Author: Carole Taylor

What were you doing in the ’80s?  Maybe the Sony Walkman was your new best friend or you spent many an hour gazing at your physique, in lycra, patterned cycling shorts and matching scrunchie.  Proving you were a person of good taste, you’ll have been planning to see the latest films, at the cinema, starring your favourite actors, as I was. There were some brilliant movies on the big screen, some having stood the test of time, mainly due to the film stars of that decade.  In many cases, the ’80s treated us to films that were the first in…

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When we sit down to watch Coronation Street, we can sometimes get  swept away with a particularly gripping storyline.  I have to nudge myself to remember that the couples in it aren’t in actual relationships, only soap ones.  Check out your favourite Corrie character with their real life partners. David Platt & Shona Ramsey David had been struggling with life after losing his beloved wife, Kylie, who had been stabbed in the middle of the street.  He couldn’t get over her death and was an angry young man.  He was juggling looking after Max and Lily with doing perms and…

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Coronation Street Cast: Real Life Partners We’re delving into the lives of the Coronation Street cast – and taking a sneak peak at their real life partners… It’s hard to believe (and pretty heartbreaking) that love birds Cathy and Brian from the soap opera aren’t actually a couple IRL… so, we’re taking a look at who our favourite soap stars are hooked up with outside of the Cobbles… Remember, even though the truth might hurt (yep, silver fox Robert Preston is taken I’m afraid, ladies) NO FIGHTING – we don’t want a repeat of Maria and Eva’s water fountain tussle……

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Find Out What The Bill Cast Are Up To Now… We’re delving into the lives of The Bill Cast and taking a sneak peak at what they’re doing nowadays… The Bill might have come to an abrupt, emotional end back in 2010 after a whopping 27 years of action-fuelled crime drama, but since UKTV started re-running everyone’s favourite series a couple of years ago – we’ve all had countless ‘Oh yeah, remember THAT guy’ moments. It turns out there is life after the Sun Hill nick closed down. While some are still serving in the soap-world, others have moved swiftly…

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Join me as we re-visit the 70s and 80s and see what delights we stumble upon.  Warning – you may need sunglasses and a travel sickness tablet, if we come across the wallpaper that was so full-on in design that it looked like it was moving.  Hold on tight to your nostalgia seat as we go back in time. Stylish Crockery That Adorned The Dining Room Table One good thing about the 70s, for my family, was that we always sat down together for our evening meal.  Mum made dinner and you either liked it or lumped it.  There was…

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Listening to ‘Slade’ on Top of the Pops 2 or watching ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (for the 10th time) on a Sunday afternoon, is definitely going to stir up memories that had previously been locked away with white, stretchy boots and the hand knitted poncho – that, no doubt, made you feel a million dollars. Yes, I’m referring to the ’70s, which the youth of today would refer to as ‘the olden days’! There were no mobile phones, no contactless debit cards and no hair straighteners!  We sat down, as a family, to watch ‘The Generation Game’, ‘Bullseye’ and ‘It’s Cliff…

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Isn’t it funny how a particular image from your childhood can trigger lots of memories you had completely forgotten about.  Once the nostalgia creeps in, we can have a good laugh with our family and friends about what we wore, who we had a crush on and what our favourite sweets were.  Oh no, I’ve just remembered my nightmare fake tan, where I looked like I’d had gravy poured all over me, unevenly! Take a look at these snaps from our favourite decades and daydream that you’re right back there! 1  Canteen Of Cutlery Although this seems rather grand, it…

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It’s hard to believe that it’s around 40 years since the nation were tottering around in mega high platforms, resting neatly over flared trousers.  You may have favoured looms or Oxford bags, immaculately pressed with a crease down the front.  They would take pride of place in the wardrobe, begging to be worn at the weekend, to be shown off at the disco or youth club, depending on your age (or how old you looked). Did you buy gobstoppers, so big they lasted about half an hour!  Oh, the memories keep coming, thick and fast.  Check out these images from…

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1  Candy Dish Memories of my grandparents’ house.  Grandma kept this candy jar, always filled to the brim, on the dining room table and my sisters and I were allowed to help ourselves, which was a far cry from home when mom rationed our sweet treats and cookies. 2  Autograph Book I was desperate for an autograph book – I don’t know why as the chance of meeting anyone famous and getting their valuable signature was probably about nil – but my school friends all had them so I wanted to follow suit.  I did fill the pages with autographs…

