Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[Harpo]

On the subject of teachers with leather patched elbows I remember one who, as well as elbows, had leather sewn on frayed edges of his jacket, his cuffs, his trouser turn-ups. He also had mended his spectacles with elastoplast.

Peculiarly patterned ‘sports’ jackets, waistcoats, garish ties, corduroy trousers, hush-puppy shoes and lady teachers in knitted jumpers.

Parents’ evenings nowadays suggest that the Teachers’ Clothing Shop is still open somewhere.

 

[AM9]

Peculiarly patterned ‘sports’ jackets, waistcoats, garish ties, corduroy trousers, hush-puppy shoes and lady teachers in knitted jumpers.

Parents’ evenings nowadays suggest that the Teachers’ Clothing Shop is still open somewhere.

Of course there is a double whammy here from the '60s onwards when teenagers became much more fashion concious and by default rejected styles established by earlier generations. Teachers by and larger were high on the list of coservative dressers which exacerbated the impact on adolescent taste. Ironically, some teachers in more recent years go out of their way to be 'down with the kids' in their attire.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Ironically, some teachers in more recent years go out of their way to be 'down with the kids' in their attire

I really wouldn’t want to see any of my old teachers in the clothes teenagers wear today.

 

[swt_passenger]

Some may have hung on for a little longer but I suspect most were gone before the turn of the milennium. It occurred to me a couple of years ago when looking at old phots from the 80s (which did feature them in the background) that even though I passed my driving test in 1992 and have been a car owner since 1999, I've never used one of those old style meters.

Googling suggests a few struggled on until 2009 in Westminster, but I’d agree with the vast majority being removed well before then. I can’t really remember using them more than a few times even starting driving in ‘74. I think most places I went on street parking was possible somewhere, but you could nearly always find somewhere cheaper.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Peculiarly patterned ‘sports’ jackets, waistcoats, garish ties, corduroy trousers, hush-puppy shoes and lady teachers in knitted jumpers.

Parents’ evenings nowadays suggest that the Teachers’ Clothing Shop is still open somewhere.

This post has taken me back to the days of pastel coloured jackets with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows.
Because in the mid 1980s, we were so "Miami Vice"

 

[Howardh]

Separate salt bags in crisps.

 

[D6130]

I really wouldn’t want to see any of my old teachers in the clothes teenagers wear today.

On the other hand, one of my young French teachers back in 1973 absolutely wowed us teenage lads in tight tops, micro-skirts and contrasting brightly-coloured tights. She must only have been about 5-6 years older than me and had I not been so shy at the time, I would have been tempted to ask her out....as would hundreds of other lads in the school. All highly-illegal of course, but you can only dream! @Cheshire Scot and @McRhu will almost certainly remember her. I had better not name her as she or a member of her family may read these forums. I suppose she would be about 72 now!

 

[Trackman]

Separate salt bags in crisps.

Still going, not Smiths any more but Walkers, but branded as Smiths Salt and Shake.

 

[Howardh]

On the other hand, one of my young French teachers back in 1973 absolutely wowed us teenage lads in tight tops, micro-skirts and contrasting brightly-coloured tights. She must only have been about 5-6 years older than me and had I not been so shy at the time, I would have been tempted to ask her out....as would hundreds of other lads in the school. All highly-illegal of course, but you can only dream! @Cheshire Scot and @McRhu will almost certainly remember her. I had better not name her as she or a member of her family may read these forums. I suppose she would be about 72 now!

Just my luck as a schoolboy in the 70's when I was developing an interest in girls, their skirt length suddenly dropped from just-below-the-waist to just-above-the-ankle. So when I said a girl was "pretty" my mates would ask "has she good legs?"

"Dunno, can't get to see them".

 

[ChiefPlanner]

At seat service by (usual) ice cream ladies in the cinema , incidentally one could smoke also - very handy for teenagers I recall.

 

[Volvictof]

At seat service by (usual) ice cream ladies in the cinema , incidentally one could smoke also - very handy for teenagers I recall.

Not so long ago I think. I was born in 91 and I remember the cinema before the multiplexes. Folding seats, big velvet curtains in front of the screen and a lad in a red waistcoat selling tubs of Haagen-Dazs at the interval. Or hey… maybe I’m getting mixed up with the panto.

