We sound like a real bunch of old farts, but I think it is more a measure of how rapidly things have changed in the past 30-40 years. I'm originally from Inner London; my parents were
genuinely working class, when they think back to their childhood they realise they now lived in true poverty (although they didn't necessarily think so at the time). When I was a child in the middle-late sixties there were still bombsites around from the war, tin baths etc. When I watch "Alfie" (not the unnecessary remake, the original) it strikes me as an accurate reflection of the environment I lived in.
Although we saw some material improvements as time went on (the move into the tower block was great, bigger rooms, more facilities etc), and advances in technology (colour TV, transisitor radios etc) the Britain we lived in was little changed. It wasn't really until the seventies that the pace of change really accelerated;cause & effect, not many people realise that the Ugandan Asians coming to this country & working all hours to rebuild their shattered lives also was the death knoll of early day closing, which was a feature of our lives well into that decade.
And let's be honest, love her or hate her, the thing that changed all our lives in this country was the blessed Maggie - I suspect the jury is still out as to whether she did more damage than good, but she certainly shook things up!
Thanks Graham, this has been a really interesting and thought provoking exercise.
