You know you’re getting older when……

[OhNoAPacer]

You remember pressing button B on passing a phone box, just in case the previous user had forgotten to do so.

 

[Snow1964]

You remember pressing button B on passing a phone box, just in case the previous user had forgotten to do so.

Not that old, but do remember phone boxes taking 2 (new) pence pieces, and I think 10p (not that I ever used 10p in a phone box as a child)

Then sometime about 1983 they introduced phones that needed green phone cards

Our home phone until mid 1970s was a party line, had to press a button to get a line, and sometimes when you picked it up, neighbour would be chatting so had to come back later. I think it saved cost of running separate cost of a line to each house.

 

[Ashley Hill]

You can remember when record-players were still sold with 78 on the dial.

My first record player had 16 as well as 78. Never had or heard of anything that played at 16rpm. Probably ruined many singles as a kid by playing them faster or so lower than 45.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

My first record player had 16 as well as 78. Never had or heard of anything that played at 16rpm. Probably ruined many singles as a kid by playing them faster or so lower than 45.

My grandparents had some records with spoken-word stuff in their house what I was a kid. Some were children's stories read aloud, others were comedy routines. These were the only things I knew of that needed the 16rpm setting (which was usually used by my brothers and I to amuse ourselves by playing Kate Bush really slowly to make her sound like a monster).

 

[Typhoon]

I remember the coop doing their own stamps, they were blue.

It may have depended on the area. My local co-op (RACS) at one time out tin 'coins' (to represent your spending) - actually 'coins' for larger amounts were plastic. I remember red and green. Some of the tin coins were different shapes, one at least was octagonal.

You are probably very old if you remember them.

 

[32475]

When you start wearing red or pink trousers topped out with a Panama hat. I have never worn such monstrous apparel or have the slightest inkling to do so.

 

[swt_passenger]

Another sign of age is if you can remember the test card on BBC2.

Didn’t BBC2 also have what were called “trade test transmissions”. About half a dozen documentary type shows that ran continually during the day, before the main service started?

 

[OhNoAPacer]

It may have depended on the area. My local co-op (RACS) at one time out tin 'coins' (to represent your spending) - actually 'coins' for larger amounts were plastic. I remember red and green. Some of the tin coins were different shapes, one at least was octagonal.

You are probably very old if you remember them.

I don't remember tin coins, but do remember milk tokens from the co-op, they were plastic and every so often they changed their colour.

 

[Jon_jpwh]

You can remember when record-players were still sold with 78 on the dial.

They still are sold. I bought one 2 years ago

 

[Paul Jones 88]

When you notice a beautiful young woman but can't remember why.

 

[DelayRepay]

Our home phone until mid 1970s was a party line, had to press a button to get a line, and sometimes when you picked it up, neighbour would be chatting so had to come back later. I think it saved cost of running separate cost of a line to each house.

We never had a party line, but when I was a child my house was the only one in our part of the street that had a phone. This meant we'd occasionally get phone calls asking us to pass a message on to a neighbour. Generally these messages were important, and not good news. And I remember being woken at least twice in the middle of the night by a neighbour needing the emergency services.

But perhaps the strangest one... when I started school my mum decided she wanted to find a part time job. One day, she took a phone call from the neighbour's work asking if the neighbour could do an extra shift as they were short staffed. The neighbour wasn't home and, seemingly in desperation, the caller asked my mum if she knew anyone who was looking for part time work. Mum ended up working there for almost 30 years, and she's still friends with that random caller!

Didn’t BBC2 also have what were called “trade test transmissions”. About half a dozen documentary type shows that ran continually during the day, before the main service started?

It's amazing what people put on YouTube:

 

[PeterY]

When you still expect to be offered Green Shield Stamps.

We used to have books full of those and guess who had to stick them in, me and my siblings. There used to be a green shield shop in Watford, where my parents redeemed them for household items.

Remember “Embassy” cigarette coupons?
Found one up in the loft recently amongst other stuff that hasn’t been touched for 40+ years!

Again we used to enjoy counting them and send off of household items.

Does anyone remember tuppleware and tuppleware parties My parents used to hold them

 

[DelayRepay]

I will add a couple more...

The man from the Pru or Co-op who used to come to the house to collect the insurance money. And there was another man who came to collect the 'pools' coupon and money. For our younger members this was basically a door-to-door bookmakers service!

And there were all kinds of mobile shops used to visit the street. I remember a butchers van, a greengrocers van, a bread van, a pop man and a fish man. All long gone now.

 

[GusB]

Does anyone remember tuppleware and tuppleware parties My parents used to hold them

Tupperware parties were a thing when I was quite young (late 70s). If they happened during the holidays I was usually dragged along and forced to eat lots of cake and biscuits

I've still got many of the plastic tubs that my mum bought; some of it must be as old as I am.

 

[Ediswan]

Got to be over thirty years since they were still a thing!

Green Shield Stamps mutated into Argos. Same stores, same catalogue system, just started taking cash.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Have we had "Tiger Tokens" yet? Anyone remember them?

 

[Ashley Hill]

Have we had "Tiger Tokens" yet? Anyone remember them?

View attachment 114824

Yes,collect several and exchange for a glass. Shell had a similar promotion too.

