THe Good Old DAys

[Cousin Jack]

Were they?

• My bike is far better and far more reliable, ditto my car. They are more comfortable, faster, and generally nicer to have and use, as well as being arguably much safer.
• I have all sorts of nice to have stuff that mostly hadn’t been invented, like mobile phone, laptops and kindles. Going place is easy with a sat nav and I can carry a dozen books in my pocket.
• My house is warmer and far more comfortable. Central heating and double glazing are now normal, no more ice on the inside of the bedroom window in the morning.
• Eating out is now available, in my youth it was mainly fish and chips or a pasty in your hand. Restaurants were rare outside large cities, and not for us poor folk.
• I can get all sorts of stuff delivered to my door in 24 hours.
• I can buy food from all over the world in my local supermarket, and my diet is massively more varied
• I could get an appointment to see my Doctor on the same day by queuing. I could go to my local A&E and queue, I rarely had to wait more than an hour before being seen. Should I fall sick today I can get a doctor to ring me, usually with 48 hours. If I get dragged off to the A&E in an ambulance I may have to wait anywhere from 3 to 12 hours to be seen but the range of diagnostic and treatment options are much better.

On the other hand.

• A phone means I can be contacted most times and most places. Usually by someone I don’t want to talk to trying to sell me something I don't want.
• Life is far more complicated with rules and regulations that limit what is possible. Usually because you might do something silly that in practice you are well aware of and would never do.
• Scammer have destroyed trust. I have bought and sold houses on the basis of a handshake, with the paperwork following on. I wouldn’t do that today.
• I used to be able to ring up my bank and get a mortgage agreed in principle within 10 minutes. Now it takes me that long to get through to a human, and then they can usually do nothing useful.
• There used to be shops. You could go in and see and feel stuff, try on clothes, and generally make sure it was what you wanted before purchasing.
• There used to be offices. Problem with your electric bill, go to the local Electricity Board office and you could sort out 90% of stuff. Try that today, my builder screwed up my electric meter number, it took me 12 months and an Ombudsman to sort it out.
• My food may be more varied but half of it has been transported large distances, transhipped multiple time and is rarely fresh. Anything is a packet or can has been buggered about beyond belief with salt, sugar, flavourings and colourings all added.
• My local food (I live in an area that grows a fair bit) is very rarely available in local supermarkets, they prefer dealing with a big agribusiness rather than a local farm, despite the latter being cheaper and better quality.


Would you want to turn back time, and if so, how far?

I fancy going back a bit, maybe to the 70s or 80s, but not too far. The 1950s and 60s were not really comfortable.

[Yorick]

What did the Romans ever do for us?

[roadster]

A very fair assessment. Personally I benefitted from reasonable pension arrangements and enjoy a comfortable and stable but not wealthy retirement in a modest bungalow. So I can shrug off all those aggravating things that you list and more, though I am particularly affected by the impossibility of getting any sense out of an actual human being, or for that matter a chat robot which is in the least bit helpful.

My real concern is for future generations who will never know what a difference communication in person makes and how much more easily problems can be straitened out without calling in lawyers or negotiators. Minds are now poisoned with social media groupings of thousands and this is the biggest thing that will come back and bite society. Well thats my dystopian prediction anyway.

[mangocrazy]

That reminds me of a track on an album I haven't played in at least 40 years; 'Old Friend' by Loudon Wainwright III. The lines that I remembered are

It's been so long,and things are so different
Memory lane's a dead end street
Your present tense is reminisence
I can't rehash it, i won't repeat
The good old days are good and gone now
Thats why they're good, because they're gone

For me the '90s were my best biking decade; bikes that are still relevant today but a time before wall to wall speed cameras.

[Yorick]

I'm glad I grew up in the 70s and 80s.
But wouldn't want to go back. I like the new inventions and improvements in technology.

[Dodgy69]

I always think the late 50s and into the 60s would of been nice. Rock n roll just kicking off, seaside towns and hotels packed, less traffic, just a more innocent way of life. Scumbag breeding was minimal, war years still fresh in the memories. Someone may tell me different mind.

[David]

I am of the very late 40's/50's generation...the "off you go, be back when you are hungry" set.....I would be off, bike or scooter or on foot to a field to build dens....sad that kids won't be allowed to do that now.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

If I had to go back in time I think it would be to the mid to late 1990s (30 years ago), bikes had got good by then (my 96 SRAD and 98 R1 were fantastic), cars were good, the roads still had good surfaces and weren't too busy, technology was useful without being intrusive, work was still an enjoyable thing to do and you could have a laugh without worrying about someone choosing to be offended, houses were affordable etc.

