196LikesThere were certainly a lot of dark times in the 80s. We are still going through dark times. Hoodwinked for every decade since the beginning of the State.Originally Posted by Electric Sheep
There were certainly a lot of dark times in the 80s. We are still going through dark times. Hoodwinked for every decade since the beginning of the State.
Left for London in 87 joined my 4 brothers and what seemed like my whole school. spent 4 years working and drinking,would come home at Xmas spend every penny i had on drink. I remember the pubs been absolutely packed jammed for the whole 2 weeks we were all home from all over the world and then the realization you had to go back when the money ran out. I didn't really mind having to leave i was young and having a great time like most of the guys that left, we had no commitments no debt nothing to stay for . I knew i had to go i didn't want to be a burden on my parents. I spent the next two decades working in Europe, done OK for my self came home in 2005 and i DONT mind saying as bleak as it was in the 80s the people seemed to be nicer then. This generation of kids DONT know what its like to have no choice but to leave at the age of 17 because your family couldn't afford to keep you.
Last sat night i was standing at the ATM and heard two 20 year old girls talking about the night a head. one girl asked the other to take out another 50 yo yos as she didn't think the 200 yo yos she had was enough for the night. recession my arse.
Now there was a classy song among all the overblown 80s dross---"99 Red Balloons"---yeah.....remember it well...."There's something here from somewhere else.."
Everything in the 80s was too obvious and overblown for my taste--- (no wonder minimalism came in with such a rush, to replace it)----big flouncy polyester dresses with huge bows on the bum, for weddings and debs---think Fergie, Duchess of York....I scoured antique and vintage shops for my own 80s wedding dress, a straight simple silk dress ("a bit plain" was the verdict from the bridesmaid)
I loved nice fabric, but the silks, cashmeres, linens and even nice cottons that you now get in every basic chain store, were much rarer then....
In interior design you had those awful swags and tie-backs for curtains, and complicated paint-finishes on the walls, and striped borders on wallpaper.....I hated it all....
Was a jeans, desert boots & sweatshirt woman meself! Cut all the shoulder pads out of work uniforms. Hated dado rails with a passion.
Listen to 99 Red Balloons on Youtube. The introduction will be fine.
Now listen to 99 Luftbalons. Again just the intro.
Rather different mixes. Reflects the difference between the German and English markets I guess. That said, have a fluent German speaker read Lorelei to you (preferably in bed). The German language can be lyrical and languid.
I grew up in the 80's leaving school 1987 - I was lucky I got a job straight out of school and I held onto it since there were not a lot of jobs going at that time. Expectations were not as high as now - my parents had one banger to drive us around in, we didnt get a phone until I was 12 and we got one holiday a year - went by boat to the UK to visit family. My father worked and my mother did home sewing but they never seemed to have a lot to spend - going out for dinner or getting a takeaway was a great luxury. Now people expect more and are not happy with their lot - no such thing as living by your means - its all plastic and paying on the drip - my parents only paid cash and if they didnt have it then it was not spent. My kids think I get free money from the hole in the wall- they are not used to being told No when them want to go somewhere or get something - not saying I would like to go back to the 80's but in some ways at least you appreciated what you had.
My dad worked for Bord Na Mona for 40 years and i remember in the 80s we hardly saw him as he was working what seemed to me as day and night. He seemed to me to be always angry and bitter, always giving out. I remember i was about 12 and i found one of his pay slips and i remember the Gross pay was over £800 and after tax it was less than £400. His nearly 80 now and i asked him recently why was he so angry all the time when we were growing up, There were 8 kids . He nearly broke down as he told me about his job Harvesting peat on the bogs of Ireland for the power stations working 16 hour days some times 7 days or nights a week to be fleeced by the government and then watch all his sons immigrate. Not just us but all our neighbors to. Its only now that I'm a man and understand the travesty of what has happened in this country not just in the 80s but since the foundation of the state up until the present day.
Last edited by amsterdemmetje; 11th December 2011 at 05:15 AM.
A "Like" isn't good enough for a post as brilliant as this, you have put it all in a nutshell! I hope your Father is alive still, but then, his fuel allowance has been cut back, after working his back off for the ESB.
I feel for the vulnerable. We paid massive tax & massive interest rates in our early years of marriage, now we get hit again!!!
You said it.At the end of the day there's still plenty of people doing well but there's people out there who are really struggling.It's irritating to listen to people still getting great money that they're getting less than what they had a few years ago.
The problem today is debt. Loans were not easy to get back then, and people tended to save when they wanted to buy a car or whatever. I fear the problems today are worse in many cases.
