Ah yes the winter of discontent, and before that the three day week. My parents used to cook on calor gas rings and we had a gas mantel light and loads of candles. We could see clearly enough to read a book though!

call boxes when you had to put in 4d - old pence - then press Button A or Button B ?

if you had a phone at home you would talk to the telephone girl at the exchange to connect you...

A little story about phone boxes: when I was 8 years of age I used to take myself on the local buses across town to the school I then attended.

I dropped my bus fare somewhere between the school gate and the bus stop coming home and didn't know what to do. I was on my own, no money, (no mobiles then ) and far too long a distance for an 8-year old to walk. (Interesting that, at 8, I was allowed to cross a big city on my own, no escort and several changes of buses. Doubt many 8-year olds would be allowed to do that now.)

So, on with the story.... In the end I decided to find a phone box to see if I could get the operator to help me get a message to my Gran as to what had happened because no parent would be home then and, of course, we didn't know about ansaphone or similar in those dark ages. So, I dialed 100 for the operator and asked if she could help me. "Put some money in the box dear and push button A" she said. "I can't" I said, suddenly starting to cry, "I've lost my money and I want to get in touch with my Gran to get her to help me". Lovely lady on the end then said, "OK dear - you hold on dear, dry your tears, give me the number of your Gran and I'll connect you for free".

And she did..... Gran answered, told me to stay put and she would get a bus and come to rescue me, or ring my Mum to do so. (Gran turned up 30 mins later and when we got home she rang the telephone operators to thank them.) I'd like to think BT would do the same today for a stranded youngster - but I wonder......?

Oh, they'd help, but they'd make it at the rate of 'operator connected reverse charges' (even more expensive that 'do it yourself reverse charges')

Wasn't Ludwig a sort of egg like thing that played the violin?

I used to like 'Bod'. All the characters had their own theme tune. Two of the characters had theme tunes played by clarinets.

I have a video of Ludwig yes, it (he?) was a Beethoven playing crystal egg type thing.

thank you Sarah, my memory served me correctly in that case!

Anyone recall the various art shows hosted by Tony Hart? I once sent a picture to the Gallery. It didn't get shown...

Morph! He was the coolest.

And Chas! And Nailbrush!

I don't remember those two didn't Morph have a plasticine friend at one point??

That was Chas! And the 'dog' was Nailbrush...

Ahh in which case I do remember Chas. I don't remember Nailbrush though...


Lots of these are now available in DVD format

I have Ivor, Willo-the-wisp, bagpuss... think that is it... so far... investing for my nephew's future, of course

On what??

I've never heard of crystal Ludwig!

Violin.

Ludwig would've been late 70s - you must have been watching the other side DC...

Possibly...

What programme was this hideous "Ludwig" on? I bet they made him look mad and angry too didn't they?!

The instrument would have been a glass harmonica but I didn't watch that programme.

and mine

There are a few complete episodes on YouTube -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HArUmqqiL0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqS5hziFN4g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss_sQgOiX4w

mit fiddle

The Clangers - classic!

mit fiddleWow!

Mon dieu..mon dieu...non...face d'ouef....je suis un rockstar....c'est terrible.....

forgive me " oeuf "

**Thank you..I thought it didn't look right!**

Ludwig's very clever to be playing a violin without a chin!

(That is, Ludwig hasn't got a chin...I know what I'm talking about! )

People used to mend things far more when I was young. We had a darning mushroom for mending woollen socks, and sheets for the bed were mended "sides-to-middle" when they became worn out in the centres. Shoes were taken for repair to the cobbler and mens suits were taken back to the tailor when the sleeves began to fray. Staircarpets were taken down and relaid and clothes that were too far gone to mend were cut into strips which were then threaded into sackcloth sheets to make rag rugs for the floors. We all seemed to have non matching china to use for everyday meals and best china for special occasions. Nobody ever drank out of mugs in the home and you would never see a milk jug on the kitchen table.

My mum has one of those

I remember when medicine was a vocation: These days it seems like it's just a job for most newly qualified doctors.

I remember as a newly qualified doctor, routinely doing 100 hour working weeks with 1 in 3 on call rotas, including "long weekends". One weekend I went to work on Friday at 9 am and on Monday at 6 pm I went to my bedroom having not laid down in the interim. Fifteen hours or so later, on Tuesday at 9.05 am, my bleep went off with somebody wondering where I'd got to and I found myself lying on top of my bed still wearing my shoes, my tie and my white coat.

I have to say I don't regard those as "the good old days": It was dangerous for all concerned and any system that potentially requires an employee to be on his or her feet continually for 80 hours should be, and has been, done away with.

Me too. My mum even used to take her nylon stockings to be mended.

We used to have sheep wandering around the streets. They were supposed to be on the mountain but used to come down and raid the dustbins. The council eventually introduced sheep-proof dustbins (this is no joke!) but after a week or two the sheep worked out how to get them open.

I can also remember just after I learned to drive, I hit a sheep which was wandering across the road in the town - my car came off worse than the sheep!
I didn't go around a roundabout until quite a while after I passed my driving test as there weren't any where we lived. There was only one set of traffic lights too.

Some random recollections:

Tizer - in a bottle with a marble?

Paul Temple on the radio

Journey into space (BBC Radio science fiction programme)

Walking to school

Steam engine on the Greenwich Ferry

Collecting little metal pub signs!