1954 - 2015

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I enjoy reading posts about how things have changed, mostly technical changes so I thought I would describe some of the everyday changes that I remember in my teenage years. The house was cold, in the winter frost formed inside the bedroom windows and there was no heating except in the kitchen - this was really our living room as we spent most of our time there. A fire was always burning in the kitchen during the winter months. It had the effect of warming my face and hands but my back was always cold because of the draughts. The windows were sash, they rattled a lot and double glazing had not yet arrived. The toilet was built into the house but we had to go around the house to get into it. It had a door big enough for privacy but open at the top and the bottom for ventilation! Visits there were hurried affairs. When I became an adolescent I took my weekly bath (yep that was the frequency) at the local Slipper Baths. I went with my friend and we loved the excess of hot water. Previously bath time was a metal bath in the kitchenette with the water heated on the stove. I went in first, my brother next, my mother after that and finally my poor father. My house in 2015 is centrally heated with air conditioning for the summer months, we have double glazing throughout. We have a bathroom, an ensuite, a toilet with shower and a toilet for guests. I do not take a bath but I shower every day with water heated by the sun. In 1954 we were a typical working class family but not in poverty and our house was much the same as everyone else's. Time has certainly improved my standard of living.