Who remembers the 80's recession

bbam

Smuggling along the border. My da did a fair bit of it, anything that was in demand, I remember him bringing in VHS and Betamax players and flogging them on.
There was a nice few bob to be made if you had the contacts and a way of getting stuff across.
Really it was the difference in getting bye or having a few extra quid for a day out now and then.

WoollyRedHat

Who remembers what they had for dinner the other day? I can't

ongarboy

ongarboy wrote: »

.............The only things I really noticed as a 10/11/12 year old is that we didn't have a video recorder or multi-channel when many of our neighbours did and the explanation was that it was too expensive. Video players cost about 2 weeks wages back then.

Neither did we, with hindsight many of the lads I went to school with at the time who had them at home had ones that fell off the back of a lorry so to speak.

flanders1979

People wore jumpers that you would only see today on an Eastern European driving licence.
Families used to sit together to watch the television instead of having one in every room.
No pizza, no pasta. Fcukin spuds every day. We had half an acre of them.

Carter P Fly

I remember My Auld lad darning our socks when they had holes in them and shoes lasting until they literally fell apart. I dont think very manuy peopel re-sole shoes anymore. The only person who got new clothes was the oldest, Every one else got hand me down and it wasnt uncommon for peoples Ma to get out teh sewing machine and remake and re-size clothes.

Our only heating was the fireplace in the living room and the wooden framed windows are mad draughty.

We fixed broken things including the tubed tyres on cars!!

A-Trak

My parents emptying out the 1p and 2p coin jar so us kids got easter eggs. (3 of us including a pair of twins.)

That will live me forever and make sure my Dad never wants for anything.

who the fug

Still an all, it was way better than what out parents went through

Nothingbetter2d

Guill wrote: »

Got 50p a week pocket money. Bought a quarter of sweets and was as happy as a pig in ****e.

I can remeber times when my parents were under pressure, I didn't realise at the time but looking back now makes me wonder...

nowaday kids expect ps3 or xbox games and phone credit for pocket money.

fishy fishy

Yakult wrote: »

What caused the recession in the 80's? Please tell me it wasn't housing and developers?!

it was fianna fails charlie haughty eating out at the coq hardy in his charvet shirts while telling the people of ireland that they had to tighten their belts. (and people still want to vote for these shower)

fishy fishy

raiding the trocaire box when nobody was looking, to buy sweeties during lent.

lividduck

Self Aid 1986, a concert based on Live Aid to help fund jobs in Ireland.

granturismo

The 90ish PFO letter I received from posting CVs on spec.

pcardin

flanders1979 wrote: »

People wore jumpers that you would only see today on an Eastern European driving licence.

wtf? do you consider yourself somewhat superior over eastern europeans? are they less people for you?

Rasmus

Coca-cola at Christmas only
People genuinely looked out for each other (especially each others' kids)
Having a banger was the norm - holes, different coloured doors etc
More junkies
People fixed and painted the inside of their own houses
Cheap cuts of meat
More activity and interaction, less solitary games like video consoles etc. If someone had one, all the kids on the street went to that house
Back then, the level of discrimination against people on welfare was nothing compared to what it is now
In this recession, people still get takeaway food, go on holiday and have huge repayments on things. Back then, rare holidays if at all, bag of chips, no borrowing more than you could afford to repay...

angry kitten

I was in secondary school during the late 80's and I remember our guidance councillor going on a rant one friday afternoon about the lack of money in the country. It was something along the lines that there were no jobs in the country and unless your parents were rich and could afford to support you if you went to university, you had better just emigrate, as if you did get a university place you weren't going to be able to get a job to support yourself while you were there. She was right although it was hardly encouraging, I think she retired not long after that.

Carter P Fly

I suppose the main difference is people in the 80's were actually poor, we had **** cars, **** interior decor, **** everything.

peopel say they are poor now but they have new clothes on their backs, cars that are roadworthy and gaffs with the best of everything in them.


When people sell eveything they own and go back to driving ladas then we can claim to be poor again.

metamorphic

I was growing up during it but wasn't aware of what was going on. We did have a banger of a car with a hole in the floor of it that would let in the spray off the tires in the rain. We put up with it for months. oh, and 4 children with no seat belts milling around the back seat.

