Woolworth's Photo Booths - The Selfies Of The 1970s

There has been so much in the news recently about the way young people are always taking selfies. According to some people they are a sign of self obsession, vanity and even that they have nothing better to do with their lives. Poor teenagers all they are doing is trying to fit in with other young people as young people always have. I think the main problem lies with older people who have forgotten what it was like to be young.

In the 1970s we had our own selfies, they were called the Woolworth's photo booth! 

On Saturday mornings we would often head off to Woolworths in Epsom and have our photo taken. It was nearly always with a friend and we would share out the photos. 50p for a lifetime of memories! Some days there would be lots of us and we would jump in and out of the booth in the few seconds between flashes to change places. It would be the cause of much hysterical laughter and loud tutting from older people shopping in Woolies at the time.

Me With My Friend Janet Woolworth's Photo Booth Epsom January 1974

 We even had them taken on days out at the coast. Never mind photos on the beach at Brighton or Littlehampton we would head to the local Woolworths for memories of the day!

I remember this colour photo so clearly. We had heard there was a brand new colour photo booth opened in Woolworths in Croydon. We set off on the old 470 London Country route to West Croydon which took about an hour, just to get our photos taken. I still have this precious photo although being at the back I'm not quite sure if it was worth the long journey!

Me With My Friends Woolworth's Photo Booth Croydon October 1974

This final photo I have, I remember having taken to send to my new penpal and I eagerly awaited her photo in return. Much more fun than facebook! I remember I had got my hair cut and really wanted to look like Suzi Quatro.

Me In Woolworths Epsom Photo Booth 1973

So I say to young people, enjoy your selfies. One day in the future your descendants will be saying "Wasn't Great Granny lovely." Enjoy the moment in history.

Retro Cooking In The 1960s And 1970s

This week I bought a retro 1960s enamel pan from our local charity saleroom for £5. It's in lovely condition and very pretty. I am so pleased with it I haven't put it away in a cupboard but it has pride of place on top of the hob. 

It has made me think how different cooking and kitchens are now to the 1960s and 70s. I have several cookery books from this time and all the recipes are quite basic. Pot roast, shepherd's pie and meat pie all feature. Non of the recipes have more than 5 or 6 ingredients and pasta isn't mentioned once! I find these recipes very easy to follow and also not so overwhelming as there is not a great long list of obscure ingredients to buy.

I'm sure everyone who grew up in the 60s and 70s will remember Fanny Craddock and her cookery programmes on the TV. She was very proper and although her cooking was easy to follow I didn't think they were much fun.

However the TV chef I remember most clearly and fondly is Graham Kerr in The Galloping Gourmet.

He was, to put it mildly, energetic leaping around the studio, cracking jokes and swigging wine. I thought he was hilarious. More time was taken up with his jokes than cooking but to a 10 year old he made a boring subject entertaining. Looking back now as an adult I still love it!

I have added this clip of The Galloping Gourmet from youtube and it's worth watching just for the retro 1970s kitchen.