To wonder if Sundays in the 80s were restful or boring

[IlovedLadybirdbooks]

Large stores were closed on Sundays. Eating out was a rare treat. No Deliveroo. 3 TV channels to choose from. People got their exercise from a walk or cycling rather than the gym. Children played out rather than being taken to organised activities.

Just pondering ... were Sundays more relaxing or a bit of a drag?

I wonder if the really bored people didn’t have access to parks etc. I also lived in a cul-de-sac with loads of other kids and played kit-kan run (sp?) and hide and seek and rounders at the bottom of the street - no cars parked in the street then as only one car tops per family

Church in the morning. Roast with overcooked vegetables. Eastenders omnibus and if we were lucky a friend would come round. Sometimes they had excellent family adaptations of classic children’s stories - Narnia, Five Children and It - but then the everlasting carousel or evening TV. More church in the evening some days.

In the 80s we had the right balance.

These days it's 24/7 and people seem to have so little imagination that all most can do on a Sunday these days is go shopping it seems.

Everyone is overstimulated and can't seem to live if not online.

We are living in far shittier times than even the 80s.

I didn't think Sundays were boring when I was a kid in the 80s. We didn't know any different!

Exactly! I wonder if posters were actually bored or think they were in comparison with how busy Sundays can be now.

I can't recall staring into space thinking "I wish they'd invent the iPad." "I wish shops would be open today" - shopping was done on Saturday.

It didn't hate them, but they were the worst day of the week as a kid (and I'm including school days). We did have a roast or BBQ most weeks, which was good. But it was only a couple of hours out of the whole day.

As a younger kid, everything was just slower and duller. The TV was pretty shit, especially in the mornings (Saturday was a lot better). Then as a teen they were much worse. It wasn't that nothing was open because some things were - we just didn't have enough money for them and for the most part they were aimed at the older more middle class people who could afford them (e.g. stately homes). On a Saturday you could head into town and even if you couldn't afford to buy anything in the shops, at least there was some life there and you could mooch around. On a Sunday everywhere was just dead.

Boring. But I think Ch4 started around 1983, I may be wrong.

Not as boring as when I was a teen in the mid 60s. Nothing of interest on the tv channels and waiting for the chart music show on the transistor radio.
in the 80s, I was working and had twin babies/toddlers. Life was not boring. Busy!

We'd go to church, come back my mum would start cooking Sunday lunch, afternoons were spent out playing, baking, doing homework, walks down by the canal. Occasionally we went out on a Sunday.

Shops, takeaways, meals out, they weren't a way to entertain children. Children entertained themselves.

Forgot about the charts! Taping the charts and singing along in the kitchen. And weekly comics! Feel very lucky to have had those times. Love reading other people’s memories on this thread

The not nice times were spending all day trying to do English essays to be handed in on Monday which I absolutely hated

They were boring in comparison to now but I suspect that the mental health of the general population was better.

I don't understand why shops being shut, no internet and limited TV makes things boring?

On Sundays I'd go and call on my mates to play out (usually involving cycling somewhere - it was rare my parents knew exactly where I was aside from, "I'm going to call on x"). We'd be in and out of each others houses as though they were our own.

Home for Sunday roast, which may or may not include a friend stopping too. Homework, family board games, bath and then reading for an hour or so before sleep.

Sometimes we'd go for long hikes at the weekend as a family, sometimes we'd take the tents and go camping for a weekend in the summer.

We did a lot more stuff as a family and I rarely recall just sat around with nothing to do. If I ever uttered the words, "I've got nothing to do", my mum or my nana would counter it with, "I'll find you something to do" (which was never going to be a good thing).

I think we rely way too much on instant entertainment these days and we've lost actual connection with family and friends.

I grew up in the 60s and 70s, so I was just coming into my 20s in the 80s. I was working full time. Saturdays were for shopping and yes, Sundays moved at a slower pace and were more relaxing. I met the man who was to become my husband in 1982, so we'd go out a lot on Sundays. He had a car so we'd often drive somewhere or another, or we would meet up with friends. It was fun.

I much preferred my 60s/70s childhood to what the kids have now. We grew up tough and resilient. We used our imaginations, were not obsessed with gadgets or social media and there was much less plastic tat.

Boring beyond comprehension. There was a roast dinner every week without fail & we weren't allowed to miss it, so the day wasn't our own & spent hanging round the house. Dinner was always at 1pm & if it was late it'd interfere with the EastEnders omnibus at 2. Bedtime was always really early because by 7pm parents were sick of us after insisting we hung around the house all day. I absolutely hated Sundays.

Ha. No. Because we didn't have the comparison with now back then, did we? People are presumably reflecting back on their memories of the time, and telling you whether they recall feeling bored or not.
If anything you'll be getting more false positives than the other way, as memory tends to hang on to the fun, the activities and bright spots, discarding the non events. So when people actually recall periods of boredom, I'd say its safe to say they were real.

