Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[Brent Goose]

Lots of stuff linked to film photography. For example, photo minilabs. Especially, the once-ubiquitous red-and-yellow K (for Kodak) signs advertising “1 hour pictures” - although some of them remain, sometimes as marks of a distant past, sometimes to indicate one of the last Mohicans minilabs.

Similarly, photography counters or drop boxes at supermarkets. Small shelves, often diagonally affixed, designed to store film boxes, in general stores or tourist shops. Darkroom equipment and chemicals widely available at places like Dixon’s. Photo clubs at schools, universities, workplaces, etc.

(Disclaimer: I have been a keen analog photographer and camera tinkerer for the best part of 30 years and I still regularly shoot film, at least one per month!)

My vague recollection is that a modest saving could be made by posting one’s film off for processing with the results coming back in fortnight.

Newspapers would occasionally feature stories of other people’s pictures being received instead

 

[SHD]

I vaguely remember that comparably priced films from (say) Kodak and from Agfa had their own distinctive way of reproducing certain colours.

Absolutely. Even if there were many different parameters, for negative film stock - typical Kodak tones were warm, Fuji cooler and greener, and Agfa highly saturated and contrasty.

Going back further, the color rendition of Kodachrome reversal film is unmistakable - exactly as Paul Simon sang it.

Even comparable black and white films had their own distinctive renderings, e.g. Kodak Tri-X’s coarse, almost gritty grain, compared to Ilford’s HP5 more rounded and regular grain.

Today, we have a diverse enough supply of black and white films - Kodak, Ilford, Foma (Czech republic), Lucky (China).

Unfortunately for color films, there is a near-monopoly of Kodak. There are “alternative” brands but they typically respool Kodak motion picture stock. Fuji’s own production has dwindled into insignificance and is almost unobtainable outside of Japan. There are two attempts to restart production in Europe - Harman/Ilford and Orwo in Germany - which I hope will be successful.

 

[RyanOPlasty]

I worked in a film processing lab for my summer holiday job in 1978. It was very busy during the summer. Bags of films were waiting at 6 AM, and we usually had everything out of the door by 2 PM. There were two separate development lines, one for the Kodak process and one for the Agfa process. All the other brands used one of these processes.

 

[Killingworth]

My apologies. I did a search but obviously didn't do it correctly.

No worries, thought for a moment I must have posted in a dfferent thread, like "You know you're getting older when...."

 

[OhNoAPacer]

No worries, thought for a moment I must have posted in a dfferent thread, like "You know you're getting older when...."

I think I would be capable of posting to the wrong forum never mind a thread

 

[SHD]

I worked in a film processing lab for my summer holiday job in 1978. It was very busy during the summer. Bags of films were waiting at 6 AM, and we usually had everything out of the door by 2 PM. There were two separate development lines, one for the Kodak process and one for the Agfa process. All the other brands used one of these processes.

So many moments of life that whisked in and out in front of your eyes I wonder if any picture left an impression in your mind?

 

[OhNoAPacer]

As well as camera film I remember using instant negative/print items for taking photographs on both a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope. You put the film / print, which was enclosed in a card covering, into a holder with rollers over the screen then pulled the card off to expose the film. You then recovered pulled the entire item out through the rollers which caused a gel to be spread and hence develop the picture.
You got a polaroid print, which you fixed by rubbing with a supplied fixative on a small pad, the negative you would then was with water. The prints never lasted very long but the negatives seemed as good as that from a conventional film camera.
I wonder if anyone still uses these, obviously modern instruments would let you capture the image digitally but it isn ot unimaginable to think that older equipment would still be in use, I wonder if you can still get the film?

 

[najaB]

I wonder if anyone still uses these, obviously modern instruments would let you capture the image digitally but it isn ot unimaginable to think that older equipment would still be in use, I wonder if you can still get the film?

I can't see them being used "in anger" since a digital imager will be capable of significantly higher resolution at lower cost, but I could see them being used for the aesthetic value.

 

[OhNoAPacer]

I can't see them being used "in anger" since a digital imager will be capable of significantly higher resolution at lower cost, but I could see them being used for the aesthetic value.

The only reason I wondered if any were still in use was due to the high cost of replacing say a scanning electron microscope so older ones were still being used somewhere.

 

[Ediswan]

The only reason I wondered if any were still in use was due to the high cost of replacing say a scanning electron microscope so older ones were still being used somewhere.

