As a great observer of British society (nay, a commentator on British social history), I believe that the fifties were indeed a Golden Era (hey, I was an innocent youngster myself at that time)! Very much a Meccano boy, I benefited not only from National Dried Milk, doses of Virol, and concentrated orange juice, but also greatly from the
character-building (or 'brutalizing', in modern parlance) experience of life as an army apprentice before my sixteenth birthday.
Did anyone else listen to the phone-in show on London local radio this morning? One could have become very depressed by all the talk of 90-year olds attacked in their 'secure' homes, the psychotic effects of cannabis, hoodies on every darkened street corner, teenager abortions and all the rest. But let's be objective, life has always been brutal in certain quarters, and for certain groups, in our Sceptred Isle. I prefer to believe that things in general grow better day on day, and that the issues people moan about today are largely brought about by actually
knowing about them (ie, people are not kept so much in the dark these days, what with the all-pervasive '
invasive? ' information revolution, and 'the media' in general).
By all means follow my lead and choose a period that suits you, and then live in it! It's simply a defence mechanism, after all. But remember that there was no internet in the 1950's (discuss).
