SOCIETY: NOSTALGIA

IN MY 61st YEAR...


I miss the days of my youth.

I miss the days when there were only typewriters and you had to re-type everything to make changes.

I miss the days when computers were the size of a room and you only saw them on tv.

I miss the days before central heating when ice froze on the inside of my bedroom window and the toilet was outside in the yard and we used torn-up newspapers to wipe our bottoms.

I miss the days when there weren't any Indian takeaways and we didn't know what a pizza was and they said that cats were used in Chinese restaurants and we ate good wholesome British food.


I miss the days when everyone caught hooping cough and measles and chickpox and german measles.

I miss the days when pop music cost a lot and a long playing record was a rare treat the sort you got for christmas even if it wasn’t very good anyway and only lasted thirty minutes if you were lucky.

I miss the days when the love that dare not speak its name didn’t speak its name unless it wanted to end up in prison.

I miss the days when an examination sorted us children into sheep and goats. 

I miss the days when my aunt said wasn't it terrible about the Jews in Nazi Germany but mind you they did bring it on themselves.

I miss the days when everyone smoked like chimneys and didn’t worry about it and the upstairs on buses had their own cloud layer.

I miss the days when you didn’t see black faces and when you did you said look there’s a nigger and there was nothing wrong with that.

I miss the days when a woman's place was in the home and she didn’t complain about it.

I miss the days when I didn’t know how to make a cup of coffee because it wasn't expected of me and no-one thought to show me how.

I miss the days when vegetarians were considered to be eccentric or worse.

I miss the days when a half-caste child was a shameful thing.

I miss the days when there were only two channels on tv and both of them were in black and white and the telly broke down regularly.

I miss the days when you didn't neuter your cat you just drowned the kittens.

I miss the days of my youth

Not at all.