I wouldn't say there was hardship for me personally, because there wasn't but there was zero "flash" spending, you got a few of your brother's and older cousins hand me downs and it wasn't embarrassing for anyone concerned.

Holidays were to the relatives. First trip away was by boat and train to London for a cousin's wedding. Only people I knew who flew anywhere were aer lingus employees.

Christmas, you'd get an equivalent toy to what you asked for, not the one in the adverts, basically, a cheaper model. Still was happy with it though. Sure as a child you'd knock about a week out of it before you were bored of it anyway, so probably a good ploy on the parents behalf tbh.

Played outside more. Would disappear until tea time and it wasn't a big deal. Your neighbours would discipline you if you were acting the maggot (never physically) but adults weren't afraid to tell someone else's child to stop acting the b@llix. I don't think that exists as much these days, and your parents would side with your teachers, so you never told them if you got in trouble at school, because you'd only get in trouble at home over it.

I thought we might have been poor, just because of the old boy giving out about money a lot. But I think it was just his style. Probably the same as a lot of people, keeping things simple and trying to save a bit for a rainy day.

Milk & Honey

Navy skirts. Every working (private sector) female seemed to wear a navy skirt. They would often be worn till they were faded and looked as if they had seen better days.
At night when socialising very few females wore skirts.
Black skirts and trousers were in the minority.

gurramok

1985 was the peak of the joyriding epidemic. I still remember what happened in my neighbour hood with gangs of youths joyriding cars around the estates and whole families out watching in astonishing disbelief that this type of crime was happening in Ireland.

Spike island was opened to hold all those young crims who are probably either dead or in their late 40's now.

BrianD3

Although I was only a kid in the 80s I remember enough of it and know enough history to realise how sh*t it was. In the 1980s we had recession, unemployment, inflation, high interest rates, high taxes.

On top of that life was made worse by the absence of things that we now take for granted eg microwaves and internet.

Basic food items like bread and milk were much more expensive relative to average pay than they are today.

Poor choice in shops.

Expensive flights.

No single market and little free trade, people would buy TVs and VCRs in Northern Ireland and "smuggle" them in past customs to avoid paying import duty. This must seem nuts to those who never experienced it.

The death rate from cardiovascular diseases was much higher than it is today.

The Troubles. Hardly a day went by without someone being shot dead or blown up.

Roads were crap, cars were crap, even new cars were uneconomical, unreliable and unsafe compare to their modern equivalents.

Dudess

Yeah I was just a kid too but remember it well - everything was so much more grey and drab. People had far less. Lots of people I knew didn't have a car or phone - and no big deal. Foreign holidays were a huge luxury.
I'd prefer now, but there was far less flashiness and OTT materialism. Credit cards were for wealthy people, or to be used sparingly. As a kid, it was great - because of the music and TV. Seriously though, not great for a young adult trying to get work.

Yep, we had the Datsun with the hole in the floor too. :pac:

Oh and video recorders were the most luxurious thing ever - cost a bomb, so it was possible to rent one. Our uncle would give us a loan of his during the holidays - and the excitement! The "space age" dull silver finish, and the neverending wait for the tape holder to rise - heaven. :pac:

walrusgumble

Watching my dad come home roaring crying after his block laying job via FAS/ANCO finishing,worrying that he would not get more work.first time I saw a grown man cry,it was 1988 cause galway had won the liam McCarthy and we went out to see them coming home.

2.Real Christmas Trees in centre of towns. Christmas being like Alladins Cave, all the stuff got at Christmas, Little things but still loads, despite our parents breaking their backs to give us a good time

3.being mortified to receive a hamper from SVP at Christmas when we were not that badly off (or at least teh kiddies NEVER felt it - Our parents were great) or at least had modest needs and Always had the basics

4. people were smarter with money, collected coupons from milk cartons etc to get goods.(that should never have stopped - better than credit - imagine in the late 1990's and 2000's people turned their noses down to them) People only got what was necessary.

