'The Good Old Days'

Anybody fed up with todays pace of life?
Why not take a trip down memory lane when life was much slower and almost sloth like when the majority of people had good manners and treated others with respect. Instead of relying on computers and calculator’s people had to depend on using their brains or encyclopaedias.

My dad used to be a Unigate milkman from 1974-1990 and the changes from when he was a young boy growing up in the 1950’s until the present day are significant in the dairy industry. He remembers when growing up in the 1950’s that the milk float who delivered his milk was horse drawn and now they are mostly battery, electric or motorised vehicles and they are almost non-existence as a door step delivery service.

Back then you could walk down the street with a lot less fear of being robbed or attacked etc. children could play outside with no worries of traffic or parked cars as buses and bicycles were the popular modes of transport with not too many people owning a vehicle. When the majority of people couldn’t afford to go abroad for their holidays, caravan holidays became popular especially in the United Kingdom.

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There was a lot more discipline at school and a greater respect for both teachers and parents and fear for people in authority such as policemen. Children would leave school a lot earlier and start work as there were less opportunities for higher education.

Children of that era would make things out of wood like go carts, pull along trollies and amuse themselves more playing such games like hop scotch and marbles, unlike today where children are getting addicted to computer games consoles, phones and social media which is also influencing the way they view themselves as individuals. A totally different era with technology improving at a very fast rate.

Husbands used to go to work and the wife’s stayed at home to cook, clean and raise the children. People used to get married a lot younger and pregnancy was more shameful outside of marriage. Alot has changed especially for women who have more independence and power over their bodies although there is still a lot of improvement for gender equality with pay, jobs etc..

Back then families used to stay together through the hard times and people in the local community had a sense of belonging. The front doors would be on the latch and children could come and go as they please. In the early 1950’s children had experienced a rationing of food so things like sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks weren’t taken for granted unlike the children of today and Sunday roast dinners were a family event.

It would be nice to go back to a calmer and more gentle way of life but unfortunately I do not own a time machine.