Unstuffed
When I was a small child some things were, on the face of it, better. There was much less traffic, so I could go out in the side street and practise cycling in figures of eight, or roller skating, whilst only rarely having to get out of the way of a car. I could wander off with my friends (known as Playing Out) and just wander back again when we got hungry. When I went to the shops on my bike I just propped it outside and it would still be there when I came out.
Oh yes, on and on she goes - - how things were better in the Olden Days of the early 1960s, which really weren’t so very long ago.
But lots of things weren’t better in those days, and one of them was the generalised stuffiness and formality of things. My mother and grandmother wore gloves to go to town, for goodness’ sake, even if it was July.
Men wore suits for work and women wore formal blouses and skirts. My mother was, I swear, the first female teacher in Leeds to wear a revolutionary item of dress called a “trouser suit” to work. She had two: one was orange and the other was pink. I think the matter was probably raised in Parliament, but she got away with it, just.
And oh, the stuffiness of restaurants! Eating out was such a rare thing, in our household anyway, and so formal with all those knives and forks and wondering which to use and worrying about spilling stuff on the crisp white tablecloths and being told to sit up straight and to keep your elbows off the table.
These days, of course, restaurants are everywhere. Emily, Gareth and I were in an inexpensive one tonight in Huddersfield where the staff were polite, friendly and helpful and the service was quick (“Your meal will be about twelve minutes but I will bring you the garlic bread in three.”) It was lively and informal and the food was simple and good.
One of the things I remember most from trips out when I was small was the constant worry about doing the wrong thing and making some social gaffe. One of the biggest changes over the past decades is that Britain is getting itself unstuffed and I think that’s great.
Oh yes, on and on she goes - - how things were better in the Olden Days of the early 1960s, which really weren’t so very long ago.
But lots of things weren’t better in those days, and one of them was the generalised stuffiness and formality of things. My mother and grandmother wore gloves to go to town, for goodness’ sake, even if it was July.
Men wore suits for work and women wore formal blouses and skirts. My mother was, I swear, the first female teacher in Leeds to wear a revolutionary item of dress called a “trouser suit” to work. She had two: one was orange and the other was pink. I think the matter was probably raised in Parliament, but she got away with it, just.
And oh, the stuffiness of restaurants! Eating out was such a rare thing, in our household anyway, and so formal with all those knives and forks and wondering which to use and worrying about spilling stuff on the crisp white tablecloths and being told to sit up straight and to keep your elbows off the table.
These days, of course, restaurants are everywhere. Emily, Gareth and I were in an inexpensive one tonight in Huddersfield where the staff were polite, friendly and helpful and the service was quick (“Your meal will be about twelve minutes but I will bring you the garlic bread in three.”) It was lively and informal and the food was simple and good.
One of the things I remember most from trips out when I was small was the constant worry about doing the wrong thing and making some social gaffe. One of the biggest changes over the past decades is that Britain is getting itself unstuffed and I think that’s great.
posted by Daphne at 9:44 pm
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