Admittedly this is in central London in the 1930s, an area where poor EastEnders dropping aitches everywhere would not be but there was something very telling in the colourised clip from back then.
I did watch the whole eight minute clip but you will see enough in the first location if you give it two and half minutes. In the clip I saw one stout man. The rest of the men were not and so nicely dressed.
As for the women, they looked stunning; beautifully dressed and not one person with a weight problem to be seen. I think we have really got something wrong with our diets and exercise in the twenty first century, me included.
I should leave out that many children in England back then suffered Rickets because of malnutrition and hence vitamin deficiency. Ah yes. I don't know the location and no doubt I could research, but save me the time and tell me where it is if you know.
That is Piccadilly. Slum clearance commenced in the early 1930s throughout Britain. Cooking and thrift were part of life. Now it is political and somebody else's fault.
ReplyDeleteThanks heaps Rachel. I had a look at Piccadilly Circus with Street View and most of the buildings are still there even if the intersection looks very different. We didn't begin slum clearance here in Melbourne until the 50 and 60s and the high rise towers that replaced the slums were not a great social success. The slums that weren't cleared away are now very desirable and expensive properties, being only a few kilometres from the city.
DeleteYou are right. Mind you I can well remember when going 'into town' meant dressing up. And thanks to Rachel for telling us where this clip was shot.
ReplyDeleteHa ha yes ... we stilll wore gloves in town in the 1950s.
DeleteEC, yes I too remember the extra grooming and dressing to 'go to town'. No Mother, do not spit on your fingers to fix up my hair.
DeleteHels, I can't really remember gloves being worn on the street, my grandmother always wore a hat and gloves to church into the 1970s.
DeleteHow funny. This exchange brought back something to me. My mother was getting ready to walk into town. She did not drive. She had my brother in a stroller and my sister and I were walking with her. She put on her gloves, and a hat, and asked my father if the seams on her stockings were straight and off we went.
Delete60 years later, I wonder why, since my father was home, he wasn't driving us.
But back to it: I remember gloves.
That's a nice recollection Debby. No exactly the city but a popular shopping centre, my mother told me once how her grandfather had bought his first car and he would drive to the shopping area in the car while Mother's grandmother and her children would travel there and meet him using a horse and sulky. Sulky being some sort of horse drawn cart.
DeleteLots of slender folks. Do you think they walked more then than we do today?
ReplyDeleteSandra, most definitely. Even now in large cities with good public transport like New York and Chicago, public transport users walk much more and are much fitter than those in outer suburbs who drive everywhere.
DeleteSurprised for the clarity and colour of the clip. Great times
ReplyDeleteRoentare, I think so much work has been done on the clip, and yes very well done.
DeleteLoved the train station - and the porters rushing down the platform eager to get a job.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice bit of history Cathy. We owe much thanks to those who filmed such scenes back then.
DeleteYou are right. Circus. I never say that correctly. It sounds so strange to my ear, even with the explanation.
DeleteAccording to the source, it is Piccadily Circle, Trafalgar Square. and random train shots.
ReplyDeleteDebby, I did recognise Trafalgar Square. Circle or Circus?
DeleteI have recipe books from decades ago and our serving sizes have ballooned. As have we.
ReplyDeleteCaro, I often wonder how one roast chicken in my childhood could feed four adults and three children.
DeleteHome grown chickens were decently sized before becoming dinner. The ones you buy now in supermarkets are barely old enough to cluck.
DeleteThat was so good to see everyday life in London then when my parents were there in their teens and early twenties. I have photos of them dressed like that. My granddad worked as a porter on a station like that, Fenchurch Street Station.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it Diane. your collection of photographs knows no bounds. I only know Fenchurch Station from Monopoly, not even where it is. .
DeleteThank you for this historical clip!
ReplyDeleteI am pleased you liked it Darla, and thank you for all your comments on my new blog.
DeleteI watched the whole thing. So many buses and not a single traffic light. Everyone slim and nicely dressed, almost everyone with a hat.
ReplyDeleteRickets was a direct result of lack of vitamin D and sunshine. We all know that England isn't a sunny country, in the cities where many didn't get out to play in parks perhaps, kids just didn't get enough. And of course the connection wasn't known at first.
Thanks River. It is a great clip and so much work has gone into to make it presentable for the 21st century. Ah, so not malnourishment but lack of sunshine. Even in the 19th century rich people used to ensure their children were walked outside often, so obviously the outdoors was seen as beneficial back then.
DeleteAlso, there wasn't the almost constant snacking between meals as is done today. We seem to not be able to make it from breakfast to lunch and then to dinner without a little something to "see us through", then there are the meals out, with restaurants and pubs serving huge portions, which people then replicate at home.
ReplyDeleteAll quite true River. Do you know how hard it is to buy a simple sandwich for lunch? I resort to supermarket or 711 packaged sandwiches, more highly priced than a basic sandwich was but your just can't buy a simple sandwich now.
DeleteI make my own. You can too. You'll save calories as well as $$$
DeleteLoved the video Andrew. Different times and people back then. We drive most places now, children don't ride their bikes or walk to school anymore, so many things have changed including the medical information today is far superior than in years gone past.. Women always wore a hat to town, my mum did back in the day..
ReplyDeleteMargaret, what doctors and medicine can now do is amazing. I would guess hats to town lingered a little in your town.
DeleteDon't forget that at that time there were only the rich and the poor. The rich could afford good food coming from their farmers, the land belonged to the royals, while the poors had to eat the cheapest food. The people you see on the video are the wealthy once who had time for a walk or shopping in London, the others had to work 12 h in factories or land. Was not an easy life for the population.
ReplyDeleteQuite true Gattina. The film clip is really focused on richer people.
DeleteI think back then although there were busses and trains, people walked most of the time. Also no computers and TV. So being active and enjoying the outdoors was probably their entertainment.
ReplyDeleteMaribeth, yes people were so much more active then and I do think they ate smaller amounts of food and much less fat and sugar.
DeleteI was in London a lot in the sixties (free travel) and I remember the Bovril sign in Piccadilly. An incredible film Andrew.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
M, it's amazing that the sign is still there. Thanks.
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