swt_passenger
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Apr 2010
- Messages
- 34,308
Typing pools probably replaced in modern culture by ‘Olympic sized swimming pools’…
-
Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now
- Thread starter GordonT
- Start date
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
SargeNpton
Established Member
- Joined
- 19 Nov 2018
- Messages
- 1,746
Working in Euston House in the early 1980s there were some strange mini telephones that were dictating machines for when you wanted a letter doing in the typing pool. Only a couple of people used them though, with most sending a hand-written draft. When a lot of letters used technical language, or required columns of figures, dictated letters tending to come back with lots of errors that had to be annotated and sent back - leading to delays in posting them.
Related, my Step-mum reckons she was put out of business by Alan Sugar, why you may ask?
Well she had brought an Apricot computer and had a side business typing letters out for local companies like solicitors who wanted something more professional looking than something done on a typewriter, alas the Amstrad PCW came along and now companies could afford their own word processing system and didn't need here services. Luckily she had payment protection insurance on it and given she now had to sign on she got the resto of the payments covered. She would later on get an Amstrad PC1512 so she wasn't completely against Amstrad products.
Well she had brought an Apricot computer and had a side business typing letters out for local companies like solicitors who wanted something more professional looking than something done on a typewriter, alas the Amstrad PCW came along and now companies could afford their own word processing system and didn't need here services. Luckily she had payment protection insurance on it and given she now had to sign on she got the resto of the payments covered. She would later on get an Amstrad PC1512 so she wasn't completely against Amstrad products.
Merle Haggard
Established Member
At its Southern end the A50 of my childhood provided a link between the A6 at Leicester and the A5 at Hockliffe. For some reason road haulage and in particular coal lorry drivers from the Notts & Derbys coal mines preferred this route. To the North of Leicester it went to Warrington via Burton, Stoke and Crewe. The road currently numbered A50 does follow a vaguely similar rote.
It was a reference to the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen sketch in which the participants competitively out-did each other in recounting how hard their upbringing was, and I was worried I might give the same impression. After one of the Yorkshiremen had outlined how tough his childhood was the next would counter 'Luxury!' and recount even worse times.
I've always lived in the Red Rose Shire (which, for the avoidance of doubt, isn't Lancashire)
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
My jobs, working at GM Euston in Freight Marketing at Euston House and then GM Paddington in Parcels Marketing involved a lot of letters - quotes and contract agreements to customers particularly at the latter location. I used the dictation phone system a lot. It had the advantage of speed - it was a lot quicker to dictate than to write down (neatly and readably!) provided of course you could structure a letter 'on the hoof'.
When I first started to use the system and played back what I had said to check or to go back and re-phrase I obviously heard my own voice. It sounded terrible - deep and very gruff! I didn't know! But frequent use helped me to soften my speech, an unexpected consequence.
Later, of course, typing pools were closed and we were expected to type our own letters, using a word processor- initially one called 'Wang'. Seeing the speed a modestly paid typist could type a letter compared to those of us on higher pay rates doing the same slowly using two hesitant fingers did make me think that perhaps the financial benefits of MS staff taking over typing had been overstated - or maybe it was thought that MS staff had plenty of 'spare capacity' in our working day...,
Last edited:
EYFanatic
Member
Me reading this in bed dressed in pyjamas: Am I an anachronism now?
Nothing wrong in that, just thought they were now not En-vogue.
Being quite complex, traincrew diagrams went to typing pools until the mid 1980s when DIADS (Direct input and distribution system, I think?) appeared, putting the first piece of electrical IT other than a phone on many desks.
Around that time some control logs (e.g. York & Liverpool Street) migrated to TOPS for distribution. If you had access to TOPS and knew the magic numbers you could read each regions daily story, often written in amusing styles.
I have three.
OC Domestic wishes we only had three.
.Currently it's seven round the house, two on the bench being renovated and six in the queue.
Fortunately, for me, only one is chiming and four striking. I find it strangely restful. Others disagree.
Killingworth
Established Member
Television aerials orientated to different transmitters on houses in the same road in places where coverage overlaps.
Here in Sheffield we may be able to get signals bringing us news aimed either at West Yorkshire or South Yorkshire and Humberside well down into Lincolnshire.
In Richmond (Yorks) some would get a Tyne Tees signal and others Yorkshire TV. A few houses might have 2 aerials to get both.
We noticed when out walking yesterday how few houses now have aerials and that satellite dishes are becoming less common. We suspected from the condition of them that quite a few aerials and dishes were no longer in use.
Here in Sheffield we may be able to get signals bringing us news aimed either at West Yorkshire or South Yorkshire and Humberside well down into Lincolnshire.
In Richmond (Yorks) some would get a Tyne Tees signal and others Yorkshire TV. A few houses might have 2 aerials to get both.
We noticed when out walking yesterday how few houses now have aerials and that satellite dishes are becoming less common. We suspected from the condition of them that quite a few aerials and dishes were no longer in use.
I don't think Sky even offer a service with a satellite dish anymore do they? It's all streamed over the Internet now. So new Sky users won't be getting satellite dishes installed. I think it's only Freesat now that new users will need a satellite dish for. It will be a shame to see less of them. I always like to point out to people that you can always work out which direction you're facing just by looking at position of nearby satellite dishes. Every one is oriented in a south-southeast direction, as it's just the one satellite that provides Sky and Freesat services for the whole country.
