Remembering the bad/good ole days

[Just Sara]

Recently I posted about how life was growing up and the hardships my family and I faced. (See-saw, Marjorie door..Staying well)

Although the younger generation might role their eyes or tell how things have changed and not to dwell, I've found comfort in remembering how the simple pleasures in life can be the most enjoyable. We place so much pressure on ourselves trying to live up to social standards and forget just how uncomplicated life can be without those constraints.

When I was little, I lived in a busy prominent street where all the neighbours knew who and where people in our area were. I walked out of my home down the street naked as a toddler and was bought back by someone over a block away. My parents invited them in, shared a simple meal and played cards till late while they talked and laughed about me 'touring' the neighbourhood.

We didn't have a phone or a TV, but managed to find things to do. Music and hourly news would fill the air most of the time and 'playing' meant enjoying whatever was laying around the yard or house. As I grew older, tinkering in our shed became an exercise in exploration and adventure. Ooh...so much junk!!

Do you have stories that reflect how spoiled we've become in society and how life 'was' in opposition to now?

Please share...Dizzy xo

[blondguy]

Hmmmm...hello Cold Mirror..Dizzy has a great thread here....:-)

I was 10 when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. You are a young person Cold Mirror....;-)

My Best...Paulx

[Cold_Mirror]

More:

No digital cameras. The film had to be sent off somewhere and it took a week to be developed.

We had a phone on the wall. We had to make phone calls by ringing the local post office and asking them to connect us. Dinosaur days.

Speaking of post offices, I seem to recall that there was a Saturday morning mail delivery.

Until about 1972, girls weren't allowed to wear slacks at the local high school. It was skirts and jumpers in winter and dresses in summer. In 1972, they changed the policy so that the girls were permitted to wear brown corduroy slacks (ugh) as part of the winter uniform. Woo hoo.

There was no self-serve petrol when I was a child. The station attendant would fill it up for you and check the tyres at the same time.

You could ride the trains and trams with the doors open!

A lot more things were made in Australia. We could see the factories when taking the train ride into town.

[Just Sara]

Hi All!

I've re-read every post and have enjoyed it immensely. The memories are vast and keep coming as I read.

I guess the premise for this thread is to rediscover the simple and calmer moments. Life is so fast paced and manic. I've tried to find tasks etc that reflect those times. Like hanging clothes out instead of using the dryer; sewing my own curtains/tablecloths and cooking meat 'n 3 veg instead of packets or ready made. I try and teach my nieces/nephews how to invent games with little to no store bought items (or screens) It isn't easy.

I've also reignited my love of 'the shed/garage'. It's dust and wonder, exploring caverns of junk and tools, and the hand's on approach to spending time. We have so much wisdom and skill to pass on to our young ones. How important it was to talk with my mum during the washing up, or hand tools to my uncle as he fixed his motor bike? I'd watch my Nan while she made boiling 'pulling toffee' (butterscotch) with her bare hands; it tasted better than any store bought lolly!

Our homes have become either a type of gaol, or a place we infrequently visit as a stop-over between hectic work and play. I'm familiarising myself again with 'my home', a sanctity and place of 'doing' as well as being. The TV is no longer an escape, baby sitter or friend to pass the time. It informs me how to improve my home and beautify my world. My PC may connect me to the outside world in ways I could never have imagined all those yrs ago, but it can't replace faces of smiles and laughter, or the touch of a caring hand.

And; through all this, I'm getting to know me. More in touch with my body and what it can achieve with the knowledge and wisdom that comes with age.

I'm trying to be the best 'me' I can; the old and the new...

Peace man!

Dizzy xo

[White_Rose]

Dear Dizzy

Such a joy to find you again. I have been off-line for a short while but your post has tempted me to return, such an evocative topic.

I remember playing in the street, so few cars. Walking to school at age five because I was old enough and no thought of abduction. Skipping ropes; snowball fights (lived in UK); gobstopper sweets; penny returns on glass bottles; school milk but ours was kept out of the sun; (did I hear someone ask "What sun?). I remember feeding pennies into the electricity and gas meters when the supply went out. I also remember the meter man coming to read and empty the meters and give us a refund from the accumulated cash. Bread and milk delivered to our door.

I thought my friend was so posh because she had a phone. I can still remember the phone number. Pity I can't remember numbers these days, just click on contacts. Fireworks in the back garden on Bonfire Night. Catherine wheels on the coal-shed door and my mom dropping a firework into the fireworks pile and setting them all alight. Jacket potatoes in the bonfire and chestnuts. And most exciting to a small child, waving sparklers around to make coloured shapes in the dark.

