I’ve concluded that 1982 was preferable

Lounge
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Let me explain.

I was in a relatively modest role in the MoD (had recently worked with @davidhendon!).

Kids used to play in the local park after school.

I got engaged to my late wonderful wife, we bought a house for £30k.

We never considered our mental health.

We commuted to work every day on the Jubilee Line, it never failed, notwithstanding strike days.

I had a 10 year old Ford Escort 1.3L, it never broke down. When it needed a replacement clutch a mechanic friend replaced it in 2 hours.

I could see a GP the same day.

Life expectancy was if you were fortunate 80s probably.

I could listen to the radio all day on FM without drop outs.

I bought records which required cleaning but on a relatively good TT sounded great, no fretting about metadata or switches.

We went to the cinema, it didn’t have surround Dolby nonsense but it didn’t blast your head off.

You could take a train somewhere on a saver return ticket and get a seat.

Now:

In an equivalent role in MoD buy a house, forget it.

Parents are on the look out in the local park where I was brought up because of stabbings and narcotics.

I’m told the Jubilee Line has delays every week, sometimes daily.

Cars are probably more reliable but my neighbour 3 doors away had an electric VW and the electrical problems are never ending.

See a GP, forget it for 2 weeks.

Life expectancy is decreasing.

Internet radio quite often drops out, and DAB in the car, useless.

I grant I love streaming but when you brought a record, or CD, you just played it, you didn’t sit in front a screen for 10 minutes ensuring that Mozart was identified as the composer and not the artist.

Cinemas these days are just awful, deafening, and whilst it’s good to be smoke free the stench of the popcorn, yuk.

Well take a train, no thanks and I love rail travel.

I’m now going to take off the rose tinted glasses but I do feel better for venting!

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+ves Mrs Thompson for maths
-ves Mr Hunt for french and he was a complete #%^+%%#

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There were only 4.4 billion of us b*ggers to cater for…

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Pop and rock music was also MUCH better in 1982.
Granted, I prefer my 65 inch OLED TV to the 20 inch CRTs of the day.
I prefer 4K discs and streaming to VHS tapes.

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In 1982 I spent a month in München, sleeping and eating, with money earned as music copyist. I had Sergiu Celibidache and the Münchner Philharmoniker daily from 9 to 13 in their probensaal, along with 100+ other students. The fee was the equivalent of €150 or so.
No man personally owned the equivalent of a small nation’s balance and was able to influence the course of the affairs of half the planet.

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Different sets of problems, I think.

Little choice in TV and radio stations compared to now and whilst I am not that bothered by TV, having more radio stations that cater for less mainstream musical tastes is a big plus.

The internet, despite the many issues with it, has brought many good things.

Housing costs are ridiculous in much of the UK, I guess this could be the same in many other countries.

In '82, we had the spectre of nuclear Armageddon due to the Cold War becoming much hotter; now, we have a range of threats that could lead to the same thing.

Lots of great new music if you go looking for it beyond the mainstream and I am still find new bands and solo acts that I like, Bandcamp is a definite benefit now.

Cars are so much better now and reliable, the downside is they are much harder to service and fix yourself which I did.

Now we have induction cooker hobs, the speed of gas without the mess and pollution of gas.

Overall, I think I prefer now to 1982, but life is still far from perfect for too many people around the world.

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Thanks guys, yes as I say probably rose tinted glasses by yours truly!

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whilst the olden days had a lot going for them, mental health awareness is far better nowadays, which I think is a big plus

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How’s it going with prevention & treatment these days?

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… and in 1982, I purchased my first Naim Audio equipment, a NAC42/NAP110 pre/power, which I used with Linn Kans. It wasn’t cheap but for the upgrade that it offered, I thought the price was reasonable. I wonder how much Naim Audio’s entry level pre/power costs these days.

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I guess it depends on how old you are but I tend to agree with the OP. In my case I did buy our first house in 1982 for £19k in Swindon but later that year I worked for a while in (West) Germany (Salzgitter near Hanover) which was interesting but a mixed bag of experiences. I also bought my Gyrodec in the early 80s that I still have.

