Armchair Theatre


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Boy, doesn't that living room look small? They looked quite normal when we were kids, but I bet if we went back to our childhood homes, we'd be amazed how small the rooms were. I supposed we had to sit up close to the fire as that was the only heat [in my house, the only heat in the whole house]

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The coal fire was the only heat in our house too!

About 18 months ago I was back in Long Eaton and went to take a picture of the house I grew up in. The owner saw me and came out to see what I was doing - when I explained, they invited me in - WOW - I couldn't believe how small it was! To think my mum, dad and two sisters lived there - it would all almost fit in the living/dining room of our house here! Made me feel very "American"! However, they paid more for it than I paid for my house here - crazy!

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What a typical 50`s living room,-even down to the plaster dog(?from Goose fair),and the tiled fire surround. I remeber ours being built in rhe early 50`s. The houses were bitterly cold,and unless you sat within 2 feet of the fire you froze. B)

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Speaking of Remote Controls. I wonder how many young ‘uns of today would have the patience to tune one of those TV’s in.

Whenever you used to switch them on, you either had to adjust the vertical hold, the horizontal hold, brightness, and or contrast. Then a car or a bus went past and the picture would start rolling just when Ward Bond of Wagon Train was fending 2000 indjuns off..

You would get up to make a cuppa and fall over the coffee table due to the room being in total darkness. Then get bawled at for making a racket, never mind that your leg was broken in six places.

It was never hard to see who was watching TV on a nice sunny evening in the summer, as the curtains were always closed.

All things considered give me today’s technology. Especially the Remote Control. Better known as the Childrens Pacifier.

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LOL....

Excellent summary of early TV watching!

As with the higher postings too, it all relates to the 'what you are used to' syndrome. When we lived in small cold houses watching single channel TV on a wobbly screen, we were not troubled at all because that was the 'norm' for everyone.

We had never experienced anything that was better.

Primarily to evoke some sympathy from my 2 young granddaughters, I recently told them how my childhood life differed from theirs. They both ran to their mother to announce that "Grandad is telling fibs again!" and "He is even older than we thought!" Perhaps they'll look back 50 years hence to conclude that their early life was primitive.

Cheers

Robt P.

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Is this at the Castle Museum in York? I seem to remember something like it there several years ago.

At the Imperial War Museum at Duxford there is a fully restored "Prefab" - remember them?

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At the Imperial War Museum at Duxford there is a fully restored "Prefab" - remember them?

Remember them......we still have 'em...

IIRC, Cinderhill Road, Bulwell and Nuthall Road,Whitemoor?

Cheers

Robt P.

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The ones in Long Eaton are all gone - a friend of mine lived in one on Bennett Street.

prefab.jpg

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...they were supposed to be a stop-gap until `proper' houses could be built. There are hundreds in Bilborough,some of which have been modified quite skillfully.Dunno how they would go replacing them with heavier houses though as I believe many are built over old coal mining seams.

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It's funny how things have gone full circle. Nowadays having "cable" is very much the in thing, fifty years ago we had cable.

Redifusion wired many of the houses in the Meadows, with a cable running from house to house. Inside the houses was a brown bakelite switch box mounted on the window frame which enabled the occupant to switch channels. Can't remember how many channels, probably two or three. We used to run home from school at lunch time to watch Emergency Ward 10 - magic days.

Hugs Alison

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It's funny how things have gone full circle. Nowadays having "cable" is very much the in thing, fifty years ago we had cable.

Redifusion wired many of the houses in the Meadows, with a cable running from house to house. Inside the houses was a brown bakelite switch box mounted on the window frame which enabled the occupant to switch channels. Can't remember how many channels, probably two or three. We used to run home from school at lunch time to watch Emergency Ward 10 - magic days.

Hugs Alison

We had a Rediffusion TV in a rental house in Stoke-on-Trent when I was in college! It worked great - and we could get several different ITV channels! I wonder what happened to them?

Also - "prefabs" are back - just in a slightly more refined form. In fact, I am going to look at several "Holiday Lodges" in Leicestershire and Derbyshire when I come over in March - if the pricing is right it may be a decent way to obtain a base in the UK so we can stay for longer periods - and rent it out when we are not there. They are basically "upmarket" static caravans!

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Ayup Alison,

Can you remember the name of the show that was on at lunchtime about the same time as ward ten, it starred Noel Gorden and her side kick Jerry Allen ( I think)

Rog

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