Rugd1022 Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I was wondering if anyone else on the forum 'of a certain age' ever gets the feeling that they are stuck in a self inflicted timewarp, a maelstrom of nostalgic longing for all things past, when life was much less complicated, or at least seemed to be.....? As I edge ever closer to my 45th birthday, I find I'm looking back more and more and can't seem to shake off the 'mid life crisis' I sometimes think has enveloped me. Maybe deep down, I don't really want to..... Well here we are, two days into the new year and my dearly beloved said to me earlier today "you live in the past too much, that's your trouble!". I have to admit, it's not the first time she has uttered those words or something similar, but todays announcement that my outlook on modern life is not what it should be was prompted by me sitting down to watch another episode of my all time favourite TV show, The Sweeney. As the first advert break came up (they've thoughtfully left in the 'end of part one' / 'part two' titles on the dvds, complete with brief but all too intoxicating snatches of the theme tune), I thought to myself "blimey, she's right", as I was getting so absorbed in what went on in downtown Hammersmith circa 1975 I didn't want to come up for air so, to speak, in 2010. I realised then that for the past few years (especially 2009) I've watched almost no 'current' TV programmes whatsoever, no newly released blockbusters at the local cinema, and listened to hardly any 'new' music at all, preferring to indulge the old grey cells with bouts of The Sweeney, Man In A Suitcase, The Persauders, The Likely Lads, Get Carter and Robbery etc, usually accompanied by bottles of real ale. Even the cd player in my car isn't immune.... as well as The Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd and anything else pre-1973, my listening pleasure is given over to soundtrack cd's from all the TV shows and films mentioned above! Even though I've done virtually no modelling at all this year, my 'railway' thoughts always gravitate towards the pre-Tops era of dirty green and maroon hydraulics, musty old railway mags and the much lamented Blue Pullman. So, the more I look at what tickles my fancy when it comes to 'modern life', the more I realise I must be living in the past because....... I watch these guys and think of my Dad in his mid 1970s prime http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/REGANCARTERscreengrab.jpg I look at this and remember when they used to put the fear of God into me and my mates http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/100_7167.jpg I realised I loved them so much I bought two! http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/ROVERSBlagsterGreenMachine5.jpg I swear I can here these in my sleep http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/W108.jpg I can remember and long for a the time when much of our railway still looked like this http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/1693102.jpg And this http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/1693253.jpg And this http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/1693417.jpg I'd rather watch this than the X-Factor http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/ZZRBYgreat_train_robbery_1967.jpg I want one of these so bad! http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/2009-3-11_DolomiteSprintWeb-Large.jpg Is it just me? Nidge, News At Ten, 1973 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Just remember, Nidge, that nostalgia isn't what it used to be! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 the only modern invention id be interested in would be a time machine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 No - it's not just you! I think there is an element of this in everyone - it's human nature. I am a bit younger than you (36) but I still long for the past. I also watch the Sweeney regularly, miss the locomotives of old and the comfortable seating afforded by a mark one carriage. The nostalgic memories of riding the Thumpers to London for a day out with my parents. Not 100% convinced about the Rover TC I'm afraid - my Uncle had one and it made me travel sick. However, I can relate to the Dolomite Sprint - I would quite like one if I could get it in my garage with my everyday car. I also drive a pretty nostalgic car: By the way, I just showed this topic to my Mum - she said if you think it's bad now, wait until you get to your mid-60s! :icon_lol: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Don't panic, it only gets worse. By the time you get to my age, you'll be able to remember railways with steam engines Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 Glad it's not just me then Robert Mid 60s...? Stroll on, it's bad enough thinking I'll be into my 50s soon! The Rover was great when it behaved itself, I really miss driving it now, same goes for the 3500 V8 which followed it. All gone now, replaced by this... http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x38/rugd1022/DPV23.jpg Still yearning for another Rover though! Nidge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 And I feel sorry for all those too young to have experienced the last glorious years(pre 1963), before the final decline, of steam on BR. Now that was something to remember, yes I am guilty of sometimes revelling in the past, and why not?