Hey, Wasn't this us????!!! (Over 50s)

[Jemisa]

HEY, WASN'T THIS US ???!!!


A little house with two bedrooms,
No bathroom and no car on the street.
A mower that you had to push
To make the grass look neat.


In the kitchen or in the hall
We only had one phone,
And no need for recording things,
Someone was always home.


We only had a living room
Where we would congregate,
Unless it was at dinner time
In the kitchen was where we ate.


We had no need for family rooms
Or extra rooms to dine.
When meeting as a family
Those two rooms would work out fine.


We only had one TV set
And channels maybe two,
But always there was one of them
With something worth the view.

For snacks we had potato crisps

That tasted like a chip.
And if you wanted flavor
There was sainsbury's onion dip.

Shop-bought snacks were rare because
My mother liked to cook
And nothing can compare to snacks
In Fanny Cradocks book.


Weekends were for family trips
Or staying home to play.
We all did things together --
Even went to church to pray.


When we did our weekend trips
Depending on the weather,
No one stayed at home because
We liked to be together.


Sometimes we would separate
To do things on our own,
But we knew where the others were
Without a bloody mobile phone.

Then there were the Pictures

With your favorite film star,
And nothing can compare
To watching films with your favourite chocolate bar



Then there were the picnics
At the peak of summer season,
Pack a lunch and find some trees
And never need a reason.


Get a football game together
With all the friends you know,
Have real action playing ball --
And no game video.


Remember when the doctor
Used to be the family friend,
And didn't need the A & E

Your wound he'd always tend




The way that he took care of you
Or what he had to do,
Because he took an oath and strived
To do the best for you.

Remember going to the shops

And shopping casually,
And when you went to pay for it
You used your own money?


Nothing that you had to swipe
Or punch in some amount,
And remember when the assistant person
Had to really count?


The milkman used to go
From door to door,
And it was just a few penny's more
Than going to the shop you know.


There was a time when posted letters
Came right to your door,
Without a lot of junk mail ads
Sent out by every department store.

The postman knew each house by name
And knew where it was sent;
There were not loads of mail addressed
To "present occupant."


There was a time when just one glance
Was all that it would take,
And you would know the kind of car,
The model and the make.


They didn't look like turtles
Trying to squeeze out every mile;
They were streamlined with leather seats

And really had some style.



One time the music that you played
Whenever you would jive,
Was from a vinyl, big-holed record
Called a forty-five.


The record player had a post
To keep them all in line
And then the records would drop down
And play one at a time.


Oh Yes, we had our problems then,
Just like we do today
And always we were striving,
Trying for a better way.

Oh, the simple life we lived
Still seems like so much fun,
How can you explain a game,
Just kick the can and run?


And why would boys put football cards
Between bicycle spokes
And for a tanner, red machines
Had little bottled Cokes?


This life seemed so much easier
And slower in some ways.
I love the new technology
But I really do miss those days.

So time moves on and so do we
And nothing stays the same,
but I sure love to reminisce
and walk down memory lane.

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[alexanderd]

Oh Yes, I remember it well

[nungate]

I was there again for a few moments............

[flump1]

Awww Jem , gets me all nostalgic x

[jamesnan]

Just so true!

[Jemisa]

I'm glad you like it. Its a bit long winded but I decided to put it in its entirety & not edit it coz its all so true and what we can identify with.
Enjoy

jem

[boxtops]

I remember it well - and the verse about the phone in particular. We had one big Bakelite phone, and when you picked it up, the operator would answer you and ask which number you wanted....!

[Ann]

Thanks Jem - really enjoyed the nostalgia. Hubby and I give talks to groups on our childhood in the 1950s, do you mind if I copy that to add to my collection please?

[Maydup]

I really enjoyed that Jem; although with this snow around I can't say I miss being cold with ice on the inside of our windows!

[welshlibranr]

Oh great memories Jem!..........took me back!.........

[Ann]

After playing in the snow - what about the soaking wet dangly handknitted gloves threaded through your coat sleeves on elastic ? And the chilblains on your toes - does anyone suffer from chilblains these days I wonder?

[boxtops]

..and the coal fire, which scorched your legs at the front, but meant your back was freezing...

[Jemisa]

Of course Ann copy if you like its a compliment.

& Maidup I too remember those inside iceicles, & the crittle window frames, how about Oil Fires? & Cosset carpet.?

jem

[welshlibranr]

Ann, chilblains!..........never hear of them these days, and that's a good thing, but I remember having them as a child, sure lots of us did way back then!.........

[smart1]

Carpet??? We had lino!

[hc4361]

No phone, no Sainsbury's, no onion dip, no bath until I was 13.

I must have been deprived.

[boxtops]

I've just been in a church hall which still has Crittall windows - when we opened the curtain before we left, the cold coming through the single glazing was quite a shock!

[Kassee]

Loved it ........slipped back in time as I read it !

[jno]

ha, cars had style? I mean, a Ford Prefect? And what's more, they broke down all the time, which modern cars seldom do. And vinyl records scratched and warped (don't get me started on shellac). As for there always being something on telly, it stopped at 10pm!

[pusskin]

that was brilliant jemisa, really enjoyed reading all that. Thanks for posting it.

[welshlibranr]

we lived in a cottage in the country, no double glazing, no central heating, just one open fire with an oven next to it, which cooked the best ever rice puddings!......if you were sitting more than 4 foot from the fire you were frozen!...........at bedtime, the bed was so heavy with blankets that you just couldn't move at all!.........happy days!.......lol.............