 

[Gloster]

There were all those free gifts from petrol stations that were ‘Free with every four gallons’: Ratner quality décanter sets, plastic tokens of leading footballers, busts of ‘famous’ people, etc.

 

[Ediswan]

Yes,collect several and exchange for a glass. Shell had a similar promotion too.

And the Shell 'Man in Flight' coins. Icarus and Daedalus through to Apollo 11 (Concorde came later). I may have a set somewhere. (Not worth much.)

 

[TheBigD]

My eldest brother manged to collect all of them...

 

[High Dyke]

You can't be bothered to respond to some of the tripe on these forums!

 

[Lloyds siding]

My grandparents had some records with spoken-word stuff in their house what I was a kid. Some were children's stories read aloud, others were comedy routines. These were the only things I knew of that needed the 16rpm setting (which was usually used by my brothers and I to amuse ourselves by playing Kate Bush really slowly to make her sound like a monster).

Yes, 16 rpm was for spoken word discs, so no need of high fidelity....they were most frequently used for records for the deaf. The slow speed maximised the length of the recording.

They still are sold. I bought one 2 years ago

However, we had some records with 80 rpm printed on them...dating from the time when the exact playing speed hadn't been universally accepted.

 

[OhNoAPacer]

You stop not suffering fools gladly and start not suffering anyone gladly.

 

[Busaholic]

You stop not suffering fools gladly and start not suffering anyone gladly.

And start suffering yourself, full stop.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

True, aka "things that are not tolerated now due to our apparent obsession with a zero-risk society". I ate sweet cigarettes as a child, yet I have had a lifelong aversion to smoking - so I think the idea that sweet cigarettes will turn you into a chain-smoker is, quite frankly, rubbish.

Exactly.

I enjoyed those sweets, even pretended I was smoking, but have never smoked and never been tempted to do so.

 

[PeterC]

When you can remember the Co-op divi number (177612) but not your PIN.

Most people I know can remember their parents' divi number. 1151369.

 

[ChrisC]

Earlier today I went in a fast food type of restaurant which is something I don’t do very often. The food was quite nice but the main thought going through my mind the whole time was it would be lovely to have it on a plate with a knife and fork, instead of out of paper with my fingers. I’ve always been quite happy eating fish and chips with my fingers, even years ago wrapped in newspaper, but that was walking around the streets not inside sat at a table in a restaurant.

 

[D6968]

I can remember landline phone numbers for many long deceased relatives, and school aged friends, and most of the internal extension numbers from my first job.

But I couldn't tell you anyone's mobile number. I struggle to remember my own!

I’m the same! I could also tell you most of my parents old car registration’s too!

And the Shell 'Man in Flight' coins. Icarus and Daedalus through to Apollo 11 (Concorde came later). I may have a set somewhere. (Not worth much.)
View attachment 114826

I remember the World Cup one’s from 1990!

My eldest brother manged to collect all of them...

My brother and I have a set each!

 

[181]

When you think back to the occasion when you first used a train, and think that if you go back the same number of years in the other direction, you end up in WWII.

Actually if we're talking about "any train", in my case we could say 1930-32, for I occasionally travelled in what must have been 304s in around 1976 or 1977. However I discounted that as I don't remember it well and had no interest in trains at the time; the example I quoted was my first "regular" and well-remembered train journey, and start of school commute, in the early 80s.

1920s for me -- I'm about the same age as @nw1, but was using trains a fair bit from a much earlier age.

On the subject of WWII, does anyone remember this children's television series filmed on the Severn Valley Railway? (If I remember rightly it was set there too, not on an unnamed branch line as Wikipedia says -- Highley and Arley are referred to by their real names in this set of clips). I was of an age to be in the target audience, and the WWII episodes were of particular interest to my family as my father knew the real SVR at that time (Arley was his aunt's local station). Its relevance to this thread is that it seems really weird to me that 1980 is now further in the past than 1940 was then.

Another sign of age is if you can remember the test card on BBC2.

...or bus conductors

...or sweet cigarettes. (These were sweets that were made to look like cigarettes - perhaps there ought to be a thread "...Things that were allowed in the 1960s and 1970s that you would never get away with now)

Yes
No
Still around in the late 70s and early 80s, so I remember them.

I can remember all three, but only bus conductors were a familiar part of my life. I think this must depend on where you lived -- they were common in my London suburb until the mid-1980s, and of course in parts of London they lasted, with the Routemasters, into the 21st century.

 

[D6968]

1920s for me -- I'm about the same age as @nw1, but was using trains a fair bit from a much earlier age.

On the subject of WWII, does anyone remember this children's television series filmed on the Severn Valley Railway? (If I remember rightly it was set there too, not on an unnamed branch line as Wikipedia says -- Highley and Arley are referred to by their real names in this set of clips). I was of an age to be in the target audience, and the WWII episodes were of particular interest to my family as my father knew the real SVR at that time (Arley was his aunt's local station). Its relevance to this thread is that it seems really weird to me that 1980 is now further in the past than 1940 was then.




I can remember all three, but only bus conductors were a familiar part of my life. I think this must depend on where you lived -- they were common in my London suburb until the mid-1980s, and of course in parts of London they lasted, with the Routemasters, into the 21st century.

Remember Gods Wonderful Railway? I had all 3 books!