Crazes: A flash in the pan - then it's gone.
Discussion
I was reminiscing with a mate the other day about life in the early 1990s.
Who remembers 0898 chat lines? I don't mean w
k lines but premium rate numbers you could call to be put through to a load of strangers all talking at once,
As pissed students we'd call them. Utterly pointless. Los of shouting swearing people just saying "Hello" repeatedly. I recall there was some sort of moderator who would cut you off if it got out of hand.
I guess the cost and the soon to come Internet with its U.K. Local boards killed it. That and it was utterly pointless.
At the time, you'd see the numbers in the papers, and your hear or read stories about kids running up mega bills on their parents' accounts.
Then it was gone. A flash in the pan.
CB radio is another.
Do any other odd in-fashion activities spring to mind. Things that just stopped seemingly overnight.
Who remembers 0898 chat lines? I don't mean w
k lines but premium rate numbers you could call to be put through to a load of strangers all talking at once, As pissed students we'd call them. Utterly pointless. Los of shouting swearing people just saying "Hello" repeatedly. I recall there was some sort of moderator who would cut you off if it got out of hand.
I guess the cost and the soon to come Internet with its U.K. Local boards killed it. That and it was utterly pointless.
At the time, you'd see the numbers in the papers, and your hear or read stories about kids running up mega bills on their parents' accounts.
Then it was gone. A flash in the pan.
CB radio is another.
Do any other odd in-fashion activities spring to mind. Things that just stopped seemingly overnight.
Zod said:
Well, in service stations, it's presumably lorry drivers, but not sure who buys them from newsagents. It's one rite of passage denied to today's spotty youth; going to a newsagent that's not the one that supplies the household's papers, slipping a copy of Mayfair under Sounds or NME and not meeting the newsagent's eye when paying.
Oh the shame of my first attempt (Aged about 12) at purchasing one-handed reading matter.It was the summer holidays and I was staying with my aunt and uncle in a quiet little market town. I had the sense or so I thought not to try buying at the local shop, so went to one in the small town centre. I reached up to the shelf to pick up some quality art and before I even got to touch it the newsagent in a booming voice told me it wasn't going to happen.
Next day my rather easy going uncle brought the incident up. He thought it was funny. So did his friend the newsagent who apparently knew exactly who I was.
Bloody small towns! Everyone knowing everyone's business.
Back to the odd fashions.
I recall in the summer of 1985, (I was 15) a craze amongst lads at school to wear thin coloured steel bracelets. You were supposed to buy enough so it looked like you had a metal sleeve. I bought a couple to join in but the bangles pushed together and pinched the skin. Plus is seemed a little bit girly.
For extra kudos you wore the bangles with an army combat jacket with rolled up sleeves and a leather lace round your neck with a shark's tooth on it.
The fashion vanished as quick as it arrived. Surprisingly.
Thinking back, it may have had something to do with Rambo or the band Marillion. Rings a distant bell.
Edited by wildcat45 on Tuesday 24th May 16:35
I think they were called a Backflash. Reflective panels that went between the back lights and which necessitated the repositioning of the number plate and it's lights to the back bumper.
They usually bore the model of the car.
Looks like a lot of faff for some tat now.
Then there were the Suzuki spare wheel covers with shagging rhinos on them.
Replacement radiator grilles with integrated driving lights in them. I think some were even OEM accessories. Popular on MK3 Escorts and Orions.
Aftermarket wheel trims. Especially ones made to look like fake alloy wheels.
Stick on shading that you put below body side mouldings for some reason.
Aftermarket hatch style sunroofs made - or so it seemed - out of the same smoked glass used in cooker and microwave doors.
And colour coding. Mirrors, bumpers, spoilers and in the case of white cars even wheels and wipers. Best if badly done so the paint cracks and falls off. Also a good way to modernise a late model beige MKV Cortina.
Much of the above could be bought from the catalogue Carnnoisseur.
They usually bore the model of the car.
Looks like a lot of faff for some tat now.
Then there were the Suzuki spare wheel covers with shagging rhinos on them.
Replacement radiator grilles with integrated driving lights in them. I think some were even OEM accessories. Popular on MK3 Escorts and Orions.
Aftermarket wheel trims. Especially ones made to look like fake alloy wheels.
Stick on shading that you put below body side mouldings for some reason.
Aftermarket hatch style sunroofs made - or so it seemed - out of the same smoked glass used in cooker and microwave doors.
And colour coding. Mirrors, bumpers, spoilers and in the case of white cars even wheels and wipers. Best if badly done so the paint cracks and falls off. Also a good way to modernise a late model beige MKV Cortina.
Much of the above could be bought from the catalogue Carnnoisseur.
Edited by wildcat45 on Wednesday 25th May 09:55
What about those really big stickers that had the type of car like Xr4i that went on the back window.Dog Star said:
I had one in the back window of my Fiesta; it said "FIESTA".
I also had very trendy little back windscreen roller blinds - you can make them out in this picture - there's the "backflash" as well.
While we're on about it
- white "tyre art" pens
- Ring "Rally Giants"
- I also had a set of Cibie Super Oscars as in the days of that car I lived in France and my best friends uncle worked for Valeo and got me some for free
Only thing was that I hardly ever had them fitted as I was terrified of them being stolen (very common occurrence back in the day).
