Glad I was born when I was (long time ago)

[Fume troll]

WorAl said:

Fume troll said:

Not the best argument against progress. You could logically extend it to any time in history / prehistory.
And yes, there were plenty times I thought it would be very handy to be able to contact someone without trying to find 10p and a phonebox, and then hope the other person was actually beside a phone too.

Granted yes, at times it would have been nice but if it didn't happen, you just thought, oh well I'll see them later.

What happens now? Someone doesn't answer their phone, "oh st, what haven't they answered? they always answer" or "why haven't you answered your phone? I've been trying for ages" etc etc. Life just seemed to have less stress and more forgiving aura.

Maybe that's life through Rose tinted specs but there seems to be a few here who agree and people I talk to about 'the olden days' seem to agree too.

Fume troll said:

I seem to see plenty. I suppose it depends on the community.

Cheers,

FT.

Maybe it is, but the area I grew up in hasn't changed much and the last housing area I lived in was anything but a slum, quite well off and no real crime levels or such like.

The people freaking out about unanswered mobiles would be the same ones freaking out when someone doesn't get home from work on time, misses the school bus, or has a flight delayed and couldn't make contact. There have always been opportunities to get stressed.

I agree, there was a lot to like about the "olden days", I just think things are better now than they were. Probably better than they have ever been.

Here's the question, if you could the clock back would you? (Obviously you'd stay the same age, sorry!)

Cheers,

FT.

[WorAl]

Fume troll said:

Here's the question, if you could the clock back would you? (Obviously you'd stay the same age, sorry!)

Cheers,

FT.

Maybe not if I had to stay this age, my playing out and being a kid days have passed by, but if I could go back to being 7-15 year old, I would definitely choose to go back to the 60's/70's/80's.

But that's why I'm saying I'm pleased I grew up when I did, as I had it good back then and I have it good now (cars/computer technology)

Edited by WorAl on Thursday 14th October 12:33

[cazzer]

Fume troll said:

Here's the question, if you could the clock back would you? (Obviously you'd stay the same age, sorry!)

Absolutely, in a heartbeat, with no hesitation.

If you were out, you were out. People couldn't get in touch with you until you were in.
If you went spirited driving, the only way bib could catch you was to catch you. No Cameras, no anpr, no "partnerships"

You went to the pub, got pissed, had a fag, had a laugh, came home. No standing in a smoking shelter, no "please drink alochol responsibly".

Life was more fun.

My mum and dad went to the pub 4 nights a week, from me being 12. No one called social services.
I'd go out in the mornin, come home at night, no one was worried I'd been abducted.

Life just seems to be diluted arse now.
Don't do this, don't do that, that's bad for you, think of the children, strictly come xfactor idol, where theres blame theres a claim, ste.

Would I go back? Definitely.
Am I glad I don't have kids? Very.

[Fume troll]

WorAl said:

But that's why I'm saying I'm pleased I grew up when I did, as I had it good back then and I have it good now (cars/computer technology)

Ahh, gotcha!

Cheers,

FT.

[qube_TA]

cazzer said:

Fume troll said:

Here's the question, if you could the clock back would you? (Obviously you'd stay the same age, sorry!)

Absolutely, in a heartbeat, with no hesitation.

If you were out, you were out. People couldn't get in touch with you until you were in.
If you went spirited driving, the only way bib could catch you was to catch you. No Cameras, no anpr, no "partnerships"

You went to the pub, got pissed, had a fag, had a laugh, came home. No standing in a smoking shelter, no "please drink alochol responsibly".

Life was more fun.

My mum and dad went to the pub 4 nights a week, from me being 12. No one called social services.
I'd go out in the mornin, come home at night, no one was worried I'd been abducted.

Life just seems to be diluted arse now.
Don't do this, don't do that, that's bad for you, think of the children, strictly come xfactor idol, where theres blame theres a claim, ste.

Would I go back? Definitely.
Am I glad I don't have kids? Very.

Going back would only work if you had no memory of the present as all the things you take for granted now you'd lose, instead you'd have bad hair, brown, ill fitting clothes, cross-ply tyres, cars that won't start when it's wet, no brakes, <100MPH top speed, 3 TV channels with nothing but Opportunity Knocks & The Generation Game on, no internet, PONG, holidays will be to the coast as flying is too expensive, little money and girls woman parts would look like they're giving birth to Chewbacca. You'd know it was all crap and that you'd have to put up with it for 40 years before you could get back to what you had.

[cazzer]

qube_TA said:

Going back would only work if you had no memory of the present as all the things you take for granted now you'd lose, instead you'd have bad hair, brown, ill fitting clothes, cross-ply tyres, cars that won't start when it's wet, no brakes, <100MPH top speed, 3 TV channels with nothing but Opportunity Knocks & The Generation Game on, no internet, PONG, holidays will be to the coast as flying is too expensive, little money and girls woman parts would look like they're giving birth to Chewbacca. You'd know it was all crap and that you'd have to put up with it for 40 years before you could get back to what you had.