An alternative was an opaque plastic tube which fitted between the (Polaroid) camera and the e.g. oscilloscope screen. Use a pre-determined focus and exposure. That approach would work with a DSLR.

 

[Howardh]

Comics? I never go to the newsagents for a paper or magazine - so makes me wonder are all the comics like "TV 21" I used to read as a nipper still a thing? If so, what would be today's equivalent? But science-fiction wise, when I see a re-run of the TV series "UFO" (and, by, was that dark at times...) they proudly show the future as being "1980" as it was made in the 70's!!

 

[dangie]

I never go to the newsagents for a paper or magazine....

On a similar note, do they still have paper boys/girls? I haven't seen one for quite some time.
When I was a lad back in the 1960's you had to put your name down well in advance for the chance to become one.

 

[Howardh]

On a similar note, do they still have paper boys/girls? I haven't seen one for quite some time.
When I was a lad back in the 1960's you had to put your name down well in advance for the chance to become one.

Think they do - at least in the mornings now as evening papers seem to have disappeared. Never up early enough to confirm, but surely there's demand from the elderly, especially if the papers come with TV magazines? Interesting question, bet many on here were a paper lad/girl!!

Side issue - in Bolton like many NW towns, when it was Waikes Week (became a fortnight) the majority of newsagents closed so the paper sellers used covered bus stops; not sure exactly when that practice ended, maybe late 70's; but towns really did all but shut down for a fortnight; shops, mills, businesses, schools of course.

 

[dangie]

Interesting question, bet many on here were a paper lad/girl!!

Yes I was, about 1964-1966. I know it was 1966 as I was late for my evening round on 30th July 1966 due to the World Cup Final going to extra time

Living near Stoke-on-Trent I mainly used to deliver the Potteries Evening Sentinel plus a few Wolverhampton Express & Stars.

 

[gswindale]

On a similar note, do they still have paper boys/girls? I haven't seen one for quite some time.
When I was a lad back in the 1960's you had to put your name down well in advance for the chance to become one.

They do. A couple of our neighbours still have a daily paper delivered. Meanwhile my parents now take a walk to pick up their paper as although there is a paper delivery service in their village, it doesn't deliver to their street!

 

[Bald Rick]

On a similar note, do they still have paper boys/girls?

Yes, the paper ‘boy’ near me almost ran me over this morning.

I say ‘boy’ as he is an adult, and rides a moped (presumably as he has quite a lot of ground to cover).

 

[GordonT]

Whilst there are still quite an abundance of "Travel Agents" I suspect that younger folk may not appreciate how much of their pre-internet custom was simply to transact domestic coach, train or plane tickets with the operator paying a set % commission to the TA based on the sales revenue for the operator. With much of the population becoming increasingly self-sufficient in booking all travel and holiday requirements online will there be any significant demand for Travel Agents in say twenty years time or will they be a fully anachronistic concept?

 

[Jimini]

There’s a company called Newsteam that have been buying newspaper home delivery rounds off independent newsagents for a fair few years now:

Home - Newsteam Group

Newspaper and magazine delivery service to homes & businesses across the UK - Early morning newspaper deliveries 7 days a week.

www.newsteamgroup.co.uk

 

[najaB]

With much of the population becoming increasingly self-sufficient in booking all travel and holiday requirements online will there be any significant demand for Travel Agents in say twenty years time or will they be a fully anachronistic concept?

They will exist, but will likely be almost if not entirely online rather than having brick and mortar locations. In the majority of cases the packaging of holidays will likely be automated, with human involvement only required in exceptional cases.

 

[AM9]

They will exist, but will likely be almost if not entirely online rather than having brick and mortar locations. In the majority of cases the packaging of holidays will likely be automated, with human involvement only required in exceptional cases.

There is still a considerable demand for bespoke travel where specific needs/wishes cannot be met by either online packages or DIY flight and accommodation booking. Trailfinders is the leading operator there and I think they and their competitors will still have a presence on years to come.

 

[Harpo]

or a seedy soft porn film.

….nowadays I’d be wondering how ‘repair man’ will fix the washing machine.

 

[najaB]

There is still a considerable demand for bespoke travel where specific needs/wishes cannot be met by either online packages or DIY flight and accommodation booking. Trailfinders is the leading operator there and I think they and their competitors will still have a presence on years to come.

