The King's Coronation is a great time to reflect on some happy memories from the past. Our clients and office team have been sharing some of their lovely memories.
At Home Instead we are incredibly fortunate- every day we have time with amazing and inspiring people. We love to spend time chatting about the things which matter to people, whatever that may be. We often find ourselves talking of past times. Whilst memories can be shared, there may be different recollections or interpretations of the same events. But memories are part of what makes each of us unique and individual.
With the Coronation of the King Charles and Queen Camilla, our Director of Care and Quality Carole has been talking with clients, colleagues, family and friends about their memories of past events. We thought we would share a few…….
Betty has seen one abdication and three coronations; she remembers Coronation of the late Queen’s Father, King George VI (he was crowned in 1937, when the late Queen was 11 years of age). Betty also has memories of our late Queen’s Coronation. Betty watched that ceremony on a new television with a small screen encased in a brown wooden cabinet, which they had just got for £50. Whilst there were street parties, there were none near Betty. So many things were different then, with rationing still in place. Betty recalled how she had to wash her children’s nappies in a single tub and the washing went outside to dry. We take a lot for granted now, which we didn’t have then.
Another wonderful lady we spoke with recalled her memories of the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936, of King George VI becoming King and later, of hearing the sad news of his death on the radio. She was aged 26 at the time of the late Queen’s Coronation, living in their first home after getting married, a flat in Beaconsfield Street in Blyth. Their family had only recently got a television- They invited friends and neighbours to join them and watched the Coronation together. As their family grew, they lived on the Broadway in Blyth. Their children got on so well; there was only one time when their Mother had to intervene – she firmly told two of her sons, “you don’t fight with your brother, you fight for your brother.”
Back to the subject of the Coronation, one person we chatted with was in the crowds in London, she saw the late Queen on her way to her Coronation. They then went back to someone’s home who was lucky enough to have a tiny black and white television. Gathered around the small television with friends and neighbours, she never would have dreamed that these days almost everyone has at least one television, not to mention that most have colour televisions.
We think that the sale of televisions surely must have been boosted at the time of the late Queen’s Coronation in 1953. Most people then had radios for home entertainment and news, with television slowly coming in. As a small child, I remember remember Listen with Mother. This Radio programme for children ran from 1950- September 1982. You can listen to the Theme Tune from the 1960s by pressing this link (which is when I must have been listening – and giving my Mum a little bit of peace and quiet.)
Growing up in the 1960s we had a black and white television. There were only two channels originally BBC, then ITV in 1955, with BBC2 coming on stream in 1964. Popular Childrens Programmes included Jackanory- a story telling programme first released in 1965. Blue Peter was launched in 1958 and is still flourishing – although it’s changed a lot from those early shows. In my childhood the presenters I remember most vividly were John Noakes “ down Shep,” the glamorous Val Singleton, and Peter Purves.
The fashions in the 1950 were fabulous, fashions have changed so much over the years. I remember longing for a pair of bellbottom trousers, which were all the rage. Whilst on a family holiday aged around 5, I was delighted to finally persuade my parents that I needed these and to get out of my by then very unfashionable ski pants. Still in my childhood years, hot pants came out – causing a real stir. Whilst my best friend was flaunting hers, I wasn’t allowed any- which looking back was probably a very wise decision. What fashions/ fads do you remember?
A lovely lady remembered as a young child, when her family got electricity for the first time. They lived in a mill house which had all gas lamps before then. The electric lights made a big difference. Another memory was getting a hot water system. Prior to this, her family bathed in a big tin pan ( on a Friday) . They had to boil water in a great big pan, but the water cooled quickly, so her baths were not usually warm. She knew no different, she only noticed the difference when visiting another family, she spent ages running the tap in their bathroom, fascinated that they had hot water from the tap.
Thank you to all of our clients who have shared their memories – we’ve loved reminiscing over the Bank Holiday weekend.