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What do you miss from back in the day?

(56 Posts)
Poppyjo Tue 04-Aug-26 02:24:57

I had a magical childhood but get nostalgic and miss

1. The smell of steam trains,
2. The sound of men whistling on the way to work
3- The small of a cigar at Christmas.
4- fish and chips in newspaper.

What,if anything, öl9do other grans miss ?

Poppyjo Tue 04-Aug-26 09:40:36

Please forgive spelling errors I just had eye operation and struggling to see clearly yet 😂

JamesandJon33 Tue 04-Aug-26 09:46:52

My youth

NittWitt Tue 04-Aug-26 09:53:12

Being able to find someone's address in a phone book.
Directory enquiries (last time I tried) can tell you a company's address but not that of an individual.

Samsara1 Tue 04-Aug-26 10:01:05

I miss having a telephone on a hall stand and perching on the stairs to talk to a boyfriend.
I miss dressing up to go out (I still try but it loses impact when few others do).
I miss my job and the people.

Septimia Tue 04-Aug-26 10:26:49

Good manners.
Men taking their hats off when coming into a house/church etc.

Greyduster Tue 04-Aug-26 10:36:27

Getting off the steam train at Edale Station on Sunday morning, as a teenager, with a group of friends knowing that all that gorgeous countryside was waiting for you to explore. Great scenery, great companions.

Oreo Tue 04-Aug-26 11:33:43

Poppyjo

I had a magical childhood but get nostalgic and miss

1. The smell of steam trains,
2. The sound of men whistling on the way to work
3- The small of a cigar at Christmas.
4- fish and chips in newspaper.

What,if anything, öl9do other grans miss ?

All those bar steam trains which were well before my time.
Proper sized Waggon Wheels 😁
Jubblies

Oreo Tue 04-Aug-26 11:34:33

JamesandJon33

My youth

Where did you lose him?

MT62 Tue 04-Aug-26 12:35:55

Samsara1

I miss having a telephone on a hall stand and perching on the stairs to talk to a boyfriend.
I miss dressing up to go out (I still try but it loses impact when few others do).
I miss my job and the people.

Ahh me too- talking in hushed tones so my parents didn’t know I was sneaking a quick phone call as it was really expensive to call back in day.

MT62 Tue 04-Aug-26 12:39:54

Our old original in door market. I could mooch for hours- you could anything. All gone now. Just seems to be fast food stalls.

MT62 Tue 04-Aug-26 12:40:16

MT62

Our old original in door market. I could mooch for hours- you could anything. All gone now. Just seems to be fast food stalls.

Buy

yogitree Tue 04-Aug-26 13:02:03

Being able to run and jump, not ever getting tired or sore and riding ponies and horses.
Quiet roads, with just a few vehicles.
The simplicity of life.
Milk being delivered and tinkling bottles wakening me up in the morning.
Less climate doom.
Having a memory!

NoodleNut Tue 04-Aug-26 13:11:38

Poppyjo

I had a magical childhood but get nostalgic and miss

1. The smell of steam trains,
2. The sound of men whistling on the way to work
3- The small of a cigar at Christmas.
4- fish and chips in newspaper.

What,if anything, öl9do other grans miss ?

Funny you should say 'whistling' - we (family) were just talking about this the other day, and it suddenly accorded to me that this could be part of speech delay in young children?

My GS has a speech 'sounds' delay, and I said he should be doing lots of bubble blowing to shape the mouth, this them moved on to the fact no one whistles these days. (not to mention everone has bubble machines and wands now- so not a lot of actual bubble blowing happening either!
We always had to try so hard to get bubbles with the homemade mixture too.

Fallingstar Tue 04-Aug-26 13:27:40

Telephone boxes where I could talk privately to my friends or boyfriends.
Old style cinemas with an interval and ice creams served by the usherette. I always got a choc ice. And dance halls with a live band.

NanRuby Tue 04-Aug-26 14:00:10

So many things, my health, going out with just a handkerchief and some loose change in my pocket for the bus, nothing else. Feeling safe in the streets. My friends, my parents, our old house, albeit single glazed, no central heating, no telephone and no fridge or washing machine and I'm going back some time, The 50's. A time where if you fell someone said 'mind how you go' without filming it on their phones and giggling. Quieter times, polite times, respect for your elders....it's endless.

Delene100 Tue 04-Aug-26 14:00:54

I miss not having a defined waistline. Hormones.

Deepat Tue 04-Aug-26 14:05:17

Nothing, I never look back.

Skye17 Tue 04-Aug-26 14:08:17

Living in a high trust society.

Less traffic – safer for cycling.

Less swearing and more polite public discourse in general.

Harris27 Tue 04-Aug-26 14:09:41

Camadery and neighbours who talked to you. I felt more part of a community years ago. Everyone seemed to know us and stopped to talk when we went shopping. Maybe it’s just happy memories.

sazz1 Tue 04-Aug-26 14:29:51

Styx perfume I loved it
Chocolate that didn't shrink
Cheap lamb shoulder chops
Being able to give kids a lift when they are soaking wet with rain. Yes I know now I would get arrested for offering. Lots of nice people used to stop for me if it was pouring rain on the way home from school.

happygilly Tue 04-Aug-26 14:59:03

Mars bars that big you had to eat them sideways !

MT62 Tue 04-Aug-26 15:15:08

yogitree

Being able to run and jump, not ever getting tired or sore and riding ponies and horses.
Quiet roads, with just a few vehicles.
The simplicity of life.
Milk being delivered and tinkling bottles wakening me up in the morning.
Less climate doom.
Having a memory!

Rag’n’bone man on his trap & pony, collecting bundles of rags off the garden wall-Non of these plastic bags they leave these days.

Essexgirl145 Tue 04-Aug-26 15:15:36

Everything said here and more, how I miss the old world.

MT62 Tue 04-Aug-26 15:16:59

happygilly

Mars bars that big you had to eat them sideways !

Or bounty bar with the cardboard inner! That was the bit that got stuff in your teeth 😂