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.

Ford Capri My dh had one, we found it in a farmyard and the owner said we could have it.
He started it up and it purred like a kitten.
This was much later than 70's but still 70's products.
Yes, to having to remember phone number to answer the phone.

Public information films.

The don't go near water and death?
Charlie says.
Why do I keep losing my birds?
The one where the lad is nearly knocked over by his dad

For the Silver Jubilee my dad made me and my DB these hats to wear Mine was really tall and heavy.
He also made a big Silver Jubilee decoration for the front lawn.

elatics, ball in a tight hit against a wall

wuthering heights, abba albums

elvis presley dying whilst it never stopped raining all summer

grease and happy days

Spartan were my grandmas favourites too

Clackers. Roller skates that didn't roll ! Being free to play outside, carefree. Bay City Rollers. Getting drunk for the first time ever at our Queen's Silver Jubilee street party. My parents thought I was drinking Shloer and it was actually Blue Nun.
Age 17 , going out to a disco in Manchester. I went at least 4 nights a week, got home at around 5am and still got up for work at 7am!
Very happy times for me.

(thanks to the PP for mentioning fuzzy felts, I was trying to remember the name of them a few weeks ago)

Oh yes to the twin tub!
With five dcs, it was never off!
A big fireguard that went all the way round and had nappies drying on it.
Playing jacks or 5 stones in school
The nit comb!
Black and white telly
Duffel coats
Ice cream and jelly at birthdays
Having a pantry

Oh yes, the IRA. We lived near an army base and were so used to being searched I forgot:( the endless bombings and fear of London.

Boys weren't allowed to do cooking at school, just girls. They did computers instead. Gender stereo typing was the norm. I remember being told it didn't matter I was top in physics, I couldn't do it as it was a boys subject, and I would probably be married and a sahm by 21, so it was better if a boy took my place, as he would have a family to support. Mum and dad agreed.

Playing out til dark, the milkman. Banks shutting for lunch, relying on newspapers and the bbc for info. How did anyone get anything done?

Jobs for life. Being considered dangerously unreliable if you changed jobs. Back packing was something only hippies did, and you would never get a job on return.

Unmarried mothers and divorcees, victims of domestic violence being expected to be ashamed and put up with it and the 'stigma'

The good old days. I don't think so.

When you joined the public library, you were given tickets made out of a stiff paper or card. Every time you borrowed a book, you handed over one of your tickets and a card from the book was put into your ticket so they knew who had the book. I never understood the filing system because when you took the book back the librarians seemed to have no trouble finding the ticket from the hundreds and hundreds in their little shallow trays all round the issue desk.

Fish and chips in newspaper

Blancmange

Nylon sheets and nylon nightie which crackled when you moved - sometimes could even see tiny sparks!

Swirly carpets that clashed with swirly curtains

Wet-look jackets

Getting in the bath with my jeans on to make them shrink skintight

Real sweetshops with dozens and dozens of jars of different sweets, and little dishes of them on doilies in the window

Buses regularly on strike and having to walk home six miles from school all alone in the rain

Gin: Which Nightclub/Disco did you go to ?

LaQueen

Ha Ha Ha, pampas grass.

Yes, I saw Abigails party, you poor thing.
Your parents were mc by any chance?

Colour TV
The Silver Jubilee
The three day week
Getting central heating
Avocado bathroom suites
Calculators
Tape recorders
Stereos
Dralon suites and headboards
Top of the Pops with Jimmy Saville
Women newsreaders
Hotpants
Summer boots
Roman Sandals
The Common Market
Ted Heath, Harold Wilson and Jeremy the Liberal
Curly Wurlys
Brentford Nylons
Greenpeace
The Iron Curtain
Willy Wonka
The Pill
Charlie's Angels
The Avengers with Purdey
Monty Python
Spitting Image
Ian Drury
Blondie
Polytechnics
Spanish package holidays
Greenham Common
Burn your bra
Reginald Bosanquet
A Bouquet of Barbed Wire
Starsky and Hutch
Biba
Foreign food - like pizza
Ford Capris
Glam Rock
The Doors
Cheesecloth
platform shoes
trim phones
knitting machines
.......I'm sure I could go on

My Brownie dress with a yellow crossover tie/neck piece, brown leather belt that you could hang things on and of course the Brownie pom pom hat

Austen Maxis and Morris Marinas

I had one of those shabby. I forgot.

Living in sin
Budgie

Matteus Rose and using the bottle as a lamp base afterwards. Pogle's Wood and Hector's House. German Shepherds were called Alsatians and were the Staffies of their day while the family dog shared his space in the back of the estate car with you if the seats were all taken only it wasn't called an estate back then, it was a shooting brake. Next door were called Auntie and Uncle because it's rude to call them Jane and Brian and your mittens had a string tied to them and threaded through your coat so you didn't lose them. Idiot mittens!

Lavender, I was lucky. I went to a girls' school and there was no gender stereotyping like that (except that we didn't get the chance to do woodwork, which was fine by me). Half the girls in my year did science A levels and most of those went on to do something scientific at university. My best friend became an astrophysicist.

Soul - Rotters, Tiffany's, Pips, later Placemate 7.

Slide shows. No one had photos and everyone had slides and used projectors.

I remeber a boy in my class had been to California on holiday and it was just jaw droppingly amazing to us all. The teacher made him bring in his Dads million slides and we had a whole week of afternoonswatching James family holiday slides. I remember being amazed at the big sequoia/redwoods and the fact they drove under one - they has a photo of them sat in their car under it.

My mum had a mink coat

A memory i have from 1979 is the day when the telly man came round with our first colour telly and took the black and white one away. i was five or six and for some reason had been kept off school that day.

Oh, I remember the library tickets. What a blast from the past. And the way they stamped your books!
Dad had a car with one wide front seat so db would sit in the middle of that with no seat belt while the other 4 of us piled into the back seat!
Older db played Subbuteo, we had Sindy dolls and board games.

The Two Ronnies on a Saturday night.
Bazooka Joe bubble gum
My mum making boeuf bourgenion (sp?) for dinner parties
All the things you would get free with petrol tokens
Alessi Brothers - Oh Lori
Baked Alaska
Being at guide camp when Elvis died

My mum had a fur coat too. My dad bought it for her in the 60s