Postal delivery twice a day and one on Saturday. Street party on Coronation Day where I was dressed as a gypsy for the fancy dress costume. Still have the photo. The excitement of riding on a steam train when going on holiday. I learned to knit and sew at school and still enjoy doing this, so all is not lost.

Dizzy I have enjoyed this trip down memory lane, the phrase itself a memory from the past. Lovely to think back to a more simple time. My granddaughter had an assignment from primary school to talk to a grandparent about the games we played and the gadgets in our home. She was shocked at how little we had and I needed to explain to her what a radio was and how it worked. B&W TV was a surprise and a description of the school yard games was met with disbelief. Skipping and playing with a ball? Never!

Lovely

Mary

[Just Sara]

Well hello again Mary!

So lovely to read of your childhood in England. So much has changed, I'm not surprised at the response you got from your little ones.

It's been a long and hectic day for me. I didn't sleep last night and my eyes are swollen from tears. At the end of the day, all we have is ourselves and our memories...cherished or otherwise. It's all character building as they say.

I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm weary and worn. Just wanted to say 'hi' and how great it is to hear from my new friend...just lovely.

Talk soon...Dizzy xo

[Airies]

What a groovy thread,

well I was 6 when man walked on the moon.

i can remember when tv was black and white

there was only 4 channels on tv - channel 9 , HSV 7, Channel 0 and the ABC

when the test pattern would come in regularity

when you had to get up and physically turn the dial to change the channel or push the dial up or down to regulate the volume.

when buying 50 c of lollies would be a big bag

going to the Drive Inn and seeing a James Bond film.

a few years later sitting in a paddock with a mate watching different films at the drive inn that were rated R

when there was a bit of discipline at school and getting the strap.

bankday at School was a Tuesday

drinking the small bottles of milk on milk day stopped in grade 4 .

lunch orders at the canteen

having a razz, glug or sunnyboy and getting a freebie if it had yellow writing they cost 5 cents.

when Carlton were a successful football club winning premierships with monotonous regularity.

[White_Rose]

My Dear Dizzy

So sorry to hear of your tears. Can you tell me what has happened? Were the memories too much to bear? No need to chat when you feel so down, I do understand. I hope I am an old friend but no matter, so long as I can count you as a friend.

I came home this afternoon after crying at the place where I volunteer. So embarrassing! Would love to catch up with all your news when you feel up to it.

Crying is good, smiling is better.

Mary

[Just Sara]

Hi Igbran;

So many differences hey? All of your stuff is relevant and memorable to me too.

One recent activity that's gone by the wayside, and thank goodness, is dealing with MS-DOS for computers. It was like learning algebra. What a confusing nightmare! Floppy disc's that held only a few thousand KB and monitors that weighed a ton! And, that horrible blue screen...argh! Actually I was pretty good at algebra, make that trigonometry. Speaking of trig', ...slide rules in math's.

Do we remember Math's? The hypotenuse of a triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides...HA! The circumference of a circle is Pi R squared. Double HA! What brain file did I just draw that from?

Our brain's trivia bank can be filled with such, well...trivia. He he..

Anyone out there remember the first 10 digits of Pi? And no, you can't google it!

Hi Mary...why the tears at volunteer work? Mine were due to a relapse and triggers re rape. Nasty stuff. But I have the tools to deal with it effectively these days. It only went for a week. Chat?

Cheers...Dizzy x

[blondguy]

• Coca Cola in a Steel can lol
• Meat Pie 11cents....Sauce 2cents (Four n' Twenty...before we had food inspectors...ugh)
• Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool was just released
• Parents were angry
• A Dragstar was a cool bicycle not anything else
• Seeing a teacher roll up a newspaper and bash a student in the temple whilst he was dozing (for shame)

Great thread Dizzy..Paul xx

[Just Sara]

Ok...

• Vomiting pink after drinking Cherry Brandy and lemonade at 16

• Passion Pop

• Friday 'night' kids club
• Smoking indoors at restaurants/clubs etc
• No air conditioners in cars/school/home
• Heavy black phone's with a half cap over the speaker end and a turning handle instead of numbers (If you had one!)
• Walking 5 km's to the pool and then back again (in bare feet!)
• Sprinklers with actual water coming out of them - free!
• Upstairs at the pictures cost 15c; downstairs was 10c. 5c brought an ice-block and small bag of lollies (20c outing Sat arvo) A double feature with cartoons!
• I got 20c an hr for babysitting 3 kids - I was 11. The youngest was 4, eldest was 7
• Thick colouring in books with 12 little coloured pencils for rainy days in front of the fire
• Comics!!!!!!
• Lamb shanks were dog food!
• Dewey System cards at the library
• Micro-fiche viewers at the library. Are they still around?

The bloody list is endless people...he he Keep it coming!

Chuckles...Dizzy xo​