5. Light side, my local league of Ireland team were a great team then, my intercounty team too. Remember men wore suits and ties going to GAA matches (not just the egg chasers)

6. Good side of the 1980's, even on All Ireland day, or an Irish Rugby match, you could always get admission on the day of the game and "pay at the gate" - maybe for safety ,that is gone, for the best

7. Back to crappy stuff - looking at your parent in the dole que or "labour exchange" and them hoping that they don't bump into anyone that you know, which for a regional town was impossible.(while all you wanted was a bag of Tayto's or a Chomp)

8.Hand me downs, some were great some were crap. Football jerseys (hey happy to get them) thankfully did not determine what team that you were stuck with for the rest of one's lifes.

The "Parkas" or eskimo coats as mother would call them, were not really that cool in the late 1980's in some places (despite Stone Roses etc), I use to get slagged off. Jesus roll on 5-6 years later and a Parka (****ty fake design as oppose to the real thing) would cost you big bucks and ya would be like Liam Gallagher- Some Girls of the 1980's laugh at the Ugg Boots fashion now because they were not really that "fashionable" back then. Getting slagged for wearing X works Jeans (all baggy with the tags) circa 1996-1997 (having no idea that they were no longer "cool") was the sign that many around me were getting fussy and money was starting to roll. I mean a make teenager getting stroppy about "fashion"? That's kinda ghay around our way. There was a lot of brown leather jackets/cow boy hats and boots/Palestine scarfs back then too. Blame U2 for that

9. Children outside marriage being taboo - we use to be made believe that our cousin was an alien because of it. How silly now eh?

10 . Uncles and Aunts in England looked like they were millionaires when they came home for Christmas or Funerals, (though they were struggling just as much but had jobs) - oh and being given a video only for it to lie in the cupboard 3-4 years before you get round to getting a VCR (Thank you World Cup 1994!)

11. Renting VCR's for a night from the video shop, anyone remember doing that? Big massive contraptions,THat was a treat

12. Sundays being really silent and boring,unless of course you went to GAA matches or you went to mass (looked around the closed shop windows thereafter, in your Sunday best - until Dunnes opened on Sundays - remember they went on Strike in the 1990's to get more pay on Sundays) ).

Looking at tourists boarding buses on Sundays (or maybe that was visits to Knock) swearing blind at them and being jealous that they were off on their travels - funny then when College came, the idea of being on a bus on Sunday was horrible.

donegal_road

friends and family would say 'good luck with the new car' and there was a ceremonial inspection of said car when it was showed off at the relations house.. Hillman Hunter, Datsun Sunny, Renault 18, Ford Cortina

donegal_road

lividduck wrote: »

Self Aid 1986, a concert based on Live Aid to help fund jobs in Ireland.

I remember that well.. 'Lets Make It Work' was the slogan

Jesus Wept

Yakult wrote: »

What caused the recession in the 80's? Please tell me it wasn't housing and developers?!

I couldn't tell you tbh but it's an unavoidable part of the cycle so perhaps nothing in particular. Boom ---> Bust ---> Boom ---> Bust, see you in the next one.

I like busts.

kelle

angry kitten wrote: »

I was in secondary school during the late 80's and I remember our guidance councillor going on a rant one friday afternoon about the lack of money in the country. It was something along the lines that there were no jobs in the country and unless your parents were rich and could afford to support you if you went to university, you had better just emigrate, as if you did get a university place you weren't going to be able to get a job to support yourself while you were there. She was right although it was hardly encouraging, I think she retired not long after that.

I did my LC in 1988, and the main discussion amongst my class was which country we were going to emigrate to!

And I experienced the same negativity about going to university - going to one in the UK was a no-no as you weren't entitled to any form of grant whatsoever, you could get a grant in Ireland but only if your parents were earning a pittance.

However, the reality was different - I ended up going to uni in the UK. All UK tuition fees were paid by the EEC, my accomodation was only £9 per week and I was able to support myself by working Saturdays in Asda so I finished my course with no debt and got work straightaway - happy days! That wouldn't be the case now, but I'm pleased I didn't let my career guidance teacher discourage me at the time.

NakedNNettles

kelle wrote: »

but I'm pleased I didn't let my career guidance teacher discourage me at the time.

Career guidence teachers were below par back then and still are today.

kelle

NakedNNettles wrote: »

Career guidence teachers were below par back then and still are today.

I can't really fault mine, she was an absolute pet. After I started uni, she contacted me to get all the information she could to pass onto her subsequent students - she was dedicated!

