The 70's and 80's in Ireland

Dyr · 16-05-2020 7:56pm

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

I don't really get why this thread has gone 168 pages for? If so many people didn't like the 70's and 80's, then why continue to indulge in those memories?

TBH The 80s and 90s were a great era in comparison to now, which is like a dyfunctional dystopia.

Up until the late 2000s the advances in technology and the internet were great. Kinda feel like social media turned that its head by linking people to their online presence so they had skin in the game. We live in an era where we no longer trust in our ability to progress and innovate, it's all very fin de siecle.

the purple tin · 16-05-2020 8:06pm

Going in to the video shop to rent a fillum or two. There were small local shops before Xtravision came along. Browsing the shelves trying to work out if a fillum would any good by the box cover.

Way more fun than netflix etc.

L1011 · 16-05-2020 8:37pm

the purple tin wrote: »

Going in to the video shop to rent a fillum or two. There were small local shops before Xtravision came along. Browsing the shelves trying to work out if a fillum would any good by the box cover.

Way more fun than netflix etc.

A decent movie store in a big town had more actual movies than Netflix too; at least in the VHS era - DVD and console games started eating in to the display space and despite DVD being smaller on the shelves, by the time it became dominant half the store was console games in my local one at least. And Chartbusters turned half the stores in to tanning beds.

Netflix has lots of series/shows, but actual movie numbers are lower than you'd think and dropping year on year as they focus on shows.

Locally we had a fantastic video shop (that may or may not have been subsidised by some illicit trade) that had possibly 6000 different films in the DVD era; and each staff member would have seen a decent % of them - nobody could have seen them all. Did a great trade in subtitled foreign content; also did multi rental bundle deals with the pizza place next door.

I understand why people prefer streaming services - pay once, get all you can at any time of day or night without it ever being unavailable etc.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 16-05-2020 8:54pm

the purple tin wrote: »

Going in to the video shop to rent a fillum or two. There were small local shops before Xtravision came along. Browsing the shelves trying to work out if a fillum would any good by the box cover.

Way more fun than netflix etc.

The white Hiace van coming around once a fortnight and 3 films for a fiver, I think. And you had 2 weeks to watch them.

And you'd be lucky to come across one good film and two absolute dogs to watch because you paid for them so you had to watch them.

malinheader · 16-05-2020 9:04pm

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

The white Hiace van coming around once a fortnight and 3 films for a fiver, I think. And you had 2 weeks to watch them.

And you'd be lucky to come across one good film and two absolute dogs to watch because you paid for them so you had to watch them.

Ah the white Hi ace is right. Shop man on Wednesday, clothes man on Thursday and the video man on a Friday.
Good memories though.

L1011 · 16-05-2020 9:29pm

I've heard of (and used) the shop vans, I've heard of the video vans - clothes man? What kind of clobber did they actually sell?

malinheader · 16-05-2020 9:40pm

L1011 wrote: »

I've heard of (and used) the shop vans, I've heard of the video vans - clothes man? What kind of clobber did they actually sell?

The van that came to us had a very good and fairly up to date selection. Sweatshirts were a speciality. When the film rocky came out the biggest seller was the fruit of the loom sweatshirts with the rocky logo on front .only thing was everyone in a 20 or 30 mile radius was wearing the same. You could pay in by installments as well.

the purple tin · 16-05-2020 10:06pm

L1011 wrote: »

A decent movie store in a big town had more actual movies than Netflix too; at least in the VHS era - DVD and console games started eating in to the display space and despite DVD being smaller on the shelves, by the time it became dominant half the store was console games in my local one at least. And Chartbusters turned half the stores in to tanning beds.

Netflix has lots of series/shows, but actual movie numbers are lower than you'd think and dropping year on year as they focus on shows.

Locally we had a fantastic video shop (that may or may not have been subsidised by some illicit trade) that had possibly 6000 different films in the DVD era; and each staff member would have seen a decent % of them - nobody could have seen them all. Did a great trade in subtitled foreign content; also did multi rental bundle deals with the pizza place next door.

I understand why people prefer streaming services - pay once, get all you can at any time of day or night without it ever being unavailable etc.