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 P6s! I love 'em! Is the green one on wire wheels? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 P6s! I love 'em! Is the green one on wire wheels? No Del, just standard wheels with 'S' trims. Wires were an early option on Series 1 P6s, they do look nice on the right car The green machine again... http://i186.photobuc...toGGN588J62.jpg Nidge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Sidecar Racer Posted January 2, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 2, 2010 Glad it's not just me then Robert Mid 60s...? Stroll on, it's bad enough thinking I'll be into my 50s soon! The Rover was great when it behaved itself, I really miss driving it now, same goes for the 3500 V8 which followed it. All gone now, replaced by this... http://i186.photobuc...d1022/DPV23.jpg Still yearning for another Rover though! Nidge Nidge , you have a car now that I want , all those that you have had , the classics that is , were all available new when I was in my late teens and working as an apprentice mechanic , I cant say I was a lover of the Rover 2000 , but the Dolly Sprint was a cracker your Mini , ooohhhh yes . I had a mini for many years , although it always had the same reg no it actualy went through two body changes , shall we say for momentary lapses in concentration . I would still love to own a genuine Cooper S , 1275 version , although one of my reincarnations did come as a 1071 S , it was built with all t he right bits but still not what I call a genuine one . I am fast approaching 60 , yes I do still think about all the ' good old days ' , but trying to live them now , no I dont think so . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbottle Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I've been watching Hancock's Half Hour on videos I've dug out from their hiding place. Money certainly went a lot further in days of yore. Tony goes into a self-service cafe and his trayful of nosh comes to 4 shillings and 5 pence (22.5 p in todays money!). He and Sid James go on holiday, when they come back Sid has failed to cancel the milk & papers, and has left the telly and lights on. Tony's complaining about the cost of the papers and Sid says "They're only tuppence halfpenny apiece!". Inflation eh! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 The Rover was great when it behaved itself, I really miss driving it now, same goes for the 3500 V8 which followed it. All gone now, replaced by this... That, is BEAUTIFUL Sorry - but give me that over a Rover anytime! Mine is a relatively late example - he's a 98 MPi. A "proper" Cooper S is a little out of my price range at the moment - so I have got the MPi, much as I would like a carbed Cooper, unless it's an "oldtimer" (older than 30 years) you get really clobbered with the road tax out here. Mine has a catalytic converter, and scrapes into Euro 2, whereas yours is the real deal! Amazing given that it will actually put out more power than mine with the twin carbs. Unfortunately, he is currently languishing in the garage awaiting a new radius arm. Spares are rather expensive and hard to get over here, so I have got to wait until I can get a new radius arm from Minispares. By the way, you're not on the Mini forum (TMF) are you? Incidentally, I looked at the end of your first post: Nidge, News at Ten, 1973. That's the year I was born :icon_lol: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 That, is BEAUTIFUL Sorry - but give me that over a Rover anytime! Mine is a relatively late example - he's a 98 MPi. A "proper" Cooper S is a little out of my price range at the moment - so I have got the MPi, much as I would like a carbed Cooper, unless it's an "oldtimer" (older than 30 years) you get really clobbered with the road tax out here. Mine has a catalytic converter, and scrapes into Euro 2, whereas yours is the real deal! Amazing given that it will actually put out more power than mine with the twin carbs. Unfortunately, he is currently languishing in the garage awaiting a new radius arm. Spares are rather expensive and hard to get over here, so I have got to wait until I can get a new radius arm from Minispares. By the way, you're not on the Mini forum (TMF) are you? Incidentally, I looked at the end of your first post: Nidge, News at Ten, 1973. That's the year I was born Cheers Robert , it's currently under cover due to the weather, I've been out in it for ages. I was on the Mini forum but haven't been on for a while, been having problems logging onto to forums other than RMweb and the TV lounge. Your Mpi remeinds me of when I was thinking of buying one new, couldn't afford it at the time but then ten years later a real pukka Cooper S falls into my lap! Full history from new, five previous owners, twin tanks, factory recliners and still on it's original 1275 block (bored out to 1310 though).... took me twenty years to find it though! 