Communicating across the world

Even in the mid 90s, when dd1 went travelling/working her way around the world for 2 years, it was long before smartphones so the odd email, and a rare phone call was about the size of it.

The only time it really upset me that she was so very far away, was when she phoned in tears from the S of New Zealand, because her boyfriend - someone who’d been on and off since university - was being an arse.
Thank goodness she did then finally dump him - and good riddance.

When we lived abroad in the 70s (was it really 50 years ago?) we didn’t phone home once - I think if we had the family would have thought something was very wrong, and they’d have been right! Regular blue airmail letters were the thing.

It’s wonderful that people can keep in touch so easily these days. Though I must say that’s not what I’m saying when our 2 year old decides he wants to say good morning to Nanna when I’m still in bed and not looking quite my best.

What a fabulous prize for your daughter, millymouge!

Our youngest went out to India to work for 6 months at 18.
There was no mobile phone signal where he was living.
We got a text message probably once a month.
There was an emergency landline number we could ring, thankfully we never had to use it.

interesting post.
Would any one know the cost of a boat trip to Perth in Australia back in the early 1960's?

I recall when I was in Australia for the first time in the early 1980's,I thought I could receive a phone call at the public pay phones from the U.K.,no such luck.
The cost of a U.K. to Australia then was approx £1.00p cheap rate and £1.25p peak rate.

Nearly 40 years ago DD went on a week's trip to Belgium with her gym club and later had a holiday in Germany with a friend's family. In both cases she was pretty much out of touch until she came home. A couple of months ago she was on a business trip to Philadelphia. She went to Walmart to do some shopping for me and we had a video call. She was picking thing off the shelves "Did you want this one?" "What about one in this colour?" It was as if she was in our local Tesco. Quite amazing when you think about it.

I was at school in Singapore in the 60's, where my Dad was a Civil Servant working with the RAF. Just two phone calls home per year for us... one at Christmas and one at Easter, which had to be pre-booked, and took a fair bit of arranging with family at home. All other correspondence was via Air Mail, with that lightweight blue stationery. So very different now with Facetime, Zoom etc., but I do wonder if those live images somehow underline the "so near yet so far" feeling, and emphasise the fact that you still can't give them "big hugs".. Still great to have such improved comms, though.

In the early 90s my daughter was travelling. Our only communication was by airmail letters from her.
One day I answered the phone and it was her calling from a phone box in Darwin.
I said give me the number of the phone box and I will try to get the GPO? to connect us.
I made that call to them. They were a bit, ooh I don’t know but we’ll try.
My next call was them telling me they had connected me. 😂

Fifty years ago, while youth hostelling around Germany, I phoned my mum from a phone box in Hauptbahnhof München and it swallowed up my precious Deutschmarks at some rate. It was so expensive.

The line was very clear and on hearing the trains, my mother asked: "Oh are you phoning from Glasgow Central. What time will you be home?"

We have a book of letters written by relatives who emigrated to Victoria/Melbourne in the early 19C, to plant the first vineyards. By the time they wrote to say they were fine- and the letter got back home, they could have all died or other terrible things happened. And the same back home.

Got letters from my uncle and aunt, who both emigrated to New York and Montreal - in the late 1920s- single tickets on 2nd class ship- just go, we can't afford to feed you- and again- by the time letters got home- anything could have happened.
My Uncle always signed off 'the emigrant' - it was at least 10 years before he visited his family again.

Even in the 60s and 70s- flights were very expensive and phone calls 2 x a month and just for a couple of minutes.

What a wonderful prize for your granddaughter and partner to have won millymouge

I remember the same, it was difficult and expensive to phone the USA in the 1950s/60s, a special treat but not satisfying at all. Still, spare a thought for our ancestors. In 1913 my great grandmother had to wave goodbye to her 20 year old daughter when she emigrated to Australia. She then had to rely on letters which probably took weeks to arrive, and never saw her again. We have come a long way in 100 years and are very lucky to have such amazing communication.