Born before 1959? Want to chat about your memories of the 1960s and 1970s?

[SequentialAnalyst]

This is a thread to do just that And to compare, contrast, and discuss our memories of living through those times with MNers around the world, and share good stuff from those days we might have overlooked back in the day

I'm sorry to have to write this: but please No BabyBoomer Blaming or Bashing.

Wherever you come from, whatever your experience, whether you saw the Stones in the Park, or whether you could only listen longingly to Radio Luxembourg on your transistor radio in your bedroom, this is the place for you.

@AcrossthePond55 Could you do a similar para re the range of US experiences?

My friends and I used to cry when Schools Out came in at the local youth club disco 🙄😂

I was a teenager in the 60s, living near Liverpool. I had a great time and it seemed so safe and innocent. There were just soft drinks in the clubs I went to and I still know nothing about drugs. I saw The Beatles live at The Cavern but this experience was nothing compared with seeing Queen (with Freddie of course) at an old theatre in Liverpool. As I walked to the train station I was deaf!

In the US (well, California) in the late 60s public (ie state) schools started abolishing dress codes. Not only did we not wear any sort of uniform, girls could wear jeans, shorts, and crop tops. And micro-minis, hot pants, and 'sizzlers'. Boys could have long hair and sideburns.

What was the dress code in your school back then?

@Everyone
We are all over the world, which I'm so pleased about,
But I'm worried the MNers Down Under are missing out because of the time difference - it's much easier to overlap with MNers Across the Pond (if I may make so bold @AcrossthePond55)

So how about I make a spreadshit (Archers' thread-speak) of our usernames, which country we live in, or State if in the US or Canada, or Australia, time zone we are in, if known, and time difference relative to London.

eg @AcrossthePond55, California, Pacific, 8 hours behind.

@SequentialAnalyst England, currently BST (British Summer Time), end of this month GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) GMT=UTC (Co-ordinated Univeral Time), 0 hours
I never use UTC, because it is just too confusing living in England. Annoyingly, FlightRadar24 (which I discovered thanks to MN) only offers UTC if you want all the airport times to be "actual" times as it were.

Ok well that got more complex than I thought it was. All because the Greenwich Observatory was set up where it was and when it was <proud>.

UK&NI folk can just say which country. I love to overthink things

South of England, West of Greenwich.

@SequentialAnalyst

I've often 'lost' the jist of a thread, because of the 8 hrs difference it rushes ahead and twists and turns whilst I'm sleeping! I can only imagine waking up in Aus and finding that ~ 24 hours has rushed by! But I catch up eventually. I'm sure any Aussies do too.

I guess everyone who wants to let their locale be known can post it:

California, Pacific Time Zone 8 hours behind GMT. Sometimes 7 depending on when BST and our DST changes over and back.

Worked you out already, @AcrossthePond55, see 14.31

Except for the Summertime part, thanks for that. Europe does Summertime too, and I've an idea the changeover dates don't match those of the UK. <sigh>

Another rogue Gen X here (late 70s, George Harrison) but my parents were boomers and I love hearing about this era.

Hello, @Emma. I think you will like this programme from BBC Sounds. I found it because Neil Innes interviews Graham Linehan in the next episode, and that programme was mentioned on a thread in one of the Feminism boards about Graham.
(I hope you could follow that explanation...)

Neil was very good friends with George, as you will hear if you listen to this programme. Neil was also a very very talented man
Chain Reaction - Series 9 - Grant Morrison talks to Neil Innes - BBC Sounds

Another Gen X er here loving this. Born mid seventies but always felt I should have been a 60s teen - I dressed like a hippy and was totally into Beatles/ Motown and so one whilst all my peers were into Squeeze/ Guns n Roses / George Michael. I obsessively read Beatles biogs and saw the Bootlegs numerous times. Favourite was John. Even now, I know the lyrics of every Beatles song and still have all their CDs/ video box set of the anthology despite not having a DVD player or VCR anymore! 😂😂

Davy Jones is the only one I know - for some reason I've never gelled with their music. My dad generally preferred American pop - the Beach Boys are his lifelong fave, still listens to them in his 80s.

I'm just throwing things in as I think of them.

Memory tells me that petrol cost 4/3d (21.5p) a gallon when I first started to notice it at the garage along the road, which had a sign by the petrol pumps which read "When filling: no smoking. Extinguish all lights, oil or gas."

