Vintage Scrapbooking
Posted under Witterings
Following on from yesterday’s post about Carnation Milk and Rubber Knickers…today I thought we’d have a scoot through one of MrSpud’s preschooler scrapbooks. Oh yes, my mother-in-law really HAS kept pretty much everything! Although she has being trying very hard for years to clear her house, garage, loft of her children’s ‘stuff’…mostly in vain. I have almost nothing from my childhood, having been a ruthless ‘thrower away’ from an early age. Mostly I’m fine with that, but it is utterly delightful to watch my boys play with toys and read books that belonged to MrSpud and his siblings. I wish I’d hung on to a few more things to be honest.
So MrSpud’s early 70s scrapbook. I’m sure a lot of the pictures were taken from a Green Shield Stamp catalogue, as we had quite a lot of the same stuff and, like many families in the early 70s, it was bought with Green Shield Stamps. Sooooo retro.
Love this page:
Orange hardcase suitcases? Check, we had those in petrol blue. That cot? That was MY cot as a baby. Original softbag Hoover? Everyone on the planet had one of those. That ‘telephone table’? We had that. The cooker? Had one very similar. In fact I had another one like that as a student. What’s that car? A Viva? A Cortina?
This is fabulous too:
That was MY pushchair. Ouch, I can still remember how hard the seat was (a bit of wood covered in plastic)…and how hard the ride was. None of your namby pamby pneumatic tyres and suspension like today’s little cherubs have. Good to see some kind of car seat there. My parents always delighted in telling me I was slung in the back of the car in my carrycot, no seatbelts etc. Seems like they just hadn’t saved enough Green Shield Stamps. Or they’d blown all the money on fags ‘n’ booze (giggle, just my joke Dad if you’re reading).
This one’s a bit ‘dark’:
Oooh it’s all a bit 007 My Name is Bond…Basildon Bond isn’t it? I’m sure it was an advert for a super cool pulling machine. But those gloves? Gosh, well, all a bit rubber knickers…non?
Speaking of which, what the hell is going on here? Again, an advert? I think the bloke dressed as a chicken with a bottle of booze is the main attraction? But the whole thing smacks of weirdy beardy bizarro. Check out the old bloke at the bottom, choking on his port….what’s the floozy just told him? That she’s wearing rubber knickers?
This one is my best favourite, I think:
LOVE IT! We had curtains like those tiles, floor to ceiling….all 12 foot of them. Mmmm, nice. Love the casual elegance of a meal in preparation…fish, onions, some kind of burnt apples and a crustacian. Must have been the height of sophistication, no wait, European sophistication in the 70s…when we all survived on Crispy Pancakes and Vesta Curries. I particularly love the random pampas grass on the far right, just peeping in to the picture. MrSpud tells me that people who grow pampas grass in their gardens are swingers. I can’t think how he knows this, but he tells me this EVERY time we see a house with pampass grass in the garden. Whatever…
No, wait, THIS one is the best. Oh…my….God…
‘LOVE FRANCE For her thousand beautiful faces’ reads the caption. Euwwwwww. So sexist, so 70s, so totally inappropriate for a small child to be scrapbooking. But, hoorah, look the model is NOT stick thin, she has a tummy, she has curves, she’s older than 15…who said progress was a good thing?
Love Mr. Spuds collection of memorabilia! Some classic 70′s iconography there!
I didn’t know what scrapbooking is, believe it or not, but suddenly it seems like a good idea. I wonder how much fun would it be to read a scrapbook from the 00s in twenty years time. All those iphones and crumpler bags, will they seem ridiculous or vintage…
This post reminds me of poster boards we did in high school. So nostalgic.
Enjoy your weekend.
oh how funny is this! yah for Mummy Mr Spud for keeping this stuff. I love the cover graphic. Not sure how much we had but I am actually loving the kitchen and yes, that’s true about pampas grass…you know that a red light means whore house too, don’t you?
such treasures. but now i’ll never be able to throw anything way. what will sabin blog about in 20 years if i do?
Wow, I’m totally into Mr Spud’s scrapbook. Reminds me of the ‘travel’ scrapbook my mum helped me keep when we used to live in England. Love all the retro fabulousness – and you are hilarious. xx