Not all baby boomers live the life of Riley
Of COURSE we baby boomers had it easy (Mail)! I was born in 1948 to a household with no bathroom, no hot water and no inside toilet. I was four before I tasted a banana or a fresh orange. We had no telephone and no TV. We played outside in all weathers, with a skipping rope and ball. I got married at 17, and husbands were providers in those days so I didn’t go out to work. But I had no washing machine, no vacuum cleaner and no carpets — just rag rugs on the floor. By the time our first wedding anniversary came around, we had a baby due and I couldn’t get the clothes dry: my husband bought me a spin drier. Nappies were boiled in a metal pail on top of the cooker. Our first house cost us £1,400 at a time when my husband’s wages were £4 a week. This went on the mortgage, food and keeping a moped on the road so he could get to work. We worked on the house when we had time and money, putting in a bathroom — what luxury! Our son’s clothes, even trousers, were made from off-cuts of material, hand-stitched by me. My husband worked 16 hours a day, seven days a week to earn enough to live on. When our son was five and at school, I got a job washing up in school so I was at home when he was home. This eased the burden a bit on my husband and we saved up and bought another house. I got my first washing machine when our son was seven. Our first holiday was when he was 13 and we went to Majorca for a week. We’re now pensioners and have a decent home and a small amount of savings so we don’t struggle quite as much, but we still have to watch the pennies. We have good holidays but we worked hard all our lives for these. There are many like us who never had it easy but were happier than most of today’s whingers who think life owes them a living and that their parents or grandparents should provide for them. They should be like we were and go without their luxuries. We can’t afford your mobile phone bills, drinks bills, clothes bills or entertainment bills. So get on with your lives, as we did: you may even find the happiness you seek. Mrs DOROTHY DOBSON,
Gislingham, Suffolk.