I've no doubt that companies such as Trailfinders are already experimenting with AI to build those packages, likely based on natural language processing of client requests.

 

[GusB]

On the subject of travel agents, there a still a couple with a high street presence here. Hays is still there, having taken over the old Thomas Cook branch, and we have Murray Travel which is Inverness based and acquired a couple of local independents; the latter has opened a couple of new branches so there must be some demand.

 

[Killingworth]

Our local Hay's branch here in SW Sheffield is currently closed for refurbishing. It draws a very loyal clientele from quite a distance due to their very helpful personal service. Folks seem happy to pay for that.

(I may not have booked through a travel agent's shop for 40 years!)

 

[dangie]

Back in the 1950/60’s. Sunday evening treat (not every Sunday, too expensive).
Lyons Kunzle Cakes.

 

[AM9]

I've no doubt that companies such as Trailfinders are already experimenting with AI to build those packages, likely based on natural language processing of client requests.

i'm sure they are, but a certain amount of footfall is unlikey to stay with them if there isn't the facility to deal face-to-face with a human.

 

[GordonT]

At one time there was a tendency for many communities to have several widely known named "characters" who had differing reasons for their prominence. Such reasons would often include holding some local dignitary position, having quite pronounced mannerisms, conducting their business and/or personal affairs close to the margins of legality etc. I suspect that there is a culture of more anonymity these days hence fewer local personages and more generally far less interaction between neighbouring households than formerly let alone folk within the wider community.

 

[Springs Branch]

At one time there was a tendency for many communities to have several widely known named "characters" who had differing reasons for their prominence.

In the past I encountered several specimens of a sub-species of the "colourful characters" described by @Gordon T.

These individuals were to be found at racecourses and more generally around the horse-racing "industry" - in the days when that pastime had more prominence than it does today, now there are so many other easy outlets for people's gambling predilections.

They were usually well-dressed, well-fed and well-known gentlemen of maturing years who always seemed to turn up at any significant event - usually in natty suit, colourful tie and hat, and driving a rather nice car (which may or may not have been paid for) - in order to mingle garrulously, make "useful" friends and drink someone else's booze. Not really at the Royal Ascot-type level though, more a Wednesday afternoon at Wincanton.

If it was ever necessary to explain who these characters were & why they were there, they would be described simply as a "well-known Racing Identity". As they seemed to neither own nor train racehorses, and weren't bookies, landed gentry and certainly not jockeys, I always wondered exactly what qualifications (beyond the gift of the gab) were needed in order to become a "Racing Identity".

For the ones I encountered, it was never obvious just where the money to fund their moderately showy lifestyle came from. I suppose a shorthand expression for "Racing Identity" might be "Con Man" - of the Arthur Daly ilk.

 

[GusB]

At one time there was a tendency for many communities to have several widely known named "characters" who had differing reasons for their prominence. Such reasons would often include holding some local dignitary position, having quite pronounced mannerisms, conducting their business and/or personal affairs close to the margins of legality etc. I suspect that there is a culture of more anonymity these days hence fewer local personages and more generally far less interaction between neighbouring households than formerly let alone folk within the wider community.

This is a very vague post and I suspect that you've deliberately made it so in order to avoid offending anyone!

When I was a kid I didn't have a paper round but I used to deliver leaflets for the local Mace shop and I got to know every single house in the village, along with many of the people who lived in them. The village is one of those places where the jungle drums sound loudly and news doesn't take long to spread, but there were a few people who preferred to stay out of the limelight. I wouldn't suggest that they were conducting their business or personal affairs close to the margins of legality, though - merely that they were private people and didn't want the world to know about their affairs.

The culture of anonymity has always been there, but it's more difficult to maintain in the days of "everything online".

 

[D6130]

At one time there was a tendency for many communities to have several widely known named "characters" who had differing reasons for their prominence. Such reasons would often include holding some local dignitary position, having quite pronounced mannerisms, conducting their business and/or personal affairs close to the margins of legality etc. I suspect that there is a culture of more anonymity these days hence fewer local personages and more generally far less interaction between neighbouring households than formerly let alone folk within the wider community.

I can assure you that there are still plenty of "characters" in Hebden Bridge....possibly to the extent that people who are not "characters" may almost be in a minority! In fact there are those - especially regulars in my local pub - who might describe me as one of them!