1970s Inner-City Liverpool

[Georgiexx]

Hello, can anybody tell me about what it would have been like to live in Inner-City Liverpool in the 1970s please. Thanks. Any help would be really appreciated as it is for some coursework. Thanks again, Georgiexx :):)

[burkhilly]

What do you mean the inner-city? Toxteth? (As far as I remember Liverpool 8 started to be called Toxteth after the riots!) I lived in Liverpool 8 in the early 1970s, but was only a child. I remember a great cosmopolitan community - everyone got on. Having said that kids do get on regardless of backgrounds.

For pictures of Liverpool have a look at Ged's site http://inacityliving.piczo.com/?cr=7. There's thousands of pictures on here, including Liverpool 8 and other inner city areas.

[Ged]

Georgiexx. I lived in Gerard Gardens in the 1970s which was just the length of a subway from possibly Liverpool's most elegant street, William Brown Street. It was brilliant to live there at that time, it was just of its time and probably couldn't be replicated again.

Taxi's - who needed them. London Road, Lime st and St. Johns precinct were literally on our doorstep. Our older siblings had 200 pubs to choose from - all in walking distance. I lived in tenement blocks that formed a central square which lent itself to many outdoor games that could be played from kerbies (gutters), hopscotch, football, hid n seek, kick the can, tick, catch the girl - kiss the girl ha ha and maybe some that the parents didn't like so much - postmans knock.

I mentioned Willaim Brown Street. The fountain area, the giants graveyard up the side of the Walker Art Gallery, the little wembley footy pitch in front of it, the big steps around the Wellington column, St. Johns gardens and of course traipsing around the Museum and art gallery were all ideal for whiling away the hours. Barneys, Jim Morans and Lawrences sweet shop were all just 5 minutes away, chip shops such as Gianelli's and the one under Fontenoy Gardens - all of these were our playground and who can forget that summer of 76?

[pennylane]

Good description Ged . On the other side of the coin though ....
There was a lot of poverty about , people had large families of kids that they could not afford to feed . Parents went to work , and kids were often left to look after each other . I'm not speaking from personal experience on the 'big family' . i was lucky in the fact that i had only one sibling . I too grew up in tenements , it was not an unusual occurrence for dad's to come home from work a bit drunk , they could be seen staggering through the square , and the women on the landings would feel ashamed . Loads of kids had nits too , i remember my mother spending a whole weekend cleaning my friends hair , my friend had waist length black hair and her dad said she would have to have it cut off because he couldn't do it and she had no mother ...
I remember fire lighters for the fire ...Woodbine ciggies , the smell of smoke , but most of all i remember it being a huge family of sorts , and the feather cut :) I'm sure with mine Geds. and others contributions you could put it all together , structure it and paint an amazing picture for your studies ... All you really need are snapshots then put it all together . Good luck .

[burkhilly]

Was there loads of poverty in the 70s? I just don't remember ever going hungry or without stuff, dispite having 4 sisters and 2 brothers. After leaving L8 we moved into tenements in Old Swan - I have nothing but good memories about the time we lived there. I seem to remember playing the games that Ged describes (except catch the girl obviously!) and two balls and knock down ginger.

[pennylane]

Hi BH ! Yes i seen plenty of poverty where i lived . I also played games and had fun , but i am trying to give a picture of growing up in the 70's from my own perspective . I hate it when only the flowery side of life is told , especially to someone who is doing a study on it . Perhaps I'm the eternal pessimist , and i like to occasionally travel over to the dark side , but i am a great believer in looking at the whole spectrum and not just the good stuff ..
I seen my life in the 70's from every angle , and at the risk of repeating myself i won't reiterate here ' my story' as it's already been written on another forum ..

[Ged]

I think that we were less materialistic. Doors were left open because your neighbour had no better than yourself. There might have been one b&w portable telly apart from the main one but there was no sky, just 3 channels and no play consols. Very few cars, certainly no luxury models. We knew no better, there wasn't a case of keeping up with the Jones' and it wasn't every man for himself like Thatcher's Britain and the new breed of selfishness.

[Spike]

I was far too young back then. :rolleyes:

I lived out in the sticks. But we visited our Grandparents off Park Road. I remember playing in the Bombed out houses and down at the Albert Dock when it was a dump.

[Samsette]

Plenty of poverty about? Bombed out houses? In the 1970s? Thirty years after the war ended, and the introduction of the welfare state seems a very, very long time for either of those two horrors to still be in evidence. Still, I was not there, so what do I know.

[ellergreen]

Having 'survived' living in Scottie Road from the 30s to the 60s I find it difficult to believe that Poverty, as I knew it, existed in the 70s'.
To me, in the 70s, Liverpool and its' "inner city" was all about enjoying the new age that 'Merseybeat' and successful football teams, showbiz entertainers had engendered
The country, indeed the World, were imitating all that was Scouse.
Perhaps the word Poverty is very subjective.

[GingerTheCat]

Late 70s was when I arrived in Liverpool. I found it modern, amazing, lively, exciting. This is the 1970s we are talking about isn't it. Not the 1870s?

[Ged]

I agree ellergreen and ginger. poverty to me are those shoeless urchins with muck on their faces and sleeping top to toe in damp ridden cellars. The 70s were very much up from that but again, it all depends where you lived. I'm sure we all had rellies and friends living in garden houses on in the suburbs.

[gregs dad]

Have to agree with Ellergreen from the sixties there was only small pockets of poverty,
we were living in posh Kirkby by then

[pennylane]

I agree ellergreen and ginger. poverty to me are those shoeless urchins with muck on their faces and sleeping top to toe in damp ridden cellars. The 70s were very much up from that but again, it all depends where you lived. I'm sure we all had rellies and friends living in garden houses on in the suburbs.


Poverty did and still does exist today . I have one particular family in my mind . The kids has holes in their shoes and dirty clothes on . Their dad was drunk every night and they had about six siblings , all boys . Their mother wore an old shabby coat and the house always looked dark , them kids had nothing . My mother and other neighbours gave her money sometimes for the lecky . It was self imposed poverty because the father drank the money , but poverty just the same .
And there were plenty of others like them .. It's like when Terry Wogan disputed the claims of Frank Mccourt who wrote 'Angela's Ashes' , Mc court tells Wogan that he was not there , Wogan was one of the boys who had a warm scarf and food on the table , so how would he know ?

Poverty exists today . People on benefits , and i'm not talking about people who have never worked , i am in this instance speaking of those with a mortgage , those who have lost their jobs etc etc ... Some people cannot afford food or to heat their homes , that is poverty ..

Old people DIE in this country because they can't afford heating bills , i think the figure for last year was 1000 elderly died !! Disgusting ..
Unless this type of poverty comes and bites you on the A$$ directly , then many people , like you Ged , think that Poverty was a street urchin in a cellar ..

[Ged]

Poverty per se was everyone back then though in the 30s'60s say. In the 70s less so and today even less so again.

There will be people that cry poverty today but smoke like a trooper costing £5 a packet, have sky tv and go the pub more than I do. Perhaps the drunken dads are not putting the money where it should be, that's not being poor, it's having poor morals, responsibility and not prioritising and that may still go on today. I'm sure there are many families that could be poor in that chosen way but choose not to.