In the fifties and early sixties almost everyone walked to school as a matter of course, mostly because there was no car available for them to be taken to school in. I think four people in my class came by car, and that was because they lived more than five miles away and got a lift with their father on his way to work: they arrived madly early and had to hang about outside until the door opened. When you were in Senior (secondary) school you might get a bicycle and be allowed to go in on it if you had passed a cycling proficiency test. And of course there were a few people who arrived by bus; not special school buses, just the ordinary ones that everybody used. And one girl I knew came into town on a train and then caught a bus up from the station even when she was at the Junior (primary), I think from the age of eight. Maybe there was someone grown up who came with her from her 'halt' so it was safer.

When my mother had shopping to do "down town" we would walk down to the shops or the market and then catch the bus back home up the hill with our loaded shopping bags.

And I remember when cafés were a new idea down town; there was a general feeling that they were probably Dens Of Iniquity or at least frequented by Teddy Boys, and later Mods or Rockers (never both), and therefore not places nice people went to. When we went shopping my mother used to go to a tea-shop with also served coffee, sometimes; that was different, apparently, but it was never explained to me why it was. My theory when I was young was that it must be because tea-shops had curtains at the windows, and table-cloths, whereas cafés had painted signs across the one big window and formica table-tops.

Coffee had to be brewed; I don't think even the seediest cafés used Instant, though since I was not allowed to go into them I can't be sure about that. Instant as an accepted thing came a little later: I expect it existed but we didn't know about it.

How about the Lovin' Spoonful?

Petrol was 71p a gallon when I passed my driving test and bought an ancient Morris Minor. I wondered how I would afford the expense.

Too young to join, b 1960, but enjoying the reminiscence.

I have so many memories that haven't been mentioned. May I?

You are more than welcome, @RosesAndHellebores
I had to put a date in, but of course it's flexible. In fact I've just asked MN Towers to amend the thread title from Born before 1959? to Born before 1960?.to make it cover the years I meant it to.
So I'm afraid technically you are still not covered by the invitation
But so what? There's a fair few younger people already on the thread

I will now ask the assembled participants the question that started all this, over on a thread about US politics, and prompted by the recent death of David McCallum.

Illya, or Napoleon?

Illya. My friend liked Napoleon so that was OK.

Mark. (grin)

We didn't have a telly, so I used to bicycle over to the friend's house on the other side of town each weekday evening to watch

Monday: Adam Adamant
Tuesday: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Wednesday: The Avengers
Thursday: The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.
Friday: The Saint.

I think I have the order right. I am sure Tuesday and Thursday were U.N.C.L.E... Does anyone else remember?* *(Maybe it will be in the BBC Genome, if they do telly as well as radio.)

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime it's clear you are a very little younger than me. The Girl from UNCLE was regarded by we afficianados as a tolerable upstart, although I do agree that Mark was very very nice to look at

Thursday was The Man From UNCLE, when I was in Lower 5th.
Adam Adamant originally replaced UNCLE in Thursday's time slot after the 2nd? UNCLE season. But also vaguely remember it being on a Monday, possibly a later year?
Friday was The Avengers. Emma Peel at the time I was watching.

A couple of years later, The Prisoner was a must watch.
And of course At Last the 1948 Show, and Do Not Adjust Your Set.

You must bear in mind, I was stuck in SE London. There wasn't much to do except watch the telly, listen to the radio, and read. (Not quite true - we did sometimes go up to Town to look for clothes, and to go to art galleries and plays, but not on school evenings...)

Apologies in advance, but it is my bounden duty as OP of a Serious History thread to post this...

Just thought of this thread as I just found dh watching a film on Great Action film channel on free view called "Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan" which is about New Zealand and Australian soldiers fighting in Vietnam. He said he didn't know Australians and New Zealanders had fought in Vietnam. I said "well funny you should say that..." and told him about this thread.

Love it! Thanks for that one! 😁❤️👍

I remember our family waiting anxiously to hear if my eldest brother was called up for Vietnam. My mother's brother had died in WWII and she was terrified she would lose her son as well.
That was when you had to check the names in the newspaper. We must have read the section starting with the first letter of our surname over and to make sure he wasn't there. Huge relief! We are in Australia and I have a friend who did serve in Vietnam and he's been a shattered wreck ever since. It didn't help that they were vilified when they came back to Australia due to the anti-Vietnam war sentiment at the time.
It was a terrible situation.

Ilya every time! 😁
I'd forgotten about the tv shows! The Man from Uncle, The Avengers (Mrs Peel)! And Get Smart ((the shoe phone)! 😁