Who remembers the 80's?

As a schoolchild in the 80s I once remember my mother talking to an elderly neighbour and wondering what, if any kind of job would be available for me when I left school, the future did not look promising on the job front. I was very much aware of money being scarce but we didn't really want for a whole lot either.
 
I remember duffel coats and canvas shoes, beans and spuds, egg and spuds, turnips and spuds, cabbage and spuds. I don't remember many cars, big houses and designer clothes.

I also remember kids in pubs quite a lot and red lemonade. I remember the troubles and bombings, I remember going to mass every Sunday, I remember feeling hungry and playing sports more often than do children now. I remember the Sega master system and Comador 64, I remember knight rider and the A-Team. I remember 9p bag of crisp, 1p sweets and 10p frozen drinks.

Things have changed alright.

Joejoe
 
This thread has a touch of.........

"RRRRRRRRRinga ringa rrrooooooossie.....as da lite declines.....
IIIIII'lllll rememba Dublin city in da rare auld times..........."
 
Have to agree. Is a bit nostalgic but interesting to look back on - might learn something.
I remember the eighties – was a child during them. Also remember when crisps were 9p and you got one present at Christmas. I remember my father building an extension bit by bit – buying a bag or two of cement a week. I remember my mum getting boxes of clothes from my aunts in England as soon as their children had grown out of them. It was like Christmas when they came. Field days and jumble sales were well attended. You kept your good clothes for mass on Sunday and took them off as soon as you got home. We made go-carts out of pram wheels and wood from the local dump. I loved Family Ties because I had a crush on Michael J Fox (my brother watched it for Malory).

I became a teenager during the eighties and the coolest people then were those who had managed to get a Saturday/holiday job. Nobody had any money but it didn’t really matter – their wasn’t the same pressure as my younger brother experienced in the nineties when there was pressure to have wear a certain label etc. I think that was the thing I felt pushed things out of control in the boom times – the constant battle/desire to feel you were better off, newer car, living a more luxurious life than the next person. In the eighties people freely admitted to being broke – in the boom years it was embarrassing to do so.
 
I remember people had mongrel dogs who were allowed be out on the street all day long to play with kids and no one ever picked up dog poop.

These days you cant move for poofed up pedigree dogs with sparkly collars being walked on fancy leads with a plastic bag attached for dog poop picking up.

I also remember being sent to the butchers once a week for 'bones for the dog' - which my mother then boiled and used the stock for us and gave the dog the cooked bones (the mongrel dog - who incidently was not let out on the road but got walked on a very cheap lead).

We also got treats of crubeens - still love a boiled pigs foot to this day.

And very cleverly my mother had fooled us into believing that the boiled cabbage water was a great delicacy and we would fight each other to drink it so we'd grow up big and strong - no waste in our house!!
 
Anyone remember Yellowpack & Thrift?

Supermarkets full of plain yellow/white packaged goods with large black writing.

Only wealthy people had double glazing. A lot of families had no car. Queues of parents at second hand school book stores every summer wanting to buy grotting probably fifth hand books.
 
Caveat said:
I remember the 80s but I definitely don't remember a proliferation of knitted jumpers!
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It was more the 70s. We had central heating, but the house was heated by two Supersers. One in the kitchen and another upstairs, to heat the bathroom on very cold days. Many a morning had ice on the inside of the bedroom windows. I remember being told that the heating was broken, but then found out years later that my father had removed the time clock. We had two cars (rich we were!) the fact that one was an air cooled rust bucket Fiat and you see the road through the floor. I remember my mother giving out to me because I used to pick at the rust holes around the windows. Great fun going up hills, if you did not get a good run.
 

Then my mam would cover them with wallpaper or even wrapping paper that was lying about the house.
 
Oh yeah, the wallpaper covered school books! This thread is bringing back loads of memories. Mixumgatherum soup ( AKA leftover soup in a well targeted marketing ploy by our mother), a Hillman Hunter with holes in the floor that you could see through, patches on knees and elbows ( and not for effect), no money but happy nonetheless.
 
It was always amasing that the poor farmers who never had a penny could afford houses in the big city, for their children to stay in while in collage. I remember that almost every advert on RTE radio and TV was for farmers and most adverts on RTE TV were static pictures with a voice over telling us the virtues of their latest pour on for mastitis.
 
More the 70's really

3d for a loose cigarette.

Consulate - Cool as a mountain stream

More Cigarettes & Kojack watches that you had to press a button to illuminate the time in red.

The pilot with the Rothmans in his hand on the gearstick?? with the smoke rising up.

The Marlboro cowboy (now dead from throat cancer)

Just shows how strong those ads were that I can still vividly remember them after all this time



Murt
 
Vanilla said:
Oh yeah, the wallpaper covered school books! This thread is bringing back loads of memories.
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Great music, Minor Detail, Auto Da Fe, Light A Big Fire, A House, Howard Jones, Simple Minds, Deacon Blue, Cure, Smiths, Cyndi Lauper etc.
 
csirl said:
Anyone remember Yellowpack & Thrift?

Supermarkets full of plain yellow/white packaged goods with large black writing.
Click to expand...

I remember that. And ice on the inside of bedroom windows. And having to cycle / walk everywhere. Having to fix bicycle punctures etc. Sitting in college in wet clothes all day. Kids nowadays are so spoiled.
 
Disposable income was pretty low alright.

Being in collage - the budget was tight.

After rent, transport etc - very little was left.

That said everybody was in the same boat.

Bought a crombie type coat from a 2nd hand store and it kept me warm.

Big jumpers and grand father shirts etc.

That said - depite a crap economy people talked to each other and there was a better sense of community.
 
and we did not even dream of having the mortgages we are saddled with now in our worst nightmares
 

I kept my "big hair" eighties perm right up into the 2000's.


AGHHHHHH!
 
Only wealthy people had double glazing
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Sure there was nay global warming in the 80's

Who remembers Those Nervous Animals, and "My Friend John"? !

And you remember "ah sure we hadn't a pot to **** in.... but we were happy" the rare aul times wha' !!

Anyone remember Yellowpack & Thrift?
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I remember the large can of yellowpack lager ! Ugh, modern version - Dutch Gold ! Or the slops out of the beer taps rather !
 
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cork said:
Great music, Minor Detail, Auto Da Fe, Light A Big Fire, A House, Howard Jones, Simple Minds, Deacon Blue, Cure, Smiths, Cyndi Lauper etc.
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All good! Remember Howard Jones concert and brilliant simple minds gig at Croke Park 1986.


Also, the Blades, Les Enfants and one of my favourites and still have their album Cry before Dawn.

Also, Big Country, dodgy check shirts with leather (plastic) ties on a bit of Elastic, Shoes and Boots from Simon Hart,
going out - Bogies(Blooms Hotel), the Harp Bar, Rainbows,(Happy Cocktail Hour Sunday Afternoon) Rumours(RAF)

Later 80's Going out on a Saturday night (Blooms Hotel) with £5.00 - 45p in on the bus, 45p home on the bus, 1 bottle of RITZ, stop off in the village on the way home for chips, sausage in batter and a batter burger! Walking home in 6inch stilettos with gold heels!
 
Anyone remember Yellowpack & Thrift?

..... I also remember the spoof band... Maurice Pratt & the Yellow Packs

or was it Maurice Pratt & the Opel Kadetts?
 
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