 

[McRhu]

On the other hand, one of my young French teachers back in 1973 absolutely wowed us teenage lads in tight tops, micro-skirts and contrasting brightly-coloured tights. She must only have been about 5-6 years older than me and had I not been so shy at the time, I would have been tempted to ask her out....as would hundreds of other lads in the school. All highly-illegal of course, but you can only dream! @Cheshire Scot and @McRhu will almost certainly remember her. I had better not name her as she or a member of her family may read these forums. I suppose she would be about 72 now!

I believe I do remember her. There was also a young student teacher from France who taught us French funnily enough (might it have been the same vision of loveliness as the above?) who was terribly shy and giggled a lot and went by the name of Mademoiselle B..... who stole my teenage heart. But my memory of Scotland's Most Elite Alma Mater is also coloured by a smattering of harridans and a few tawse-happy martinets on whose wrong side I invariably was. Many teachers were of course WW2 veterans and I burn scarlet thinking about the times we selfishly prodded them to tell us about their (probably painful) wartime experiences (sorry Puggy) so that we wouldn't have to do any actual schoolwork.

 

[Lemmy99uk]

The evening before our summer holiday, my dad would walk to the corner of our street to meet the local beat Bobby to explain how long we would be gone for, and to ask him to keep an eye on our house.

 

[GordonT]

The evening before our summer holiday, my dad would walk to the corner of our street to meet the local beat Bobby to explain how long we would be gone for, and to ask him to keep an eye on our house.

Even if you were not fortunate enough to be able to speak to the beat copper personally I can certainly remember my father contacting the local police office in the 60s to let them know how long the house would be unoccupied during our summer holiday so the police could keep an eye on our (relatively average) dwelling. I suspect if a similar request were to have been placed during Summer 2024 it would have invoked a reasonable amount of hilarity.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

On the other hand, one of my young French teachers back in 1973 absolutely wowed us teenage lads in tight tops, micro-skirts and contrasting brightly-coloured tights. She must only have been about 5-6 years older than me and had I not been so shy at the time, I would have been tempted to ask her out....as would hundreds of other lads in the school. All highly-illegal of course, but you can only dream! @Cheshire Scot and @McRhu will almost certainly remember her. I had better not name her as she or a member of her family may read these forums. I suppose she would be about 72 now!

Sadly I have no memory of this vision and, having spent four years being 'taught' French the O Grades produced a fail, perhaps something to do with the 'teaching' (although funnily enough I did pass all the others) as in fifth year a resit produced an A due to Mrs Gorrie who unlike most of the other 'teachers' could actually teach! Obviously not the 'vision' mentioned as she would be around my mother's age.
It was only when I ventured south to university I began to realise how poor an education that place had provided - unless of course it was the distraction when in a west facing classroom that WHL movements could be observed, I reckon in the school day there were typically 7 or maybe 8 trains passing by with an additional two during the summer timetable period.

 

[GordonT]

On the topic of secondary schools, Deputy Head Teachers who were adept at spotting pupils sneaking in late to school or indulging in a fly smoke and who would shout at full volume "You Boy! - Come here and hold out your hand!" And then being belted a few times and sent on their way.

 

[Tester]

Even if you were not fortunate enough to be able to speak to the beat copper personally I can certainly remember my father contacting the local police office in the 60s to let them know how long the house would be unoccupied during our summer holiday so the police could keep an eye on our (relatively average) dwelling. I suspect if a similar request were to have been placed during Summer 2024 it would have invoked a reasonable amount of hilarity.

That was certainly an accepted thing during my special constable days (1976-1980).

 

[Western Lord]

At seat service by (usual) ice cream ladies in the cinema , incidentally one could smoke also - very handy for teenagers I recall.

It was never at seat service, there wasn't room. The ice cream ladies positioned themselves at the front of the stalls and circle and you had to go to them to make your purchase (if you had an aisle seat you could make a purchase as they passed on the way out of the auditorium). This had generally died out by the mid 1980's due to staff cuts and people wanting a greater selection of products, which were obtainable from the front of house kiosks.

 

[Canary73]

So did ITV. So and do transmitter will be operating on half power etc. Also some ITV companies had opening start up films. Here’s Westward Television’ start up ident from YouTube. It takes me right back to my youth.

A fuller version is available on YouTube containing transmitter information but will not play when linked.

