Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[najaB]

Is it too soon to talk about the COVID era signs erected in public places five or so years ago and still in situ?

Probably, we're only talking two to three years in many cases.

 

[Brent Goose]

The House of Commons library gives 25 March 2022 as the date by which all regulations were repealed so it would seem unlikely that signs would be erected after that date, particularly the Gosport example which features the Hampshire constabulary logo.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Probably, we're only talking two to three years in many cases.

Really? Despite Covid awareness rising December 2019 and UK lockdown commencing March 2020?

This thread, the signs I took were mostly 2020 after the first lockdown was lifted. Wickham Fair cancellation sign, I took in May 2021.

Covid retrospective (photo blog 2020-2021)

My rail-related photo-blog is "Loco Hauled Around Havant". - but, as we approach the fourth anniversary of UK's initial lock-down, here's a reflection of those strange times. My focus.was on the street life around me: the people, the signs & odd sights, plus the affected businesses.

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[najaB]

Really? Despite Covid awareness rising December 2019 and UK lockdown commencing March 2020?

What I meant is that some of the signs may have been errected as late as 2022 - which I guess is three years rather than two (still not entirely used to it being 2025 already).

Most other examples in this thread are things whose age is better measured in decades.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Most other examples in this thread are things whose age is better measured in decades.

I do agree with you on that. I fall into that measurement too.

 

[Acey]

Horsehoes hung above doors for luck .

 

[D6130]

Horsehoes hung above doors for luck .

You often still see them here in Italy above the entrances to old farmhouses and barns and on the internal walls of same and of rural restaurants and bars. The only difference is that the Italians hang them upside-down....which would be considered to bring bad luck in the UK and Ireland.

 

[contrex]

You often still see them here in Italy above the entrances to old farmhouses and barns and on the internal walls of same and of rural restaurants and bars. The only difference is that the Italians hang them upside-down....which would be considered to bring bad luck in the UK and Ireland.

... because the 'luck falls out' my mother told me.

 

[GordonT]

Bygone days when occasionally on flights the crew were a bit lax on cockpit security enabling pax at the front of the aircraft to get a decent if brief forward view into and beyond the flight deck. At one time some carriers entertained "cockpit visits" under certain circumstances.

 

[Tester]

Bygone days when occasionally on flights the crew were a bit lax on cockpit security enabling pax at the front of the aircraft to get a decent if brief forward view into and beyond the flight deck. At one time some carriers entertained "cockpit visits" under certain circumstances.

That used to be quite mainstream.

My most impressive cockpit visit ended up landing at the old Hong Kong airport, which was quite something!

 

[Bald Rick]

Bygone days when occasionally on flights the crew were a bit lax on cockpit security enabling pax at the front of the aircraft to get a decent if brief forward view into and beyond the flight deck. At one time some carriers entertained "cockpit visits" under certain circumstances.

It still happens, albeit usually only while at a stand at a gate!

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

It still happens, albeit usually only while at a stand at a gate!

And that would be after landing. Pre take-off is deemed too high risk.

 

[Ediswan]

It still happens, albeit usually only while at a stand at a gate!

Or fly in a type which does not have a cockpit door.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

At one time some carriers entertained "cockpit visits" under certain circumstances.

Did that once on a London Gatwick->Manchester BA flight. Think it helped that I had Executive Club Silver Tier card status at the time. The cockpit at the pointy end is incredibly cramped and the co-pilot was almost constantly on the radio speaking with air traffic control during the brief period that I was allowed up front.

 

[BingMan]

Horsehoes hung above doors for luck .

I like the story about Niels Bohr who was said t5o have an horseshoe above his lab door. One of his students queried him saying that surely an eminent scientist could'nt believe that a horseshoe brought good luck.
"No" replied Bohr, "but they tell me that it still works even if you don't believe"

 

[Peter Mugridge]

My most impressive cockpit visit ended up landing at the old Hong Kong airport, which was quite something!

I think I can trump that, I'm afraid... here's a couple of pictures I took on 14th February 1988 on board G-BOAG at 60,000 ft while doing Mach 2...

The captain is Geoff Mussett, before anyone asks.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I think I can trump that, I'm afraid... here's a couple of pictures I took on 14th February 1988 on board G-BOAG at 60,000 ft while doing Mach 2...

The captain is Geoff Mussett, before anyone asks.

Was that in the days of Goodwood Travel's Flights of Fantasy Concorde charters? Or, on a scheduled BA flight? Either way: kudos

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Was that in the days of Goodwood Travel's Flights of Fantasy Concorde charters? Or, on a scheduled BA flight? Either way: kudos

It was a Goodwood Bay of Biscay flight.

I did later get a subsonic hop from Ringway to Heathrow as part of a package including a tour of Chatsworth House with a different charter operator which was excellent value at £99 for the coach from Heathrow, the tour plus the flight back... and my avatar picture on the left is from my third and last Concorde flight... on board BA002 from JFK to LHR back in September 2002.

 

[Sun Chariot]

It was a Goodwood Bay of Biscay flight.

I did later get a subsonic hop from Ringway to Heathrow as part of a package including a tour of Chatsworth House with a different charter operator which was excellent value at £99 for the coach from Heathrow, the tour plus the flight back... and my avatar picture on the left is from my third and last Concorde flight... on board BA002 from JFK to LHR back in September 2002.

