Second Picture; Drayton Farm
Third Picture: Hilsea Gas Works
Fourth Picture; Old Maid
Over the years I have had several of these sent to me but I think this on is slightly different.
We are the survivors (For those born of us before 1948 ….)
We were born before the age of television, (we relied on the steam radio and Radio Caroline) before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods. Plastic, contact lenses, videos, frisbees and the Pill. We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ball point pens, before dishwashers, tumble driers, electric blankets, air conditioning, drip-dry clothes … and before man walked on the moon.
We got married first and then lived together (how quaint can you be?) We thought ‘fast food’ was what you ate in Lent, a ‘Big Mac’ was an oversized raincoat and ‘crumpet ‘ we had for tea. We ate a high fat diet and ate lots of vegetables, sometimes grown by Dad.
We existed before house husbands, computer dating, dual careers, and when a ‘meaningful relationship’ meant getting along with cousins and ‘sheltered accommodation’ was where you waited for a bus in the rain.
We were before day care centres, group homes and disposable nappies. We had never heard of FM radio, tape decks, cassettes, electronic typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yoghurt and young men wearing ear rings and pig tails.
For us ‘time sharing’ meant togetherness with our mates, a ‘chip’ was a piece of wood or a fried potato, ‘hardwear’ meant nuts and bolts and ‘softwear’ wasn’t even a word.
Before 1945, the term ‘making out’ referred to how you did in your exams and ‘stud’ was something that fastened a collar to a shirt. Pizzas, McDonald’s and instant coffee were unheard of.
In our day cigarette smoking was fashionable especially in a cigarette holder for a lady, we were given chocolate smokers kits for birthdays and Christmas, ‘grass’ was mown, ‘coke’ was kept in the coalhouse, a ‘joint’ was a piece of meat that you had on Sundays and ‘pot’ was something you cooked in.
We relied on gas and got used to the gas works at Hilsea. (I have recently found a photograph of a tank engine used in the gas works and named Farlington. See accompanying photograph.
Rock music was a grandmother’s lullaby, ‘Eldorado’ was an ice-cream. We played board games in the evenings along with card games such as Old Maid. We who were born before 1948 must be a really hardy bunch when you think of how the world has changed and the adjustments we have had to make. No wonder we are confused and there is a generation gap today ….. BUT we survived/
Stay in touch
Peter
GSSeditor@gmail.com
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