General Chat

I was born in the 60s ,grew up in the 70s ,married and had children in the 80s and early 90s, and now im in my late 40s and a nanny to two.
but ive always felt that i dont fit into the 21 century.
i would have loved to have been born in the early 1900s, i just love everything to do with the early 1900s,yes it was hard for people then,low pay and having to work 70-80 hrs a wk to keep your familys out of the work house,but people then would do anything to help a person in need,manners were the order of the day,it didnt cost anything to be polite,people were hard working,no sitting on your backside and getting the dole then(im not saying that everyone that gets benefit now sits on their bums doing nothing) life was much more simple than it is now,its all about money now,everyday you get calls trying to sell you something,you get fined for everything except breathing(they will be fined for that soon) you can sue people at the drop of a hat,which means our children cant have a normal life incase they get hurt and their parents sue, young people are getting shot and stabbed all over the country and the violence has reached boiling point, i really dont like this world that we are living in right now. :-( :-)

Know exactly what you mean and how you feel about todays modern life. I have never felt I belong in this time , Apart from the war in the forties causing terrible upheavals and suffering I long to live in that period in a tiny village somewhere in europe leading a simple life. I was born in the fifties and the changes I see are every thing you mentioned and more. I am sick of the bad manners and agressive behaviour of alot of people nowadays,also not many people seem to have nice normal dogs these days , they seem to prefer the aggressive type of dog. Small people trying to look big keep that sort of dog , Horrible world its become. Dont get me on my soap box lol.

yes,the simple life,oh how i yearn for a simple life.but i does not matter how hard you try,the simple life is a distant memory in 2011. :- :-(

Do you believe that things were so different regarding violence back in the early 1900.?
If you read some of the early newspapers you will find that not much has really changed, apart from technology, better living standards, cleaner homes and a better way of life.
Look at the tax system then, you will be surprised, people are polite nowadays, especialy if you are polite to them.
As far as I am concerned I feel thing are very good now, much better than say the 40s and 50s.
I was born at the latter part of the 30s.

Foggy

yes agree that there was a lot of violence back in the 1900s but if you done the deed you payed the price,(sometimes with your life) thats not true these days,a few yrs for murder is not good enough,people just dont have it hard anymore,eerything is so easy,its not the way it was ment to be.
and yes some people are polite but you will be suprised at some of the people that i have come across that are not polite.....my two yr old grandson will not take anything from you without first saying thank you,and he will not ask ask for something with out finishing with please,ive come across young children who will tell you to f---- o-- before they will say please, children werepolite in your time,whatshappened.x :-|

I love these times - travel accessible to many more people, modern technology, better medical care, a relatively good lifestyle (in Aus.) and more leisure time to enjoy life. Yes we're busier and more stressed but the 'good old days' weren't always so good. We always look back with nostalgia remembering the good times - it's like when someone passes away and they suddenly become a saint :-)

Sue

yes sue agree with your post,of course i dont know what it was like in the 1900s it just seemed like a more calmer and simple life(im all for calm right now)and of course i cant say what life was like in the 30s,40s 50s because i was not born then,but i just hate 2011.cant help thinking that its going to get worse,and that frightends me. :-| :-|

I do see your point. I think that it frightens a lot of people and I do sometimes worry about what is ahead for the grandchildren.

I think we have to do something in an society where we hurt our children and neglect our elderly and perhaps people will once more turn to religion and a sense of community - things do tend to turn a full circle.

Interesting thread :-)

Sue

yes sue,
you hit the nail right on the head.elderly people were looked after by their own familys years ago and people went to church and would do anything to help neighbours,its not like that now and its a shame.the simple life for me,no phones,no technology ,no internet ,and facebook ruining peoples lifes. for one reason or another.its not better now,in my opinion its much worse. :-|

I like the idea of the nostalgia - the thought of how it might have been had I lived during the war years, for example. The comraderie, the sharing of an ounce or two of sugar and making ends meet. I would be more than capable at producing a meal out of very little, having learned much from my mother and grandmother at how to eke out a meal with vegetables. I enjoy sewing, so the thought of making and mending socks, blankets etc. for the war effort seems in a strange way quite appealing. I love to hear how everybody joined forces and communities were strengthened. However, I know that the reality of war is that it was terrifying, precious loved ones said their goodbyes, never to return, and children were left without a father.
Mothers worked all hours, often away from the home and returned home exhausted to chilly homes and hungry children waiting to be fed on precious little. Without too much reflection, I quickly realise that I am content to be born in the late 50's having heard much of the war, but taught to be thankful for all the blessings that these times bring, with all the electric devices that make life easier. :-)

Maybe there is a thread already started about the war and how it was for our older members, I for one would be most interested to learn about domestic life at that time.

i agree with all you hae said lavender,but just hate these times,cant imagine how life will be for us,our children,and our grandchildren.
i feel that we are living in the most dangerous times of our lives right now, and it frightens me.x
:-(

Suzanne,

The simple life for you, no phones,No technology, No Facebook, No Internet,

SO, what exactly are you doing at this moment on the Internet.?

People paint a rosy picture of days gone by, BUT, when you actually look into it, it was not so good.

I too like reading about the war years and how women coped when their men were away - a tough life without doubt but I agree that people pulled together. I think that sense of community and belonging went a long way to keep up the morale of everyone. WW2 changed society forever. Women were seen as valuable in the workforce - no longer having to give up work when they married and capable of earning money to feed their families. It gave women more independance than any other time in history. It must have been quite a shock for the menfolk when they returned. We read about how the war changed the men but it changed women too.

Sue

I'm only on here because I'm trying to ignore the HUGE pile of ironing a few feet away from me. ;-)

SueMaid,

Women have always been the mainstay in society.
Without their effort during WW2, we would have been in a right old state, I take my hat off to them, well I would if I wore one...LOL.

Hello young Wend,

Foggy - my mum used to say that she didn't like Women's Liberation because women have quietly been in charge forever and then Women's Lib came along and spoilt it :-D

Sue

foggy.
the internet is here,a part of our lifes ,but it does not rule my life,we can take it or leave it,same with mobile phones.but i just cant get over the violence,the benefit culture,the society owes me something culture,why the hell does society owe a dole bum anything?people in the 30s 40s 50s didnt have that opinion,you worked for your living,no one owed you anything,everything is money now,people didnt have lots of money in the 19000s,30s,40,50s,you worked for what you had,you may not have had a grand life,but you had a better life, :-)

Oh dear, wishing to have been born in the early 1900s is a recipe for disaster, TB, rickets, diphtheria, polio, and every conceivable disease ending with pox.

Insanitary conditions even if relatively well off, food scarce depending on how the harvest came in. Shortages of gas and electricity (where available).

Dentists who were butchers, doctors who could be butchers and if you couldn't pay you were turned away to find a quack.

No financial help for large families unless you were good church attending Christians, then relying on charitable handouts.

No employment safe - working from day to day for the majority of people.

Yep the good old days.

I'll stick with my own time line which just included rationing and the National Health Service care for children. Well I am still here :-D

Sue

I partly agree with you as far as benefits are concerned. However look how difficult it was for women left with young families often through the death of their husbands. They had no money coming in and often had to farm the children out so they could work at menial jobs to earn some pennies. At least now there is some relief. Not all people getting benefits are "dole bums'.

Sue