Sundays in the "olden days"

Aged about 8 or 9 I went to Sunday School on Sunday mornings. In my teens I often went round to my grandparents for their Sunday roast (although we had one at home), always Yorkshire Pudding as a first course, beef, mushy peas, potatoes. I don't remember a sweet pudding because we'd had Yorkshire pudding. Then we often went for a run in the car with my uncle. When my DDs were about 5 years old - to about aged 10 or 11 we sometimes went on a Sunday walk organised by the local council, or we fed the ducks. Quite often we went into town to window shop and have an ice-cream, it was very quiet, shops were closed and there was a relaxed atmosphere. We often went to the art gallery which was free - and warm in winter and cool in summer. Both DDs had their favourite pictures and often bought postcards of pictures. We always had a Sunday roast - still do - Yorkshire pud first course with onion gravy (Yorkshire pud made in a big tin like Grandma made, not little separate ones), beef, roast pots etc and a sweet pudding. A bit of a rush getting it all in the oven before church.

Like others here, we were not allowed to play outside, OK in your own garden. Mostly went to Sunday School. Roast dinners, lovely beef dripping in which we used to 'dip' bread! My Mother had been brought up by a very strict Grandmother and no sewing was allowed as "your fingers would drop off". Listening to the various Radio shows, Billy Cotton "Wakey Wakey" etc as we had no TV.

We used to be packed off to Mass every Sunday morning come rain or shine. Our parents never went. We had to listen to the priests droning on. One used to tell us that if our parents had given us coppers to put on the collection plate, we should spend them at the sweet shop and tell our parents to give us silver or notes next week. This was to parents struggling to feed their kids. However, there used to be one shop open and we always hoped we would get the priest who told us to spend it, even though he was terrifying.

I was a young Mum with two children in the 1950s living in a flat in London. Weekends we would walk with the dog to Blackheath to either play ball or sail model yacht t on the pond or walk through Greenwich Park to the river.
In winter we went to one of the London museums,
When we acquired a car we went further afield and met my sister, parents and grandparents for a picnic.
In 1954 we got a touring caravan on a site in Kent where we went every weekend making a lot of new friends.
We got a black and white TV in 1953. One channel.
1956 we moved to Surrey so as well as going for picnics on Sunday we had the garden and the children had a new lot of friends to play with and as we were only thirty miles from the coast could go there for the day.

Loving these. Bringing back lovely memories. I wish there was a like button on here

One of the worst things about Sunday’s in the early ‘60s was Sing Something Simple on the radio- it gave me a terrible realisation that there was school the following morning. One of the best things about late 60’s Sunday afternoons was going to the 14-16s disco at a city centre nightclub

MissAdventure

I hated Sundays, because I knew Monday was next, and that meant school.
After the charts on the radio, it was time for "Sing Something Simple", then bath time, ears cleaned out, and toenails cut painfully short.
I feel depressed thinking about it!

Snap! We also were not allowed to play "in the front" ! Had to be back garden. Church always, hated it! Sometimes walked about 5miles across Manchester to visit aunty and uncle and glamorous dad's cousin auntie Hilda! (Orange lippy and nails matched stilletoes, dead short sharp haircut, loved her to bits!! ) She could always out argue dad, best bit about her!! She always sent me Christmas cards upto 2007 When she passed, I now realise she was probably gay.she was very high up in ICI very unusual in the 50s60s.

Biglouis
What I still see as the good old days.You can keep your cars /TV / holidays to any where in the world
Are we any happier for all this.?

Sunday school 2 or 3 times (I was May Queen 1965). Billy Cottons band show, Jimmy Clitheroe, Sing Something Simple.

In my road in 1956 none of my friends were allowed to play outside on Sundays. My Dad (not religious) suggested I cross the road to the other side and make friends with the "gang" who were allowed to play on the sabbath day. I was an only child, so I went over and for the years that followed I had one group of playmates for the week, and a separate one for Sundays. This group were considered "rough", but my Dad and Mum were happy for me to be occupied, and we were friends for years.

I still dislike Sundays, especially wet ones! Wasn’t allowed to go on the swings when mum met me from Sunday School and we walked through the park.

I remember having to get up to go to Sunday school, then straight into church and back out half way through to another Sunday school. We came home to steamed up windows with dinner on the go, my mum and dad sent us to church and they stayed home. I never understood that at all, we had to got to school all week and then spend half of Sunday in church and they never bothered going themselves.
Our school uniforms used to be all trying to dry in front of the open fire if it was pouring with rain. There were no big shops open and it took a long while here in N. Ireland for them to finally allow them to, although our opening hours now are 1-6pm so we can still go to church in the morning!
Our homework had been done on the Friday when we came home from school, but if it was spellings or reading you did that on Sunday so you wouldn't forget it....Then we were all bathed( in the same water), ears done and maybe a bowl haircut into the bargain, plus the wonky fringe.
You never cleaned windows, cut the grass and some wouldn't even turn on the television because it was a Sunday. Oh how times have changed.

My nan and me walked to the morning service which was about a mile away. It was a lovely walk in the summertime we hardly went in winter unless someone was kind enough to give us a lift. After the morning service we went to my auntie’s house for Sunday lunch. My cousins and myself went Sunday school and then came home for tea after which we all went to the evening service and then someone would give us a lift home. I loved it. I had lots of friends at church some of whom I’m still friends with today,and of course I got to see my lovely cousins.
When my nan got too I’ll to go. She’d send me to the evening service to listen to the sermon that I was supposed to tell her all about when I got home. Well of course I could never remember it being all of 11 years old and mainly whispering to my cousin through most of the service and trying to avoid the icy glare of my auntie as she tried keeping us quiet. Bless her ?

