Starting on New Year Resolutions

[bugshaw]

1. Stop spontaneously telling people how old you are. No one who hasn't asked needs to hear that in the old days you had to post off film in an envelope to be developed, or that you only saw every other episode of Doctor Who because it was shown on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Tuesdays you had Brownies, and home VCRs weren't prevalent. If someone asks which Star Trek was your favourite in your childhood, TOS or Next Gen, just smile and say TOS. Don't ask teenagers "Did you never have the conversation with your parents where they asked you to get off the internet because they want to make a phone call" as it just leads to half the office making beeping whistling noises.

I don't know where this urge comes from, it's quite recent, but I'm annoying even myself and will try to stop.

This post is absolutely an invitation for people to share things about their childhood that were different from mine if you feel the urge, I am genuinely interested :-) Pretend this post is a themed genzine. Yes, we used to print out our thoughts and photocopy them and post them in envelopes to people in the old days.

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

It's up there with "I remember when a bag of crisps cost 4d" as a way of annoying kids who don't even remember what an old penny was...

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

I live with friends who are six and fourteen years older than I am. Usually the eldest just expresses shock that we had books at school and not just chalk slates.

"Get off the internet, I want to use the phone!" heh That's one reason why I had a cell phone in 2000, so people could reach me even if I was online.

[coth.livejournal.com]

I have it too, and it is very difficult to stop. Let me know how you get on.

When I was a child we actually hand wrote letters, on paper, and got replies back that took care to tell us all the news.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I had an overseas pen friend. Took weeks or even months to get replies to letters.

[waistcoatmark.livejournal.com]

Telephone tables

Novelizations of films, with a few colour photos in the middle

playground arguments about who had the better computer included lines like "yeah, but mine can display orange"

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Panini sticker albums of films!

[rmc28]

Those still exist! Our local newsagent/post office had them for Frozen.

[ceb.livejournal.com]

I finished one of those once! I only had to send off for about 3.

[davidwake.livejournal.com]

Missing every other episode of 'Doctor Who' reminds me that I only ever saw the opening episode of every two-parter of 'Batman' - Saturday's. We weren't allowed to watch telly on a Sunday.

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

Yeah, good luck with that.  It's addictive because it's fun.  :O
Says the woman who watched first ever transmission of Dr Who LIVE.  Twice.  (They repeated Unearthly Child following week due to Kennedy assassination, an event young me has NO memory of due to 4 year old priority settings.)  And, of course, if you want to seriously annoy the currently young, just mention moon landings.  All of them.  :-)

[sphyg.livejournal.com]

I remember ha'pennies.

[a-cubed.livejournal.com]

I remember sixpences, which were worth two-and-a-half pence. It took me ages to figure out why two-and-a-half-pence was referred to as a sixpence.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I've still never seen The Borrowers, which the rest of my family watched with great enjoyment, because it was on during Brownies.

[sphyg.livejournal.com]

Also, I shall try to get E to stop spontaneously telling people how old you (amongst others) are ;/

[ivory-goddess.livejournal.com]

1) Missing most of Blake's 7 'cos my Brownie night was Mondays. :(

2) Only seeing half the episodes of Wonder Woman broadcast on Saturday evenings as it clashed with Dick Turpin (one was BBC, one ITV) and we alternated.

3) Watching the first few episodes of ST:TNG on VHS rented from the video shop a good year or more before it was broadcast on BBC2.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine used to send me episodes of Babylon 5 on video from Hawaii. Which I credited to his account in a postal RPG.

The first man on the moon was on a black and white TV set.

My dad went to work on a motor scooter.

Bedtime was when the Archers started on the radio.

[ceb.livejournal.com]

I ended up having a music conversation with our HR person at the Christmas dinner. "What kind of music do you like?" asks I. "Oh stuff my dad likes mostly, Rolling Stones ... " *me nodding in recognition* "Nirvana" wait what?