1973.... the year I started spotting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggy1953 Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Trouble with Today is everything is such a rush, no time for any thing, people dont care about others, and i am afraid the internet, although useful, is alienating people from learning social skills. Loads of Pubs and working mens clubs are closing as its easier to stay in and smoke/ get takeaway/ cheaper beer/ Sky t.v. etc, i could go on and on but i fear it will get worse. Never mind keep your mind in the past and enjoy the memories. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invicta Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Glad it's not just me then Robert Mid 60s...? Stroll on, it's bad enough thinking I'll be into my 50s soon! The Rover was great when it behaved itself, I really miss driving it now, same goes for the 3500 V8 which followed it. All gone now, replaced by this... http://i186.photobuc...d1022/DPV23.jpg Still yearning for another Rover though! Nidge 43rd birthday looming in a week or so, and definitely suffering from the same effect as the OP.... I'd parked in the basement level of a local multi-storey a few weeks back and got back to my car just as a pristine SD1 Vitesse parked a few spaces away was leaving- hearing that V8 echoing around the basement took me straight back to being a teenager in the 80's when it was one of my ultimate dream cars, mainly fuelled by watching them in touring car racing- and 25 years later, I still want one... http://www.touringca...r09080401-d.jpg http://www.touringca...r09080401-a.jpg btw- that S is a real beauty! My Mini-obsessed brother (early 90's 'Italian Job' limited ed currently stashed in his garage pending restoration) would be seriously jealous... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted January 2, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 2, 2010 Being 60 I remember and miss a lot from what seemed to be a much more relaxed time. One thing I don't miss though is old cars and all the aggravation that went with them. I've spent far too much of my life poking around under bonnets of recalcitrant cars with all the resulting skinned knuckles etc. when the spanner slips. Give me my comfortable, reliable Ford Focus anytime! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Nostalgia, it affects most of us to a greater or lesser extent. I'm more into rock music from the late 60's through to the late 70's than I have been since actually living in those times. Since then I've briefly been into Punk & New Wave, then Roots Reggae in the late 70's and then got heavily into Soul, R&B, Jazz for many many years. In fact I couldn't really listen to all the old stuff that I was "into" during my Teens and early Twenties and a couple of hundred pristine vinyl albums lay undisturbed in the cuboard for over 25 years or so. Parenthood and family life took away the time and for years there wasn't really any opportunity to indulge in this passion, but belatedly (in the mid Noughties) I started to get into 90's Rock and Grunge and more contemporary sounds, partly due to my Teenage son's interest and that sort of re-awakened my old tastes. With the advent of firstly DAB radio (Planet Rock, the now defunct The Storm and XFM) and more recently Internet Radio I've been able to take a trip back in time to all the great music from my youth. We have two Internet Radios in the house and I can (and do) wallow to my hearts content in all that old stuff. Brill ! When I'm with my old mates or work colleagues of a similar age, nostalgia and talking about the past seems to be increasingly common. We are definately getting ready for the funny farm. Funnily enough, like Phil I have absolutely no nostalgia for old cars. Some of my friends are into classic sports cars and variously own 60's E Types, Healy's, Morgans, etc. They do nothing for me at all. After all they are mostly just Crap cars from an era when most cars were Crap and even the best ones look poor compared with what can be done today. The only exception I make is for classic Ferrari's.....or any Ferrari. Time to stop rambling on....see I told you ! . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 I sort of know what you mean Phil and Ron, I've had my share of grazed knuckles due to changing water pupms on Minis in the past, a hateful job, but theres something about the smell of those old Rovers..... Funnily enough Ron, it's not really the 'obvious' classic sports cars I like the most, it's more the the sporty saloons I tend to go for. Invicta.... just for you, here's my mates lovely Avacado Green wedge.....it still drives like a new car! http://i186.photobuc.../Cowley1003.jpg Nidge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