Yes, there are still some genuine poor and that's tragic - we were all poorer in the 70s but rich in other ways.

[GeorgePorgie]

Poverty exists today . People on benefits , and i'm not talking about people who have never worked , i am in this instance speaking of those with a mortgage , those who have lost their jobs etc etc ... Some people cannot afford food or to heat their homes , that is poverty ..


Sadly this is not true,there are many hand outs that cater for every needs,poverty ceased being poverty in the 70's up to the present day,the only poverty is those who decline to live in a home ie they chose to live on the streets instead of going to someone who can help them come off the streets.

Too many people are living the life of riley these days on benefits and are spending way beyond their means,if one cannot afford to feed their family or heat their homes then they should cut back on luxuries such as Sat TV,Internet,2 cars...ect,ect

No one is poor these days due to a welfare state and if you were eally look into the benefits that are available you'd be amazed how much you can claim.

A prostitute doesn't have to work the streets but they do it because its easy money rather than live on handouts alone.


Old people DIE in this country because they can't afford heating bills , i think the figure for last year was 1000 elderly died !! Disgusting ..
Unless this type of poverty comes and bites you on the A$$ directly , then many people , like you Ged , think that Poverty was a street urchin in a cellar ..

So if 1000 elderly died last year what did they do with the £200/£250 heating allowance that they're given each year?

[burkhilly]

To a certain extent I agree that there is poverty today, regardless of benefits - which according to many ensure that people on these benefits can smoke, drink and have Sky TV. Well I know many people on benefits and this is not the case. How much do people get on benefits? If I was made unemployed I would get what about £70 - £80 per week? That equates to around £360 per month - by the time I take off my gas and electricity costs that would leave £260. Then take off my water rates that would leave £200 per month - £50.00 per week to live on - to buy food and clothe myself not very much at all. This is without my mortgage payment - which even the entire benefit wouldn't cover.

Whilst there are some that do abuse the benefits system, most don't, but it's only the abusers that get the publicity - or single parents, who according to the likes of the Mail or the other well known "newspaper" the Scum are responsible for the benefits bill being so much.

I have only claimed benefits once - I couldn't beleive how little I was entitled to - because like many I thought I'd get plenty - tosh - you barely have enough to feed yourself and you child on. I was only on benefits for a short while thankfully, and to this day I continue to feel sorry for people who find themselves in this situation.

Georgie - the majority of prostitutes working the streets are doing so to fund drug habits not to fund a better lifestyle.

[GeorgePorgie]

I would get what about £70 - £80 per week? That equates to around £360 per month - by the time I take off my gas and electricity costs that would leave £260. Then take off my water rates that would leave £200 per month - £50.00 per week to live on - to buy food and clothe myself not very much at all. This is without my mortgage payment - which even the entire benefit wouldn't cover.

And you'd be homeless and on the streets without it,regardless whether its a pittance to live on.
You failed to mention whether your tax was also paid for by the state?

[gregs dad]

As a pensioner I think we do very well out of the heating allowances, £250 plus 4 weeks this winter of £25,then a letter from British gas knocking £50 of this quarter`s bill.equals £400
Plus free wall and loft insulation and draught proofing all doors and windows. which is free to all who meet the criteria.
The only fault is i can`t see the rafters in the loft with about 24 inches of insulation covering them. The loft had insulation in when the house was built and it`s been done 3 times since without the removal of the old stuff.

[Ged]

Fantastic Joe, which of course will further reduce your heating bills of the future.

In fact, I feel a little more sorry for the likes of someone I knew, now since sadly passed away who because she had a small war pension of her husband's, did not qualify for benefits and so had to find the full council tax and the like. A case of where putting nothing aside all your life and thus qualifying for benefits makes you actually better off than some others.

[burkhilly]

And you'd be homeless and on the streets without it,regardless whether its a pittance to live on.
You failed to mention whether your tax was also paid for by the state?

Well as I'm unemployed - no Income - no tax. Also if you're unemployed you are entitled to Council Tax benefit. So the only tax I'd be paying is VAT.

[GeorgePorgie]

The only fault is i can`t see the rafters in the loft with about 24 inches of insulation covering them. The loft had insulation in when the house was built and it`s been done 3 times since without the removal of the old stuff.

The next time they ask,Joe...just say only if you take out the old stuff first...which is whats supposed to happen. :)

You forgot to mention free installation of cental heating...but this is a bleedin joke as they make a right bleedin mess of installing it,you have to ask them what and where things are going before they start otherwise it'll be a bleedin eyesore where they lob the pipes down yer wall.

[Ged]

Warm front 0151 637 3671 and ask for Rob McAndrew. Grants start again in April if you meet the criteria.

[GeorgePorgie]

And ask what boiler they will put in?if they say a Woulcester the chances are they will stick a not so wel lknown cheaper one in that fails just after their service expiry date.

[gregs dad]

No George we own our house so we had the central heating put in by ourselves by British Gas engineers who made a very good job of it
Connecting the water supply from the mains thus making our water tank in the loft and hot water tank reduntant. The tank in the loft now contains all my sea fishing equipment, and we are able to drink the water in the bathroom. The 4 bedroom radiators all branch off under the floorboards on the top landing so the floor there is always warm.

P S We have Worcester combo which is serviced every 12 months

[GeorgePorgie]

No George we own our house so we had the central heating put in by ourselves by British Gas engineers who made a very good job of it

Well even if your own house,you can still apply for central heating on the goverment grant.

But as I say you have to watch were they're putting the pipes...they nearly ruined my architrave,he was going to hack it out instead of raking out the plaster behind it and feeding the pipes up that way.

[goldenface]

Perhaps if the OP could have been more specific we could be more helpful.

I grew up in the 70s and remember some cold winters, sunny warm days, the heatwave of '76 (I remember being bitten by a swarm of ladybirds) and other long summers punctuated with trips to New Brighton, Moreton beach and Southport on the train, from James Street, to break up the monotony.

I guess it was just 'life' and I wasn't too aware that there were many people better or worse off than we were.

I remember the rag & bone man and me mum ordering our toys and bikes from the littlewoods catalogue, a Raliegh Grifter for my brother and a Raleigh Twenty for my sisters as well as board games such Monopoly, Frustration, roller skates, Tonka Toys, Evil Kneival, lego etc

What we couldn't afford we used to make from scrap bits and pieces, these included skate boards made from old roller skates nailed to a bit of plywood, and go karts made from pram wheels and bits of scrap wood.

We used to play out late in those days, although my mum never let me play out any later than 9pm or 10pm at the very latest and only in mid summer when the days were long and warm. As soon as it got cold we were called in, reluctantly, to spend the end of the night dozing off on the couch to the News at Ten, exhausted after running around, chasing and hiding, throwing balls, stones, hide and seek, kick the can, Alio, British Bulldog etc

One of our favourite past times was to find the biggest tree we could find and then tie a huge length of dock rope to the highest overhanging branch to make one fantastic swing that used to swing so high and so fast it took your breath away.

I also remember coming home from school and watching as a number of derelict buildings were demolished by a crane, either with a big wrecking ball or simply pulled down with rope attached to tractor. Ones that stick out were Cumberland Terrace on Upper Parliament Street and some large terraces on Park Way.