Goodwood did fabulous (and financially realistic) packages. Foolishly, I always put off doing one, until it was all too late.
I treated my parents with Goodwood's day out on the British Pullman, with Clan Line in charge. They grinned like big kids!

 

[Welly]

I think I can trump that, I'm afraid... here's a couple of pictures I took on 14th February 1988 on board G-BOAG at 60,000 ft while doing Mach 2...

The captain is Geoff Mussett, before anyone asks.

I have not forgotten the cockpit ride we had all the way from Heathrow to Charles De Gualle on a scheduled BA flight back in 1994!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I have not forgotten the cockpit ride we had all the way from Heathrow to Charles De Gualle on a scheduled BA flight back in 1994!

Ah yes, Boeing 767 G-BNWE.

 

[GordonT]

Were more regular and detailed in flight "commentaries" from the cockpit a more common feature in the past?

"Ladies and gentlemen we will shortly be taking you over the Lake District on this clear sunny morning and currently our captain, Basil Trelawney, is flying the plane at an altitude of 32,000ft. Those of you who are seated on the right hand side of the aircraft may be able to make out Blackpool Tower as we turn out towards the Irish Sea etc. etc. etc." kind of thing.

Gentler times.

 

[317 forever]

Did that once on a London Gatwick->Manchester BA flight. Think it helped that I had Executive Club Silver Tier card status at the time. The cockpit at the pointy end is incredibly cramped and the co-pilot was almost constantly on the radio speaking with air traffic control during the brief period that I was allowed up front.

A Gatwick - Manchester flight could be anachronistic in itself

 

[Mcr Warrior]

A Gatwick - Manchester flight could be anachronistic in itself

Good point, well made. When was that BA route discontinued?

 

[jfollows]

Good point, well made. When was that BA route discontinued?

2013 according to https://www.businesstraveller.com/b...sh-airways-to-resume-manchester-gatwick-link/ which in turn links to https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...tish-airways-to-scrap-daily-manchester-801469

News

British Airways to resume Manchester-Gatwick link​

15 Dec 2020 by Alex McWhirter

Over the years the Manchester-London Gatwick route has been much requested by readers.
Today we can confirm that schedules for BA’s reinstated route have appeared on the carrier’s website, with a launch date of March 28, 2021.
Not only does Manchester-Gatwick connect with onward services but it’s convenient for travellers bound for areas along the South Coast or south of the capital.
The downside to the reinstated service is that it’s just a single daily flight. Timings are more tailored for Mancunians rather than Londoners.
Initial schedules are as follows:

• BA2509 departs Manchester at 0700, arrives into Gatwick at 0815 (timings are ten minutes later on Tuesdays)
• BA2508 departs Gatwick at 0945, arrives into Manchester at 1055 (timings are ten minutes later on Mondays and Fridays)

A BA spokesperson told Business Traveller:
“We are pleased to introduce this daily service between Manchester and London Gatwick which will allow customers easier access to our long-haul destinations from Gatwick.”
There have been flights on this route in the past. According to this article on manchestereveningnews.co.uk, BA’s previous Gatwick-Manchester service was cancelled in 2013, after operating for some 20 years.
Readers who find one of these timings inconvenient will mix and match with rail. In other words, fly BA to Gatwick and return with Avanti West Coast from London Euston.
But the West Coast rail route was upgraded some years ago and served by newer, faster, more frequent trains by Virgin Trains (now Avanti West Coast).
In turn, the air service from Gatwick declined and was dropped.
It is not easy for any airline to compete with a London-Manchester rail service which operates at a 20 mins frequency (in normal times) and with a journey time of little more than two hours.
However air services have continued from London Heathrow and these are well used, especially by those travellers making international connections.
Bear in mind dear readers that we live in unusual times so always check schedules at time of booking.

Whatever happened in 2020, it does not appear that there’s a service on the route today. To be honest I’d rather go by train and walk between Euston and Saint Pancras.
BA2509 seems to have ended in July 2022, for example.

So to answer your question: until 2013, then one flight a day only 2020-2022.

 

[Ken X]

BA2509 seems to have ended in July 2022, for example.

That brings back memories.

I was working at Gatwick with our company HO in Wilmslow. We regularly caught an early BA flight to Manchester to be in the office by 09:00. Quite a decent hot breakfast on the plane IIRC.

Different times.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

To be honest I’d rather go by train...

As would I, but wasn't always an option due to engineering works, line closures, etc.

 

[Killingworth]

Newspapers full of factual news written by local journalists meticulously recording details to provide historically reliable accounts. They can be found online at the British Library's Newspaper archive and the contrast with today is very marked; https://www.britishnewspaperarchive...YRRgY0eiabvvVClsYTkUT9ZQI5Jy8BCBoCWxAQAvD_BwE

Today we get bucket loads of emotion as writers tell us "all you need to know". So much we don't need to know but a lot I often want to know isn't recorded today. It's a real pleasure to find the occasional story which satisfies the curiosity of anyone with serious interest.

 

[GordonT]

Elderly folk particularly widowed or unmarried ladies living on their own having a budgie as a companion. I'm fairly sure that this is less common now than it used to be and cats or dogs tend to be the pets of choice.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Elderly folk particularly widowed or unmarried ladies living on their own having a budgie as a companion.

To paraphrase Heineken: "A budgie refreshes the parts other animals cannot reach."