Another reason the shops were better than on demand TV services: you had to actually get off your arse and walk or cycle there. You got some exercise too, less obesity

Ubbquittious · 16-05-2020 11:14pm

My family moved to Ireland from Netherlands back in the 70s and stayed. They never sorry they moved but we always lived in the countryside, had nothing to do with the Catholic church. At times money was a problem and my granddad had to go back for a year or 2 to work. Loads of people moved to west Cork back in the day from abroad and most of them had pretty good lives.

the beer revolu · 17-05-2020 10:57am

Ubbquittious wrote: »

My family moved to Ireland from Netherlands back in the 70s and stayed. They never sorry they moved but we always lived in the countryside, had nothing to do with the Catholic church. At times money was a problem and my granddad had to go back for a year or 2 to work. Loads of people moved to west Cork back in the day from abroad and most of them had pretty good lives.

Did they start making cheese?
We owe our farmhouse cheese industry to immigrants.

the beer revolu · 17-05-2020 11:19am

Anyone remember renting VCR machines from ExtraVision?
Machine and a few tapes for the weekend was just the thing between a few friends.

Also renting games consoles.

Although, I'm probably talking early 90s,here.

fryup · 17-05-2020 11:42am

fryup wrote: »

ireland v world champions italy in 85

Zaph wrote: »

1982
I was at that game as well, Paul McGrath's Ireland debut. My father and I came in from the North Circular, and it was madness there. We stayed until half time and decided that it was just too scary and went home. How people weren't killed that night it a mystery to me, it was a disgrace how many they let in. Even more annoying because we actually had tickets for the game.

it was mayhem, typical of the laxed attitude at the time...health & safety?? pfft you would have been laughed at at the mere mention of it

here are so more pics from that shambolic night, you had spectators right on top of the italian bench, not to mention on side of the pitch...an absolute joke...god knows what the italians thought of us after that shambles

Edgware · 17-05-2020 11:46am

the purple tin wrote: »

Going in to the video shop to rent a fillum or two. There were small local shops before Xtravision came along. Browsing the shelves trying to work out if a fillum would any good by the box cover.

Way more fun than netflix etc.

And the poor suckers who thought it a great ldea to buy life membership of the Video Shop

cj maxx · 17-05-2020 11:50am

malinheader wrote: »

Mammy the teacher gave me a slap at school today.
Whack!! And wait till your father gets home your going get worse than that. 1980s home education.

Nah that's not the 80's.
That was just your house I'm afraid.
Though the cane was amply used as discipline in national school . Bamboo sticks, the square trim from a desk and a slap were all used to 'discipline' me . It completely backfired though.

Edgware · 17-05-2020 11:51am

Trips to Jonesborough to buy toilet rolls, transistors. Then we had the local lad who would take orders for fireworks and trays of lager, travel to Newry and bring them back South.
He used give bars of chocolate to the police at the Newry Bridge checkpoint but fireworks and lager was the least of their problems

Edgware · 17-05-2020 11:55am

cj maxx wrote: »

Nah that's not the 80's.
That was just your house I'm afraid.
Though the cane was amply used as discipline in national school . Bamboo sticks, the square trim from a desk and a slap were all used to 'discipline' me . It completely backfired though.

We had a bit of that in National School but by the time we got to secondary we had only the rare exception where a teacher would react to something with a clatter. ( Although to be fair we did fairly incite it)

malinheader · 17-05-2020 12:01pm

Edgware wrote: »

We had a bit of that in National School but by the time we got to secondary we had only the rare exception where a teacher would react to something with a clatter. ( Although to be fair we did fairly incite it)

Same as that. Any slap I got I deserved. Looking back now I actually feel sorry for some of the teachers we had.

malinheader · 17-05-2020 12:03pm

Buying condoms back then would be like trying to buy drugs nowadays.

Edgware · 17-05-2020 12:08pm

malinheader wrote: »

Buying condoms back then would be like trying to buy drugs nowadays.

