Ray’s Rants Life in the 1950s 1960s 1970s Great Britain girls England family UK work school British music night clubs pubs fashion pirate radio Caroline English holidays television

My Wife Left Me! No, I don't mean my wife! It was a friend's wife, many years ago. Gary the tortoise is out and about. I've now got a mini greenhouse. But, more importantly... I have an announcement to make.

Where's the summer? Where, indeed? Rain one minute, a heatwave the next minute... Crikey! Are garden centres not much more than restaurants these days? What happened to nurseries where plants were relatively cheap and you couldn't buy coffee? Happy days!

Liar Liar Pants On Fire! A girl I knew lied and lied. She lies about her surname, where she lived, where she worked... Why? Who remembers the two up two down houses? Bad TV adverts are getting even worse! Life, what did I envisage? What did I think life would be like as I traveled through the decades? Join me this Sunday for a good old rant!

Runner beans, the dreadful weather, growing things at school, moaning and groaning... I hope you enjoy the Midweek Message. 

Bloody Potholes! I'll tell you about bloody potholes! Grumpy old man, that's me! Wearing pink trousers in the pub? Coffee served in in soup bowls? Miserable moaning people... that's me again! And lots more to moan and groan about this Sunday!

Let's talk about  rubbish dumps, vintage telephones, stick insects, the good old days and lots more...

Did you have a Saturday job or a paper round? In this episode, I chat about the old days, empty shops, littered streets, derelict buildings. The world has changed, and I don't like it! The local far has gone, and the ponds with frogs and water boatmen, the pubs, the woods, the combine harvester... Join me for a good old moan!

In this Midweek Message, I can be found in the shade in the garden! It's HOT! Growing Watercress.

In this episode... The Dairyman's Daughter! Changes in our culture, Ekco Hostess, Isle of Wight Holidays, a motor home, comedians, a ghost story! Make do and mend, repairing things, a mouse in the garden! Your first house... and so much more! Wow, what a fun-packed episode!

Back to the 1960s! Why do I enjoy documenting and sharing so many recollections from the past? Because they were great days. The nightclubs, cars, television, shops, pubs, music... the 1960s were a fantastic time to be alive!

Emma was twenty-years-old, a plain girl, a quiet, unassuming girl. She had a secret diary, which came into my possession. No one would have believed what I discovered about young Emma. There was far more to young Emma than met the eye! Also in this episode, do you remember The Likely Lads on television?  Left on the shelf! Did you find yourself alone after all your friends got married? Lots to tal...

It's that time again! Wow, what a busy week it's been. I have a good old chat in this episode. Children's television in the 50s. Children's radio in the 1950s. Pruning the cherry tree. Local elections... Crikey! There's a lot to talk about!

Chinese whispers, illicit affairs, school scandal, Miss is expecting, renting shops in the 1960s, 1950s kitchen gadgets... there's so much to talk about this Sunday! Please, join me for an hour of recollecting.

Welcome to another Ray's Rants Midweek Message. Public Transport Trains Busses. Listening in to the teachers in the school staff room. Inside information. Please, join me for a good old chat.

Exposing A Stalker! Have you ever been stalked, followed? What are your favorite smells? Getting a mortgage or bank Loan in the old days. The village Dad's Army. Poverty in the 1950s and  60s. What were the first words ever spoken? There's so much to chat about in this episode! 

In this episode, I chat about the activities on the village green back in the old days. The village fete, classic car show, cricket match, snowmen in the winter, courting couples... Happy days!

Who did that? Who did it? It wasn't me! Have you been accused of something you didn't do? The injustice! The unfairness! Also in this episode, Hedgehogs, PE at school, cowboy outfits, spinning wool, couples unable to live together... This is an action packed episode! 

In the 1950s, everyone had a tortoise! Hedgehogs were in abundance, foxes were only seen in the countryside... How things were different back in the old days.

In this episode, I chat about growing up in the 1950s. What was it like for a young mother with a baby or toddler? How did she cope with looking after the child and doing all the housework, cooking, washing, ironing, shopping and more? Playpen? Cot?

What do you do with a small child when you're trying to get things done around the house? Playpen or cot? In this episode, I chat about little ones on the loose around the house.

Stair rods. Tea cosy. Horse hair sofa. Lino flooring. 1950s homes. There's a lot to ramble on about this week. I hope you'll join me this Sunday. 

The boat race, Cockney rhyming slang, shorthand and lots more on this week's Midweek Message. 

Retro good old days. Marmalade renamed. Bent cucumbers. Storm Dave. As usual, lots to talk about! 

Back to the 1950s, again. No microwave, no air fryer, no automatic washing machine... How did we manage back then! Hard work, that's how! Please, join me for a good old chat.

Upper class, lower class. Posh, common. Baking bread. Feigning illness to get off school. There's a lot to chat about this Sunday.