They installed a new dish on our place when we moved in Feb '25. Might have changed in the last 12 or so months though!
I think we're unusual, but (see also my comments on fountain pens) it's very easy to see something "old" as "unusual" if you personally don't have contact with it.
John Lewis sell a 'radio controlled pendulum clock'. How does that work ?
OC Domestic wishes we only had three.
Currently it's seven round the house, two on the bench being renovated and six in the queue.
Fortunately, for me, only one is chiming and four striking. I find it strangely restful. Others disagree.
https://www.johnlewis.com/acctim-we...-numeral-pendulum-wall-clock-brown/p112232451
D6130
Established Member
Perhaps you can wind it up remotely from anywhere in the World....a bit like our central heating!
In theory my Gran could get at least three regions, West (primary region) from Mendip, South West (secondary region) from Stockland Hill and Wales from Wenvoe.
Interestingly she could get a usable signal from both Mendip and Wenvoe, for the BBC multiplexes at least, despite the transmitters being in different directions.
Also multiple antennas, you could have a Band I, Band II, Band III and a Band IV/V UHF antenna for both 405 line TV, 625 line TV and VHF FM radio. There is a thread on the vintage-radio.net forum that has pictures of properties that still have their old aerials present, there's a couple round here.
Virgin Media won't even sell you a recordable box either these days, just streaming boxes.
There are 3 Sky satellites with Freesat, the future is looking very glum for Freesat after 2032ish.
DelW
Established Member
- Joined
- 15 Jan 2015
- Messages
- 6,035
I expect that the pendulum is purely decorative and plays no part in timekeeping. Most low-price pendulum clocks have a standard battery powered quartz movement doing the actual work.
I have two pendulum clocks running, one of which belonged to my grandparents, and probably dates from their marriage in 1912. It keeps quite good time, currently gaining around half a minute a week, but that will likely reduce in warmer conditions. So it's an anachronism in its age but is telling the current time.
In the early "70s, I lived in Colchester where I could get TV from 3 different main Transmitters :
Local Anglia services from Sudbury, London services from Crystal Palace and usually, Sputhern services from Dover As a Londoner, I installed a group A yagi aerial aligned on CP. Sudbury (group B) came in strong as it was only 16 Km distant. Crystal Palace, (87 Km) was grainy and Dover (90 Km) on the now given up to 4G mobile use, ch 66, was quite weather/tide dependent.
It meant that we could watch regional varied programmes, the biggest difference was that both BBC and ITV local news programmes, London generally having a full variety of articles whereas the other two often struggling to fill the slot with repeats of national news topics and what was local trivia.
EYFanatic
Member
Until digital switchover and so on, it was possible for places in the Shetlands to pick up Norwegian and Swedish TV signals as well as BBC and STV
I grew up with a ca. 1837 long case clock in the house (hourly chimes). That kept good time up to about 2000, when it was deemed not worth paying to have it cleaned again. Regulating that was an education in patience.
163 years, I don’t think a modern clock would last that long.
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
With a longcase clock you only need to be worried if it was bought in the morning of the day you were born and then suddenly stopped working...
D6130
Established Member
Like!With a longcase clock you only need to be worried if it was bought in the morning of the day you were born and then suddenly stopped working...
Ashley Hill
Established Member
I own two pendulum clocks. Both are at my fathers house as Mrs H cannot stand ticking clocks.
Given how far signals can travel and assuming a decent aerial setup that's no surprise.
At one point the re-broadcast link for ITV for the Channel Islands was done by picking up Rowridge in Brittany and then via microwave to Jersey. The BBC digital/NICAM radio link was via Stockland Hill (East Devon) and Alderney using only 250W effective radiated power.
I think the modern equivalent of aerials getting signals from different country, pirate radio stations might be vpn's probably something more technical though. I'm not the best inofrmed, but know some people that use websites that give out certain peoples account passwords so you could use there account to stream content for free that is meant to be paid.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
I think companies realised that they make more money when stuff doesn't last as long. I've also heard with computers and stuff it's easier to manufacture something to only last as long as they plan it to last.With a longcase clock you only need to be worried if it was bought in the morning of the day you were born and then suddenly stopped working...
I think the feeling of things being very physical that they feel like they can easily be repaired is kind of anachronistic nowadays. I think it's more of a vibe and aesthetic than overall fact.
I got a bicycle last year and then consumed a lot of bicycle content. My bicycle is very repairable. However regarding the design and components, although the model is still in mass production, it's considered quite old fashioned compared to most bicycles made today. The bicycles that noticeably look modern are obviously ebikes, with integrated batteries or regular bikes that have internal cables for braking and wireless derailleurs or internal gear systems, custom saddle poles and stems. So they are harder to repair.
But also some modern bicycles look like their aesthetic gives off a more gamified, avatar look. I see the same thing with some modern cars with all the screens and maybe projected dashboard onto the front windscreen for the driver. I have heard another term for this being that modern things feel less physical as they are compared to a blackbox, they have so much information however the physical parts of how they work is more abstract and hidden whereas with older stuff the mechanical workings are so much easier to notice.
I think this goes further with more things that can easily be electrified. I guess more fusion of the electrical and physical side of things. For example led lights being used in car logos, maybe was able to be done for some time but seems normalised now because of modern LED light technology.
Last edited: