"Nostalgia is a seductive liar." ~George Wildman Ball.
"Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory. ..."
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealised form. - wiki
Nonsense. Nostalgia is a mix of the best, the naff, and the just plain embarrassing. "Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory. ..."
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealised form. - wiki
To prove it I ask all readers to add their reminisces to the comments. Then, when we have collectively amassed the entire culture of the late 20th, early 21st century, I'll add them to the main thread to create the most nostalgic post in the history of the internet. Google search page number 1.
Its not just idle weekend fun. Its making history.
Please add to :
Corona Lemonade from the milk float. Mens shorts that ended above the knee. Boil in the bag beef bourguignon. Shoulder pads on t/shirts. Yasmine Bleeth."We hope its chips, its chips!" The Gay Liberation front. Old people who looked 80 at 50. "Watch out watch out there's a Humphry about." Choppers. Viscount chocolate bars.Our Price. Soap on a rope. Dial-up. Tizwaz. Top Trumps. Evil Knievel. The permanent wave. Escape from Colditz boardgame. TR7. Double Diamond, Going for Gold ...and..?
Seinfeld
ReplyDeleteOrange juice as a starter
Ivor the engine
one pound notes
Brut and cheesecloth shirts.
ReplyDeleteI have fond memories of the last time we did this.
ReplyDeleteMens shorts that ended above the knee
ReplyDeletewhat ?!
Vesta Chicken Curry
ReplyDeleteChocolate cigarettes
Liquorice Pipes
Bernie the bolt
Lenny the Lion and Muffin the Mule
Harmony hairspray.
Jelly and Blamonche
Kids being smacked in supermarkets
ice cream sandwich
Plastic bags
Coal
ReplyDeleteSherry
ReplyDeleteHigh Fidelity record player
Lee Enfield .303
SLR
English Electric Lightning
Concorde
Ford Capri
England Team collectables from petrol stations
Platform sole shoes (and the desert boots I had to wear instead)
Mum
comb overs
ReplyDelete3 day weeks
power cuts
proper telly
slacks
the golden shot
oh all right
ReplyDeleteGreen Shield Stamps
thousands of 'em
Forces favourites on the radio (no TV overseas)
ReplyDeleteStewpot
Outdoor swimming pools
Two tone shirts
Parkas
Old style webbing (58?pattern)
The Cold War (MAD)
Decent TV ads
Rented TVs
Hire Purchase
Saturday night watching TV with the family
Morecambe and Wise
Cycling miles to parties and home again pissed as a proverbial
after a party
One falling apart car per household
ReplyDeleteBeing caned at school
ReplyDeleteAfghan coats
Woolworths
ReplyDeleteRumbelows
Redifusion
Simon Bates
Fishnet tights
Joe Gormley
Metal Mickey
rhubarb and custard
ReplyDeleteblackjacks (2 for a 1/2p)
Watney's party 7
Vimto (1st time around)
Roads free from cars (no motorways)
Peter Parker in charge of BR
Strikes, union empowerment...hold on......I thought this was meant to be pleasant....viva 2010
The test is if you go "ahhh" or "Ohhh Yesss."
ReplyDeleteRichard Baker
Wimpey
2p for the phonebox
Amoco
The half penny
dusty bin
ReplyDeleteHandful of songs
panini sticker books
zx81
Raleigh Grifter
Fine Fare
Morris Marina
Charlie says...
Tufty club
Button "B" in the phonebox
ReplyDeletePenny Bangers
Sherbert dabs
Threepenny bits
Half Crowns
Ten bob notes
Knicker pockets :-)
Yamaha FS1-E (the one with pedals)
ReplyDeleteOK... Mine are more mid-to-late C20th... But I'm probably a lot older than most of you lot!
ReplyDeletePlaying soldiers with "Little men"
ReplyDeleteBritish Bulldogs
Men who smoked pipes
ReplyDeleteAftershave
From around the office:
ReplyDeleteBabycham
Arthur Andersen
Polly Peck
Pink Panther candy bar
Wright's coal tar inhalers
Economy 7
Windscale
Julie Andrews
Getting up to turn the dial on the TV
Moquette
Grange Hill
Happy Eater
Rod Hull and Emu
Manic Miner
When celebrity chefs cooked food
Hot Gossip
Look-in magazine
Hovercraft to Calais
and the inter city 125
QRA (Quick Reaction Alert)
ReplyDelete1939 Newport County promoted from Third Division South to the Second Division.
ReplyDeleteNylon Y fronts
ReplyDeleteDenim shoes
ReplyDeleteAsbestos
Smoking in betting shops
Wearing a tie to work
Greenham Common
One year passports
Ceiling wax
Air guitar
ReplyDeleteExchange control (in the back of your passport and no doubt soon to come back)
Reel to reel tape recorders
ReplyDeleteRecord shops
8 Track
Cassette tapes
Party lines and waiting lists for phones
ReplyDeletePolicemen with whistles and truncheons
ReplyDeleteSkippy
ReplyDeleteThe White Horses
The Tomorrow People
Magpie
Sexton Blake
Hi. Mine are mostly from the late sixties/seventies:
ReplyDeleteClackers (plastic balls on string)
Delie-boppers
Testcard
proper Dr Who (and Joe/Leela of course!)
Yo-yos
rubix cube
Sherbet dips
Pan's People
John Peel's radio show
World at War (tv series) & loads of ww2 dramas (tenko, wish me luck, coldit etc)
mash (tv series)
Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds/Top Cat
Airfix
Faulty Towers
Glam Rock
ReplyDeleteWages in cash
Atari
Panda cars
I never really liked most of the shite food people look back nostalgically on, not even at the time. As a child I had a list of disliked foods which, in adult life has grown steadily longer & encompasses most of what is written here.