On Saturdays me mum would take me to one of a number of Jumble Sales and Garden fetes and rummage sales, normally held in one of the many local churches which were in walking distance, St Agnes, St Brides and many others on Lawrence Road and Gainsborough Road.

Hope this helps.

[GeorgePorgie]

Did you mean..."Northumberland Street"? that was Liverpool 8

[goldenface]

No, Northumberland Terrace was a row of victorian villas on the north side of Upper Parliament street between Bedford and Sandon street. They looked south down Park Way from Upper Parliament Street towards Princess Avenue and were over the road from Stanley house and the site of the old Racket Club. They stood derelict for years.

Edit: Actually, I'm not sure if it was called Cumberland or Northumberland Terrace now
-----
You were right, just found this and Cumberland Terrace is listed.

http://www.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk/Streets1851/StreetsC.htm

[GeorgePorgie]

Thought so,simply because when there's a street called "Northumberland St" usally if they named a Terrace with the same name its off that street and never a quarter? of a mile apart.

[pennylane]

Well for me , Burkhilly has this one well and truly nailed ! I was trying to think of a way to explain , but BH has done it perfectly .

[Ged]

No, Northumberland Terrace was a row of victorian villas on the north side of Upper Parliament street between Bedford and Sandon street. They looked south down Park Way from Upper Parliament Street towards Princess Avenue and were over the road from Stanley house and the site of the old Racket Club. They stood derelict for years.

Edit: Actually, I'm not sure if it was called Cumberland or Northumberland Terrace now
-----
You were right, just found this and Cumberland Terrace is listed.

http://www.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk/Streets1851/StreetsC.htm



Northumberland Street L12 - 1912


http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/3810/northumberlandst1912.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/i/northumberlandst1912.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[wsteve55]

Though I'm sure there were other reasons,poverty must be one of the reasons Liverpool lost nearly half of it's population,after WW2, as the city was going through a gradual,but definite, decline! This has only fairly recently halted!
Expectations,in the 70's,were obviously less,than they might be now,agencies like the soc' didn't expect you to have "luxuries" like a T.V.,a fridge,or a washing machine,I know,because our tele' got sold,and we got a slot T.V.(which was fab'...not!!) in it's place,which was duly hidden,if they were due to visit! (which they did,in them olden times:nod:)

[Ged]

Steve, do you remember the rat catchers and the corpy inspectors/tally men? :)


http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3889/ratcatchers1933.jpg (http://img443.imageshack.us/i/ratcatchers1933.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)


http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/6253/corpyinspector.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/i/corpyinspector.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[GeorgePorgie]

Hmmm! should just about get another dwelling in here.....

[wsteve55]

Steve, do you remember the rat catchers and the corpy inspectors/tally men? :)


http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3889/ratcatchers1933.jpg (http://img443.imageshack.us/i/ratcatchers1933.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)


http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/6253/corpyinspector.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/i/corpyinspector.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

That's me in the first pic'.....second from the left!! (When I was younger,of course:nod:) Dont know about the dodgy character in the entry though...what's he measuring????

[GeorgePorgie]

Right you lot lets get this straight.....

Poverty is to go without the basic human rights ie clean water,bad sanitry conditions,nutrition health care,education.

Now then how many who've spoken about poverty in this thread lack any of those afformentioned rights?

Money you get from the gov is a bonus.

[wsteve55]

Right you lot lets get this straight.....

Poverty is to go without the basic human rights ie clean water,bad sanitry conditions,nutrition health care,education.

Now then how many who've spoken about poverty in this thread lack any of those afformentioned rights?

Money you get from the gov is a bonus.

The thread's about about the 70's,though! :nod:

[burkhilly]

The thread is about the 70s!

However, poverty is relative to the country a person is living in. Obviously there's no one in Britain who doesn't have access to the basics of life - not like some of the African countries for instance, which we cannot and should not compare our circumstances to.

Ged - love the pictures of the rat catchers - what a horrible job.

[gregs dad]

Ttousers tucked in their boots to stop the vermin nunning up the trouser leg.
Just a small point George the money we get of the government is not a bonus it`s called national insurance

[GeorgePorgie]

it`s called national insurance

Whats it called if you have never paid into it,Joe??

mind I have worked a working life and paid into it. :)

---------- Post added at 02:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:39 PM ----------


not like some of the African countries for instance

Why do people always site African countries as poverty stricken?

There's China,Russia,Sri Lanka,India...to name just a few.

[Ged]

I was reminded...........


http://inacityliving.piczo.com/?g=27070860&cr=7



.

[gregs dad]

You were well off Ged you even had your own bike.
This is poverty, no electricity till till 1950,no hot water, 5 buckets in your bedroom to collect the drips of rainwater because we lived on the top landing.Food on the book till me mam got paid.Dad died the year I was born which meant mam worked all her life even when she remarried to a seafarer.
My brother used to catch pigeons for us to eat then lay lines out at Seaforth to catch fish. Now and then he would venture into the country with a few friends to steal a sheep or two.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/468629758_df526d2f29.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/exacta2a/468629758/)
Our luxury flats, back kitchen consisted of a stone sink,cold water only,toilet alongside that, then a coal place,and alongside a cooker. 3 bedrooms with no lights.
And this is what the old people call the good old days I never do.

P S The window sill in the bottom right corner is where I lost my first pocket money from my first wage packet Wages. I drew after stoppages was £2/1/1. I took 6/1 ang gave mam 35 shillings

[Ged]

Yes, you're right Joe. We were spoilt - but it was the 70s - not the 50s ;)

[gregs dad]

Forgot to mention lost my money playing poker

[Norm NZ]

"Hope that taught you a lesson, Joe"!

[GeorgePorgie]

Hope that taught you a lesson, Joe

It did,Norm....he bought a camera. :)

[Duncan Disorderly]

2-up-2down terraced house in the middle of a slum clearance area with back yards and entries (jiggers as my dad called them). One coal fire on – always the front room and no heating anywhere else. Ice on the inside of the bedroom windows on cold winter mornings.

Dens and playing soldiers on the ‘bomby ’ and nobody wanted to be the German (they always died first!). Steeries made from old prams and planks, whizzing down any road with a slope. An empty lemonade bottle filled with water to the park, football in the street or anywhere really, except when it was cricket – chalk wickets on the wall and a tennis ball marked to show you out (or not), out till dark – all of us – when one parent called you in, they all did, waiting for the rain to stop to start all over again, summer holidays never long enough. Always coming in dirty and knackered. Occasional fights but best mates again the next day.

New clothes at Christmas, Easter and Whit, generally never at any other time. Hand knitted jumpers from your Gran or Mam (or any female member of your family really). Hand me downs accepted as normal. Later years – flares and, five-star jumpers. Even later Oxford bags – petrol blue or yellow for the daring. Fred Perry shirts and Kickers in the fading light of the 1970’s..

Food a hangover from wartime rationing and never enough but never starving. School dinners being better than you got at home and was the main meal of the day for some. Thursday pocket money day – half a crown (12 and a half pence in today’s money) and straight down to the sweetshop with the always failed intention of saving some sweets until the next day.

Only half the houses in the street had a car and each one an old one at that. Sunday morning car repairs for almost all, revving engines or up on blocks. Kids earning a bit extra washing them on a Saturday morning.

