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Carol M Creasey.

                                          A Nostalgic Look Back at the 1950s.

When Elvis appeared on the scene, I was a teenager, still at school, and it seemed like every girl in my class was totally smitten by him. We used to meet up every Saturday afternoon, with our full skirts and whalebone petticoats, and spend the afternoon jiving to his records.

My best friend was a Cliff Richard fan, and was convinced that if she could ever meet him, he would marry her. We used to drink coffee and chat about how we could sort it, as I knew Elvis would never marry me, because he never came to England. I resigned myself to  suffering the pain of unrequited love, because in my mind, no-one could possibly love him as much as I did.

We didn’t have mobile phones, ipods, computers, dvds, or even videos, but life was still wonderful. Twice a week , after I left school and started work at the age of 16, we went to the ORCHID  BALLROOM at Purley, and we saw such acts as JOHNIE KIDD AND THE PIRATES, ADAM FAITH, AND MARY WILDE. It was amazing to be dancing so close to where they performed, and if  any of them happened to catch our eye, and wink, we were in heaven.

We usually shared a taxi home, but walking round the streets at night was considered safe,  and never did I know of anyone who took drugs at these events. Certainly none of my friends did, it was something in my naivety, I was totally unaware of in those wonderful carefree days.

We had such freedom to go out and about, walking was commonplace, but there was only one car in our family, which my father took to work, so travelling on buses and trains was all quite normal for me. It was rare for  Dad to give me a lift anywhere, he was never around, and it wasn’t expected, as we were totally independent.

When I remember those days, it is with a great deal of fondness, like everyone else I have a mobile phone, but sometimes it’s more trouble than it’s worth. As for the computer, it’s a great way of communicating, especially with emails being so quick and easy. I  always did hate writing letters.

 So I suppose I would say that life is much easier these days, and I like that. It’s no longer necessary to spend hours cooking in the kitchen , no need to darn socks, just buy new ones, the list is endless, but in spite of all that, I can still enjoy a nostalgic look back to the 1950s.