Anyone else remember ‘01’ for London?

[KnewYearKnewMe]

I’m reading The Mandibles, and it talks about a fictional big deal when the US international country code for their phones was ‘downgraded’ from 1 to 2..

It got me wondering if anyone else remembers when London’s phone area code was just 01 all over – and the uproar when they changed it to 071 and 081? I still remember people getting really aggrevated about being lumped into “outer London” with an 081 number when they were sure instead of they should be thr apparently much posher 071!

It all seemed very snobby looking back. Yet people did get very wound up.

for anyone younger – this was back when we actually used landlines and knew people’s phone numbers - Imagine that 😂😂)

Would love to hear if anyone else remembers – or any other examples of people getting terribly snobby about something that seems pretty daft to you .

01 811 8055

Saturday Mornings …

Then 0181 then 0208

swap shop?

Saturday morning telly!

Ha - multiple cross posts 😂

I remember 01 and 071 / 081 and then 0171 / 0181 and then 0207 / 0208 (It's actually now 0203 in central London for newer numbers! Well my landline is an 0203 and its a decade old)

Ah the good old 01 days. London, the greatest city in the world, with the most prestigious phone code. As it should be.

It's all been downhill since the bastards forced 071/081 on us. I've never got over it. And now, "0208" WTF is that. This country is going to the dogs.

I phoned this number this morning hoping to get through to Noel Edmonds 🙌

It wasn’t just London.

lots of places had their numbers changed at the same time

041 became 0141 Glasgow
031 became 0141 Edinburgh

and so on

This is the first thing that came into my head when I was reading too!

🎵 0181 811 8181 🎵

Live and Kicking

Trevor and Simon ❤️ the good ole days.

Ours dialling code totally changed in Bristol from 0272 to 0117, plus the addition of a 9 before the number.

When my family got our first phone the number was just three digits.

Where you trying to swap an Osmunds album, for a Pogo Stick?

I’m trying to swap my Scalectrix for a Girls World and love the outside broadcasts !!

i lived in the South East so didn’t even think about that 🙈

was there similar uproar?

wasn’t that a local news programme with Janet Street Porter?

No Scalextrik for Girls World !! I love the outside broadcasts as well and John Craven!

i Wanna Be A Winner!!!

”we don’t do duvets” 😂😂😂

how was/is that SO funny?!!

Cheggers on a freezing cold beach in Great Yarmouth …

It is not and has never been 0208. It's 020. Then 8xxx/7xxx/3xxx. If you're calling from a landline within the 020 area you don't need to dial 020 when trying to reach another 020 number. Just the eight digits after. Because the code is 020.

Ok I admit I still phone the operator and ask
“can you please put me through to Wetherby 339?”

I remember. We weren’t really aware of our London code when small and were taught to memorise our seven digit phone numbers without it. As you got older, though you realise that phoning back into London requires the extra “01”. Then they wouldn’t stop changing it. I remember my cockney “uncle” repeating some kind of slogan; “Oi for London!”

01 428 3045 was my number. Obviously not outing as no longer in use.