My, how life has changed.......

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by shiney, Feb 4, 2019.

  1. Loki

    Loki Total Gardener

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    I don't know if it has been rolled out everywhere yet but we where one of the first areas to have to include the area code.
    This was years ago, before most landlines had a contact menu. It seemed a hassle back then, it feels pretty normal now.
    Speaking to people, not many even have landlines anymore :dunno:
    I still remember walking to the phonebox with my 2 pences to ring my grandma. She was dead posh she had a phone in her house.
     
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    • Fat Controller

      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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      I remember when I was a kid and we got the phone put in - it was a day of excitement! The yellow Morris van arriving at the door, the engineer with all of his tools (which to me at that age were a wonder in themselves!) and watching him put in the cables and then showing my mum how the cream rotary dial phone worked...

      We were one of two houses on the street that had the phone, so some of the neighbours would come to our house to make calls rather than walk all the way to the phone box.

      That day, however was soon to be trumped.......... when we got our new COLOUR telly installed. Wow!! And they broke down, relatively often, and I used to love it when the 'telly man' was coming out because I could watch him do his magic. One of those 'telly men' later became my mentor as an apprentice, and to this day, I love the bones of the man.

      Hell, we didn't even have central heating until the mid-80's, and even then it was crappy Economy 7! I remember as a youngster waking up and cracking the ice in the blankets that I was sleeping under - my best pal was my Labrador dog who would sleep in my bed during winter, and given that he was about the same size I was at the time, he was like a big hot water bottle.

      Life seemed better then though somehow.
       
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      • shiney

        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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        When I first knew Mrs Shiney we lived 30 miles apart, a long distance in those days, and when I was home on leave she phoned me every evening from the phone box a half a mile from her home (we had a phone because my father worked at home). I can't remember how much the calls cost them but she had to be connected through the operator and the operator used to interrupt the call when the money had run out. She was then told to put more money in the box before we could continue talking.

        One of the operators, they were all women then, took a liking to us and when the money ran out she used to say to Mrs Shiney "That's alright, dear, you just keep talking and don't bother with the money". That was over 55 years ago! :wub2:

        With TV. I remember when the Quatermass Experiment first came out in 1953 and I used to go down the road to watch it at my friend's house on their 9" TV (it had a magnifying glass on the front of it :rolleyespink:). They were the only ones in the street that had TV.
         
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        • Loki

          Loki Total Gardener

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          my Mam started dating a rediffusion engineer after my dad dumped us.
          Can you imagine?!!! Mid seventies!
          Proper colour tv, cable and........ ta da......... a video recorder!!!
          Good lord! We where popular at school :heehee:
           
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          • shiney

            shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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            Is that one of those new fangled things? :scratch:
             
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            • Loki

              Loki Total Gardener

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              yes @shiney it's akin to moving pictures :blue thumb: :lunapic 130165696578242 5:
              You got to stop and start at bits you wanted to :whistle:
               
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              • CanadianLori

                CanadianLori Total Gardener

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                My dad bought a used black and white tv in 1956. I remember when it bfroke down now and again, tnat he would take the back off and fiddle around inside whilst watching the results in a mirror propped up against the front of the chesterfield. Sometimes he'd have to go out, tube in hand, to the harware store. He'd always liked shooting the breeze with the boys down there and I loved going to the store too. And he would not buy a replacement before the man at the store plugged it into his tube tester to make sure he'd pulled the right one. I, to this day, figure he was guessing because on more than one occasion it was more than one trip before getting the one needed.
                 
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                • Loki

                  Loki Total Gardener

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                  @CanadianLori , you've just reminded me! If anything went wrong, it was always the ' tube ' :biggrin:
                  TVs have advanced so much !!!
                  I used to love a vase, lamp etc on my TVs :rolleyespink:
                  I'm getting old :old:
                  And I will not apologise for it:rasp:
                   
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                  • Fat Controller

                    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                    When I started training, we went to a customer that had a fault - Ferguson TX, not a million miles away from this one Ferguson television TX90 1984

                    Being the bright eyed and bushy tailed youngster, and full of my own confidence, I was sat right next to the TV as the lady of the house explained the problem; arriving at a conclusion in my head, I thought I had a rough idea of what was wrong, and decided that I needed to whip the back off it. I reached out to grab the metal leg of the stand that the TV was sat on, and as I did, my mentor shouted "DON'T!" ....... it was too late, my hand was there, and I was pulling.

                    I got one hell of a belt of the thing - full on, mains voltage shock; thankfully, I was able to let go, and recoiled in pain from my experience. My mentor then went on to explain (and I apologise for this being sexist, but it is simply how things were back then) - Mrs Woman will dust and clean this TV regularly, and will twist it back and forth holding onto the wooden case, not realising that the mains cable is trapped under the castor on the stand. The castor slowly gnaws its way through the cable, and then the exposed wires inside connect with the metal stand, and the whole stand is live at mains potential........ common as muck apparently.

                    I never once grabbed a stand like that ever again without first unplugging the set, and inspecting the mains cable.
                     
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                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      And of course the wee embroidered doily underneath the vase... you don't see doilies any more. Nor do you see loo roll covers - - the crochet type; or even tea cosies!!!
                       
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                      • Loki

                        Loki Total Gardener

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                        IMG_1020.JPG
                        No loo roll cover but this is what I'm working on.
                        Real women can have hobbies ( other than gardening )
                         
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                        • Fat Controller

                          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                          I started to learn crochet, and have made a few small blankets when friends etc have had babies, but I was never able to get enough time to learn more than the very basics. Maybe one day I will get back to it.

                          The sad thing is that we are all struggling nowadays to find the time for hobbies/crafts as we are all so busy working and keeping our homes/gardens/lives in order, regardless of gender. I personally think that is where some of our problems stem from now - if one parent (no matter which one) were to be at home for kids etc, maybe they would get into less trouble and learn life skills such as cooking, cleaning and repairing things? It is also a sad indictment on society that we all need as many adults as there is in the house out to work as soon as possible, just to pay te rent or mortgage
                           
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                          • Snorky85

                            Snorky85 Total Gardener

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                            :loll: that just reminded me of my dad saying “Mrs Woman”...not heard that for years!!!

                            As we’re all being nostalgic....I remember I loved our old brown rotary telephone. I recall telephones used to be rented back then?!

                            I also remember getting my first walkman...this is late 1980s....we couldnt afford a sony walkman-I had a Boots the Chemist version and loved it. Mum bought me my only tape-Jive Bunny Megamix! Apparently I was very out of tune when id sing along to it with my headphones in.
                             
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                            • Loki

                              Loki Total Gardener

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                              TVs and phones where usually rented. Everything was rented!
                              My sis and I had to endure hours of Mam , shopping, !!!!
                              We'd go to the 'electricity board' and pay the bill.
                              Next was the gas, then the TVs, then the phone!
                              All online now :rolleyespink:
                              Easier some might say....... less competition I say!
                              I don't honestly know what is better.
                              I'm .... trying to ..".. pretend my friend isn't leaving!
                              Waffling on...... sorry. Aaarrrrggghhhhh
                              I'm going to miss @ARMANDII :sad:
                               
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                              • CanadianLori

                                CanadianLori Total Gardener

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                                This is in my living room..... today and working landline...
                                15493256684362007790869.jpg
                                 
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