Hey Nostalgiacs!
Hope everyone is doing OK after the last few months we've had to endure. Lockdown rules are starting to be relaxed in various parts of the world, and this is being met with mixed reactions. Not to mention confusion! Life as we've known it these last few months is coming to an end... at least we hope it is. Some people have had a terrible time being stuck at home, not being able to visit their families, socialize, or go to work (for those who love their jobs!) At some point we've all felt the effects of having to self-quarantine, especially for the length of time that we've had to stay at home.
So what have you all been doing while isolating at home? Me? Getting my nostalgia fix of course! Definitely my way of taking my mind off things and destressing. Seventies comedies, eighties quiz shows, and nineties dramas... maybe I've just got too much time on my hands but I'm enjoying this stroll down televisual memory lane. And one thing I've been addicted to lately are old episodes of EastEnders.
I do keep up with the current goings-on in Albert Square - my family and I have been watching the soap since it first hit our screens - but I won't lie... I much prefer episodes of EastEnders from back in the day. Anything up to about 2010 is more my thing. The characters, the storylines, the dialogue, the writing, the quality of the acting... all so much better and stronger.
Right now I'm watching EastEnders episodes from the mid-2000s. A lot of EastEnders fans hail this period as the soap's last great era - and I'm inclined to agree with them. Back then the soap wasn't about educating it's audience or pushing some social or moral agenda every other episode. It was purely about entertainment and enjoyment - primarily what soaps used to be about, and just perfect when you want to relax after you get in from work.
What EastEnders looked like in the mid-2000s
The EastEnders cast during the 2000s were stellar, and the combination of characters just seemed to work well together. You had your stalwarts and matriarchs (Pat, Peggy, Pauline and Dot) Your Jack-the-lads (Alfie Moon, Julius Smith, and Paul Trueman) the good guys (Anthony Trueman, Gus Smith, and Derek Harkinson) your gobby but good-natured families (the Slaters and the Millers) the hard men and gangsters (the Mitchell brothers, Den Watts, Jack Dalton, Andy Hunter) and not forgetting some beautiful love stories (Sharon and Dennis, Kat and Alfie, Dot and Jim) All of these characters had an interesting story to tell which most of us could relate to - rather than a message that was constantly being rammed down our throats! Despite the fact that I still regularly tune in to EastEnders - and Christmas EastEnders is still very much a family tradition - watching these old episodes again made me realise that something is missing from modern day EastEnders. And I'm not sure if this era of classic EastEnders can ever be replicated again.
Another thing that back-in-the-day EastEnders reminded me of were memories of my family as we all sat down together to watch that night's episode. Back when EastEnders was absolutely unmissable, everything stopped so that we could catch up with the latest goings-on in the lives of the Walford residents, and we would always watch the show together as a family. There was a humour in EastEnders back then that's rarely seen today and a lot of those one-liners had us howling - with my brother going on to repeat them every opportunity he got!
And all this catching up on classic EastEnders has been the inspiration behind a future post regarding one of my favourite Enders' storyline - one that I think had it all! So watch out for that.
Many of us have been at home since the pandemic took hold and caused chaos all around the world. And while we have more important things to worry about than what we're going to wear every day, thoughts did turn to 'at home' fashion or lounge wear from the latter part of the twentieth century, when it appeared that staying at home was not an excuse to dress down. Check out our post on at-home fashion inspiration from the 1960s onwards. Many of us don't have at-home wear but perhaps it's time we revived this section of our wardrobes...
Writing this post brought up the subject of housecoats and reminded me of my childhood years, when lots of women had at least one housecoat in their wardrobe. My mum used to have this very pretty, black and white cotton number with bell sleeves and tiny flowers that could be tied at the waist. She wore that loads back in the early eighties, and I really wish she hadn't had got rid of it.
Hester Fields with the housecoat I want so badly!
And those of you who were avid fans of eighties sitcom Fresh Fields (thanks for the heads up on this episode, MJ!) will remember that absolutely stunning, slinky, blue housecoat Hester once wore. If I owned something that gorgeous, I'd want to be seen in it so badly it wouldn't just be a housecoat it would be a work-coat, supermarket-coat, cinema-coat, romantic-dinner-for-two-at-the-local-restaurant coat, wear-it-wherever-you-want-coat...
And another thing...
...Why doesn't anyone wear a housecoat anymore? In fact when was the last time you heard someone use the word 'housecoat?'
I remember the time when Mr. D and I were on our way to work one morning, back when we lived in England, and we spotted a milk float. At a risk of sounding like a couple of people who don't get out much - and maybe we need to after this - we got all excited! Neither of us could remember the last time we saw a milkman doing the rounds on his milk float, when as kids we used to see them every morning. Furthermore, Mr. D said he didn't think milkmen existed in the States any more (if you're a milkman in America, please feel free to prove us wrong!)
The current situation regarding the global pandemic has meant that milkmen have been back doing their rounds on a greater scale than in the last few years and have become the unsung heroes of the hour, delivering milk and other essentials to those who are unable to go out and about. Whereas I once thought that milkmen were extinct or facing extinction, if there are any positives that come out of this situation, I hope it's that the milk float becomes a regular sight as it once was. I absolutely loved the segment on This Morning where Phil and Holly interviewed a milkman as he was doing his rounds. His exchange with a rather grumpy customer on live TV was highly amusing but the fact that he kept his cool proved what a pro he is. Long live the milkman!
Like most people, we used to get milk delivered to our door until about the late eighties. Unfortunately the reason why we stopped having milk delivered was because our house had been broken into. The neighbours were convinced it was the milk left on the doorstep for too long that gave away the fact that no one was at home at the time. This upset Mum a great deal as she had actually cancelled milk orders because at the time, her biggest fear was that the bottles of milk would be nicked off our doorstep. If only she knew! So after a very heated exchange with the milkman, Mum cancelled all orders once and for all, and took herself off down the shops if ever we needed milk. A sad end to many happy years of seeing our cheery milkman. Of course it was never his intention that we became the victims of a burglary but... if only he'd listened!
But I have no intention of holding the actions of one incompetent person against an entire occupation, and I still think that that milkmen (and yes, milkwomen too) rock. To get up at the time of the morning, and have to be pleasant and cheery all the time is no mean feat. So yes - let's hope the milkman/woman returns.
Check out our post of one of the most nostalgic sights - a milkman doing his rounds first thing in the morning on a milk float. Happy days!
Photos: YouTube
Word cloud: Angel Noire