done and lounging about/possibly snoozing. If F1 is on watching that. Otherwise recording songs off the radio onto a tape for my friends

-Doing the washing up with my sister, after a full-on fight on who's washing / who's drying. Listening to the top40 and trying to record it while cursing the dj for talking over it. Upstairs to get sorted for "school in the morning" but back down for 715pm to watch "Howard's Way"!!

Ski Sunday and cheese on toast

The 80's.Sunday dinner at my Nans, either beef or chicken with over salted boiled potatoes. Rice pudding for dessert. Home for bath watching Last of the Summer Wine (which I hated but there was only 3 channels!) and bed.

Bullseye on tv, tea consisting of sausage rolls followed by tinned fruit with carnation milk in the living room. Fab memories xx

It’s 1977 for me. Sunday tea was jam sandwiches, cake and biscuits, which I loved. Usually had a bath (15 minutes only as I had siblings ) and then watched The World About Us before bed. Mum played cards with us sometimes and my brother and I liked board games. In the summer we played in the garden, I remember my mum calling me in for bath and bed.

Early 80s - I’m sat with my sister in our dressing gowns in front of the tv watching Bullseye after a bath and hair wash. Mum and dad are washing up after a chicken roast dinner followed by apple crumble or Bakewell tart.

Late 80s - I’m on my knees in front of my dads stereo with my finger on the pause button of the cassette deck, trying to record my favourite songs from the Top 40 without getting Mike Reid’s voice on. Mum and dad are finishing off the bottle or Mateus Rose after a chicken roast 😆

Happy days.

God wasn’t life so much simpler back then. And happier.
No social media, tech etc
No competitive consumerism.

late 70's early 80's. I would be waiting for my parents to finish the milking so we could all have tea. We always had roast for lunch, so tea would be sandwiches and soup. My dad was probably watching Ski Sunday, mum liked to watch Antiques Roadshow. I think we all watched Bullseye first though.

I remember watching The Muppets, Family Fortunes. Spitting Image when I was old enough. I remember a series called Mill on The Floss which has always stuck in my memory. London's Burning as I got older. That's Life with Esther Rantzen.

Obviously these must have all been on at different times, as we just had the 1 TV with the 3 channels back then .

Earlier in the day we would have watched James Bond, or a Carry On Film as they seemed to be on every weekend.

Listening to radio, probably Sing Something Simple, having tea, and if I've been really good tinned peaches and custard with a slice of white bread and butter to dip into the custard

Listening to the top 40 on the radio normally 5-7pm
Seafood tea and sandwiches at 7pm as roast dinner was always for lunch at 1pm

@LampLighterInn I could smell that Cleopatra soap as I read your post. Wow what a sensory memory I didn’t even know was there!

I’m with a number of cousins and aunties, it’s 1982 & I’m sat at my grandparents feet, dunking a jammy dodger in to 1940’s cup and saucer of tea & laughing at Bullseye...

Late 80s, early 90s. Taping the Top 40 and trying to pause the recording whenever Kid Jensen or Dr Fox starts yapping...

Bath and hair wash

Lying on my bed waiting to record the best songs off the radio. Top 40 . 1980s.

Those Sundays in the 70s are awful to remember. The Big Match on ITV with Brian Moore. Was in an all-male household after my mother died. Roast dinner with meat I didn’t like and all the chat about the football. Then the dreaded, oh crap feeling, I haven’t done my homework.

@Glenchase I hope things got better for you.

Early/mid 90s. We would’ve had a roast chicken for lunch, my nanny would’ve been to visit and we’d probably be watching a film whilst my mum did the ironing and my dad tinkered with some fishing gear. After that we’d have tea and a bath (and quite possibly the nit comb!) very boring but lovely.