Usernametaken that reminded me that we used to have tinned salmon sometimes instead of luncheon meat. It had to be red 'sockeye' salmon, not pink.
Mum used to make sliced cucumber and onion in vinegar too.

Sundays were so boring for me as a child in the 1950s. We had to put our Sunday best on , go to church, then to see great grandma for dinner . We couldn't play out because we had our best clothes on. We had to be on our best behaviour for Great Grandma .
The adults would fall asleep snoring , and we had to read Bible stories and not make a noise. No shops were open or cinemas .We didn't have TV .Then it was early to bed for school on Monday. It always seemed to be raining on Sundays.

Sometimes not someone ?

Hated going to Sunday school, but along my Sister and I trudged.
Someone kept the threepenny bit that was meant for collection and spent it next day!!!!

Loved the roast dinner, followed by my Mum’s homemade apple pie and custard.
Grandma used to come in the afternoon for tea, was always Salmon sandwich, followed by tinned fruit, ideal milk and then cake.

How on Earth did we eat so much in those days.

Couldn’t play in the street, had to amuse ourselves whilst parents read the Sunday paper, then early night after having our hair washed and a bath.

Sundays in the 60's in South Africa were, on the whole, full of activity. First Sunday School. Then, in winter, a roast and afterwards off to visit family on some or other wine/fruit farm. Us kids loved that, lots of animals to see, exciting games to play with all sorts of objects or machinery, or with the children of the labourers who lived on the farms. Lovely fruit to pick off the trees, and best of all, the lovely cakes and eats for afternoon tea. We "helped" milk the cows (although I think we were more a nuisance), took a plate of milk to the farm cats, and were allowed to churn the milk.
Often we went hiking up a surrounding mountain for the weekend to play in the snow, if there was some, or just enjoyed company of like-minded friends. In Summer we enjoyed swimming in the rock pools.
Summer Sundays were the best. In the mornings, Sunday school as usual, then pack a basket for lunch, usually a "braai", otherwise known as a barbecue, at the local yacht club. Lazy lunch on the lawns in the sunshine or on the verandah of the clubhouse in the shade, swimming in the lake or crewing on someone's sailing boat, either a sprog or a dabchick. Regatta weekends were most enjoyable, when members of other sailing clubs would compete, camping on the grounds of the yacht club. Always fun meeting our friends who we only knew from sailing.
There were always plenty of playmates of all ages at the yacht club, a favourite game was "Open Gates".
The odd weekends, when the weather was not so good, we stayed at home indoors, knitted or helped prepare supper, went to play at the neighbour's house or our granny who lived next door, performed "concerts" for the tolerant adults. Lovely memories.

MissAdventure

I hated Sundays, because I knew Monday was next, and that meant school.
After the charts on the radio, it was time for "Sing Something Simple", then bath time, ears cleaned out, and toenails cut painfully short.
I feel depressed thinking about it!

Same here. My parents used to sing along to Songs of Praise. And you could hear the church bells in the background. I wanted to hang myself. I still loathe Sundays.

Sunday was church,church and more church! Morning service,Sunday school then evensong.My brother and I were in the choir so it was obligatory.After Sunday school me and my friend Joan went into the graveyard and distributed the flowers
that were on some graves among all the rest…it only seemed fair to our young minds! We weeded the graves that weren’t looked after.hee hee…it makes me laugh wondering what people thought when they saw their flowers for a departed loved one being put on neighbouring graves…

I loved school, but loved the weekends too.

Homework had to be done on Fridays after school, which meant we could play as much as we liked on Saturday afternoons and Sunday.

Saturday mornings we had to help with housework, what it was depended on how old we were.

On Sunday mornings we were not allowed to play in the garden until after lunch, so as not to disturb neighbours who had a long lie, and to conceal the fact that my parents were not church-goers, but felt ashamed that they didn't go.

How I envied all the children I saw on Sundays - in their Sunday best - we dressed the same on Sundays unless visitors were coming. I would have loved being allowed to wear my best dress once a week.

But we were allowed to go to "the Sunday shop" and buy sweeties with our pocket money. It was the only shop open on Sundays, as the owner was Jewish and closed his shop on Saturdays. The law in Scotland allowed observant Jews to do so, and open on Sundays instead.

Lots of fathers washed and polished their cars on Sundays. This was seemingly all right on a Sunday afternoon in the Glassgow area, although no-one would have dreamt of mowing the lawn, cutting a hedge, or horror of horrors hanging out washing on a Sunday.

I was at boarding school in the 1960s and Sundays were dire. Half an hour lie in ( up at 8.00 am instead of 7.30)
Church (compulsory) in the morning, walking in a crocodile, in uniform , the 15-20 minutes it took to get there.
Allowed out for a walk (in groups, with a senior prefect in charge) in the afternoon 3-4 pm. Unless it was snowing a blizzard. QOtherwise it was compulsory.
Meals were generally dreadful. I don't recall any special Sunday lunches, certainly no roasts. We could have 'tuck' i.e. our own chocolates and sweets, (normally kept in a locked cupboard) after lunch.
'Prep' about 5 pm, then you might be able to watch an hour of TV in the late afternoon. No evening TV.
Lights out around 9.30 AFAICR.
I mostly remember the boredom, bad food, enforced walks and church-going, and claustrophobic atmosphere.

Mum cooked the joint, beef or lamb, sometimes pork, on Saturday, so we had it cold or reheated in gravy on Sunday. There were practical reasons for this, but also religious ones, so Mum could get to church with the family, and to save work on Sunday.

I hated Sundays then and still find them depressing. I didn't like school like many others on here and that didn't help. It was a boring day with awful radio programmes and a long walk in the afternoon. I love walking now but didn't then! There is just something in the air that still makes it a boring day.

Sorry I meant 1958. Goodness I’m so old!