10green bottles

The 80's ehh ??Desperate times.No Infrastructure no nothing.Despite what we may be paying for what is in place at least the country looks tidy

Jumpers for goalposts.(realy)
Dad paying over 75% at the top rate of tax. Giblets from a chicken were a snackbox,liver and chips was a healthy meal,no part of a pig,a lamb or a sheep went to waste
"the only thing that went to waste was the bullet that killed them" i was told.

Milk & Honey

fishy fishy wrote: »

it was fianna fails charlie haughty eating out at the coq hardy in his charvet shirts while telling the people of ireland that they had to tighten their belts. (and people still want to vote for these shower)

A large part was due to the borrowing after the 1977 general election, in which extravagant promises were made. Charlie Haughey had nothing to do with that. By the time he became Taoiseach in 1979 the damage was done. He spent the years from 1982 to 1987 in Opposition when the national debt doubled.

Joe10000

I emigrated in 1989 but didn't last long, came back and worked for pittance for 3 years while gaining experience relevant to the time, worked hard and had a top job within another 3 years.

NakedNNettles

kelle wrote: »

I can't really fault mine, she was an absolute pet. After I started uni, she contacted me to get all the information she could to pass onto her subsequent students - she was dedicated!

Funny thing is mine did the same, which I figured as...

she hadn't a clue where she had been advising me go.

The words 'guinea pig' sprang to mind at the time. :pac:

fishy fishy

Milk & Honey wrote: »

A large part was due to the borrowing after the 1977 general election, in which extravagant promises were made. Charlie Haughey had nothing to do with that. By the time he became Taoiseach in 1979 the damage was done. He spent the years from 1982 to 1987 in Opposition when the national debt doubled.

that you bertie? get back in your cupboard.

fishy fishy

kelle wrote: »

I can't really fault mine, she was an absolute pet. After I started uni, she contacted me to get all the information she could to pass onto her subsequent students - she was dedicated!

could she not have gotten that info herself the lazy sod.

Ironman76

I remember if we needed anything we went to Michael Guineys. My mother was always in there. You could get duvets etc for f**k all. I used to pass the time by pr*cking around in the lift.

Only time I got anything good was on my Birthday, anything deadly was Christmas. I will never forget those Christmases, unreal.

All my friends dads cars were old bangers that could be heard long before they're seen. My old man crashed his van and painted it himself to conceal the scrapes etc :eek:

Communities definitely stuck together more. "Can you call into Mrs **** and ask her if she could spare some sugar". I remember giving an old track suit to my next door neighbours kid and they were estatic. Also remember my cousin giving me his old Man U jersey. You couldnt get the thing off me, I loved it.

You ate what you were f**king given. Always remember being told "Get it eaten". Kids want a menu nowadays. Too much "I dont like this, I dont like that".

Houses were freezing but you were more able for it. To this day I hate the heat and never have the heating on. My classroom was a prefab and it was like sitting in a freezer.

Always remember wearing shoes and runners that were in bits and with holes in them. Always remember my jeans wearing at the knees.

In schools you could get a slap. I remember one time I was picked up and hurled (as in thrown and landing on my back) outside the door because I didnt sing along to the song like everyone else. I was 9 for f**k sake.

population

Only rich folk went abroad for a holiday. I spent practically every summer in Butlins or Courtown. Never stopped feckin raining!

population

oh and has 'Self Aid' been mentioned yet? Man that was a farce!

daltonmd

Domo230 wrote: »

Generalise much?

I know more than enough kids worried about losing the family home or having enough to eat because of the recession.

Wasn't around in the 80's but my father says this recession is much worse because not only do people not have any money, but they have massive debt on top of this.

I think both of you have hit on great points.

During the 80's people (for the most part) had no debt, but they also had nothing. They lived in squalor in comparison to now.

People (again for the most part) now have massive debt, but they have homes, cars - they have "stuff".

I hear of people who "say" they are really in "dire straits" who watch SKY, use the internet, have mobile phones, got rid of the second car, have a bottle of wine in, instead of a night out.


The perception of "nothing" in the 80's and "nothing" now - is a world apart.

What some people view as a "recession" is really a drop in living standards that they became accustomed to.