Having the Police at your door considered a disgrace. Headmasters and teachers respected in the community. A clip around the ear for offending anyone in the neighbourhood (even if you were right).

First pint down the pub with your Dad then each weekend with mates - £5 in your pocket meant a good night down town. Tiffany’s nightclub in the basement if India Buildings or the Babaloo if you were feeling adventurous. Scarlett’s Bar, The Harrington Bar, Rigby’s all memorable nights.

[Prefrab]

The 70's in Liverpool to me , I remember as Power cuts, 3 day weeks, numerous industrial disputes incl the famous winter of discontent 1978 , and the vision of a city that looked very shabby Before the decade was out factories and jobs disappeared off the the face of the earth creating unemployment to many.
On the flip side a night out was cheap, beer, the pictures, a meal, a trip to the match were all reasonable in relation to the wages you recieved.

[goldenface]

@Duncan Disorderly

Thanks for that post. It sounds very familiar.

[Ronijayne]

I left Liverpool in 1970 and came to Manhattan. I did a year as a nanny and then got a great job and an apartment in a superb neighbourhood with a 'posh' public schoolgirl roommate from London. I went out every night to clubs and wonderful restaurants like 21. My friends seemed to know everyone and get invited to everything and I dated guys who owned houses and boats (in their 20's !!) and yet I got homesick. I came home every year for a month but it was more to see my father and my adored aunts and cousins. It seemed in the late 70's it was always grey in Liverpool. I used to spend 3 weeks in Liverpool and one in London with friends but that reversed over the years.

I hated the end of the long flight then the train up to Liverpool and no shower at the end of it in the early 70's. Friends in London had showers so I started stopping off in London for the first week. London was as they say, 'swinging' the clothes, the nightlife, all great. Then up to Liverpool and watching Coronation Street with my parents during which my mother did not allow me to chat to my father as she likes that show, lol Long way to go to watch a show I had never followed..... They moved to a 3 bed roomed flat overlooking a golf course in either Knotty Ash or West Derby, sometime in the 70's, really nice flat too.

Still, I used to go to the Cavern, the Pier Head and the Beatles Museum and re-live the good memories part of my life. Stroll down Bold Street where I had worked (and ran to the Cavern for lunch time sessions) Liverpool is part of who I am. I hate when I meet Brits here who change their town of birth and their childhood!! Makes me really cross. You cannot change your history, it is what forms your character, it is who you are!

I remember some wonderful witty, lovely people who would give you the shirt off their back. I remember neighbours so kind who treated every kid in the street like their own whether it was to give them a chocolate or a quick smack for being cheeky to someone! We went to Wales for weekends or days out and the whole family would go. They were good times. To be with my aunts Alice and Mary was perfect. I loved them both and adored my Grandmother. I remember going to Baden Road to my other Grandparents who were just adorable (and had a shower in their bathroom!) and get together with my aunts and uncles and cousins of that side of the family. Both grandparents would bake up a storm and I remember those Sunday dinners were such fun.

Liverpool had a downside (I was terrified of the gangs that you had to pass to go anywhere on Park Road) but it is and will always be 'home'

[Prefrab]

Pubs opening hours from the First World War, Very restrictive Sunday trading laws, the introduction of decimal currency,VAT, and Noel Edmunds starting his TV career............Dark days indeed:slywink:

[wsteve55]

Pubs opening hours from the First World War, Very restrictive Sunday trading laws, the introduction of decimal currency,VAT, and Noel Edmunds starting his TV career............Dark days indeed:slywink:

Ha,ha, Noel Edmonds,.......and electricity cuts!!!:unibrow:

[ItsaZappathing]

Good posts all.:unibrow:

[wsteve55]

Have a look at Colin Wilkinson's thread,for some 70's pic's!:nod:

[goldenface]

Just some info for the posters discussing the relative poverty of the 1970s.

1.6M children in severe poverty today (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12544372) according to Save the Children.

There is and has always been children living in poverty in the UK.

[Prefrab]

1970's fashion, nylon shirts the brighter the colour or the more vivid the pattern the better , stack heel shoes , tank tops, flaired trousers, doc martins or brogues, ben sherman shirt, white bakers trousers, braces, crombie , and of course for the ladies Hot Pants !!!!!!

[Duncan Disorderly]

1970's fashion, nylon shirts the brighter the colour or the more vivid the pattern the better , stack heel shoes , tank tops, flaired trousers, doc martins or brogues, ben sherman shirt, white bakers trousers, braces, crombie , and of course for the ladies Hot Pants !!!!!!

Don't forget a feather cut too :shock:

[Prefrab]

Don't forget a feather cut too :shock:
Had mine done at Davids Prescot Street:handclap:

[Ronijayne]

1970's fashion, nylon shirts the brighter the colour or the more vivid the pattern the better , stack heel shoes , tank tops, flaired trousers, doc martins or brogues, ben sherman shirt, white bakers trousers, braces, crombie , and of course for the ladies Hot Pants !!!!!!

And you never looked better!

[Prefrab]

Sadly the hair is now grey and much shorter, but the shirts are still bright colours, and the music of Mudd , The Rubettes , The Jackson 5 , The Osmonds , Carpenters etc transport me back to the days when my biggest worry was if I could get home before my dad put on the dead bolt then it was sleep in the shed time. Even at 18 there was a curfew during the week which was lifted for the weekend. His house his rules !!

[Ronijayne]

Sadly the hair is now grey and much shorter, but the shirts are still bright colours, and the music of Mudd , The Rubettes , The Jackson 5 , The Osmonds , Carpenters etc transport me back to the days when my biggest worry was if I could get home before my dad put on the dead bolt then it was sleep in the shed time. Even at 18 there was a curfew during the week which was lifted for the weekend. His house his rules !!
My mother kept that curfew until I was over 21 and could not take any more!!! I had a good job but had to hand over my unopened pay cheque over every week. I got under a pound of my cheque as 'pocket money'............good old days my Liverpool Arse!!!!

[Ged]

Have a heart Roni girl, she was only keeping the boys safe.

[Ronijayne]

Have a heart Roni girl, she was only keeping the boys safe.

Boys? She had secret 'boys' lol She still lives in Knotty Ash, does she still have them?:PDT_Piratz_26:

[Ged]

No, she was keeping the boys safe from YOU ;)

[Ronijayne]

Oh yikes, I was so shy then...........................still am!

[Duncan Disorderly]

Had mine done at Davids Prescot Street:handclap:

Me too - it was just around the corner from school (Collegiate). I think the only reason I went there was because a few famous footballers wen there too - he had their photos all around the walls.

[Ronijayne]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, old hair cut buddies meeting up!

[Ged]

Went there once. He asked me if I wanted my hair cut round the back. I said, 'Why, isn't there any room in the shop'.

Bum bum.

[Duncan Disorderly]

I've just had a bit of a 'Google Maps' tour and was astounded to find that Davids is still there!!

[ItsaZappathing]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, old hair cut buddies meeting up!

Lol, yeah, they're probably bald as a coot now too. LOL:PDT11

[Ronijayne]

I've just had a bit of a 'Google Maps' tour and was astounded to find that Davids is still there!!

