Web Page No 2702

11th July 2020

First of all welcome to a new member Laurence Ogden.

I came across this article recently which I thought you would find interesting!!!

1st Picture. Bakelite light switch

2nd Picture. Cliff with Quiff

3rd Picture. Jimmy Edwards prepares to hand out a wacking

4th Picture. 1950’s hypodermic

Are you living in the past

Memories of childhood have a tendency to become dappled. Across the years, the coldest of washing arrangements are mingled with the warm tickle of nostalgia. We were a children of the Forties and Fifties, an era renowned for quiffs, bakelite, and the nuclear family. Then, one in 20 babies were born out of wedlock, compared with some four in 10 today. There was a single BBC TV channel, and sugar was still rationed, while only one in six households had regular use of a car.

In 1952, a report found that 89% of teachers agreed that corporal punishment should be retained. our generation was the first to experience the beginnings of comprehensive education and schools retained a tradition of localism, setting their own agenda and own curriculum. Now the national curriculum and testing are laid down centrally. What is taught is far more tightly prescribed."

Although the number of teachers has doubled over the years, reducing class sizes, teacher morale has plummeted. Some changes have been more welcome, however. An increased awareness of equal opportunities has ceased girls' exclusion from sciences and boys' from cookery. Educational technology in the 50s extended to a radio broadcast, while now we aspire to have to a computer on every desk. The proportion of children staying on in full-time education has also doubled. In the 50s, the majority left at 15; now they stay until 18.

Nutrition

Modern children are taller but also fatter than their 50s counterparts, despite the fact that they eat 20% less. Children used to be fed by their mothers, the spending power of children has increased dramatically; and tastes have changed substantially. In short, goodbye to bread and butter, meat and two veg, tinned fruit and custard. Hello snacks and fizzy pop. As children become increasingly aware of consumer choice, they choose to eat more fat and sugar. Consumption of bread, fruit and vegetables has decreased dramatically. At least half of all children fail to achieve the recommended one hour's exercise a day, 40% of children go to school by car, while games and team sports are slipping off the curriculum in many schools. Add to this a substantial chunk of television watching after school - it is proven that reducing children's television access leads to a direct increase in their physical activity.

Infant mortality has fallen by a remarkable 79% in the past 50 years. In the 50s it would have been exceptionally rare for a premature baby to survive - neonatal intensive care had simply not been invented - while nowadays 7% of babies are born premature, the majority of whom flourish. But by far the greatest advance in reducing deaths and serious illnesses in children has been the development of vaccination. Polio was a terror every summer for parents, now they have hardly heard of it. Measles and whooping cough, too, have been practically wiped out.

In the 50s, inpatient care for children was at the bare minimum. It was normal practice for children to be nursed on adult wards, parents were allowed to visit once a week, and patients were expected to remain in bed for a long period of convalescence. Nowadays, children benefit from play and educational facilities, and the average length of stay for a child patient is two days.

Safety

The number of children killed by strangers is very small indeed - unless that stranger happens to be behind the wheel of a car. The threat to children from traffic has grown considerably traffic levels have doubled in the past 20 years, and generally cars can be driven faster and accelerate more quickly. There has been a huge extension in restrictions on children's behaviour since the 50s, resulting, of course, in fewer children being killed on the roads but with serious consequences for their social and physical development. Lack of exercise is one. But children are no longer allowed the opportunity to learn from their own experiences. They can't meet up with their friends, and engage in what is a very important part of childhood - getting into mischief and making mistakes.

Entertainment

With minimal access to television, no computers and no mobile phones, children of the 50s were reduced to actually talking to one another and using their imaginations. The decade itself was one of great contrasts. In 1951 people were still reeling from the war. Parents were older because they had deferred marriage or children during the war. They were less affluent and even if they had money there weren't the products to spend it on." But by 1959, the mood had changed, as more investment was made in industry and manufacturers began to target children specifically, making cheap, mass market plastic toys. There was a huge emphasis on reassurance during the 50s, as adults attempted to convince children - and themselves - that war wouldn't come again.

It's often very difficult for adults to understand what amuses children. They like having a language that adults don't understand words such as spiffing and topping from the 50s no longer exist. Enid Blyton had magic sweets in the Faraway Tree books, but they weren't turned into a confectionery range.

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Peter

grseditor@gmail.com

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News and Views:

On this day 11^th July 1960-1965

On 11/07/1960 the number one single was Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/07/1961 the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/07/1962 the number one single was I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/07/1963 the number one single was I Like It - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/07/1964 the number one single was House of the Rising Sun - Animals and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/07/1965 the number one single was Crying in the Chapel - Elvis Presley and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was First Mariner 4 photos of Mars received.