[Buckaroo]

What did the Romans ever do for us?

Shut up big nose

[Buckaroo]

A very fair assessment. Personally I benefitted from reasonable pension arrangements and enjoy a comfortable and stable but not wealthy retirement in a modest bungalow. So I can shrug off all those aggravating things that you list and more, though I am particularly affected by the impossibility of getting any sense out of an actual human being, or for that matter a chat robot which is in the least bit helpful.

My real concern is for future generations who will never know what a difference communication in person makes and how much more easily problems can be straitened out without calling in lawyers or negotiators. Minds are now poisoned with social media groupings of thousands and this is the biggest thing that will come back and bite society. Well thats my dystopian prediction anyway.

Ditto your second comment. It's a worry for sure.

[Cousin Jack]

I always think the late 50s and into the 60s would of been nice. Rock n roll just kicking off, seaside towns and hotels packed, less traffic, just a more innocent way of life. Scumbag breeding was minimal, war years still fresh in the memories. Someone may tell me different mind.

I was there. It wasn't as good as you think.

The Swinging Sixties was very much a city thing, country girls were still pretty buttoned up. Late 50s was even worse.
And I was not joking about ice on the inside of bedroom windows. Oh, I forgot to mention outdoor toilets.

[Dodgy69]

My mother was born and bred in Levenshulme and I remember her telling me about the community spirit, maybe still a hangover from the war years, but neighbours were all friends, no need to lock doors. She'd walk home from the dance hall with no concerns like you would now.
Don't think Jack the ripper frequented Manchester in the 1950s.

"Times were hard, we had nothing, but everyone was happy" was a typical line I remember.

A while ago there was a documentary on TV about poor African kids, they had school but not much else, kicking a old football about, maybe 12 or them, all with smiles on their faces, enjoying themselves. The presenter was saying how we need to get these kids Internet access. I couldn't help but think that's the worst thing they could do.

[Count Steer]

I don't particularly want to go back in time.

(But I'd be happy bringing my 35 year old body forward. TBH I'd take my 55 year old one right now ).

[Count Steer]

The presenter was saying how we need to get these kids Internet access. I couldn't help but think that's the worst thing they could do.

Reminds me of something from the Tao of Pooh (that was mentioned in an article in the paper on Saturday).

"You should listen to the radio Pooh"

"Why?"

"So you know what's happening in the world"

"If I want to know what's happening in my world - I go outside".

(He is eventually persuaded and the radio is full of disaster, doom, gloom etc, about which he can do nothing apart from feel sad.....so he switches it off and goes outside ).

[weeksy]

The presenter was saying how we need to get these kids Internet access. I couldn't help but think that's the worst thing they could do.

Reminds me of something from the Tao of Pooh (that was mentioned in an article in the paper on Saturday).

"You should listen to the radio Pooh"

"Why?"

"So you know what's happening in the world"

"If I want to know what's happening in my world - I go outside".

(He is eventually persuaded and the radio is full of disaster, doom, gloom etc, about which he can do nothing apart from feel sad.....so he switches it off and goes outside ).

Welcome to being me.

[MrLongbeard]

I am of the very late 40's/50's generation...the "off you go, be back when you are hungry" set.....I would be off, bike or scooter or on foot to a field to build dens....sad that kids won't be allowed to do that now.

I'm was born in 73 and had the same 'go out and come back when your hungry' upbringing, my daughter was born in 2001 and had very much the same upbringing, after we'd moved out of the city and into the country, and it's still very common to see groups of pre-teens wandering around town and in & out of fields.

Don't believe the doom n gloom of 24/7 new channels.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I see loads of pre teens wondering around unsupervised in MK.

Only difference in is that they're on e-scooters

[Horse]

I'm glad I survived the 60s 70s etc, but wouldn't want to go back.

FWIW, I probably avoided the chance of thalidomide by a few months ...

[Taipan]

I loved the 80s! The place was buzzing and everything felt so positive. Todays world seems,well, so violent. I no longer watch the news as its depressing. A couple of years back, someone said to me that Britain has become an angry, impatient country. I didnt think much of it at the time, but now when I go abroad I do find people seem to have a happier disposition?

I grew up beofre the internet and yes, we rode bikes, played in the fields and woods etc blah, but we'd have killed for playstations and the communications they have today. Sadly I also see the isolation it ironically causes and cyber bulling is a worrying thing. On reflection I'll take my childhood over one of todays.

[Horse]

Todays world seems,well, so violent.

Football hooligans, poll tax riots, coal strikers battling with police ...

impatient

^ That

Probably got a lot worse since COVID.