Coronavirus : A trip back to better days?

[RapidRainbow]

It's been a shock how overnight we lost access to 24/7 shops, fast fashion & cheap goods (online shopping excluded!!)

The beach in my hometown was packed today and we're not a big tourist destination compared to other seaside areas. Walking routes are much busier and I can't wait until next week to take a ride on a rowing boat in our local park.

Aside from how easy online shopping is, we've now been catapulted back to the fifties, where families went for walks and rowed boats to pass the time. They took picnics because there wasn't a Greggs!

Our seaside town was a holiday destination in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

When you take away cinemas, bowling, family restaurants, foreign holidays etc. we are actually having the opportunity to relive those simpler times, but with the upgrades of phones, zoom, online shopping and netflix.

Just musing how we feel like we've lost something about our culture, but actually those dreamy 50s and 60s idyllic ideas of life such as Heartbeat, Darling Buds of May and even GrantChester that we watched nostalgically have been given back to us again.

Not to undermine the difficulties of this lockdown of course

There is a world of difference between celebrating the rediscovery of 'simpler' pleasures and pastimes, and suggesting that going back to some make-believe Darling Buds idyll would be a good thing for pretty much anybody.

The 50s was shite for lots of people, mostly women. I've loved the time I've spent pottering in the garden, baking and reading. I fully intend to retain much of that and am in fact taking steps to change my working life so I can do just that. But I'd prefer to retain my rights and mod cons as well, please.

My teenage son has gone out to aimlessly wander the streets with his 2 teenage friends. 6 months ago I would have been horrified at this. Now I think it's good that he is getting out of the house and having some social contact. I'm not sure teenagers being encouraged to wander the streets is really such a good thing though ...

Things are certainly going back to the 50s for a lot of working mothers, OP. Forgive me if I don’t celebrate it.

Oh yeah, the Darling buds of may was wonderful, wasn't it. Have ten kids but never have to do any housework. Teenagers seducing adult men and everyone being aproving. Living cash in hand.
It was a complete fantasy, drawn from a casual glimpse of a family by the author.
There's nothing wrong with going on picnics, playing board games, spending family time together, etc, but most people want more.

I think it’s the reference to ‘going back to a better’ time that is the issue. There was never anything stopping many families from playing board games, going for picnics etc, the issue is that so many of us (myself included) have been distracted by other aspects of modern life. So yes, this hopefully has been a good opportunity to rediscover a slower, more enjoyable way of life but I take issue with anyone saying that things were so much better way back when, it wasn’t and the habit people have of looking backwards rather than the amazing opportunities we have ahead of us can cripple countries.