The mid/ late 70s were probably the Halcyon days for me. I had a blast.

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Near the end of the video, the host compares the 1982 top 10, to the current day. Yikes…

This Perfect 1982 Top 10 Will Make You Wonder What The HELL Happened To MUSIC? | Professor of Rock

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Indeed, but fond memories by the sounds of it Lindsay.

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I think there are many characteristics of society from the early 80s that many on here probably have not really been subjected to…homophobia; racism (casual); gender inequality etc.

Be under no illusion that I am suggesting they aren’t issues now but i think we have collectively made huge strides in the right direction.

Pick up a Red Top newspaper from 1982…it would be somewhat shocking reading it now…

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Undoubtedly. I dare say that life is much worse for too many people around the world.

As for now vs then, I too prefer now but only because now is always the only safe refuge from past and future…

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  1. Passed my driving test, went to University, met friends who are still my friends today, could afford to drink 8 pints, could actually DRINK 8 pints and get up the next day like it was nothing. Ate everything in sight and didn’t get fat, walked everywhere, miles and miles every day, had Student railcard, :grin:Bucks Fizz at#1 :man_facepalming:t3:
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Must have narrowly missed you, I spent 8 weeks in the summer of 1982 in München.

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In 1982 I could drive into the West End from the suburbs most days, stick the car on the meter during the day or park for free in the evening.

Getting in at Ronnie Scotts was £2 with student membership or about £8 without I think, for 4 sets of music.

On a negative side - books seemed very expensive and records were not exactly cheap either. Buying a house was a challenge - very high interest rates and a good record of saving for several years with the building society before they would deem to lend.

Cars were rustbuckets and full of quirks. The gear handle of my Cortina came loose from the mechanism at the base whilst manoevering in a garage, leaving me holding it unconnected to car !

Beer was affordable.

London rents - not exactly cheap even then but it was still possible to find and rent a basic flat on modest means. Heating etc. could be archaic though.

Working for MoD - a much bigger organisation back then with some great in-house capabilities, although Nott’s cuts were on their way.

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Swings and roundabouts to some extent in terms of technology. By far the biggest change here in New Zealand is housing affordability. Or non-affordability to be more precise. We have second and third generation families living in our street and the Kiwi dream of owning your own house is now achievable for most young people. On the other hand, inter-generational living at home can also be a good thing.

Certainty crime and social cohesion has gone backwards here too.

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I think it depends on the country.

It’s 2025 and my kids have just gone to the local park after school (after drawing rainbows and stars all over our driveway in coloured chalk!).

We bought our first home at the age of 33 in the Tokyo area. And built our second a decade later.

I can see a GP the same day without an appointment.

I listen to the radio all day without dropouts.

OTOH, it takes two people with decent jobs working full time to afford a home and raise kids now. And you practically need to sell a kidney to afford fresh fruit and veg. In 1982, one working parent was enough.

When I go back to visit the UK, I’m reminded of how “difficult” it can be to live. Certainly in 1982, my mum would have just left a toddler me with any one of several neighbours in the village which would not happen now - assuming you even knew your neighbours’ names.

I think life in most developed countries can be extremely nice, but the financial threshold at which that good life is attainable has changed dramatically. f you have enough money, you can still live somewhere in the UK where your kids can go to the park unsupervised; you can make someone fix your car in 2hrs; and get a private GP to see you. But you probably need to be in the top 0.5% for that. Whereas the same things are readily available in another country to everyone except the bottom 1%.

It’s a known feature (not a bug) that our memories are viewed with rose tinted glasses. Psychiatrists have long understood that people filter out bad memories and retain the good ones. The prime example is that the majority of people had a pretty horrible time at school. But the same majority look back on their school days with fondness and nostalgia. It happened one way but is remembered another. Though I had a truly horrible time at school and also remember it as such. But I have mates who went through the same stuff and all they do is talk about it as “the good ol’ days”.

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