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.

You could still get the sticky roller ball lip gloss in the 80s Came in flavours like mint or cherry (beauty product formulas have improved 1000% since then)

I loved Margot Especially when she sent her xmas tree back cos it was a centimetre too short.

Silver jubilee
Sale of the century
Curly whirlys
Long skirts and dresses my mum used to make for me.
Purple and orange nylon sheets and blankets on the bed
Sindy dolls
Sesame Street
Cherryade and playing bingo at the Working Men's club on my grandmas estate.
Watching my Dad get really excited playing Led Zepellin, my Mum liked Simon and Garfunkel.
Big sun hats (we lived in Cyprus)
People letting their dogs roam the streets all day - never see that anymore but everyone did it when I was a child.
Cars that broke down ALL the time and were boiling in summer and freezing in winter.

Oooh yes - I remember the oil lamps. My mum used to light ours whenever we had a power cut.

And chat of oil laps reminds me of the old parrafin heaters we also had. My nan always had one in her outside loo in the winter. I used to love the smell of the parrafin heater.

I remember so wanting a chopper bike and not being allowed one.

The Onedin Line on Sunday night, Crossroads each evening and The Magic Roundabout and the Klangers on tv.

I had stacks of freedom to play in our cul de sac and remember my best friend's parents had a brown capri car. Lots of very fancy net curtains and huge orange/brown/white circles on curtains.

You changed TV channels by pushing in one of the buttons. Sometimes the vertical hold went and you had to adjust it.

Comparing then to now:
Ds is 12. He has a tablet, an iPod touch, an Xbox, a mobile phone. He is computer literate, techy savvy. He has visited countries overseas and eats a varied diet. He has friends of various co!ours and creeds. People being gay is normal.
He is aware of clothing brands and image. He is unfit and interacts via technology..

At 12 I had none of the above. I had never been out of the UK. I had never heard of herbs, olive oil, rocket, chorizo etc
My friends were white,catholic. I wore hand me downs.
I also travelled by bus on my own,I walked to school and back for miles,I spent the holidays roaming the countryside and seashore without having to phone home. I could be away from home for hours on end and no-one worried. I was fit and healthy.I looked after my younger siblings.
Sweets were a treat.

I wonder which of us has the best of it?

Yep Piling into the school hall once a week to watch Wordy in Look and Read and Picture Box.

Avon and Tuppaware parties.

Chanel No5

Littlewood catalogues with all the toys in the back at Christmas, Neapolitan ice cream, boil in the bag cod, Fablon sticky backed plastic, making Christmas tags with old cards and pinking shears, Woolworths and Timothy Whites, Ladybird clothes, amber smokey glass lampshades were all the rage, Brentford Nylons. Cinema and theatre cost 50p, long summer days and the total freedom and independence that went with it!

Booths at the co-op where you could listen to a disc from the top 20 before buying it.

Good grief, yes Green Shield stamps.

When you had enough you went to the shop and got stuff for your house.
I remember going with my parents to the one in Chester.
There was a woman playing an accordion, she was there for may years.
A bloke from some circus had a monkey that sat on your shoulder while you had a photo taken.
The flippin thing bit my ear, it was bleeding for ages.

Green shield stamps

Vesta Curry (yuk)

Nurses wearing dresses, hats and cloaks

Nylon red or blue tracksuits with the white stripes down the arms (and legs?)

Skirts from Ladybird that were usually tartan and came with a nylon vest on the top half.

Knee socks and brown buckle shoes.

Oh I forgot about the roller ball lip gloss. It tasted gorgeous, I would put a load on, lick it all off, put more on and repeat until all gone.

Strawberry flavour was my favourite.

The poster of the girl in the tennis dress, scratching her bum.

Going to Bejams

The flake advert - only the flakiest, tastiest chocolate in the meadow with poppies I think. I so wanted to be the girl in that floaty white dress.

The Silvikrin advert for the shiniest hair, not dissimlar to the flake advert.

The coke advert (I think) I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony.

Oh yes thinking a maroon corner bath with gold taps was the height of good taste

Cigarette and cigar adverts
Lorraine Chase advertising cinzano I think - Luton Airport?

I am suddenly feeling very old

Camay soap advert anyone? According to that you'd be the most beautiful woman in the world after one scrub!

Perfume such as Tramp, Tweed and Charlie.

That reminds me, the Pears soap baby competition