Oh goodie, you can meet up for a reunion haircut! Have the same cut as last you were there unless Zaps is spot on:PDT_Piratz_26:

[Duncan Disorderly]

Oh goodie, you can meet up for a reunion haircut! Have the same cut as last you were there unless Zaps is spot on:PDT_Piratz_26:

:D got me down to a T. :handclap:

[Prefrab]

Lol, yeah, they're probably bald as a coot now too. LOL:PDT11

Still got a full head of har, but I'm as grey as a squirrels tail , a grey squirrel that is :unibrow:

[Ronijayne]

Then get yourself to the reunion

[Liz Smith]

When I think about it we were hard up but everyone else was in the same boat, although we seemed to have not much as My mum was a widdow but we got by. Mum could Knit and sew so we had clothes to wear and she worked until she near killed herself.I left school in 1970 dont remember much actual poverty - but I had to hand over most of my wages to my mum, most of the rest was taken up with lunches and bus fares but that was life and you accepted it. I dont think we expected much and were happy with our lot. Got married in 1973 ( not sure I would have allowed one of my daughters to marry at 19 but we are still together and are very happy) Life was hard but better than my mum had had it (widdowed 3 times with 4 kids that was a hard life) I always think that life is what you make of it and we were never as selfish in the 70's as a lot of people became in Thatchers Britain of the 80's

[Prefrab]

Then get yourself to the reunion
Flares and Tank top on order from E-Bay :D

[lindylou]

Can't say I saw much poverty throughout the 1960s & 70s'
Sure there were families that struggled and maybe did not exactly live the life of Riley, but all my school mates were dressed nicely, lived in clean houses and had toys to play with. When we were teenagers we bought the usual things like records and the latest fashionable clothes ( although not as much as the teenagers of today).

I was born and raised in working class Anfield, but nobody lived in poverty. Our houses had fitted carpets (when they came into fashion) and we all had a telly and a record player, we had days out to New brighton, Crosby sands, Southport, etc and sometimes the occasional holiday in north Wales. I had my first caravan holdiday in 1960s when I was 11 in Towyn ! :)
My mum & dad were just working class people - my dad, after finishing going away to sea, worked in factories - my mum a shop assistant. But we had a nice house in Wolverton st. They worked hard to provide for the family and to pay for a mortgage. My dad modernised the house DIY, and my mum was houseproud, so we had a lovely home.
As has already been mentioned somewhere along this thread, a lot of the time it comes down to organising your pennies in the right way, making the right choices and prioritising things in life. I don't think it's down to luck. Both my parents have worked since the day they left school and they both put their time, effort and earnings into building a home.
I remember the 1960's as being a time of plenty of employment, ordinary people being able to aspire to better things. The 1970's we got colour tellies, there was a boom in DIY and decorating our houses, foreign holidays were more common, people bought their own caravans for family holidays.

No, can't say I remember much poverty.

Poverty was in our parents and grandparents times - when poorer people often had very few decent clothes, baby slept in a wooden bottom drawer because no one could afford a cot, people got a bath once a week and took turns to share the water !

No - I didn't see any of this in the 60's & 70's. we had nice bathrooms, we could buy all the latest fashion trends and babies had cots.

[Liz Smith]

I have been thinking about this thread today and its amazing what comes back to you. As I have said previously I didint think there was poverty in the 70's but when I left school and was going to work in an office in Liverpool I had no "smart" clothes so Mum went to a charity in Sir Thomas Street ( cant remember what it was called) to rig me out. I suppose that could be seen as living in poverty but we got by. Mum had been widdowed for the 2nd time when I was 7 (I had an older brother and sister of 15 and 14 from her first marriage and a baby of a year old) and was told by the benefits people that she was a "strong young woman" and to get herself out to work. This she did and near killed herself in the process. I dont remember us having much money she was a very good manager. I remember the clothes bought at the local drapers with money she saved in a clothing club. She could knit and sew this she did after a full days work then cooking and cleaning for her family of four children. I suppose this is part of the reason that she passed away aged 56.

[Ronijayne]

My mother worked but she was always dressed in the latest and had her her done every Saturday. Our house, and all the other houses in the street were clean, carpeted and every room was papered and painted every year. When the Beatles came out and it said Ringo was from a slum I was shocked!!! They should have looked inside the houses!!!!!

I still read in books that Ringo was from a slum so it has become 'law'

---------- Post added at 04:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:19 PM ----------

My mother is 90 and lived in Knotty Ash

[Marty1]

As a teenager in the 60s I never noticed poverty, although we never had a carpet in the house nor a bathroom nor a toilet. We used a local shop and paid the bill every Friday. We didn't have much but neither did anyone else ! I do remember that there were plenty of jobs, I went from one to the other and never had a problem getting a start.

[Ronijayne]

We had an outside loo. Yikes, I hated that as all the rest of my rellies had bathrooms. I remember going to a friends house and it was huge and had an upstairs and downstairs bathroom (my grandparents did too) but they had a separate dining room, conservatory, huge gardens, 4 bedrooms..........I thought they must be RICH, lol

[GeorgePorgie]

We had an outside loo.

Ah but,the thing about an outside loo was...no one can hear you grunting and cursing. :)

An outside loo was in the masses and a bathroom was a luxury,some where already fitted and some where DIY.

[Ged]

Grunting and cursing. You need to eat more fibre Georgie boy.

I think the thing which sticks out most here is that in the times up until the 80s, we continually hear about how nobody was any better off than their neighbours, then the greed happened under Thatcher with all the selling off and some people became materialistic.

[GeorgePorgie]

Grunting and cursing. You need to eat more fibre Georgie boy.

Heaven's,Ged...what does a rope taste like?

[Lizzie1]

Growing up in Everton 50s/60s of course times must have been hard but I wouldn't have described it as poverty. Mum and Dad made it all seem so easy!! and anyway everyone was in the same boat.
By the time the late 60s came and being part of the 'lost tribe' when people were moved out to what seemed like the back of beyond.........I think things were tougher then. The rent for the new place was quadruple what we paid before............and new fangled central heating meant the bills were high too. (No throwing all the old shoes on the fire to keep warm!)
The added costs because old furniture was out of place in the modern houses and then there we needed new curtains etc.....................
:exclaim:

[Marty1]

Growing up in Everton 50s/60s of course times must have been hard but I wouldn't have described it as poverty. Mum and Dad made it all seem so easy!! and anyway everyone was in the same boat.
By the time the late 60s came and being part of the 'lost tribe' when people were moved out to what seemed like the back of beyond.........I think things were tougher then. The rent for the new place was quadruple what we paid before............and new fangled central heating meant the bills were high too. (No throwing all the old shoes on the fire to keep warm!)
The added costs because old furniture was out of place in the modern houses and then there we needed new curtains etc.....................:exclaim:

You had shoe's Lizzie ?

[Lizzie1]

You had shoe's Lizzie ?

Ha ha! Yep! and white pumps in the summer.............had to whiten them meself!

[Marty1]

When we moved into the new flats on Netherfield Rd we took all our old stuff with us, Christ did it look out of place !

[Prefrab]

(No throwing all the old shoes on the fire to keep warm!)
That brings back memories, mum used to fill old shoes with "Slack" the sweepings from the coal hole:034: and they would last for an evening.

[GeorgePorgie]

Heck didn't you lot have no imagination as a kid?

