I met OH in 1969 at college of FE. He went on to a Polytechnic college to do a sandwich degree course. After A levels, I was offered University places, one place wanted CDD, another EEE. Only a limited number of Universities then giving proper degrees. But I turned them down in favour of going to full time work and taking day release to do a degree course. I still had a Saturday job in a shop.
Passed my driving test in 1970 after 10 lessons at 25 shillings each, though we had no family car, I got to practice in Aunties 1100, and next doors Austin. OH's family had a Hillman Imp, we used to take it on trips. I was added to the insurance for free as soon as I passed.
In 1971, 15th Feb, I helped convert the shop to decimal. We had to change all the shelf price tickets, took us all day.
We married in 1973 as soon as OH got his degree, he was offered a job with the same company in 2 different locations, we chose the northern place an hour from home, and started househunting. OH lived in digs near work and looked at houses in the evening by bus. Then I came over with the Hillman Imp to view a short list, we chose the most suitable straight away. It was about £5000, all we could afford with what we could borrow. It had a gas fire in the lounge, no phone or TV, we had a new bed, new cooker and new twin tub washer, and everything else was donated by family and friends.
The day we collected the keys, we were on the train and bus, and had to find the Estate agents. When we sold the house 2 years later, we had done a bit of work to it, and made a small profit, to buy the house we still live in for £10,500. This house had no central heating, just a gas fire in the lounge and a gas heater in the hall.
I worked for a while, I wrote to them from my previous place, was interviewed and got a job. There were mostly men there, in the chemical industry, and a lot of carrying on that would now be labelled sexual harassment.
Also during this time came the Equal Opportunity Act, and I put my foot down about making the tea.
After I had my first child in 1977, it was the miners strike and power cuts. I remember changing nappies by candlelight, and making toast by the gas fire, the cooker was electric.
Once I'd left work we had no money at all. We were freezing cold in the winter, used to rent a cheap cottage with mice for a week for a holiday, or stay with family. I stayed at home and baked, made cheap meals, yogurt etc. I shopped once a month, apart from fruit and veg, milk was delivered daily. We had a succession of cars that OH had to fettle, a Morris van that had a cranking handle, but would start with a push, or we used to park it on a hill and roll it down to start. A Morris Marina, OH had to replace the petrol tank on that, an Austin Allegro which was written off when someone knocked it off the road when OH and small son were in.
Looking back, they weren't the good old days at all.
I would agree that during the 70's there were strikes, power cuts etc but its not like it was all the time!
As I said in my other post, I also remember the good times.
Music was good,always had a job and money in my pocket.
Even when we got married in 1974 we still had enough to pay a mortgage, run a car and always had food on the table.
I worked all the overtime I could get to give us a better than average life and don't regret a minute.
We saved hard and bought our first caravan the following year (Sprite Alpine).
As our children came along we still had a reasonable life and holidays in our caravans.
So we had a decent quality of life back then thanks to hard work..despite strikes, power cuts etc.
All of us who are now mortgage free have a lot to be thankful for back in the bad old 70's
Nowadays young people find it hard to get a job let alone a mortgage for a home, so I find it difficult to believe we are having better times in the world today.
When I left school in 1964 I, and all the kids at that time providing they had worked hard at school, could walk into practically any job they wanted.
I would hate to be a youngster now trying to get on in life. In fact they can't leave school now and hope for a good job as they are forced to stay on in further education simply because the jobs aren't there...and their education doesn't guarantee them a job either.
In the 1970's and early 80's I too had almost everything I wanted including a house, boat, decent car...then in the late 80's and early 90's the bottom fell out and I have never recovered since!
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Topic: life in the seventies