Bad arguments. I only have classic cars now (apart from the wifes). I have a haircut when it gets too long. Then I have a number 3 (Lasts 6 months). Clothes? Meh, they keep you warm. Cross plys can be fun. WD40. My 58 Plymouth had power brakes and could stop as good as most modern cars. bks to abs.
My current commute is 24 miles and takes me 1.5 hours....100 mph??? I've forgotten when I saw that last.
I have 100s of channels on TV and theyre mostly full of crap. In fact I could watch bullseye from 1982 if I wanted.
The internet? I wouldn't miss it.
Pong? Never had it back then either.

Foreign holidays from 1970 onwards, I have never been on holiday to they UK coast.
I have less disposable income than my parents as they had a mortgage for about £1000.
And I prefer women to look like women rather than pre pubescant girls.

So all in all....I'm still happy to go back.
Wouldn't miss "now" at all.

[Shaolin]

The past is always better as we are remembering when we were young but don't tend to realise that. It's the golden era that was our youth because we were young that we are lamenting rather than an objective golden era.

[singlecoil]

Shaolin said:

The past is always better as we are remembering when we were young but don't tend to realise that. It's the golden era that was our youth because we were young that we are lamenting rather than an objective golden era.

Maybe the others are remembering a golden era but I am not. My point is that although much about today is better than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago or more, the problem is with the underlying trend. There's a lot more people out there than there used to be, and more arriving all the time, and it's a lot easier for them to take your job (indirectly) then it used to be too. And they will do your job for a lot less than you will (I mean 'you' in general terms). People in India will do British IT jobs for less than would buy the bare necessities in this country.

[bobr]

singlecoil said:

There's a lot more people out there than there used to be, and more arriving all the time

Before too long Britain will hit the same state as Germany, where we need to encourage people to have kids, as there won't be enough sprogs to pay taxes when we get older.

[singlecoil]

bobr said:

singlecoil said:

There's a lot more people out there than there used to be, and more arriving all the time

Before too long Britain will hit the same state as Germany, where we need to encourage people to have kids, as there won't be enough sprogs to pay taxes when we get older.

I'm not concerned about the birthrate in this country, that isn't the problem. It's the number of people in other countries and the ease with which they can become part of our economy while staying where they are. It's not only imports, which are bad enough, but the professional and hi-tech services which are already being affected.

[gamefreaks]

Yep.

My personal feeling is that people of my age (mid 20's) are going to be a lost generation.

No chance of being able to afford a decent pension, yet lumbered with the cost of other peoples. Priced out of the housing market, yet lumbered with high rents. Less freedom. More competition for work. More fines, more FPN's. Lumbered with a practically bankrupt country, yet we have nothing to show for it. Country handed over to the EU. Taxed to fk in the name of global warming.

Things will get better. At some point in the future, we'll have another Labour government promising the end of boom and bust so we can do it all over again.

[eldar]

gamefreaks said:

Yep.

My personal feeling is that people of my age (mid 20's) are going to be a lost generation.

No chance of being able to afford a decent pension, yet lumbered with the cost of other peoples. Priced out of the housing market, yet lumbered with high rents. Less freedom. More competition for work. More fines, more FPN's. Lumbered with a practically bankrupt country, yet we have nothing to show for it. Country handed over to the EU. Taxed to fk in the name of global warming.

Things will get better. At some point in the future, we'll have another Labour government promising the end of boom and bust so we can do it all over again.

I think its going to be a lot harder for you. Student loans, expensive housing, pensions, global warming and the associated restrictions and taxes and big brother on every corner watching you.

Things will get better for the top 20%. If you aren't in that group, it probably wont.

[qube_TA]

If I was 30 years older I'd have gotten to see some great concerts, but if all my creature comforts and technology was replaced by 70's kit, clothes, decor, income etc was reset back to then, then it would be awfully frustrating as it would be rubbish compared to what I was used to.

Back in the 70's my Dad worked, my Mum stayed at home, there was no money, we had a small black n white TV set, a wireless radio, a Mk3 Cortina and a diet of lard. Nothing ever happened. The modern house is a palace by comparison.

The only things which I think were preferable in the past was for children, boredom isn't necessarily always a bad thing as it encouraged a decent attention span, encouraged imagination and appreciation for what you had, growing up I'd only ever receive a gift at Christmas, got nothing the rest of the year, as a result it was fantastic and I'd be counting down the days from the 1st of October, however in these modern times where you can have whatever you like, when you like and kids are spoilt then you never get the enjoyment from looking forward to something as everything happens now. TV may have been crap but when there was something on everyone watched the same thing at the same time so you could talk about it at school, the top 40 on the radio mattered and you cared where songs were in the charts. Now as there are a million channels and a million top 40's and you can iPlayer/iTunes the lot chances are no-one else will have seen what you did.

Folk who like watching football, smoking and drinking will probably look back with green eyes but for someone who's never cared for anything like that then the modern world is generally OK.

The economy will struggle whilst developing nations take work away from the West but it'll eventually balance out as they'll want the Western life too.

[WorAl]

Merlot said:

WorAl said:

TBH I am pleased I was born and grew up when I did, born 1983 so late 80's early 90's was my childhood era and I'm pleased as I think it was the last generation where kids could grow up freely without all the PC/elf n safety BS that children of this generation have to restrict them.

