Those were the Days! I copied this from a recent Probus mag. ( author unknown) So very true.

Brilliant!

Were those really the days?
When girls who got pregnant resorted to back street abortionists? When children got polio? When child abuse in Children's Homes or by Catholic priesrs went unchallenged? When women needed their husbands to sign credit agreements on their behalf? When women in the same job were paid less than men? When a woman had to leave her job when she got married?
When Scarlet Fever meant all your books and soft toys were destroyed and the house "fumigated" ?
Oh and TB of course .
And the world might not have been on Prozac but Valium, Librium and other "Mother's little helpers"
Good old days?
Isn't nostalgis selective wonderful?

Well said Maw 👏

I detest this kind of rubbish.

Exactly argymargy and MawtheMerrier Also on a lighter note, people had a bath on Sunday then if they needed to or not!

argymargy

I detest this kind of rubbish.

me too

What a bunch of miseries. No sense of humour, glad I don’t live there !

In the Maw camp.

Very apt indeed the bath time memories are so vivid four of us at once and yes only once a week!

It’s not being a misery not to hark back to mythical and dubious “good old days” which for most were far from good.
Yes, we used to swim in our local river, until an outbreak of polio put paid to it. Children in iron lungs - remember the pictures?
It’s like saying “my grandad smoked 60 a day, never did him any harm” - no he died at 73 and in any case try telling that anecdote to someone with lung cancer.
Nothing quite identifies the writer in the magazine as “sad old duffer” as the sort of article you describe - no wonder he stayed anonymous.

nanna8 loved your post and did most if not all of those things. Admittedly there was a harsh side to the life then, but that is not what your post was about was it.? I remember my childhood with fondness. Yes I went to college with two people who wore callipers because of polio. And my best friends brother died of TB. Some look on the bright side but also do not discount the other,

Very good op.

I am a bit younger than some on GN.
I do remember some poorer families who were rather roughing it.

Sadly I do remember special needs children and their families, not getting proper and adequate help and support.

Cancer arrived or whatever it did, and it was called the c word and talked about in hushed tones.

I hate it when people sigh about the days when we respected teachers and other adults. No, we didn't - we were frightened of them much of the time.

I had what would be described now as a difficult childhood with a mentally ill mother but, tell you what, at least she didn’t hover over me like a helicopter and I learnt so much by being ‘unprotected’ and ranging round the streets with my mates. I think they are more ‘deprived’ today but in a different way.

I grew up in a 3 bedroom terrace with 2 other families, no bathroom and an outside loo. True, I was allowed to our local park, by myself, and walked to school by myself. Was also groped by what we called” dirty old men”.
My Primary school was lovely, though, and our Infant teacher in particular, was wonderful although there were 50 in the class.

Does everyone take Prozac in Australia? This post is from Australia and I'm thinking it's composed by a man for whom life is probably not as idyllic as there is now gender equality and a female's voice is not ignored. Thank goodness.

I had what would be described now as a difficult childhood with a mentally ill mother but, tell you what, at least she didn’t hover over me like a helicopter and I learnt so much by being ‘unprotected’ and ranging round the streets with my mates. I think they are more ‘deprived’ today but in a different way

Agree 100%

Born 1944. Well into my 20s and 30s I respected older people especially in the workplace, even if I didnt particularly like them. It was not so much about the people but what they had contributed to the community and the profession. They were in a place where I hoped to go one day. I would not have dreamed of asking personal questions of someone senior such as how much they earned or about their religious or political views.

When my best friend emigrated to Australia I did consider going too. Then I found out that women were paid less than men and it put me off massively.

My attitudes only began to change when I went to uni as a mature student (1980s). Then I began to question many things I had previously accepted.

Nostalgic nonsense.

In response, my inner city, bulging classes of postwar babies education was utter c*ap. My generation knew the meaning of the word humiliation at school and at home and I wouldn’t wish my childhood on anyone.

Gosh nanna8 I bet you didn't expect those responses to your light-hearted post!
I think it's swings and roundabouts. Some things were better then, some are better now. I certainly wouldn't want to be a teenager now with all those perfect looking Love Island types making them feel as if they don't measure up.

Quote from OP
My mum used to cut chicken, chop eggs, and^spread butter,
lard, dripping etc., or bread on the same cutting board with
the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get
food poisoning.

I bet you did, author, and running to the outside toilet with your square of newspaper must have taught you something about food hygiene.

Also loathe this kind of sentimental ‘oh, the good old days’ revisionism.

There is some medical justification for the view that small children are overprotected nowadays from dirt which may not enable them to develop immunities. But I agree that there is too much harking back to a golden age that never existed. It happened even in ancient Egypt some 2000 years BC(E).

I'm pushing 80, and although I can relate to most of the points in the article, the author certainly had their rose-coloured specs on when they wrote it. Some of the "good old days" were balanced by "the bad old days" too. I'm sure that I could pen an equally long article listing all the negatives, but those who, like me, are of "a certain age|", don't need me to remind them of hard times. All of us have had different experiences, certainly, but I would not wish my own childhood on anyone. Some of the reasons are individual, and perhaps family-based, but others are societal, and will be familiar to many.