Growing up in the 70's

[morethanpotatoprints]

I bet there's been one of these before but who remembers stuff about the 70's, looking back to me it was all a bit weird.

So some of my memories.

Mary Mungo and midge, the music in the lift. my orange space hopper, gridsy marbles and clackers.
Dehydrated potato, free milk you had to drink at school.
Playing out from after breakfast until dark or tea.

Cresta was mentioned upthread. Was that "it's frothy, man!" ?

all through the late 60's to early 70's, my mum went to the hairdresser once a week and sat under one of those contraptions. Then suddenly, about 1977-ish, hairdressers in the Manchester suburbs discovered the 'blow wave'. My mum's hair changed for the better and she only went to the hairdressers every 4 weeks for a trim, styling her hair herself at home.
She sent 15 year old me to Vidal Sassoon in King Street (posh) to get a cut and restyle and this new blow dry. Must see if I can find a pic.

Please let me play morethanpotatoprints! it was the 70's in Deepest Yorkshire until at least 1993 after all!

My parents wouldn't get me a space hopper. I'm still scarred by the unfairness!

Me too.

I have made up by buying them for small children ever since.

Power cuts

Plastic, side tables made of plastic, plastic chairs even a tv with a spherical plastic cover.

These chairs that either swung round on wheels or hung from the ceiling.

Macrame

sugar shortage, bread shortage, whatever shortage. We were saved on the first by a friend arriving from Benbecula - no panic buying as the store was full and the second by a Jewish friend who brought us some amazing bread.

Panic buying, when I wrote that I thought, hhmmm that doesn't happen.

Really boring Sundays, no shops open, TV wasn't on until the evening when I seem to remember there were a lot of 'serials' where people seemed very hot and sweaty.

Plastic (again) car seats, which were burning in the summer when you got back to the car but your skirt was too short to keep between the seat and your legs.

I feel your pain Sashh I wasn't allowed Girl's World and that's probably why I was often asked if I was a boy and why I walk like a man in anything approaching high heels.

I blame the parents!

Mr Benn, the Alpine lorry, our new soda stream machine, chopper bikes, putting reins on our bikes and pretending we were riding horses, going into the fields by our house and actually riding the horses bareback (ye gads), lots and lots of sunshine, which is weird because I lived in Glasgow but I remember my childhood in the 70s as being sunny and untroubled.

Oh and cremola foam!

Coal fires and fan heaters, and ice on the windows in the mornings- you could scratch your name in it.

Eiderdowns with little roses on, and "candle wick" bedspreads.

Fray Bentos pies.
Everyone knitting. Crotchet.
Orange and brown carpets.
The Liver Birds, and many more.
The Jackson Five cartoon. The Jackson Five, the Osmonds, David Essex, Bay City Rollers, Bowie and Angle Bowie.

Orange dansette record players, where you stacked up eight records.

Sweets in jars.

Nobody went out for a meal or to a cafe.

Oxford bags, corduroy shirts and denim skirts. Platform shoes.

I

Anyone remember a doll called Sweet April?

Also:
PROPER seasons - not like nowadays (shakes head)
Being allowed to have Salt & Shake crisps from the vending machine after a swimming lesson
Barnaby the little bear
Ice on the inside of the windows in the morning during winter
Thick dark-green scratchy tights for school
Power cuts
Making toast with a toasting fork in front of the fire
I can remember the words to every song (I think) from Camberwick Green/Trumpton/Chigley

God this is a great thread.

Has anyone mentioned Spirograph! I bought an original one from Ebay recently, dd just doesn't get it Remember Pogo sticks?

I used to go to the Off licence and buy packs of Hamlet cigars for my dad when I was about 10

I remember my mum went to London and brought me and my sister our first "straight" jeans. I wore them to a disco and people sneered and laughed, I hated my mum! She was right though, soon everyone was wearing them.

Monkey boots
Loons
Petrol blue parallels

thorn yes I had Spirograph.

vole you look shocked in your pic.... A 1970's camera with flash bulb maybe?

Mum turning our drainpipe jeans into flares by inserting a triangle of flowery material into the leg seams.

Sewing budgie bells onto my jeans.

Collecting sew on badges from every tourist attraction going and putting them on anoraks or bags

Anoraks

Tank tops

Long collars and puffed sleeves

Polaroid cameras. Oh the excitement as the picture darkened

Having two examples of every clothing item and wearing them in rotation.

White tights with plaid tunic

Watneys Party Seven

OP, I remember the accordion playing old woman in Chester too, she was up on the Rows not far from the Cross. She seemed to just play random notes. Terrible.

The ' Watch out there's a Humphry about ' campaign to get kids to drink milk. You got milkshake filled paper straws from your milkman.

Jumble sales and Sales of Work.

Tortoises with the owners address painted on their back.

Jesus Sandals.

Tiny Tears and Teeny Tiny Tears dolls.

Children did not swear.

Remedial class in school for children who needed support.

Having lessons outside when the weather was nice.

Going on Nature walks and having a Nature table in every class.

Chopper Squad, Space 1999, The Beachcombers.

It was the norm to go to the school closest to you.

Lava lamps

Pull down overhead lights with brown shades

Fibre optic UFO lamps

fairnotfair was Sweet April a really small doll and came with a swing to put her in?

Gonks.

One of my absolute favourite TV programmes was The Persuaders which I think was on on Friday teatimes. It had a fantastic opening theme/credit sequence. Tony Curtis and Roger Moore were in it.

Sunday evening drama serials - I think that was where the Onedin Line fitted in. Later in the 70s there was The Brothers.

There was always a short programme for very young children on just before the 6pm(ish) news on weekdays. The Magic Roundabout was the best known. That may have been where The Clangers fitted in too. Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog - just the sound of the theme music reduces me to mush.

And then there were the weird foreign children's serials the BBC put on (although that may have been more in the 60s) - Belle and Sebastian, White Horses and the daddy of them all, The Singing Ringing Tree. I think they dubbed them, as you couldn't really expect tiny children to read subtitles. But somehow you could still hear the original dialogue underneath - is that right?

Lamps covered in seashells
Chopper bikes
Mojos and black jacks
No electric due to the strikes
Being able to travel in the boot of our estate (everyone seemed to have an estate!
Home made ice lollys
Trouser suits (in synthetic fabrics)
Nylon sheets yuk

Gonks! Something else I'd forgotten about. Loved mine.

I remember the original A Bouquet of Barbed Wire, think it was on Friday nights. I was absolutely forbidden to watch it. Everyone would talk about it at school though.

Spangles - my husband confirms there was a flavour labelled Old English.

Marathon bars - later re-named Snickers.

Opal Fruits - later re-named Starburst.

Fox's glacier mints, advertised by a polar bear standing on a giant glacier mint.

Polo - the mint with a hole.

Trebor mints are a minty bit stronger!

PG Tips were advertised by chimps.

Nimble slimmers' bread.

Blake 7,funny feet ice creams, long party dresses. I had a tiny tears that Mum knitted outfits for, we took her camping. Big orange canvas tent, don't touch the sides when it rains! My dad made a bed in the back of our car when we went camping and we would roll about on it or go to sleep while driving down motorways!

I've still got my Tiny Tears. I also still have a massive doll dressed as Alice in wonderland! It has a little record player in the back and I had little coloured records which I lost sadly! It "spoke" lots of phrases and I thought it was the best doll in the world.