Good lord, for some reason I always had you down as being in your 50s.

What exactly gave you that impression?

[Pigeon]

Dunno but I thought it too...

What would I miss if things went back to the 70s? Not a lot. Computers/internet would be the biggie. And microwave ovens, I'd have to piss about with a stove instead.

Apart from those two, more or less bugger all. I have a 70s car anyway. I don't have a TV and even if I did TV hasn't got any better, there may be more of it but it's all even more st plus endless repeats. Clothes? What about them, it's not like people were wearing leaves and animal skins, I'd be wearing shirts and jeans same as I do now. Foreign holidays? Don't want them, they're just a load of hassle and expense to spend time in an unpleasant climate, the UK is better for weather and easier to get to since I'm here already. Money? I don't have any now so again no difference.

But on the positive side the music scene would be miles better and there would be Westerns, Deltics, Whistlers and Peaks all over the place. So if I could put up with the lack of computing technology it would overall be a lot better.

[WorAl]

Pigeon said:

Dunno but I thought it too...

What would I miss if things went back to the 70s? Not a lot. Computers/internet would be the biggie. And microwave ovens, I'd have to piss about with a stove instead.

Apart from those two, more or less bugger all. I have a 70s car anyway. I don't have a TV and even if I did TV hasn't got any better, there may be more of it but it's all even more st plus endless repeats. Clothes? What about them, it's not like people were wearing leaves and animal skins, I'd be wearing shirts and jeans same as I do now. Foreign holidays? Don't want them, they're just a load of hassle and expense to spend time in an unpleasant climate, the UK is better for weather and easier to get to since I'm here already. Money? I don't have any now so again no difference.

But on the positive side the music scene would be miles better and there would be Westerns, Deltics, Whistlers and Peaks all over the place. So if I could put up with the lack of computing technology it would overall be a lot better.

Well said, plus hols in Scotland and the like were much better back then due to there being no motorways etc, now you can do here to Isle of Skye in 6 hours, back then it took 2-3 days as all the roads went through every village, but the rewards were much better due to the lack of tourism. It's been spoiled a bit due to the amount of people you get up there because of how easy it is. (and that's where I got on 2-3 hols a year anyway, not abroad).

Pigeon said:

Dunno but I thought it too...

great

[BliarOut]

WorAl said:

Pigeon said:

Dunno but I thought it too...

What would I miss if things went back to the 70s? Not a lot. Computers/internet would be the biggie. And microwave ovens, I'd have to piss about with a stove instead.

Apart from those two, more or less bugger all. I have a 70s car anyway. I don't have a TV and even if I did TV hasn't got any better, there may be more of it but it's all even more st plus endless repeats. Clothes? What about them, it's not like people were wearing leaves and animal skins, I'd be wearing shirts and jeans same as I do now. Foreign holidays? Don't want them, they're just a load of hassle and expense to spend time in an unpleasant climate, the UK is better for weather and easier to get to since I'm here already. Money? I don't have any now so again no difference.

But on the positive side the music scene would be miles better and there would be Westerns, Deltics, Whistlers and Peaks all over the place. So if I could put up with the lack of computing technology it would overall be a lot better.

Well said, plus hols in Scotland and the like were much better back then due to there being no motorways etc, now you can do here to Isle of Skye in 6 hours, back then it took 2-3 days as all the roads went through every village, but the rewards were much better due to the lack of tourism. It's been spoiled a bit due to the amount of people you get up there because of how easy it is. (and that's where I got on 2-3 hols a year anyway, not abroad).

Pigeon said:

Dunno but I thought it too...

great

Ahem, Laker and Court Line with their BAC 1-11's were around in the 70s

[Cotty]

singlecoil said:

There is virtually nothing you can do that can't be done cheaper by someone in China or India, and if there is, then that won't help when everyone else has lost their jobs and can't afford to pay you for whatever it is that you do that can't be outsourced.

You can't buy experience. You can tell someone in India to put a square peg in a round whole, they will tell you it can not be done. You tell them to round off the edges and ... hey it fits. An experienced person would not have asked and got the job done first time.

[Bernard80]

I wish I was born in 1989

Then I would be 21 right now

[RDMcG]

Its a really interesting question. I was born in late 1948. I grew up in the fifties and went to university in the sixties. I do think we had it easier than it is now. I graduated from university in 1970 and there was almost endless opportunity. I recall thinking how much harder is was for my parents growing up in the Depression. The Western economies, despite cyclical drops were in a period of great expansion. There was a sense of optimism and confidence.
I do think it is much harder now in a global competition for work, with a lot of the middle income jobs mechanized or exported, the sense of unease about the political future, and the growing gap between rich and poor. There was less massive wealth when I was young, and it was possible for a middle income person to have a wife and kids on a single income. Not wealthy, but ok. Pensions were common and work mobility was low. Certainly, material standards of living were much lower.
We hit a lucky updraft, I think, and built careers that owed less to our great talent than to economic expansion. I am sure I would do a lot worse today if I were just graduating as the competition is so much more intense and I am not that smart.....