Gransnet forums

Chat

What "back then" inconvenience would annoy today's youngsters?

(34 Posts)
CrazyUSA Sat 18-Jul-26 21:16:26

Having to go out to blockbusters rather than look for a movie on netflix.

BlueBelle Sun 19-Jul-26 08:20:02

Sitting in front of the open oven door on a stool to dry my hair after washing it ( once a week)
Izal toilet paper
Only radio and books and a comic once a week
No house phone till I was about 25 I had to ring the corner shop if there was an emergency and they d fetch my mum (only happened once I think)
Only one holiday when I was 4 years old, next one was when I was 17 with friends, that was a hoot.
No tampax (Towels and a belt)

Cossy Sun 19-Jul-26 08:11:08

Lots of interesting stuff here, many of which would highly inconvenience me these days grin

All our children travelled to and from secondary school by bus, no bus pass or school bus!

Cossy Sun 19-Jul-26 08:08:44

Oldnproud

Having to go to a library and look in a book if you wanted information.

YES!

Astitchintime Sun 19-Jul-26 07:30:02

Having no choice but to catch a bus to school, or worse still, walk all the way! Not all families had a car at all and two car families were very rare. And not everyone got a bus pass either! These were only issued to children living three miles or more away from my school, and that was measured basically as the crow flies, not via the bus routes. We lived just inside the three mile limit so no bus pass for me!

butterandjam Sun 19-Jul-26 07:08:56

"Party" Landline telephones shared with strangers.

Maremia Sun 19-Jul-26 06:48:06

Having your friends iron your long hair in the sixties, using brown paper, as curls were not permitted.

eazybee Sun 19-Jul-26 06:20:29

Today's youth would have to walk, cycle or bus to their school and leisure activities instead of being transported by car to the entrance and collected likewise at the end.

MayBee70 Sun 19-Jul-26 02:08:30

Queuing outside a phone box to phone someone…

Doodledog Sun 19-Jul-26 01:14:16

Those rubber things that you put on the bath taps to improvise a shower to rinse your hair. One side always pinged off, so you got a sudden rush of hot or freezing water.

Charleygirl5 Sun 19-Jul-26 00:54:47

We didn't have enough money for hot water, so we rarely had a bath. Always a strip wash and washed by my mother.

I could tell the day of the week by the evening meal.
We had an inside loo, but when we went on holiday to Ireland to my grandfather's farm, the loo was a hike away. Also, there was no running water there, so I had to help carry buckets to the house and it was a hike

NotSpaghetti Sun 19-Jul-26 00:26:18

CrazyUSA

Having to go out to blockbusters rather than look for a movie on netflix.

My daughter was talking about Blockbuster only yesterday - recalling what a treat it was.

If the choices on streaming services disappeared, Blockbuster would presumably be a treat all over again.

nanna8 Sun 19-Jul-26 00:22:48

No washing machine or fridge or phone come to that. 1950s London. Mind you, if you pressed the button in the phone booth sometimes you hit the jackpot, pennies from heaven !

friendlygingercat Sun 19-Jul-26 00:18:32

Having to dig a path through the snow to get to the outside loo. Tearing up sheets of the local paper for toilet paper. Making sure there were no spiders lurking under the seat. For girls dealing with and disposing of old fashioned sanitary protection - belts and pads.

pably15 Sun 19-Jul-26 00:10:42

having to wait till Friday when dad came home with his wages.mum going to co-op the get groceries and wait in queues.

pably15 Sun 19-Jul-26 00:07:25

ViceVersa

Having to actually go round and see if your friends were in and if they were coming out to play, because not everyone had a home phone.
No all day TV and only three channels.
More recently, not being able to go on the internet if someone was using the landline (or vice versa).
Trying to tape your favourite songs from the radio and the DJ speaking before the song finished.

That's what I remember, starting to record a song and just before the end the dj started singing along ....oh how annoying

MayBee70 Sat 18-Jul-26 23:47:15

Grammaretto

I can still remember the thrill of getting a colour TV. My DM wanted to watch Wimbledon.
Queue for the bathroom in the morning.

Mind you there are plenty of inconveniences still mostly relating to the lack of banks, travel agents and everything on-line and never being able to speak to a human.

Not having a bathroom and having to share an outside toilet with the neighbours…

MayBee70 Sat 18-Jul-26 23:46:06

Plevey08

Having board rubbers thrown at them if they didn't pay attention in class. More of an assault than inconvenience perhaps.

Mrs McCutcheon. French teacher. Have to say it made me learn my French verbs…

Gwyllt Sat 18-Jul-26 23:15:21

Was life really that bad I thought it was pretty good actually
Anyway what you never had you didn’t miss

Grammaretto Sat 18-Jul-26 23:09:58

I can still remember the thrill of getting a colour TV. My DM wanted to watch Wimbledon.
Queue for the bathroom in the morning.

Mind you there are plenty of inconveniences still mostly relating to the lack of banks, travel agents and everything on-line and never being able to speak to a human.

tanith Sat 18-Jul-26 22:58:34

Sharing a bathroom with another family 😱 or even an outside toilet and tin bath shared with 4 siblings in age order.

twiglet77 Sat 18-Jul-26 22:28:18

Shops closing for the afternoon on Wednesdays (or Thursdays), no Sunday opening except perhaps the corner shop.

Having to walk across the room to change the tv channel between BBC and ITV (when we had only two channels).

Playing a collection of 7” singles one at a time on a Dansette record player and having to carefully place the stylus in the right place.

Being the kid tasked with licking and sticking Green Shield stamps into their books.

Writing to advertisers in magazines and including a stamped, addressed envelope.

NotAGran55 Sat 18-Jul-26 22:17:37

Writing a cheque and letter, addressing an envelope to yourself , and putting it in the post in order to buy gig tickets.

No double clicks on apple pay when I was my sons’ ages.

Ziplok Sat 18-Jul-26 22:13:59

No GN/MN etc 🤣

ViceVersa Sat 18-Jul-26 22:07:08

Having to actually go round and see if your friends were in and if they were coming out to play, because not everyone had a home phone.
No all day TV and only three channels.
More recently, not being able to go on the internet if someone was using the landline (or vice versa).
Trying to tape your favourite songs from the radio and the DJ speaking before the song finished.

Plevey08 Sat 18-Jul-26 22:02:58

Having board rubbers thrown at them if they didn't pay attention in class. More of an assault than inconvenience perhaps.