The good old days

[january_bug]

Seeing as how so many people here seem to believe that the country is falling apart and that we are now in an absolutely pitiful state of affairs, I was just wondering which decade of the 20th century you'd prefer to rewind to, given that things were so much better in the "good old days". Which ones WERE the good old days?

[tellboy]

I think it is nearly always when you are between 20 and 3o years of age no matter what was going on in the World.
Some people thing World War 2 was the good old days.
What do you think ?

[CT]

Anyone that can't live without AB will have to say the 90's, otherwise no internet.

[kempie]

...and since AB didn't exist until December 2000 you should modify your answer to 'the last few weeks of the century'.

[Chessman]

The good old days, for me its from about 1955-65, (really showing my age now), I was brought up in Dagenham, and in those days the people were the overflow from the east end, real Cockney's, few people then had much at all, for some, it was the first house they'd had, but it was an open door policy, everyone helped everyone, very few cars on the roads, i'd run errands for a 'tanner' a time, (for the youngsters, that was 'sixpence', or in todays money, 'two and a half pence'), my first bike was bought off the Rag and Bone man for a quid, he used to give Goldfish for your old clothes, him, the milkman and coalman had horse drawn carts, and us kids used to have to go out with a shovel and bucket to collect the manure, we still had veg plots, and kept chickens, it was the only way to survive, music was Lonnie Doneegan, Elvis, CliffRichard, Perry Como, etc,. Growing up in those times, with loving parents was good, and fun, although, for the adults at that time, life was hard work and sacrifces.

I'm having breakfast tomorrow with a neighbour who was 101 last October, vey independant, does as much as he can, shopping etc, i'll ask him this question, and post his answer on this thread tomorrow, should be interesting.

[maggie01]

Chessman. You bought back so many memories. I can see it all now. Especially the manure for my dads roses. I was never allowed to have a gold fish, can't remember what you got instead. My sister moved from the East End to Dagenham. Also I remember on a Sunday the fish man coming round and we used to have cockles and winkles for tea Yuk.

[shaneystar]

And..I have to agree with libertie here....Germany has a much larger immigrant population than we do..mostly Turkish people who have integrated well into German society.And it is true they have very clean cities etc as Andy008 suggests but.....take a look round the kohlenpot in the north of Germany and he may change his mind. The trouble with the British is as an island we are so insular . Wrapped up in our own little world.We have never been invaded..well apart from the Romans and the Danes and so on.Although we have fought a lot of wars to avoid being invaded.
As usual a good thread has degenerated into a rant about immigration.
Buggys question was about the good old days..they weren't that good in my opinion even if I like to reminisce about them .Time marches on and we all have to march with it.
Tempus fugit.. make the most of it and learn to live in harmony with others.

[shaneystar]

Gosh chessman ...great memories.I lived in Chatham in the sixties.We kept chickens,ducks and rabbits in the back garden.We never locked our doors and our Mums used to sit out on the steps peeling spuds and having a natter !
Sorry buggy this is developing into a Biddybank scenario!!

[the>one]

better than that jan.....i'll give you a year.....1976.....long hot summer.....perfect for a 14 year old boy on long summer holidays........aaaahhh.....perfick.....

[Chessman]

Different times for different people, for me, 1955-65, growing up in Dagenham, then it was the overflow from the East End, real Cockney's, times were hard, I used to run errands for a 'Tanner', (for the youngsters, sixpence, or in todays money, two and a half pence), we ate as a family, played games like Ludo or Monopoly, few cars on the roads, an open door policy was the norm, my first bike cost a quid from the Rag and Bone man, who, along with the Milkman and Coalman, used horse drawn carts, us kids used to have to go out with a bucket and shovel for the manure, in those days a veg plot and chickens were the norm. for us kids in those days, life was fun, we used our imagination in games in the street.

Mind you for the adults, life was hard work and sacrifice.

Tomorrow i'm having breakfast with a neighbour who was 101 last October, i'll ask him this question, i'll post what he says on this thread if anyones interested.

[january_bug]

Thanks for your answers everyone.

Dom Tuk - you are totally out of your tree.

10CS - you sounded almost dreamy - had me in shock! :-)

Glad to read that some people enjoyed a reminisce, and also that not everyone feels that our world has gone to pot. There probably were days when morally, life was better, but that materially, life wasn't.

Still, at least most people see that the world is as it is, and that we can't change it. (Ok, we can change it, but let's face it, most people are too lazy to actually try, and prefer to remain Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells).

[dorothywilso]

I wonder if the majority of the contented ABers in this thread live in the South of England ?I am originally from Manchester born and bred.

[january_bug]

I was born in Yorkshire in the early 1980s, moved south, and went to uni in Manchester for the best part of 4 years.

I recognise the North-South divide, but I'm a little tired of the sob-stories to be honest. Life in Manchester is not that bad, and it's an affluent city that is full of locals out spending on a Saturday and Sunday. It's unfair to claim that the Arndale etc are only kept going by the rich people in Cheshire, there are as many people from Burnage and Moss Side around, spending too. So life can't be that tough. And if the kids choose not to attend school, that's there call, but it's on offer. And Manchester has a number of AMAZING hospitals, and education centres that offer gains to the whole community.

Are people from the North happier being miserable? Or is that as much a generalisation as the continued implications that all people from south of Birmingham are rich and smug about it?

[Chessman]

jan-bug, sorry for the second post, for some reason it took a long time to go on, so repeated some of it.

[january_bug]

No worries Chessman - I guess as much! :-)

[dorothywilso]

I honestly did not see any sob-stories in this thread ,where were you looking ?

[january_bug]

I wasn't referring to sob stories in this thread. I wasn't aware that I had to refer exclusively to things in this thread, especially when it's me that started the thread in the first place.

[Buddy]

I am about to tentitavely enter my best decade.We have just bought the most wonderful house in Spain 10 yrs before we anticipated.So effectively we are moving/retiring in our 40's.

To get back to your original Q Jan Bug the 70's were my halcyon days.It never snowed or rained.The summers went on all year.Ice Breaker sucked through a straw before the Town Hall disco was great and I was CAREFREE.O forgot - 'The Bay City Rollers'..Spangles,Mint Cracknel Smash Ice Lollies and Five boys Chocolate bars. (and ten No 6 and a Box of matches of the ice cream outside the school for 10p - Regal were 12p!!)

[jno]

bug just to alert you - I posted a link in Toni Blair's thread to point out that the wind-free bean has (they hope) been invented. I think that would conclusively make the 21st century the best of all possible worlds, apart from the 1960s of course.

[january_bug]

Hey jno - I saw it, but was struggling to think of a witty response!! Thanks for the link though! :-p