Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[GordonT]

I rather miss sending and receiving hand-written letters.

We’re clearing out a relative’s house and found a lot of old family news and history in hand-written letters which had been kept in a box. Not sure our text messages will be read decades later!!!

 

[PG]

You don't see vans with sliding front doors any more. Once a common sight for the nationalised public utilities and delivery firms they aided a quick entry/exit. ISTR some exception to the wearing seatbelt requirements too?

 

[lookapigeon]

I'm sure I have seen recently UPS vans in the UK with a sliding front door.

 

[GordonT]

Evening committee meetings and the like which in pre-Zoom/Teams etc. days often necessitated folk driving in all weathers, sometimes for quite a distance, to attend such gatherings in person. Will still happen in some instances but seems very "old school" these days.

 

[THC]

Evening committee meetings and the like which in pre-Zoom/Teams etc. days often necessitated folk driving in all weathers, sometimes for quite a distance, to attend such gatherings in person. Will still happen in some instances but seems very "old school" these days.

Still a feature in English local government as the legislation brought in during COVID to permit remote attendance at council meetings was time-limited and has yet to be renewed.

THC

 

[Indigo Soup]

Hand written letters. Maybe letters generally? (Although the NHS seems utterly fixated on snail mail.)

AFAIK, the NHS insists on using the post because patients might not have access to other means of communication. This did of course mean my mother got a letter informing her of an appointment the day after the appointment.

There are a variety of options available for those who enjoy receiving letters - my wife now gets a couple of postcards a week through a postcard exchange website, and has several penpals around the world.

 

[GordonT]

In the category of becoming scarcer rather than non existent - traditional long red and white striped poles outside gents barber shops.

 

[AM9]

In the category of becoming scarcer rather than non existent - traditional long red and white striped poles outside gents barber shops.

My barber's has an electric rotating spiral pole that is actually on when they are open and off when they go to lunch etc..

 

[Trackman]

My barber's has an electric rotating spiral pole that is actually on when they are open and off when they go to lunch etc..

Mine has one too. I bet a lot of people wont know what it means.

 

[najaB]

Mine has one too. I bet a lot of people wont know what it means.

Or, for that matter, the origin of the barber pole and what it symbolises.

 

[dangie]

Getting the ‘bumps’ at school on your birthday

Do children still do that, or has Elf ‘n’ Safety forbid it?

 

[PGAT]

Getting the ‘bumps’ at school on your birthday

Do children still do that, or has Elf ‘n’ Safety forbid it?

Probably not at schools anymore but we still do it at some of the clubs I go to

 

[SHD]

Expensive "Basildon Bond" letter writing pads which were often in blue with an ornate front cover. Stretching my memory a bit but I think the first page was a page of ruled lines which were black on a white sheet to facilitate writing on the remaining unlined quality blue pages by placing the lined page behind the page you were writing your letter on to keep your writing straight?

In a similar vein but with opposite characteristics, ultra-thin stationery intended for air mail - “Par Avion”.

 

[dangie]

Probably not at schools anymore but we still do it at some of the clubs I go to

The Mason's....

 

[lyndhurst25]

A bit off topic as I saw one in use just last week.
Hadn't seen one for years, certainly not being used.

Petrol pumps outside a shop/garage, where the car parks at the kerb and the fuel line swings over the pavement.

In Wainfleet All Saints, Lincolnshire.

In addition to the one in County Down already mentioned, another one still exists at Bunners hardware store in Montgomery.

I was wondering if something similar could be the solution to the home charging of electric cars on terraced streets with no off-road parking?

 

[SHD]

There are still a handful of them in Paris!

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[D6130]

There are still a handful of them in Paris!

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

Those are small kerbside conventional pumps between the pavement and the road, which are also very common in Italian towns and cities. I think the OP was referring to the much older type of swivelling overhead gantries attached to pumps at the front of a garage, which swing out across the pavement and drop a flexible petrol hose down to vehicles parked at the kerbside.

 

[najaB]

Those are small kerbside conventional pumps between the pavement and the road, which are also very common in Italian towns and cities. I think the OP was referring to the much older type of swivelling overhead gantries attached to pumps at the front of a garage, which swing out across the pavement and drop a flexible petrol hose down to vehicles parked at the kerbside.

Indeed. You can see a pair in the Street View image of Wainfleet High Street: https://maps.app.goo.gl/NJRqM9bM1kZT2RzLA?g_st=ac

 

[AM9]

Here's one for travellers on the LT deep tube lines in the '50s - '70s: pictures of women's underwear on the walls of escalators. By underwear, I mean bras, girdles and corselets, not swimwear.

 

[Killingworth]

Early in January, following a day with snow that disrupted traffic for only a day or two, we received no letter deliveries for 2 weeks. Whether it was back log from the festive period, the weather or both was unclear. The local delivery office said it wasn't all down to them.

Row back 60 years. I recall far deeper snow yet the mail got through most days. OK, the second delivery may have been merged with the first but if it was delayed more than a day I'd be surprised.

Ah, the second delivery. Younger readers may not remember that. It finished in 2003. In earlier times in city and inner suburban areas there may have been more.

My grandfathers both travelled a lot. My mother used to get a postcard from her father to show where he was. Sadly the cards from her album disappeared but I recall her telling me that on more than one occasion she received a card on the day it was post marked. In the 1950s an item posted early in Newcastle might still be delivered in the central areas in the second post.

 

[GordonT]

I don't tend to watch TV much but would I be right in saying that current series of situation comedy which utilise "canned laughter" to emphasise the funny bits are few and far between compared to earlier decades?

 

[najaB]

I don't tend to watch TV much but would I be right in saying that current series of situation comedy which utilise "canned laughter" to emphasise the funny bits are few and far between compared to earlier decades?

It appears to have fallen out of favour with UK-made productions but is still seen (or heard) occasionally with programmes from across the pond.

 

[Ghostbus]

Jasper Carrot!

 

[Killingworth]

I don't tend to watch TV much but would I be right in saying that current series of situation comedy which utilise "canned laughter" to emphasise the funny bits are few and far between compared to earlier decades?

It's not comedy, but the applause on the Chaser is very obviously faked. They don't have an audience.

 

[Ghostbus]

Relying on the linesperson raising a flag to say whether the ball crossed the line or not!

 

[dangie]

Jasper Carrot!

I saw him live quite a few years ago at the Hippodrome Birmingham, his home town. I must admit he was extremely funny, saying playing in Birmingham was like being in the pub with his mates. Loved it.

 

[GordonT]

Forgetting or being unable to watch a "must watch" TV programme and having no means of watching it subsequently.

 

[Brent Goose]

Or setting the video recorder and missing part of it because the programme started later than advertised

(my last VCR had some of system that supposedly compensated for this but I never trusted it so continued to allow time at the beginning and end)

 

[AM9]

Forgetting or being unable to watch a "must watch" TV programme and having no means of watching it subsequently.

That's an irritation with most of the catch up services except the BBC iPlayer. Repeats of recent programmes aren't always available or they are buried somewhere in the listings of the past 13 series.

 

[dangie]

Or setting the video recorder and missing part of it because the programme started later than advertised

(my last VCR had some of system that supposedly compensated for this but I never trusted it so continued to allow time at the beginning and end)

Not sure, but did this rely on the broadcaster sending out some signal? Ours had this system but as you say it was very unreliable.