A lot of kids didn’t get allowed outside on Sundays. It was “family time”, so you were expected to sit around doing pretty much nothing other than absorb whatever your parents threw at you.

1982. But it only broadcast from about 5 pm through midnightish!

We used to go to the park or for a hike with dad then home and have a roast, then us and dad (I know grammatically that’s a nightmare but I’m tired!) would wash up. We’d then play a board game or read or watch tv. Full day.

As a retail worker Sunday opening sucks, I’m in half eight til 5 or 6 most Sundays, or ten til 7 only good thing is time and a half pay but I’d rather go without and do what I did as a kid with my kids!!!

I’m wondering what people think is more exciting about Sundays nowadays. Shopping is the dullest activity going i.m.o! There’s more TV but god thats boring to watch all day

Yes you can go out for dinner as a family instead of having it at home, and go out for coffee with friends etc, but that’s just a different (more expensive) location for doing the things that we did at home

We used to go and spend the day with relatives, or they’d come to us. It was very boring and I hated it. Had to be on best behaviour, no chance to play although reading was allowed. Weren’t allowed to have the tv on until
agter they’d gone. None of them was remotely child-friendly and the grown ups seemed to have the same conversation every time!

This might have been your experience which is sad, but in my street full of around 10 kids, only one family didn’t let their kids out - still not sure why, so I don’t think this is a majority experience

Boring. If you were a working adult all the shopping got shoved into Saturday and Sunday was a roast dinner and a walk. Even the TV offering was boring.@

We had a large garden, so we gardened. Small children so in summer a paddling pool out, DC played with neighbours DC, took bikes out when older. We got up late and read the Sunday paper (delivered) and had breakfast outside. BBQ in the garden sometimes. Gardening. Ex-H did lesson prep as he was a teacher. Went to the park (fed horses on way, ducks there when DC v. small), drove out to local amusement park (waterslides, small dipper, rides, picnic areas etc) or to local country park (played croquet, had a picnic, long walks, small workshops to shop at even on a Sunday - independent small traders). In winter, playing in garden (esp if snow), park etc. meals, papers, TV the same (watched Sunday serial on BBC). Read books.
Had 'picky tea' watching Antiques Roadshow, preceded by a Sunday lunch (cooked by me from scratch, vegetarian so not trad roast).

Actually, much what my DD, DSS and DS and assorted DGC do on Sundays (though DS tends to take DGS, who is into mountain biking, on long bike rides) now. (Except for Antiques Roadshow, sadly.) Various DGC do activities (one DGD is in to acting and dance - family trait). DGD plays tennis at the court in local park - pub later. DD and her DP sometimes go out to breakfast, which is new (always to place where DDog welcome).
All of us work hard so have very little desire to go shopping (except DGD occasionally - but she works Saturdays most weeks), go to anything energetic on a Sunday. Rare to go out to meals.
As far as I remember by late 80s cinemas were open.
Museums were shut on Sundays. That they, and pubs, are open now I think a great improvement, but staff should be able to have 2 consecutive days off.
In my youth (60s) Sundays meant 'Going for a Song' (pre-curser of Antiques Road Show), 'All Our Yesterdays', playing with toys and reading, DBs playing out with friends. Sunday serial on BBC (DP into arts and history, so watched any arts programme, history programme etc).

As a student, I remember going to the local paper shop and buying 2 samosas freshly made by the shopkeeper's wife - she'd bring them down from the flat above on a metal tray, as all the shops for food were closed.

But I don't remember Sunday's being boring - maybe because I was already an adult. I used to go swimming on Sundays or have picnics by the river with friends. We had no TV, no computer and smart phones weren't invented. Just books, walks, conversations, listening to music.

As a kid I was beyond bored. Guess I used to read a lot. Nothing on the tv apart from maybe for a bit in the morning there might be something like Tom Sawyer on for a bit. My parents used to garden. Garden centres were open irrc so that might be exciting if my parents took us to a garden centre.

Pre 8 years old it was church followed by a large family gathering for a cup of tea after Mass. Lots of older cousins would be there, my great grandma, great aunts/uncles and parents all at my grandparents house. Actually that was pretty nice.

Then we'd go home and have Sunday dinner (rarely a roast) and mooch about, go for a walk or play.

When we moved away, it was Mass, help with lunch followed by similar, sometimes a great uncle would come by. Just no extended family round unless it was an occasion. Church always took precidence. But the days were nice enough to have the Sunday night blues about school the next day!

I remember day trips, whether they were Saturday or Sundays I'm not sure. But we went to castles, my favourite, Audley end, country parks that sort of thing. I assume those places were open on Sundays back then, but I'm not sure.