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Babies born in the 70s are about to feel very old (sorry about that), as we re-visit this decade and share some images which some of you might prefer to forget.  Yes, we’ve all been there, mad hair, weird clothes, novelty pop records and teen crushes on a whole mixture of famous stars. Fast forward to the 80s, where the brat pack ruled Hollywood.  Tom Cruise hadn’t even heard of Scientology and Meryl Streep rode the New York City subway, without anyone giving her as much as a second look.  The 70s and 80s was both embarrassing and awesome for…

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School meant so much more to me than learning.  In fact, the learning bit was totally boring, in my opinion, but being with my friends more than made up for it. We chatted before, during and after lessons, discussing the latest crazes, pop gossip and what make up we were going to wear to the roller rink at the weekend! Thinking back, I never did understand why we were made to climb ropes and walk on upturned benches during PE, to test our balance.  I, personally, never wanted to join a circus and be an acrobat so it was wasted…

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The thing I remember most about mom’s kitchen was that we didn’t have a freezer when I was very young.  There was a small cool box at the back of the fridge which was of little use. When we did eventually get a freezer, it was stacked with frozen pizzas and new convenience frozen meals.  Have a tour around our vintage kitchen and spot any familiar items your family had in there. 1  Drinking Glasses My grandparents used to have these on display in their kitchen cabinet. 2  Dinner Set The perfect dinner sets for a family with kids -…

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I, like many of you, love a bit of 70s and 80s vintage, especially when it brings back happy memories of growing up.  These images still make me smile, decades later.  Surely,  I can’t be that old …… 1  Wax Bottles There was a syrup juice when you bit though the wax! 2  Candy My grandparents used to have this candy displayed in an avocado green sweet dish! 3  Sticky Stars My elementary teacher dished these out for solving maths problems. 4  Towelling Playsuit I took a suit like this on my first girls’ holiday to wear on the beach.…

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There used to be lots of  independent boutiques in town, back in the day.  There was a great one in the new Burton Arcade in the late 70s, Ace Fashions, which stocked  all the latest clothes and was a bit cheaper than Top Shop. I would go round every store, trying  stuff on, not being able to make up my mind, and then purchasing something from the first shop I went into.  By this time it was nearly 5.30pm on Saturday and town was closing until Monday.  The are the stores I remember so well. 1  Chelsea Girl It was…

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1  Jam Roly Poly Ahhhh memories! 2  Argos Catalogue Another catalogue to study besides Great Universal. 3  Mandy I really looked forward to this comic, especially with a free gift. 4  Petticoat We always wore one under a skirt so it lay properly. 5  Smitty Well known perfume by Coty in the 70s – I still remember the advert. 6  Tree Top Dilute Orange Juice I used to stand on a kitchen chair to reach up to the cupboard where mum kept the soft drinks. 7  Bird’s Dream Topping Lovely with Rowntrees jelly and tinned fruit. 8  Homepride Flour Remember the…

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1  Russ Abbot Show How funny was this – Coopermand and Blunderwoman! 2  Owl Cookie Jar What was it about owls and the 1970s? 3  Fry’s Five Centres One of my favourite chocolate bars! 4  Lux Beauty Soap Highly scented and with the softest lather! 5  Brownie Uniform I promise to do my best, to do my duty… 6  Tiny Tears She was my very own baby! 7  Mothercare Skirt I definitely remember my little sister wearing this – it’s really taking me back. 8  Matchmakers I remember when these first came out.  Mum opened them if we had family…

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I remember when our first local supermarket opened in the very early 70s.  It was called Grandways and, besides food, it sold homeware items, toys, as well as sandals, flip flops and fake exercise sandals.  This made the store exciting for me and, when my mum was busy shopping for groceries, I spent the time trying on footwear and looking at the cheap ornaments  Here’s what else I saw on the supermarket shelves. 1  Bird’s Eye Potato Waffles …..they’re totally versatile!  Now we had a proper freezer at home, mum was buying frozen foods. 2  Arctic Roll A real treat…

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What things make you smile when you think back to your childhood?  Was it remembering about a particular toy or game or, maybe, a day at the seaside.  Were you exited about going to see ‘Grease’ with your friends or something really simple like queuing for an ice lolly in a summer where every day was hot and sunny! Take a look at what made me happy when I was growing up – I hope it puts you in a good mood for the day! 1  Lyons Maid Fab Ice Lolly Sprinkles. Chocolate coated top, dipped in sprinkles. Do I…

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