highpeak Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Nothing wrong with nostalgia, I think it's pretty natural. Nor do I think there's necessarily anything wrong with not being very keen on modern stuff when it comes to cars, music etc. Stuff is marketed to certain generations, generally younger than the likes of the OP and me, and it's no big surprise that our tastes aren't going to be the same as the younger generation. I've really struggled to find a current car that I feel like parting with any money for, the styling leaves me cold. I have a 79 MGB for fun, a replacement for an 80 that succumbed to rust after covering 205,000 miles. The 80 was a daily driver, the 79 is a pampered pet because I don't want to see it rust out. Older cars are a bit more of a struggle to keep running in the US because of the emissions equipment that robs them of horsepower and represents more stuff to go wrong. Besides the MG I have a 79 Spitfire that I am changing to SU carbs and getting rid of the smog stuff since it no longer has to go through inspections. The B will stay as is because it is an excellent original example, so worth putting up with air pumps and gulp valves and such, at least as long as they work. I agree with Phil H that modern cars are generally less trouble, and I'm generally happy to be able to get in my Honda CRV and just turn the key and go. I'm happy to have my old iron tucked up in the garage on nights like tonight, 15F and blowing snow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doorslammer Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 On one side of me, I have all 5 DVDs of Morecambe and Wise released so far. The other side of me, there are some 5 Kraftwerk albums on CD I have recently purchased. Until recently I drove about in a 1975 260Z and I'm involved in a motorsport that is well known for using the older car shapes over new. Yep, there's only one conclusion. I'm stuck in someone else's timewarp. I'm only 25... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted January 3, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 3, 2010 So, the more I look at what tickles my fancy when it comes to 'modern life', the more I realise I must be living in the past because....... Just gently point out that it means that you still think she is 21 or whatever age she was when you met her. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TT3 Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Ahh nostalgia, since my family returned to Australia from the UK in 1979, watching the Sweeny and related TV is Britain as I remember it, along with blue gray EMUs, Wimpy burgers and snow and ice (winter 78-9)... the roads also seemed to have Police P6s, reliant 3 wheelers, triumph saloons and Ford Cortinas (mum and dad had a bottle green Mk3 cortina 1300)... Personally I think the British Car industry reaced its Zenith at around 1970...current car fleet reflects that view.. Modern car...1974 Stag 1970 Mk1 2000 1965 Spitfire There is also a 1963 VW Beetle somewhere here but a rover p6 would be grand, perferably a 2000 so I could do my own Motor 'Group Test' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard and ??-jackets with velvet collars, drainpipe trousers and suade shoes woke me up big style in the later 1950's. The late 1950's was a bubble that I continued to live in during the early 1960's after the dreaded Brit-pop arrived in the form of Italian suits and winkle pickers, squeaky clean Cliff, Adam Faith, Marty Wilde, Sandy Shaw, Russ Conway, Ronnie Hilton, Matt Munro, Ruby Murray, Norrie Paramour, Helen Shapiro, Dickie Valentine, David Whitfield, Shirley Bassey, Alma Cogan...a never ending spew of music for old fogies that I still detest 50 years on! Thank goodness for 1964 and the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the brilliant Mamas & Papas and all those later 1960's songs I always associate with American cool. I am familiar with todays girl artists, and even though they are like butterflies, their songs are catchy. Wii games hold no fears........I'm world class at ten pin bowling! Sure I'd love to go back and re-experience the 1940's through the eyes of an adult instead of a child, but living in the past is not something I'd recommend. Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hi all, Not actually my favourite Tull but it just seems so appropriate here! Cheers, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 So, the more I look at what tickles my fancy when it comes to 'modern life', the more I realise I must be living in the past because....... Just gently point out that it means that you still think she is 21 or whatever age she was when you met her. I wish she was still 21.... and so does she! TT3 - That Stag is GORGEOUS...... to my biased eyes they always look better with the hardtop. Love the Mk1 2000 too, my Dad's mate had several of those in the 70s, as well as P6s Coach - my Dad was a bit like that in a way, even well into the 60s he still dressed as if it was 1959! John E - It's the Tull track they always used to roll out on Radio 1 during the 'golden hour' for 1969. When I hear it now it reminds of the 50s council house we lived in at the time, a few doors down lived a hippy family and they played Tull endlessly in the back garden My self inflicted nostalgia kick continues unabated..... yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the first episode of The Sweeney being broadcast so I watched it on dvd, and today I'm scanning a box full of photos, some from my parents wedding in 1964, the rest being my old railway pics from the 70s and 80s...... will it never end !!! Nidge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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