A large part of my youth too and it was great when ITV was truly regional and made better and more diverse programming than we have today. The 1990 Broadcasting Act was the beginning of the end for the regional structure of ITV with mergers of companies, axing of regional programming and staff to the detriment of views and the basis on which the companies were given the rights to broadcast. If you were lucky, you could pick up more than one region, you'd get a choice of viewing. Now, with the exception of news (even that has become dual/multiple regions) everyone gets the same homogenised lowest common denominator tv. That said, I doubt regional farming programmes or Morning Worship would have stayed in the scheduled long. I'm surprised we still get Midnight Eucharist on Christmas Eve. Speaking of farming (even though it was BBC) this tune always reminded me of Sunday Roast...

 

[Merle Haggard]

A large part of my youth too and it was great when ITV was truly regional and made better and more diverse programming than we have today. The 1990 Broadcasting Act was the beginning of the end for the regional structure of ITV with mergers of companies, axing of regional programming and staff to the detriment of views and the basis on which the companies were given the rights to broadcast. If you were lucky, you could pick up more than one region, you'd get a choice of viewing

I'm not sure about that!

When my parents first rented a T.V. (for the 1959 Cup Final) and we came in the 'A.T.V.' area which was very parochial Birmingham - everyone had that local accents and all the news was about strikes in the car industry and posh people in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull complaining about something. Mid day entertainment was 'Lunch Box" presented by Noele Gordon with Gerry Allan and his T.V. Trio for music - for those happily not familiar with the latter they 'played' electric organs set on automatic. Totally ignored the rest of their area to the extent that, when reporting on a football match between Northampton and some team in the Birmingham area the report was partial to what they clearly considered the 'home' team.

We were then 'transferred' to Anglia. Look East was the news programme; a fair representation is the 'Broken News - Look Out East' - it's more documentary than satire! When there was the (?18.30?) changeover from the national news to the Anglia one on occasions the Norwich newsreader was unaware; we have watched 5 minutes of the lady presenter finishing her make-up and on another occasion the gentleman presenter sorting his script and walking around his desk dressed immaculately above the waist but wearing shorts and sandals. It may also have inspired 'Alan Partridge' so I suppose not all was lost.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Living in SW Wales we were blessed with Harlech TV - which often featured collapsing sets and less than slick programmers , special programmes on chapels etc made it tedious and the "news" was terribly parochial (but I suppose there was not a lot going on)

Cannot remember who screened the popular "Crossroads" - the plywood motel , pretty poor in my opinion.

 

[simonw]

It was never at seat service, there wasn't room. The ice cream ladies positioned themselves at the front of the stalls and circle and you had to go to them to make your purchase (if you had an aisle seat you could make a purchase as they passed on the way out of the auditorium). This had generally died out by the mid 1980's due to staff cuts and people wanting a greater selection of products, which were obtainable from the front of house kiosks.

Still happens in many theatres.

 

[D6130]

Living in SW Wales we were blessed with Harlech TV - which often featured collapsing sets and less than slick programmers , special programmes on chapels etc made it tedious and the "news" was terribly parochial (but I suppose there was not a lot going on)

Cannot remember who screened the popular "Crossroads" - the plywood motel , pretty poor in my opinion.

I remember it well. I think it was made by ATV in Birmingham....but I may be mistaken.

 

[Killingworth]

Platform tickets

 

[D6130]

Motels.

 

[simonw]

Platform tickets

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[Merle Haggard]

I remember it well. I think it was made by ATV in Birmingham....but I may be mistaken.

Correct, and starred the omnipresent (as far as AT.V. was concerned) Noele Gordon. There was a satirical series which lampooned it, can't remember the name - it centred around the cleaner and faithfully reproduced the (many) shortcomings of the original.

Crossroads was one of a number of programmes where, after a change of scene, there was often a noticeable lag before the actors started moving - presumably they waited for some command. I would have thought that an actor sweeping the floor, for instance, might have started moving before the scene was being transmitted to avoid this, but...

Bizarrely, there was a real Crossroads Motel in Weedon, Northamptonshire, where the A5 and A45 crossed. I actually had (blagged!) a meal there once, pretty good. Not sure why they didn't change the name to avoid the obvious comparisons.

 

[Harpo]

Still happens in many theatres.

In tubs so small that a three year would feel put out by the portion size.

 

[Killingworth]

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How many places still issue them and how many buy them?

 

[Barnsley]

How many places still issue them and how many buy them?

Any booking office with Star equipment can definately issue them! When I was in one, we used to get letters with 40p in, asking for 2 from each machine, with a stamped envelope to post them back in!