You waited till the neighbours went out and lifted their coal grid and got a few samples for yer own fire.

[Liz Smith]

Good heavens I forgot about the outside toilet!! I must have wiped it from the memory banks!! I am still afraid of the dark. I used to hate going out there in the dark. Even when we went from the coal fire to a gas one there was only one room in the house that was warm - and having to beg to have the emersion heater on so I could have an extra bath or wash my hair!!

[Marty1]

Heck didn't you lot have no imagination as a kid?

You waited till the neighbours went out and lifted their coal grid and got a few samples for yer own fire.

We kept our Coal under the stairs, you would have to break in to get it, it's all we had worth stealing !

---------- Post added at 07:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:57 PM ----------


Good heavens I forgot about the outside toilet!! I must have wiped it from the memory banks!! I am still afraid of the dark. I used to hate going out there in the dark. Even when we went from the coal fire to a gas one there was only one room in the house that was warm - and having to beg to have the emersion heater on so I could have an extra bath or wash my hair!!

A bath !! I had to go to Margaret St baths for one of them.

[Ronijayne]

Ah but,the thing about an outside loo was...no one can hear you grunting and cursing. :)

An outside loo was in the masses and a bathroom was a luxury,some where already fitted and some where DIY.

Ahem, not all of us grunt and cuss brother:002:

---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------

Got to rush, screening of Jane Eyre tonight and I have to be there two hours before to chat with projectionist and manager and set the volunteers up at the check in table............................................. ......

[GeorgePorgie]

Don't eat too much pop corn or peanuts now. :smirk:

[wsteve55]

Latest figures state that around 20% of Brit's live in poverty,now......but I suppose that depends on your criteria, of what poverty actually is!? Does anyone remember getting a "wash-down",were you stood in a bowl of bearably hot water,and had..... a wash-down,the nearest thing to a bath,unless there was cash for a proper one,in "Wessy"rd.wash baths!! :unibrow:

[GeorgePorgie]

bowl of bearably hot water,and had..... a wash-down,the nearest thing to a bathNope,white stone sink for me and graduated to a tin bath beside the fire,then I got a after school time job in the washouse at the back of our street and got a free bath before toddling off home. :)

oops! nearly forgot...also had a saturday job in the barbers across the road,fink it was on Beacon Lane corner? or the next street along....made the tea and brushed up the hair piles and washed the sinks...free haircut every 3 weeks,mind you I think the barber was just practicing his skills though...every hair cut was different.:shock:

[Lizzie1]

When we moved into the new flats on Netherfield Rd we took all our old stuff with us, Christ did it look out of place !

Yea, ours looked like doll's house furniture in the 'massive' rooms!

---------- Post added at 12:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 AM ----------


(No throwing all the old shoes on the fire to keep warm!)
That brings back memories, mum used to fill old shoes with "Slack" the sweepings from the coal hole:034: and they would last for an evening.

Ah memories!..................Used to choke everyone with the smoke!!!

Fire wood used to be sold in little bundles tied up with wire.................and trying to get the fire going with the big 'Echo'!:D

[wsteve55]

Yea, ours looked like doll's house furniture in the 'massive' rooms!

---------- Post added at 12:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 AM ----------



Ah memories!..................Used to choke everyone with the smoke!!!

Fire wood used to be sold in little bundles tied up with wire.................and trying to get the fire going with the big 'Echo'!:D

Till it caught fire......panic stations!:unibrow:

[Lizzie1]

Till it caught fire......panic stations!:unibrow:

That was part of the fun! ;)

[Ronijayne]

Don't eat too much pop corn or peanuts now. :smirk:

Private screening room, no popcorn or food allowed inside. I hate the smell of popcorn so I am happy. Loved Jane Eyre, went for dinner after with a friend

---------- Post added at 02:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 AM ----------


Till it caught fire......panic stations!:unibrow:

Yes, then the paper would fly up the chimney!! I remember that.

[lindylou]

There were loads of average terraced houses - streets and streets of 'em - all had bathrooms. There was a craze in the 60's for pink or lemon bathroom suites - we had pink which we thought was lovely at the time.
1970s saw the craze for dark colours like avacado, maroon or even brown ! (ugh!).

Also, the big old Victorian houses had bathrooms.

I think the 1960s were a time of prosperity. It was fast moving, ever changing styles and fashions - you only had to look at the shops, ie, the emergence of lots of clothes boutiques, furniture stores all thriving, and wallpaper shops were doing good business because everyone was into home improvement.
There were plenty of jobs. I remember you could leave one job and start another immediately. There was a choice of employment. More people could afford to buy their own houses. 1970s saw more car ownership. 1970s saw the boom in package holidays to Spain. People started to branch out.
1970s Caravan sites in north Wales expanded - more and more of them sprung up along the coastline.

That's my memories of those decades.

[wsteve55]

That was part of the fun! ;)

Especially the time I used that nights Echo..............ran very fast!!!!:shock:

[Diane Louise]

Till it caught fire......panic stations!:unibrow:

Yes indeed, in our house, mum used to throw fat on the fire to get it started!

[Lizzie1]

Especially the time I used that nights Echo..............ran very fast!!!!:shock:

:nod: :D

[Ged]

Potato peelings too - they used to squeal

[Marty1]

And the roar up the Chimney as it caught fire, then you ran outside to look at the chimney pot, flames shooting out, great times !

"I think the 1960s were a time of prosperity" I have to say I missed it !

[wsteve55]

I'd have to say we missed it too,but occasionally,we had firelighters.........unashamed luxury! :smirk:

[Marty1]

Yes, I remember them, we may have not been so badly off as I thought !:nod:

[Ged]

We had a wire that hung down the chimney flue with a loop on it, just out of sight, and my dad would have to put the poker in the loop and pull it down a little further to ignite the back boiler to get hot water.

[Marty1]

Never had one ! I don't think I could live without all the things I never had before !

[Diane Louise]

We had a wire that hung down the chimney flue with a loop on it, just out of sight, and my dad would have to put the poker in the loop and pull it down a little further to ignite the back boiler to get hot water.

Yes we had one of those, I believe it was called a damper!

[Ged]

Yes that's it Diane, I couldn't think of the name for it.

[Ronijayne]

And the roar up the Chimney as it caught fire, then you ran outside to look at the chimney pot, flames shooting out, great times !

"I think the 1960s were a time of prosperity" I have to say I missed it !

Yes, my father would have us run outside to see if it was OK when the flames shot out of the chimney. I used to come home from work and empty the ashes and make the fire then start the dinner for the family..........Jeez, I was Cinderella:PDT_Piratz_26:

[Marty1]

Bloody ashes everywhere, I remember, and lot's of them ! You sound like her, I was the male equivalent only I came home from school, when I got a break I would watch Robin Hood staring Richard Green, great !

[Lizzie1]

Bloody ashes everywhere, I remember, and lot's of them ! You sound like her, I was the male equivalent only I came home from school, when I got a break I would watch Robin Hood staring Richard Green, great !

Just for you Marty....................


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbyYr6L5xQM&feature=related

[Marty1]

Thanks Lizzie, you're wonderful, I enjoyed that !:nod:

[Lizzie1]

Thanks Lizzie, you're wonderful, I enjoyed that !:nod:

You're welcome!! Apparently the series was on from 1955 to 1959 and I remember it so I guess we must have had a telly! I thought it was much later when we got the telly in our house.

