What were you impressed with as a child that your DGC would laugh it now ?

When I was a child, late 60s, my Dad had to go somewhere for work (an unusual occurrence). He told us he’d stayed in a hotel that had a TV in his bedroom! And it had a remote control so he could sit in bed and watch TV! I could hardly imagine such luxury and longed to stay in a hotel.

My neighbour's motorbike with sidecar for his wife & daughter. Pestered till I was taken for a ride in it!
Also I loved the fake grass on the greengrocer's trestle, you never saw fake grass anywhere else.
We got a new machine for planting potatoes that went on the back of the tractor & me & mum sat on little ledges either side of the hopper & when it went "ding" we dropped a potato down the tube into the ground. Much more fun that doing by hand!

One of my friends had a glass of fresh orange juice on her bedside table, which had a little doily weighted down with beads. I didn’t even have a bedside table and we didn’t have fresh juice, let alone doily’s. I was so envious.

Green shield stamps.

Calendargirl

An electric wall heater in the bathroom.

Up to then, we were just cold having our (weekly) bath in the winter.

Oh, we never quite got to those lofty heights! I remember only too well the tiny paraffin heater which used to be in our bathroom in a valiant attempt to stop the pipes from freezing. Going for a bath was an act of courage in the winter!

In my first job as an office junior they had a huge Rank Zerox photocopier. It was my job to do any photocopying needed. When at a loose end I'd arrange bits of jewellery on the plate and make artistic pictures. I'd also photocopy knitting patterns for the cleaner. To me it was the most amazing invention ever.

Also, as a teenager, my boyfriend's dad had a Rolls Royce, and on the odd occasion I got to be taken somewhere in it, I felt like I should be doing a royal wave at people we passed. Delusions of grandeur!

A friend of mine had colour TV, whereas ours was a small B&W set which had to have the top thumped to stop picture rolling, so an invitation to tea and watching in colour was fascinating for me. Seeing a Mum collecting one of my classmates, with pierced ears (the Mum, not the child). I really couldn't believe she had pushed something through her ear lobe.

Grated cheese! We went to London for a week when I was 11 and we went to Fortes for our tea. I ordered a cheese salad and the cheese was grated. The only cheese I had seen was in lumps or slices. I also had chocolate ice cream for the first time too with the big fan wafers.

Someone in my class went to Spain for a holiday! This was about 1960 we were very impressed.On the other hand my DGD is very impressed that my Dad had a motor bike and me and my sister travelled in the side car!

A TV! across the road in my friend's house - I saw Muffin the Mule first. amazing. 1947?

Later - PIZZA in the 1960s....yum.

first time, sorry

Having chicken, salad and salty chips (from a packet) for Sunday lunch, It was the most posh meal I had ever seen, salad served in bowl and large bowl of potato Chips, so you could have as much as you liked. First tried I tried all 3 items. I was 15.

Before then when about 8 my best friends aunt who had a car, offered us a trip in it. We sat in the little seat in the very back that open up so you sat in the fresh air. My word.

A neighbour who also had a car very early 50ish took us for a picnic around 5am on Whit Sunday morning to see the sunrise in the woods, what an experience for an 8 year old.

Around the same period we crossed to Sweden to play a match and were invited back to a competitors house for afternoon tea. They had built in fridge, freezer and washing machine, well I thought they must be millionaires.

My dad brought home a pocket calculator in about 1966. It only had four functions and I’m sure that in relative terms was hugely more expensive than my current state of the art scientific job, but I was utterly fascinated.

Getting more than two TV channels was a big thing, even though the new third one (BBC2) was very bad reception and a dotty picture that kept fading out. Someone in the street having a colour telly was very exciting and we went in for a few minutes to look at it.

ferry23

The absolute astonishment when my Grandparents got some kind of Converter that attached to the television and lo and behold, there was a 2nd channel!

(We didn't even have a TV at home so this was the equivalent of Netflix for me )

We had a Converter and when it was switched for the first time to ITV the very first item we saw was an advert for Drene shampoo.

My friend’s brother had a friend from America who came to stay with the family, he gave my friend a 3D viewer and some slides I think it was called a View Master. My friend and I were very impressed.

My four net underskirts I wore under my flared dresses and my 4 ins stiletto heeled shoes, gosh how I loved that era late 1950's and early 60's. I also had a Teddy boy as a boyfriend, my mum and dad had a fit.

Grew up without air conditioning until middle school when we moved to a small city. That and color TV ha ha.

The opening of a SELF SERVICE Woolworths in our town. You took a wire basket at the entrance and helped yourself from the counters! I assume there were tills at some point but I only remember the baskets.

My friend had one of those jewellery boxes which opened to reveal a ballerina turning round as music played. I was so envious and longed for one for years after.

An electric wall heater in the bathroom.

Up to then, we were just cold having our (weekly) bath in the winter.

television.

Never had one when I lived at home (until age 19).

My aunt and uncle had television with the first adverts I had ever seen. We only had BBC. About 1958.
I can remember the words to so many and the tunes.The Esso sign means happy motoring. You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent. I could go on.....

The absolute astonishment when my Grandparents got some kind of Converter that attached to the television and lo and behold, there was a 2nd channel!

(We didn't even have a TV at home so this was the equivalent of Netflix for me )