Things that happened 20/30 years ago that wouldn't today

[Putrid46]

As a child I recall aunties, uncles and grandparents smoking around me all the time with no ventilation. I'd stay at my grandparents for the weekend and go home with a cough, it was seen as normal.

Parents driving me to school hungover from the night before possibly still slightly drunk.

As an A level pupil in the early 2000s I recall staying until around 7pm one evening with 2 teachers to finish coursework due in the next day, the teachers practically did it for me and then one of them dropped me off home in her car, nobody batted an eyelid.

We had a French language assistant, who was actually French and she invited us to her home one Sunday to do coursework and eat croissants, again it was all above board, she was a lovely Mrs Doubtfire type lady and it was all fine but looking back, that'd never happen now!

Interested to hear from anyone else

Smoking in restaurants/in the airport too. Just feels like it never happened!

Babysitting people’s kids until 4am on a school night for £5.
If their mates didn’t have a sitter I’d be lumbered with their’s too for no more money.
Drunk dad would walk me home asking about my boyfriend situation- I was 12

Also - not that long ago, office workers smoking at their desk. I stank and didn’t smoke 😭

The babysitting thing sounds very familiar too!
A ton of us piled into the back of an adult's car with not a seatbelt on between us
Being sent to buy cigarettes for adults

I remember being 16 and finishing GCSEs, I was caught by police in the park with a bottle of WKD, they took my name and address, I remember bricking it thinking my parents were going to go ballistic but I never heard a word so the police must've never contacted them or done anything.

Sitting in the smoking area in Mcdonalds so my mum could have a fag whilst I ate my happy meal.

30 years ago I used to drive the length and breadth of the country with no mobile phone and wouldn't think or be expected to contact my parents to let them know I'd got somewhere safely. I was 17/18. Now my 20 year old texts me when she gets back to her flat from a night out, knowing I'll be asleep but will appreciate the text when I wake up.

Smoking - seems unbelievable now that people could sit next to you in a restaurant smoking. Noone batted an eyelid and non smokers just put up with it.

Also remember sitting on the wall outside the pub for hours then my mum having to practically carry my dad home. My brother and I squeezing into the front seat as my dad was sprawled across the back seat. That was the 80s though so 40 years ago. Just no way my husband would behave like that and my kids would most definitely not be sharing the front passenger seat.

35 years ago I remember being left at home alone while the family went to Spain because I had chicken pox. I was 12!!

It's mad isn't it to look back on. How many issues have been caused by all the second hand smoke people had to put up with.

Oh and going on holiday but not enough seats in the car so 2 of us in the boot 😳

Smoking sections of the plane.
Bill Wyman’s relationship with a 13 year old being treated by the tabloids as if it was something to celebrate.

Can definitely remember being in the boot!

Yes, the underage relationships were vile.
I recall a few of us chatting to a perv PE teacher on msn messenger, we were around 14, he flirted with my friend and asked her out, this never came to light and he kept his job.

Head of English invited all of Set 1 round to his house one Friday after school because we’d not finished watching the (old b&w) Lord of the Flies film in school, which was an O level set text we’d studied, and the exam was very near.

All 25 crammed in his front room watching it on VHS with his wife serving lemonade and biscuits. He gave one pair of girls a flagon of Bulmers cider as they were going on to a party afterwards. We were 15/16 😁 Great times!

a bunch of us being invited to attend a house party at my 6th form teacher’s house.

That's crazy!
I remember the Art teacher asking out one of his pupils at our 6th form leavers' ball, she said no and it was just laughed off.

I was a child 40 years ago and smoking round your kids was not seen as normal. People who smoked did it as the dangers of passive smoking had to be spelt out but the population was in general moving away from smoking (50% smoked when I was born) and lots of people disliked it. But the mid 1990s under 30% of the population smoked falling to 20%, 20 years ago. So 80% of the population didn’t even think it was normal to smoke let alone round kids, 20-30 years ago.

Smoking on planes, the bus, the cinema, pubs, thank god we have moved on.

Dad driving us home after 8 pints ( actually more like 40 years ago ) Mum saying do you think you are ok to drive, him saying yes it’s not far.

Twin tub washing machine

Mistletoe at work, engineers cornering you in the corridor

Sitting in the boot of the hire car when on our annual holiday to Norfolk

Liver and onion for a school dinner

Treading in dog poo ( still happens but not like it did )

a big snow fall

Top 40 and actually knowing what the top 10 was .

Wearing shoes with heels every day.

Buying tights every week.

Coffee shimmer lipstick by Rimmel

Going to Video shop to choose a film

Buying my mum’s cigarettes

Corona man

Hen and Stag do at local pub

I’ve realised I’m pretty old now😂

People made arrangements and stuck to them because they didn't have the easy out of a mobile phone. No back and forth on the day messing about with the time or place. I miss social life simplicity!

You start a new job and your boss asks if you need an advance before payday.

Smoking everywhere - offices, public places and public transport.

Being able to bring back half a case of wine as hand luggage on a flight back from France

Being stopped by the police for driving over the speed limit (by not too much, admittedly) and told not to do it again. Nowadays you would get a speed awareness course

Hen and stag dos being one night only in a local pub/restaurant

I should add my parents deny the drink driving but I remember it! That was back when we had working men’s clubs. 😳

Smacking kids all the time. Not wearing a seatbelt.

Wolf whistling and cat calling in the street was seen as normal
Having your bum pinched by random men in a bar or nightclub

I nearly posted about seatbelts, but the seatbelt law was passed in 1983 (43 years ago).

Buying single fags for 10p from the sweet shop opposite school. Finding pages of porn mags everywhere. Buying pints in a pub while a teenager (looking about 12!).