When we got married in 1968 the UK's communication systems, namely phone and mail, were nationalised. The phone was called an appliance, and you rented it. The provider was known as The G.P.O. General Post Office. We managed to purchase our appliance when the phone system was privatised. It still works and sits in the hall where it amuses visitors who call.
Back in the early 1960's the scooter Mods were giving all and sundry grief on the roads. Motorbikes weren't something that appealed to me, but I was taken by a Harley Davidson that I had seen in a museum. It looked so huge and retro. But this was the 60's and it was all Mods and scooters. A fateful ride on the pillion of a friend's scooter ended a love of two wheels. We were knocked off the scooter by a car driver who had failed to obey a give way sign. Miraculously we were unscathed, however, I made a promise to my Father, nothing on two wheels, unless it's a pedal cycle.
Come 1993, and it was our silver wedding anniversary, that promise to Dad went forgotten. The motorbike in the photo is called a Heritage Springer Softail, it's a model that echoes a Harley of much earlier years. We had it for five years, not a wobble, near miss or close shave, not once. Best of all, I made a substantial profit when we sold it.
The Taron camera was one of those purchases that, later, proved to be a lucky find. Lucky in that nowadays they are much sought after by collectors who are happy to pay a high price. I bought it from a camera shop about a year after we were married, it's a 35mm rangefinder, (whatever that means.) Our photo albums are testimony to the clarity and use of that Taron.
Like the telephone, it still works, but in the digital age finding someone to develop celluloid is all but impossible.
This is my Wurlitzer Jukebox along with which I have a collection of vinyl records.
Much of that collection is pre-fifties, the love of Big-Band and the Swing era stems
from our love of dancing Latin & Ballroom.
"Are my seams straight?" was a question that I would be asked every time we were heading out to the next dance or heritage function.
The advent of the fashionable miniskirt, which exposed the legs to well above the knee, made pantyhose a necessity to many women. The shorter hemlines remained popular for many years. Sales of pantyhose soared and in the early 70's, exceeded stockings and have remained so ever since.
There is something classy about seamed stockings, but sadly, they were somehow hijacked by pornographers and to admit a liking for them gets you tarred with that insidious brush.
