Back to the 70s

[TheArtfulDogger]

Today the RMT announced yet more strikes (Eurostar this time) and the breakfast news used the expression "the summer of discontent" a reference back to the winter of discontent (78/79) when mass strikes occurred

With that in mind I thought it would be fun to remember the sorts of things we had in the 70s that brought us joy (or misery)

The first on my list is the Raleigh Chopper which brought a lot of joy due to its unique design and cool style but also misery when you had an accident and discovered that the gear lever was just in the wrong place (makes eyes water just thinking about it...)

Then there was the Curly Wurly bar, a joy of chocolate and toffee but a misery when it stretched broke and left toffee and bits of chocolate on your tank top !

Happy days !

[Jah Lush]

The glorious long hot summer of '76 that lasted from April to October. We got paid 'heat money' for working in a sweaty office with no air conditioning.

[BrandNewGuy]

... Only ruined by Elton John and Kiki Dee being No. 1 the whole bloody summer.

[Louisa]

1976 was a very special summer for me. I recall the water shortages and that was my first summer holiday abroad, to Greece. I was on top of the world and life just seemed so much easier. 1976 was a financially tough year for me, but being young you just got on with it. Sunny days and Demis Roussos on top of the pops singing "forever and ever". Happy memories!

Louisa.

[LadyNorwood]

Summer of '76 was ruined by gazillions of ladybirds that bit like basstuds

[Robert Poste's Child]

I remember the summers of 75, 76 and 77 as being endlessly warm and sunny. We had a pool and pretty much lived in it, with people coming round all the time to enjoy it.

Home haircuts, wide lapels, bell-bottoms, platforms and leather trench coats.

[womanofdulwich]

I worked all summer on the chemists counter at Boots, Ventnor, Isle of Wight. All I remember of the summer of 76 is endless cases of sunburn and sunstroke from Londoners and Brummies saying " we weren't sunbathing we were just lying on a sun lounger.............." . Dispensing calamine lotion ( plus Ambre Solaire and aspirin).

[Robert Poste's Child]

The advent of video recorders was pretty exciting at the time.

[Elphinstone's Army]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> I remember the summers of 75, 76 and 77 as being

> endlessly warm and sunny. We had a pool and pretty

> much lived in it, with people coming round all the

> time to enjoy it.

>

> Home haircuts, wide lapels, bell-bottoms,

> platforms and leather trench coats.

and cheesecloth ! blouses, dresses, and large straw sun hats, very Valley of the Dolls look as I recall

[Otta]

I wasn't born until the late 70s, but I still say one of the best things to come out of the decade (other than me, obvs) was the sound created by Black Sabbath.

[Robert Poste's Child]

On the darker side, a 70s childhood was overshadowed by the Cold War (spy films seemed relevant), the IRA starting terrorist attacks on the mainland, and the strangely intimidating mystery of the Iron Curtain.

[Jah Lush]

My first trip to Wembley Stadium was to watch Spurs beat Aston Villa two-nil in the League Cup Final of 1971 with Martin Chivers getting both goals. COYS!

[rendelharris]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> On the darker side, a 70s childhood was

> overshadowed by the Cold War (spy films seemed

> relevant), the IRA starting terrorist attacks on

> the mainland, and the strangely intimidating

> mystery of the Iron Curtain.

Plus there was beige, lots and lots of beige...I remember a particular Morris Marina with burnt orange paintwork and beige leatherette seats that was a crime against aesthetics.

True story - it was in The Guardian a couple of years back: a guy who'd gone blind in the 70s was finally cured by a pioneering operation in the 2000s. It was all very sweet - he'd got married after going blind so was seeing his wife and kids for the first time, and so on, but he kept complaining that his vision wasn't right, everything was so bright..eventually after showing him photos of the 70s the doctors worked out he simply hadn't yet acclimatised to a world that wasn't beige!

[Robert Poste's Child]

The late 70s tribes of music and fashion - particularly disco, then punk and two-tone, and how they overlapped and turned your friends into playground rivals. Some dreadful pop alongside them. The Beatles looking old and irrelevant, like music for parents.

[titch juicy]

Nuclear warning sirens being tested.

[Alan Medic]

BrandNewGuy Wrote:

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> ... Only ruined by Elton John and Kiki Dee being

> No. 1 the whole bloody summer.

Oh that reminds me fondly of the tennis club outdoor disco's.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Formica in the kitchen. Vinyl seats that the backs of your legs stuck to.

Three TV channels and not on for much of the day (because who would want to watch television until after work and school?). Clear generation and class difference between BBC and ITV - Blue Peter vs Magpie.

Doctor Who.

Columbo, Kojak and Starsky & Hutch.

[Robert Poste's Child]

You never forget the clothes you loved when you were first old enough to have a say in them (I never agreed to the hotpants, that was pure coercion). Sundresses, pinafore dresses (Laura Ashley, tiered skirts from Snob and Chelsea Girl, Fruit of the Loom tops, Indian dresses, cowboy boots.

Fruit-flavoured lipgloss, blue eyeshadow and feeling very grown-up.

Flicks in your hair.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Duvets.

[BrandNewGuy]

Our summer holiday in 1976 was in Cheltenham (yeah, great...) house sitting for friends. My big sister had the recently released Beach Boys "20 Golden Greats" on tape which we played incessantly. As our holiday accommodation was free, we ate out most nights, which was a novelty ? garlic mushrooms! Whitebait! Avocado pears! To this day, when I hear "Surfin' USA" I think of 70s bistro-style food.

[adonirum]

Hair...........mine not the musical

RPC....Long denim "trench coats" with a "fur" collar surely....

Jah Lush....Martin who.!!.....Peter Osgood was the man...

rendelharris.... that was no beige that was Sepia...

[Robert Poste's Child]

Prawn cocktail, steak Diane (or another sauce) and Black Forest Gateau. Mateus Rose.

Wine bars.

People going on holiday to Spain.

Salt & Shake crisps.

Vosene shampoo. Girls rinsing their hair with lemon, eggs or beer. Hairwashing separate from bathing. Those plastic shower hoses you attached to the taps.

[red devil]

rendelharris Wrote:

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> Plus there was beige, lots and lots of beige...

This reminds me of my Mum insisting that I wore on holiday a beige 'safari' jacket she bought from M&S, try as I might to convince her that Bournemouth wasn't quite the Serengeti. It wasn't a good look for a burgeoning punk rocker, and no amount of safety pins could redeem the 6'' lapels, patch pockets and buckles.

I've noticed modern day films/programmes set in the 70's like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Made in Dagenham have deliberately toned down colour to give that look of a drab, sepia coloured world...

[titch juicy]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> Prawn cocktail, steak Diane (or another sauce) and

> Black Forest Gateau. Mateus Rose.

>

> Wine bars.

>

> People going on holiday to Spain.

>

> Salt & Shake crisps.

>

> Vosene shampoo. Girls rinsing their hair with

> lemon, eggs or beer. Hairwashing separate from

> bathing. Those plastic shower hoses you attached

> to the taps.

Of all the things listed above; i've genuinely done/had all this year except the last paragraph about hair and the Mateus Rose.

[adonirum]

Arctic Roll

Pints of light and bitter/keg