The Baby Boomers of the post war years

I’m one of them.

Much is being said in the MSM, about  how we had it all.

I beg to differ. I was brought up as a child under rationing. Central heating didn’t exist. It was usual to have ice forming on the inside of our bedroom windows.

Mortgages were just as strict as they are today.

The main difference in my mind, is that my generation eschewed the fripperies of life that the modern generation seem to think is their right.

My first house:

No TV until we could afford to buy an old second hand black and white set. That took five years.

No fridge, and certainly no American fridge freezer, complete with Icemaker.

Second hand furniture, as an when we could afford to buy it.

No phone until we could afford it. Let alone mobile phones which seem to be an essential item these days.

Washing machine. Don’t make me laugh. We did it in the kitchen sink, by hand.

Children. We waited until we could afford to raise them. Eminently sensible to me.

Car. The cheapest banger I could afford.

Driven to school. Petrol rationing was in force. You either cycled or walked. (Dodging the predatory packs of paedophiles – not)

Kitchen. No bespoke kitchen. Just a second hand freestanding cooker that fulfilled the basic needs. Dish washer. The thing  of dreams.

Hi Fi, Video recorder, toaster, computer, food processor, a shower. Nope.

40 hour week. For the first twenty years of my career, 70 hours was the norm.

Paternity leave. My boss would have laughed his head off if I’d dared to ask

Holidays. Apart from our honeymoon, these didn’t exist. (If you can believe that a week in Benidorm is a holiday).

Help from my parents. They couldn’t possibly afford it. they were living on the breadline at that time.

This leads me to the purpose of this post.

Mrs FE and myself have spent a considerable amount of money in assisting our three kids to becoming home owners. Now we could have spent it on exotic holidays or flashy cars. But no. We both came to the same decision without any discussion that it was the right thing to do. (OMG. I’m starting to sound like David Cameron.*)

My parents couldn’t afford to do this but I’m sure they would have if they could.

So my philosophy is adapt to the times  you live in. Complaining about others having it better is just admitting to yourself that you’re a failure.

If you want something hard enough, then just go and get it. If not. Stop whingeing.

*washes mouth out with soap and water

Symbolic

 

Written across the wall of the cave were the following symbols:

It was considered a unique find and the writings were said to be at least 3000 years old and archaeologists from around the world came to study the ancient symbols.
They held a huge meeting after months of conferences to discuss the meaning of the markings.
The President of the society pointed to first drawing and said:

"This is a woman. We can see these people held women in high esteem.

You can also tell they were intelligent, as the next symbol is a donkey, so they were smart enough to have animals help them till the soil.

The next drawing is a shovel, which means they had tools to help them. Even further proof of their high intelligence is the fish which means that if a famine hit the Earth and food didn't grow, they seek food from the sea.

The last symbol appears to be the Star of David which means they were evidently Hebrews.”
The audience applauded enthusiastically.

Then a little old Jewish man stood up in the back of the room and said,

 

"Idiots...Hebrew is read from right to left... It says: 'Holy Mackerel, Dig The Ass On That Chick"