ReplyDeleteThe exception is Abbey Crunch, which I would still eat to this day, if only I could find any?
I was also a regular viewer of the Krypton Factor when it was on. I would have been in primary school at the time. It seemed like the only programme that was really worth watching, whereas I couldn't see the point in cartoons etc.
"Dim as a Toc H lamp"
ReplyDeleteSoldiers in uniform.
London full of English.
Milk churns by the farm gate.
The early morning milk train.
Steam engines.
Trolley buses.
Conductors on buses. With hand held ticket machines.
The Victor.
Sunday School.
Christian assembly in school.
Times tables.
"22 yards = 1 chain"
"Eight chains = 1 furlong"
Morris Minor 850.
When a sheath knife on your belt was compulsory (Scouts).
Cadbury's Aztec.
Drinking and driving.
"Tap Room"
"Snug"
"Smoke Room"
Robin Hall & Jimmy McGregor
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
"Beer at Home means Davenports"
Cheesecloth tops.
Virgins who were over 15.
the 8-track ... Airfix ... oh yes !
ReplyDeletehope you are taking notes Mr Q, there is a book here
Yep... Once we hit 50 comments it will all go on the main page. Or maybe a 'special' with images.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what Cadbury's Aztec or Abbey crunch was? But I'm convinced there was a Tiffin bar.
Personal favourite so far..
Men who smoked pipes and
Richard Baker.
{He was the voice of Mary,Mungo and Midge. A cartoon about the brand new high rise tower blocks Triple Bubble for that.}
I can't believe no one has put down Spangles yet!
ReplyDeleteSpangles,old English flavour.
Pacers
Opal Fruits
Marathon
Texan
Dracula ice creams {A black cola lolly with red blood jelly inside}
Sherbert lemons
and
Pezz
Oh..and Space Hoppers.
The local shop.
ReplyDeleteErrm, it's 10 chains one furlong and 8 furlongs one mile!
ReplyDeleteYards/feet/inches etc, and being able to do the multi-base maths without a piece of paper.
Spangles, Old English - yummy
Sherbert dips
Liquorice wood/sticks
Keeping a box of candles and a box of matches in case of power cuts.
Power cuts and strikes.
Lifebuoy soap.
The smell of line dried washing.
Knicker elastic that wasn't very reliable.
Petticoats.
Nylon sheets (yuk)
Making ice slides in the school playground.
Snowmen competitions at school.
Ice patterns inside the windows.
Conker competitions at school.
Bottles of school milk with the lids popped off because the milk had frozen.
Other people's outside toilets.
Izal toilet roll at school - eeuw.
Adaptors to plug an iron into the light.
Spin dryers that ate clothes.
Washing machines with mangles on top.
Granny's outdoor mangle, that worked.
Lighting a coal fire using only paper.
Hot summers and popping tar bubbles in the road.
Collecting car registration numbers (err, did I really do that?)
Lambrettas.
Triumph Stag.
TR7.
MGBGT - either orange or Brooklands Green.
Sunday school and youth club.
Policemen on the beat.
Knowing that, "No!" meant no!
Grown-ups being in charge of kids.
Bar six
ReplyDeletecigarette coupons
braised beef in a foil tray
You youngsters, tut tut.
ReplyDeleteIm old enough to remember the real good old days, before we had nostalgia.
On a pedantic note...
Airfix - still going.
Inter City 125 (classes 253 & 254 for the spotters amongst you) - still operational, though defaced with all sorts garish post-BR liveries. Bring back blue/grey/yellow diesels I say.
Things the younger generation will never know..
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE
1930's 1940's, 50's, 60's and early 70's !
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.
Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds , KFC, Subway or Nandos.
Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY ,
no video/dvd films,
no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
Lawsuits from these accidents.
Only girls had pierced ears!
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...
We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays,
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!
RUGBY and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on
MERIT
Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bullies always ruled the playground at school.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!
Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO
DEAL WITH IT ALL !
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Body hair
ReplyDeletedrip dry
rust
fluff on the needle
institution green walls in all public buildings
Kodak Instamatic
Midland bank
Pub opening times
Sundays when all shops were shut
VHS players
Tandems
Dansettes
ReplyDelete45s
Radio Luxemburg
Biba
lager and lime
Ace Cafe
The North Circular (going by quite fast)
comets (of course)
St Albans jazz club
green make up (for that really pale look)
long hair
@10:52 - that you, HG ?
ReplyDeleteFry's Five Boys (and don't you dare).
ReplyDeleteIt's not alway what has gone but what has arrived instead!
ReplyDeleteQuiet Sundays.
NO mobile phones
NO Call centres
NO CCTV.
Real Customer service
Real Policemen (whom your young self respected)
On a lighter note
Check Jackets in fact most jackets and blazers
Afro Hair
The Womblng song
Cars marques you could name by their shape!
P.S. Pipe smoking men are not history there are two of us at my local.
Mea culpa with the chains and furlongs. And I definitely forget what constituted a 'rod, pole or perch' and how many of them there were to the acre.
ReplyDeleteRecommended for nostalgia - Sterling Times
http://www.sterlingtimes.org/sweets.htm
I can't claim circular skirts and 'bouffant' petticoats, or pedal-pushers and hoola hoops -that was my older cousins, but the North Circular was ours, OURS. And That Was The Week That Was, and Associated Rediffusion and Elkan Allen (well, not exactly ours - bit predatory was elkan).
ReplyDeleteWe don't hear much about vietnam these days either, ND.
Space dust
ReplyDeleteHenry Cooper
'Remote controls' attached with a wire.
Tape to tape recording
Renault Fuego
Silver Shadow trainers
Candylongs
Reginald Perrin
Campari Ads
Leonard Rossiter generally....
Transvision Vamp