Probably a 4 inch screen! :eek:

[Marty1]

It was on later Lizzie, repeats likely !

[Lizzie1]

Probably right!!

Back to the 70s..........when we moved we were told 'no pets allowed'.........my sister took our dog to live with her. I was heartbroken.
The powers that be have alot to answer for!

[Marty1]

Thet still have, the numpties !

[Ronijayne]

Bloody ashes everywhere, I remember, and lot's of them ! You sound like her, I was the male equivalent only I came home from school, when I got a break I would watch Robin Hood staring Richard Green, great !

Yes, me too Marty1. I did it from I was 9 years old. I remember I would shovel the ashes and open the back kitchen door and that big shovel of ashes would blow in my face. I hated that job.

[lindylou]

Well, my family were average Joes. We were not at all rich - nor were any of my school pals in the local comp. We were all dressed nicely, lived in nice homes etc, we didn't experience poverty.

We are talking 1960s & 1970s aren't we ?? - - not the 1800s ! :neutral:

There was certainly plenty of employment and the working class had more chance to elevate themselves a little.

[Ged]

It has been discussed on the phone-in that the criteria for poverty now is not what it was. Not having the latest gadgets and games for our children is now seen as not the norm. Hardly poverty is it, not when it's a lifestyle choice for some parents to put fags and beer before necessities.

[lindylou]

Don't think Georgiexx who started the thread has been back to look ! :D

[Marty1]

Yes, me too Marty1. I did it from I was 9 years old. I remember I would shovel the ashes and open the back kitchen door and that big shovel of ashes would blow in my face. I hated that job.

Yes, the big shovel too and the ashes all over the bloody place, you could taste them !:)

---------- Post added at 02:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:17 PM ----------


Well, my family were average Joes. We were not at all rich - nor were any of my school pals in the local comp. We were all dressed nicely, lived in nice homes etc, we didn't experience poverty.

We are talking 1960s & 1970s aren't we ?? - - not the 1800s ! :neutral:

There was certainly plenty of employment and the working class had more chance to elevate themselves a little.


Yes we are talking 1960s, as I said, I never noticed any poverty, I was to young to be interested in anything other that playing about but, we had no indoor toilet, no bath never mind the room. We didn't have carpets, it was lino, and the Coal was under the stairs. If you lived in better conditions then I'm happy for you, but many didn't and no doubt some lived in far worse ! There was plenty of employment but that didn't make any difference to me at the time !

[Ronijayne]

We were always well dressed as kids and went away most weekends, mostly to Wales, sometimes for a day sometimes the whole weekend. We always had nice furniture (my mother changed furniture way too often and papered every year.) Still, I will never forget emptying those ashes and cooking from 9. I always envious of my friends who had Mothers who did not work or worked part time. They got to play out after school and when I was working my friends went to the beach or somewhere fun while I cleaned and did the laundry. It is a choice isn't it? My mother chose to be stylish and have closets of clothes. I would have chosen a few less clothes and more time at home with the children. We are all different

[Lizzie1]

Well, my family were average Joes. We were not at all rich - nor were any of my school pals in the local comp. We were all dressed nicely, lived in nice homes etc, we didn't experience poverty.

We are talking 1960s & 1970s aren't we ?? - - not the 1800s ! :neutral:

There was certainly plenty of employment and the working class had more chance to elevate themselves a little.

Yep!
You are right about the employment, my sister seemed to change her job each week!

............Our house was two up two down, outside loo and no bathroom. There were five of us kids and Mum and Dad.
We had nice clothes, ate well and had days out as a treat. The house was immaculate and decorated regularly, no carpets we had lino and homemade rugs.........most people took a great pride in their homes.
But there was deprivation in the area, the conditions of some houses were worse than others.........I remember one street near us (Solva Street) I think it was, families were still sharing toilets............and that was the late 1960s!!

[lindylou]

When we first moved into our Wolverton st house there was a coal fire. I can remember all the palava with ashes :)

but we soon promoted ourselves to a new 'living flame Cannon Miser gas fire' in both sitting rooms. (living room and front parlour we called them).
In the kitchen there was some sort of old fashioned dolly tub thingybob on legs ( I think you boiled washing in it or something like that), anyway, that was replaced by a twin tub.
My dad took out the old fashioned bath from the bathroom and installed a lovely pink one.
I remember my dad replacing the sash windows with the more modern hinged open out type. (talking of windows - remember the fashion in the 1970s for the Louvre windows?') :)
The worst thing people did in that era was pull out the lovely old fire grates and replace them with 60's style wooden surrounds (usually DIY home made ! .. and some had patterned formica! ) The other thing was covering ornate doors with hardboard ! :eek: :PDT_Xtremez_42:

I think 1970's had some of the worst patterns, styles and colour combinations though ! At least the 60's had some chic about it. ! 1970's had some horrendous stuff, ha !

[GeorgePorgie]

The other thing was covering ornate doors with hardboard !

Wasn't that the 60's? when the DIY craze began doing the bannister rail the same ie boarding it over with hardboard and putting green plastic handles on the doors.

[Lizzie1]

When we first moved into our Wolverton st house there was a coal fire. I can remember all the palava with ashes :) but we soon promoted ourselves to a new 'living flame Cannon Miser gas fire' in both sitting rooms. (living room and front parlour we called them).
In the kitchen there was some sort of old fashioned dolly tub thingybob on legs ( I think you boiled washing in it or something like that), anyway, that was replaced by a twin tub.

You must have been very posh!!! :)
We did have a mangle! I remember my Mum always having to replace shirt buttons that had been 'mangled'!!! :exclaim:

[Ronijayne]

Wasn't that the 60's? when the DIY craze began doing the bannister rail the same ie boarding it over with hardboard and putting green plastic handles on the doors.

Yes, our house had a staircase in the living room which they boarded up. I liked seeing the banister rail. In the 70' my parents had moved to a three bed roomed flat in Knotty Ash. Very nice, views of the golf course. Nice big bathroom.

I must say, when I left home (end of the 60's) and had a big flat in Devonshire Road I had a HUGE bathroom which I had to share with an old lady who had a flat on my floor. It had a massive window which when opened allowed all the branches of the tree outside to come in full of flowers like lilac which smelled like heaven.

[lindylou]

Wasn't that the 60's? when the DIY craze began doing the bannister rail the same ie boarding it over with hardboard and putting green plastic handles on the doors.

Yep, 'twas a 60s craze. :) The idea now of banister rails covered over with boards !! it's unthinkable ! I wonder where that idea came from ! :shock:

---------- Post added at 06:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:44 PM ----------



I must say, when I left home (60's) and had a big flat in Devonshire Road I had a HUGE bathroom which I had to share with an old lady who had a flat on my floor. It had a massive window which when opened allowed all the branches of the tree outside to come in full of flowers like lilac which smelled like heaven.

Sounds lovely Roni. :)

[Marty1]

I went to Margaret St Bathes to have a bath, I can only envy you in your Huge bathroom, pity I didn't know you at the time !

I used to work for DER in the late 60s putting in TVs, some of the homes we went into, all over Liverpool, were appalling so count yourselves very lucky !