- Which reminds me that the French lass ^ there got me to get a 'backflash' from the UK for her Metro.
The long gone 17 year old in me loves that Fiesta. I also had very trendy little back windscreen roller blinds - you can make them out in this picture - there's the "backflash" as well.
While we're on about it
- white "tyre art" pens
- Ring "Rally Giants"
- I also had a set of Cibie Super Oscars as in the days of that car I lived in France and my best friends uncle worked for Valeo and got me some for free
Only thing was that I hardly ever had them fitted as I was terrified of them being stolen (very common occurrence back in the day).- Which reminds me that the French lass ^ there got me to get a 'backflash' from the UK for her Metro.
I never knew about Tyre Art pens. My solution was trainer whitener in a bottle with a sponge on the end. I'd didn't work very well looked horrible and washed off in the first puddle.
droopsnoot said:
Think of different makes of kitchen cleaners that are available, with particular reference to the title of the thread - though I'd accept that the one in question is not specifically a kitchen cleaner. And then think of another word for a cooking utensil, one that you might put stuff in to cook, again with particular reference to the title of the thread.
TL;DR: Yes.
Are you Barry Scott? :-)TL;DR: Yes.
Dog Star said:
I still miss it, 26 years after it went 
I'd be embarrassed to drive it now, although at the time it was pretty cool. I love how I thought my 185x13" wheels were MASSIVE!
1980s mode ON- Yeah that's more than a foot across. But you need them for the he big powerful brakes! 1980s mode OFF. I'd be embarrassed to drive it now, although at the time it was pretty cool. I love how I thought my 185x13" wheels were MASSIVE!
:-)
Bungleaio said:
Mini discs deserved to do a lot better than they did.
For a decade or so they were the industry standard recording format for radio news. Killed by solid state kit which to start with was quite bulky. Bulkier than Mini Disc. We had some strange solid state Marantz kit which was installed into the body of a portable DAT recorder for reporters to use. All the convenience of solid state digital recording with the inconvenience of a bulky tape machine. Then came the Flashmic, solid state recording in the body of a microphone, super ceded by minitutre recording gear today iPhone apps and so on.I worked for 20 years as a radio journalist. Most of my archive - if you can call a random selection of partially labelled mini discs an archive - is on this format. I'm need to buy a MD player so I can load stuff onto a hard drive.
Scrunchies, word in the mid 1990s by Chavvy girls. Used to tie up often permed hair. Brightly coloured and remember being told once that the number of these worn donated the seniority of the girl in the gang - a bit like rings on a naval offucer's sleeve.
1984 ish, in Newcastle, Donkey Jackets. Boys and girls. Extra points if it was an old NCB one, or if not graffiti on the leather or more likely plastic patch on the back.
Also Girls with short hair but who grew long strands at the back, often coloured or bleached blonde.
Head or Jaguar sports bags. A must in my school in the mid to late '80s.
1984 ish, in Newcastle, Donkey Jackets. Boys and girls. Extra points if it was an old NCB one, or if not graffiti on the leather or more likely plastic patch on the back.
Also Girls with short hair but who grew long strands at the back, often coloured or bleached blonde.
Head or Jaguar sports bags. A must in my school in the mid to late '80s.
Girls (1990s). Wearing leotards with jeans over them. It looked like they were wearing a top.
When you went for a quick delve you found access to the fun bits was barred by Lycra.
It made a fumble on a park bench, behind a pub, or a bus/train/back of a taxi nigh on impossible.
If you got invited back the leotard increased the uncertainty as to whether you were actually going to get a cup of instant coffee or a fun filled night of carnal delight.
When you went for a quick delve you found access to the fun bits was barred by Lycra.
It made a fumble on a park bench, behind a pub, or a bus/train/back of a taxi nigh on impossible.
If you got invited back the leotard increased the uncertainty as to whether you were actually going to get a cup of instant coffee or a fun filled night of carnal delight.
Europa1 said:
If it was a body, it would have had poppers at the bottom of the gusset - a bit of deft handling and voila: access.
I recall most I encountered came with an immovable gusset.I found the press stud bit out from a girl in Sunderland. I recall the popper was rusty for some reason.
Edited by wildcat45 on Tuesday 7th June 12:38
New Age Travellers.
In the late 1980s and nearly nine 1990s they'd always be on the news at this time of year.
Roaming round in old 1960s converted buses with graded hair and kids called Sky and Jupiter they'd fight police at places like Stonehenge at the he solstice.
They created a right old moral panic.
What ever happened to them? I guess they grew up, got jobs etc, but there wasn't a generation to follow.
Apart from the he peace camp near Faslane - which the hippies actually own I am told - I don't know where they hang out these days.
In the late 1980s and nearly nine 1990s they'd always be on the news at this time of year.
Roaming round in old 1960s converted buses with graded hair and kids called Sky and Jupiter they'd fight police at places like Stonehenge at the he solstice.
They created a right old moral panic.
What ever happened to them? I guess they grew up, got jobs etc, but there wasn't a generation to follow.
Apart from the he peace camp near Faslane - which the hippies actually own I am told - I don't know where they hang out these days.
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