On the crest of a wave, in the UK.

I was born in the uk not so many years after ww2 had ended.... and I've been so lucky!

When I was born there was a completely free national health service available to anyone who needed it. Even a tramp with no documents whatsoever could walk into any hospital and know that he'd receive expert treatment. Dental surgery, opticians etc were all free of charge.

As a child I grew up without the terrible pain and illness the generations before me had endured.


My family lived in one of the millions of council houses that were being built all over the country. The new houses were warm and well built. The tenancy agreement was known as a Secure tenancy agreement, this meant the house was yours for life, if you died your family could still continue to live there. The rent charges were regulated and kept low and service charges were low too.

As a child I grew up in a house that I could confidently call HOME, the word EVICTION was not in my dictionary, I was so lucky.


Spare time.
I remember how 'Wash day' vanished and we simply spent 10 minutes loading the washing machine. Employment regulations ensured people had spare time and it was nolonger nescesary to work a 7 day week. With all the labour saving devices and shorter working hours people spent more time with their children.

As a child I grew up with parents who had spare time, this meant they had time for me, unlike the generations before me.


School.
Schools were being modernised and while I was in education I saw the brutality that had gone before slowly dissapear. In primary school as punishment I recieved the cane, the slipper, the ruler and the hand, mostly applied to the back of the legs behind the knee. By the time I was in secondary school this practice had almost vanished.

As a child I went through school with the knowledge that I could not be brutaly beaten, unlike the generations before me.


The Family Allowance.
This was a book of coupons given to all mothers, it allowed mums to go to the post office once per week and exchange a coupon for money to ensure ALL children were fed. This is still given today, its even given to the very rich that dont need it, however a mother on benefits is given the family allowance but its deducted from her benefit, effectively we now give it to the rich but deny it to the poor.

As a child I grew up not knowing anything about hunger, another word that wasnt in my dictionary.


Religion.
Religion was nolonger rammed down our throats and we did not have to attend church every sunday.

I was so lucky. unlike the generations before me.


As a child I was free AND I DO MEAN FREE. I would play more in one year than any child born today would play in their entire life time.
Bullying was almost unheard of, there were no nasty bogeymen hiding on every street corner, no policemen taking names for the crime of walking down the street and Where I lived there was no racism or attacks on religion.

When I left school there was plenty of work for those who wanted it and a decent unemployment benefit for those between jobs.

The police were human and there to SERVE not control.

My generation really were free.

All the above worked and it worked well, our country prospered and things were looking good, but then the claw (thatcher) got into office and its been down hill ever since.



Yep, I was born on the crest of a wave.

Now we are returning to the old ways and our childrens future will be punishments debts evictions and suffering.

reply to post by VoidHawk

Soon everything in this country going to be privitised.

The Roads
The Hospitals
The Police

And everything that can be sold to make money for our 1%.

If you look at our politicans they all run companies that just happen to make money
on goverment contracts.sort of robbing the poors taxs to pay the rich.

My grandfather was old enough to remember the workhouses in wales, into the early 1920's they were still here, not as bad as the terms and conditions people lived and worked under in the 1800's but none the less, the "Poorhouse" existed.
He died three years ago after a good innings, he was saying in the last years of his life, "I always thought the progress society had made, was going to be permanent, never again would the horror of workhouses be seen in britain, but, with privitisation, and the mindset of politicians, eventually, they will return".
Kind of paraphrased a conversation i had with him to produce the sentence, but it was what he believed.
I could never get him to accept that politics was a blatant lie, he just could not believe it, he was a labour supporter all his life, when "New" Labour arrived after a few years, he could see that the talking heads were swapping seats, but the spiel was the same.
He was very upset when he began to see my point of view was correct, he always believed in politics and democracy.
The generation that escaped the hardships of their parents and grand parents, are the generation that are changing the face of the world as we speak.

reply to post by VoidHawk


Well friend, YOU voted for one of the three so you consented to everything they throw at you, the main thing that these ***s do is to give us more law, and they have given us about one hundred and five thousand new ones since then, of course non of those are common law, but most sheeple obey act`s here and that`s what they are.

Continue to consent and we are doomed, withdraw your consent and we may just stand a chance, I was born in 1970 and fully know what your talking about.

To add to that, my Nain was forced to work at the big house (mansion of the elites), and my great Nain was forced to wear a slate around her neck stating that she was a welsh speaker.

You sound like your family had it good.

Originally posted by freewestray
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Well friend, YOU voted for one of the three

I DID NOT!!! I refuse to vote because I see no difference between them.
I considered voting liberal when C Kennedy was their leader but like anyone who rocks the boat they demonised him and he was forced to go.

I feel your angst. It would seem all the years of progress are being ruthlessly abandoned. There is a quote from an American author who had the same feelings at the end of the 1960's "revolution" that is pertinent to your thoughts and your headline:

"There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . .

And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .

So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

Keep the faith for your children and grandchildren.

ive been thinking the same thing lately i grew up when the tv went off at 10.30 the pubs closed then to. single glazing no radiators etc etc but we were happy didnt know then what a ugly place this world is due to the 1% but things are going back the way fast . just look at the mess of the roads food prices etc 2 inches of snow now & the country grinds to a halt i dont remember any of the public having to grit the paths when i was a kid .every year now i go round my mothers bit gritting as its the only way she and the rest of the coffin dodgers could get out . my attitude is dont vote for them it only encourages the sods . but their will be none of that when im president grrrr

Originally posted by VoidHawk

Originally posted by freewestray
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Well friend, YOU voted for one of the three

I DID NOT!!! I refuse to vote because I see no difference between them.
I considered voting liberal when C Kennedy was their leader but like anyone who rocks the boat they demonised him and he was forced to go.

Glad to hear it friend, most of our population cannot say that so forgive me if I jumped to conclusions, Wales resides in my heart so I can get passionate about the place, although I do realise that it`s more of a UK dictatorship that than a free society.

What you talk of though is way more than Wales, we must do something to end our continued tyranny.

reply to post by redbarron626


Nice post, thank you.