[wsteve55]

Wonder if anyones got any pic's, of the more poverty stricken dwellings? Must have a look around!

[Lizzie1]

DER..........and didn't Redifusion do radios or something?
I remember we had a telly that had a coin meter attached to the back! Can you imagine that these days?!

[MugsMoney]

I remeber those Liz!

1983... I won the Liverpool chess congress under11s section.

Came home from it to find we had a brand new Telly 7 video.

The video was remote control, as in it had a huge wire which you plugged into the front of the video.

I remember the guy coming to collect the rental, and he'd leave the excess.

seemed to be all the 50ps in England!

[Lizzie1]

Wonder if anyones got any pic's, of the more poverty stricken dwellings? Must have a look around!

Morning in the Streets filmed in 1958.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm3KwQqYIIg&feature=related

Everton 1965 unedited footage PART 1


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzjWC_r-zjc&feature=related

Part 2


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5DnTx6BztQ&feature=related

[wsteve55]

Thanks for them Lizzie! I know that many of clearances were in the 60's,but there were still many similar,or worse properties left! I remember a friend who lived in a large house in Luton Grove,Walton,which was let off as flats. The toilet was out in the back,and sometimes,while I was at the front door,the old woman who lived on the top floor would pass by,carrying a large bucket of **** to empty out!! the house was there till the early 70's,at least!

[Ronijayne]

I went to Margaret St Bathes to have a bath, I can only envy you in your Huge bathroom, pity I didn't know you at the time !

I used to work for DER in the late 60s putting in TVs, some of the homes we went into, all over Liverpool, were appalling so count yourselves very lucky !

Twas in the late 60's. My sister and a couple of friends who had bathrooms at home came to use my bathroom. You opened the window and there was a mad rush of all the branches springing inside so taking a bath in that massive bath with about twenty lilac branches in the room with you was something I will never forget. You had the smell of lilacs for hours and it seemed to remain in your hair until the next wash!! It was a big old house, two floors then an attic apartment, I was on the 1st floor, All three floors had a big bathroom and two flats on ground and 1st floor so I only shared with the old lady. She did not mind my friends coming as they chatted to her and she was lonely.

---------- Post added at 09:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 PM ----------

I don't know why but the lady who makes and pours tea in the video made me cry. She seems so poor and yet so elegant, so humble and yet proud to be chosen to be on camera. All those wonderful people who had it so tough but remained gentle and refined through all the grime.

[Ged]

Wonder if anyones got any pic's, of the more poverty stricken dwellings? Must have a look around!

I've got quite a few interiors, i'll be posting some up later.

[Marty1]

Thank you yet again Lizzie for the vids, great stuff. We can see how some folk lived, a picture speaks a thousand words ! :handclap:

[Lizzie1]

Thank you yet again Lizzie for the vids, great stuff. We can see how some folk lived, a picture speaks a thousand words ! :handclap:

It looks depressing! but I don't remember it being depressing...........and I still think some of the houses could have been saved!

---------- Post added at 04:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------


Thanks for them Lizzie! I know that many of clearances were in the 60's,but there were still many similar,or worse properties left! I remember a friend who lived in a large house in Luton Grove,Walton,which was let off as flats. The toilet was out in the back,and sometimes,while I was at the front door,the old woman who lived on the top floor would pass by,carrying a large bucket of **** to empty out!! the house was there till the early 70's,at least!

Absolutely, although we moved in 1966, we had friends and family still in the area, some said they weren't going anywhere!.............. Of course, surrounded by demolition etc they soon had to move.

---------- Post added at 04:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:36 PM ----------


I remeber those Liz!

1983... I won the Liverpool chess congress under11s section.

Came home from it to find we had a brand new Telly 7 video.

The video was remote control, as in it had a huge wire which you plugged into the front of the video.

I remember the guy coming to collect the rental, and he'd leave the excess.

seemed to be all the 50ps in England!

:) think we also had a few dodgy coins returned too! :o

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------


I've got quite a few interiors, i'll be posting some up later.

Look forward to seeing them..............:)

[wsteve55]

I've got quite a few interiors, i'll be posting some up later.

The mind boggles!:unibrow:

[Ged]

Of houses only Steve you naughty chap ;)


See: http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showthread.php?49803-UNSEEN-AND-UNPUBLISHED-PARADISE-GARDENS-1ST-FEB-1966

[Ronijayne]

Great pics. Unbelievable poverty. It is heartbreaking that people lived like that.

[danensis]

In 1974, when the Housing Act came into force, Don Simpson set up Granby Housing Co-op, and shortly afterwards Nick Green, Paul Harman and I set up Canning Housing Co-op, and together we set up Neighbourhood Housing Services. A large slum landlord, Stansfield, went bust, and the Housing Corporation decided that 600 of the houses would be handed over to housing co-ops. Not one of them had an inside bathroom or toilet. I went down to London to meet with Harold Campbell, who was to sign the cheque for £6m for the transfer - I'd never handled a cheque that size before! Harold was attending a function at Social and Economic Planning in Belgravia. I was invited in, and there were all these toffs eating caviar and smoked salmon. When I explained why I was there one woman was adamant "People don't live like that any more - with outside toilets and tin baths in front of the fire, that's the subject of Victorian novels". I assured her that I could take her to any one of 600 houses where they did just that. She looked at me as though I'd just landed from another planet.

[Ronijayne]

1974, wow, no wonder there was so much crime. Living like that must have been so depressing. Well done you :handclap:

So Danensis, you were the last of us to have handled a 6 million pound cheque!!!!!! What took you so long.:PDT_Piratz_26: You should have asked for a smoked Salmon buttie! I hate caviar, the texture is just horrible to me no matter how expensive it was.

[Duncan Disorderly]

Great videos Lizzie1, thanks.

[Lizzie1]

One nightmare of living in 'new' high rise flats.............the lifts never worked!!

[Savo]

I grew up in Tabley Street Liverpool 1, in the 70's we had the only house in the street above PEG Engeneering it was cold,damp and falling down,so what we had hardship,that makes you stronger,the meccano factory was in the next street,guinness had a bonded wharehouse on park lane,chippies were better,and the stadium was buzzin,I started work in Duke St 1970 as an apprentice,great times indeed,bein a skin then was a great life style,we had better fashion then,bennies,crombies,doc's,lee jeans,harringtons,2tones and comos,and they didnt cost the earth like todays brands,and we looked sharper ;) music was better,tamla motown,al green,chairmen of the board,desmond dekker,dave & ansell,the list goes on,life then in the city centre was the best years of my life,anyone around then will agree,we used to go the big house for a bevvie,then upto O'Connors for a late 1,sadly urban regeneration took hold and we got moved then to canny farm,and lost contact with a lot of mates from the city centre,we lost our home,lifestyle,mates and way of life so yuppies could live at the albert dock,thanks Liverpool City Council.

[stormkingfan]

'ey Ged, how are ya?

Great site you have with the Liv then & now snaps. Are there anymore of these waiting in the wing?

[Ged]

Thanks stormkingfan. You'll notice i've kept the 'thens' in the then and now thread in colour. People have requested I do some then and now comparisons from the thousands of old black and white LRO pics I have. In the meantime, there's this thread on here too.

http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showthread.php?53810-Comparisons

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