Things that dont happen anymore

[Krazy]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

Balisha Beacons, now few and far between.
Going into a music shop and being able to go into a little booth to listen to the record that you may just buy, if its any good.
Children being left outside shops in their prams/buggies. Whilst mothers do their shopping.
Blackboards in school. Sorry I should be pc and say chalkboards. ha ha.
Going into a grocery store, and asking for butter, cheese or bacon, and the assistant actually cutting it for you there and then.

[Richard1978]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

I sometimes see an electric milk float near where I work, which must cover the side streets near by.

Some HMV's have listening posts, though I've never used them.

There's some Belisha Beacons at a junction near me, but I can't think of where many more are.

[Techno]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

Some HMV's have listening posts, though I've never used them.

I've found the decline of record shops very painful personally. The Virgin Megastore in my town is now completely gone and the HMV is shadow of its former self. I used to spend hours walking round these shops, for years and years. This has been mitigated somewhat now because I have got used to downloading tracks cheaply from Amazon. They cost about 79p which is about the same as the 75p I used to pay for vinyl singles when I first started buying them. I also discovered people who make funny tracks and put them on YouTube (like this one, discovered via Intertube Records). I also have the music channels on satellite now.

Some of the small independent shops seem to be doing OK, there is one in my town where you can still browse through loads of old records and CDs. I think they have survived because they sell concert tickets as well.

Most of the bookshops have gone now, and large sections in the remaining one have been drastically cut, like the Computing section.

[barry21]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

Great list Stu,
I have trouble remembering my mobile number (sign of old age me thinks).

[Scottie_UK]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

I still use Vinyl, my record collection must be near 2000 now, mostly 80's and 70's with some 90's.

Not many places selling Vinyl any more, except car boot sales.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

I try not to do regrets. It's very negative. But if ever I did 'regret' something, it would be selling my vinyl collection some years ago. I did it because I was broke. But now......
I wish I still had the records.

[barry21]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

I still have a record collection in the attic. I managed to save alot of my mothers 7" singles from the 50/60s.
unfortunately i do not get to play them anymore.
My wife had a fairly large album collection which she saved when she came to live with me.I also saved my sisters album collection so i have a large pile of albums which i never use but am loathed to part with.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

I can think of quite a few zebra crossings with Belisha beacons in my area, but they are all in places where there has been a zebra crossing there for years. Any new crossings tend to have traffic lights, or else they just build a pedestrian island in the road.

Traffic lights don't have stripey posts any more. I can just remember when they did. I think there was one (or perhaps it was a Belisha beacon) on a keep britian tidy advert from the early 80's that showed a whole street completely full of rubbish.

[sandie76]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

I miss seeing a Milk Float going about, remember bringing in the milk in bottles with holes in the top were the birds had been at the cream. I even found a small snail under the foil top once, no idea how it got there and top was still on. When the annual street market/funfair came to town in the summer for 4 days, we'd get up in the morning to find we had no milk, as the market kids were sent out to nick milk of the doorsteps.

Street parties - I was lucky enough to experience a proper one. I would have attended a Silver Jubilee street do in '77, but was only 6 months old, so obviously can't remember it. Do remember the neighbouring street holding one for the Royal Wedding in July '81 that we attended. It was a great party, us kids sitting on wooden seats at the long tables, wearing union jack hats, streamers, bottles of pop with a paper straw, red/white/blue bunting and music playing. Now those were the days and we knew all our neighbours then.

Also don't get to pack your shopping (or messages we called it) in large brown paper bags with no handles to carry them with - Wm Lows. We'd get a weekly shop from there on a Thursday and pack it into these big brown bags, then roll the top of them. If there was too many, we'd get the local delivery man to take them down the road for us - same guy still does the deliveries except shop is now Tescos.

Something I've never ever seen again is a Milk Bar. We had one that was attatched to the local dairy, situated in the town centre, the bottling milk was done behind the shop. The Milk Bar sold drinks mainly, I woud always get a glass of ginger beer, while my sister would get a milkshake. Then my Mum would go to the wee shop next door to pay for the milk that week. When the dairy moved, the milkman would come round the houses to collect the money instead.

[ricasso]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

I remember the traders that used to come to the door,we lived in a village and had quite a few enterprising folk coming to the door!apart from the coalman (miss the smell of those coalsacks! me dad said they were coated in stockholm tar) there was the Breadman with his big wicker basket and leather satchel for the money,i can still hear him shaking it to find some change !
of course there was the whine of the milk float, one of the first sounds of the day,and there was an old Sikh Gentleman who always came to the front door (the only one that did!)
selling 'Betterware' stuff from a big suitcase.
and of course the rag and bone man with his horse and cart and hand bell and the mobile shop that used to park outside our house and sold literally everything!

[Trickyvee]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

In my area there is a tea company called Ringtons that still does door to door sales. Each week a man comes down the street with a basket of tea, coffee and biscuits. I honestly don't know how they survive but they do seem to have a lot of regular customers, and not just oldies. Ringtons has been around for decades and so I think it is the case that families are just carrying on the tradition of getting tea from them. My nanna did, but we never did.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

In my area there is a tea company called Ringtons that still does door to door sales. Each week a man comes down the street with a basket of tea, coffee and biscuits. I honestly don't know how they survive but they do seem to have a lot of regular customers, and not just oldies. Ringtons has been around for decades and so I think it is the case that families are just carrying on the tradition of getting tea from them. My nanna did, but we never did.

My Gran used to get Ringtons tea delivered too. The vans still deliver in my home town too.

[Paulos]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

Pulling out a manual choke to get your car started in the morning!

[ricasso]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

how about seeing white dog poo on the pavement? Not a *nice* memory as such, but still, what were they feeding dogs in the seventies??????????

bones !!!

[Trickyvee]

Re: Things that dont happen anymore

Pulling out a manual choke to get your car started in the morning!

Also fumbling around to fast forward a tape to your favourite song whilst driving, and bursting a blood vessel trying to manoeuvre cars without power steering.