We didnt go to Manchester and Liverpool just for the football! Playboy and Durex were also on the shopping list!

fryup · 17-05-2020 12:12pm

^^^^^^^^^^^

as well as "durty" mags

the beer revolu · 17-05-2020 12:16pm

malinheader wrote: »

Same as that. Any slap I got I deserved. Looking back now I actually feel sorry for some of the teachers we had.

I wish I could say the same.
We had a primary school teacher who thought he could beat knowledge into children.

Maths tables were tested every morning with anyone who made a mistake lined up to receive a stick, hard, across the fingers.

I would spend hours with family members learning the tables but the sheer terror of the moment meant that I mostly made mistakes and had to line up for punishment.

To this day, my mental arithmetic is terrible and I lay the blame firmly at the feet of Mr. O' Leary from St. Anthony's boys school, Ballinlough.

I never recall being beaten over disciplinary issues.

Same man was extremely religious and pious but seemed to take pleasure from beating children.

Some prick. Dead now, I assume. I often fantasised about intimidating him as an old man.

Ger Roe · 17-05-2020 12:17pm

D3V!L wrote: »

Curley Wurley bars were a foot long

We had proper summers where it was 45 degree's for 3 months

You could get 8 kids in an estate sitting in the boot and arm rests

House doors could be left open because no one ever got burgled

Ahh those were the days

In our 1970's housing estate, all the back doors in every house, had the same key. It was considered a great idea because if you ever got locked out, the back door could be opened with your neighbours key..... genius

Simpler and obviously more trustworthy times.

fryup · 17-05-2020 12:21pm

@ the beer revolu

let it go - not healthy to have such pent up anger in your system

malinheader · 17-05-2020 12:22pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

I wish I could say the same.
We had a primary school teacher who thought he could beat knowledge into children.

Maths tables were tested every morning with anyone who made a mistake lined up to receive a stick, hard, across the fingers.

I would spend hours with family members learning the tables but the sheer terror of the moment meant that I mostly made mistakes and had to line up for punishment.

To this day, my mental arithmetic is terrible and I lay the blame firmly at the feet of Mr. O' Leary from St. Anthony's boys school, Ballinlough.

I never recall being beaten over disciplinary issues.

Same man was extremely religious and pious but seemed to take pleasure from beating children.

Some prick. Dead now, I assume. I often fantasised about intimidating him as an old man.

That's totally horrible and an evil way to treat a child. . I was posting about my own experiences and definitely wasn't trying to justify some of the punishment that was carried out..

the beer revolu · 17-05-2020 12:26pm

malinheader wrote: »

That's totally horrible and an evil way to treat a child. . I was posting about my own experiences and definitely wasn't trying to justify some of the punishment that was carried out..

Oh, I wasn't suggesting that you were, at all.

Your post just reminded me of that godly cnut.

malinheader · 17-05-2020 12:34pm

Living close to the border always remember driving into the north every Sunday evening to fill the car up for the week. Other way around now.
Also when I was alot younger remember my mother making us hide things like jeans, coats and shoes when coming past the customs. Laughable now.

Edgware · 17-05-2020 1:16pm

As the song goes "the border is a way of life"

I know people in Dundalk who have online bank accounts North and South and have built up a nice sum of money just by transferring each way depending on currency rates.
Handy way to make money when you have no immediate demand on the cash.

FVP3 · 17-05-2020 1:31pm

denismc wrote: »

I remember the news from the 80's was pretty full on,
You had;
Shergar,
Hunger Strikes,
Kidnappings,
The Border Fox
Bombings every other day
Kerry Babies,
Moving Statues,
Charlie Haughy
Cold War shenanigans.

These days Serena Wiliams throwing strops on a tennis court is what passes for news, what dull times we live in.

This post ( from 2018) didn't age well.

imme · 17-05-2020 1:49pm

https://brandnewretro.ie/2017/02/08/citizens-of-dublin-1985/

Here are some Dubs from 35 years ago

mikemac2 · 17-05-2020 2:19pm

malinheader wrote: »

Buying condoms back then would be like trying to buy drugs nowadays.

I'd like to buy co...co...co....cotton wool

There was a roaring trade in cotton wool in those days

The 70's and 80's in Ireland

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