A part of history in the attic

 Following the link in my last post of the tour of the West Country of England in the 1960's,  I thought I would continue with the 196o's for this post too!


Back in the autumn we put extra insulation in the loft, and J discovered an old cardboard box. Inside was a "Woman's Own" magazine from October 1963 left by a previous resident. (Our house was built in the 1930's and we have lived here for 21 years.)


I have always been interested in social history and it was fun to look through the magazine and compare it with our lives and magazines of today. Even though it was 50 years on, the articles were covering the same topics as interest - such as how to save money by eating on a budget.


Our food tastes have changed over the past 50 years. Although some of the dishes are familiar many of the weekly dishes we now eat originate from other countries.  I love lentils but I'm not sure I would want to eat them with the tongue as illustrated in the lentil and tongue hot pot above!


 This magazine is six months younger than me, and possibly in better condition too! In 1963 I would have been eating some of this food in the advert above. When I was old enough for the high chair I would feed baby rusks to our spaniel who was sitting patiently below me!


Many of the adverts are still familiar today. I realised as I was writing this that I had pictured the things I enjoyed as a child. I haven't had a Keiller butterscotch for many years. Does anyone know if it is still produced?


There were also adverts for wool and elsewhere in the magazine a knitting pattern too.


Other articles included home decorating. Things seem to go around and around in fashion and trends. Is this just a marketing ploy to try to encourage us to buy more, or an urge for us to return to scenes of younger years, what do you think? Do you have any old magazines too?


I couldn't leave you this week without some glimpse of the sea. Even then some followed their dreams to the sea !

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse back in time. I haven't decided whether to keep the magazine or return it to the attic with a magazine from 2013 and let someone else discover both of them in another 50 years!

Sarah x

Comments

  1. Yes the butterscotch! I had forgotten all about them, but that brings it all back. Haven't seen any so must presume the brand doesn't exist anymore. Love the magazine pictures. Why not put it back with another one and maybe a note as well? I'm the same kind of age give or take. Love your blog header pictures, especially the top left one.

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  2. Hello Sarah, Neat Magazine. It looks similar to our Ladies Home Journal. The of today and topics are pretty much the same but the photos have certainly changed allot. Especially the one on the beach with the dress cover-up. I rather like the "Pink" bedroom. vbg I would add to the magazine collection and put it back into the attic for someone else to enjoy oneday. Hugs Judy

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  3. Yes it's so easy to get lost in old magazines... they are a real hoot sometimes aren't they! Do hope you're both cosy and flood fre. Hugs Cass x

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  4. Yes! Yes! Keiller Butterscotch is still available...
    But, only in selected sweet shops.
    There was also Keller Butterscotch...Made by a
    company called Craven...Not, sure about that one!

    AND....of course the 60's...Always voted the best
    decade ever....Never been one before or since.....!
    Fantastic ten years, everything happened...HeHe!
    If you can remember it....Great!

    And...Wow! The bedroom....HaHa! I can match that,
    colour and all....Nowt changes! :).
    And...The tongue and lentils hotpot....Made some before
    Christmas....Love tongue...Like all offal....Good for you...
    Lovely post....Certainly took me back....Great times........
    Best ever...I'd certainly put the Magazine back with a current
    copy....Smartie anyone....!! :>).

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    1. I will have to keep any eye out for the butterscotch. I thought you would like the pink in the bedroom! Sarah x

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  5. I love the idea of putting it back in the attic with a current issue too, treasure for someone else to find. My Grandma had Woman's Own every week & I suspect she knitted many items from their patterns for me in the 1960's.

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  6. What a fun find up in your attic! The magazine knitting picture is especially interesting (no doubt because I'm a knitter!). Both of those sweaters could be knit and worn today and look 100% fashionable. It's also interesting how lifestyle and women's magazines have been talking about the same things for over 50 years. As for the lentil and tongue hot pot? Well, there are some things better left in the past. :-)

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  7. HOW FUN IS THIS! I have a Life magazine that my mother kept with the issue of President Kennedy's life. I was 4 when that issue was made! Isn't it great to compare the past with our lives now? So many changes in how things are presented, but basically, the same ideas.

    Happy day dearest Sarah, and yes, what a lovely way to end it with a thought of the sea! Anita

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  8. Definitely put it back with a current magazine. Which one do you think you'd like someone 50 years from now to find about OUR era? This is a great post idea. I will add it to my list of subjects. I have a 1955 Life magazine. I would have been 5. It will be great to look through the magazine with that in mind. BTW, Gabriel did not buy into my idea about the freeze-dried food....it didn't make a difference. Some days he eats, other days he won't and gets the rumbly tummy. The thing that actually works best to get him to eat is to crumble a Plato Organic Chicken treat over his food, but if his stomach is already upset that won't even entice him to eat.

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    1. Sorry the freezer dried food didn't work - Daisy is are having one of those rumbly tummy days today too! x
      Sarah x

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  9. What a fantastic find, that 'bonnie' baby and I love that last shot too! :) x

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  10. I love the knitting for your man line!! And I used to use my Smartie tubes for all sorts of things. I used to collect to tops as well, but can't remember why.

    Leanne xx

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    1. I kept the tops too and I can 't remember why either! Sarah x

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    2. How fantastic to have a nose through the magazine. Who knew that mocha existed back then! Didn't the Smartie tops have a different letter on each one? I think we were supposed to collect them, I'm sure I had a few too.

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    3. HeHe! I'm not suggesting that l'm a Smartie....But...
      The tops did have a different letter on. No prize for
      collecting all of them, supposed to help kids with
      their spelling!
      And, in 2005, the shape of the box was change, from
      cylindrical to hexagonal...six sided...Supposed to keep
      the Smarties fresher and longer....Silly really, when l opened
      a box....I ate the lot....! :>).

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  11. Its fascinating to read old magazines and newspapers like this and it just shows nothing much changes, we still want to read about food, saving money, homes and crafting!

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  12. When we decorated our first house all the previous owners had written their names, occupation and date on one of the walls, so we did the same. Thanks for sharing this magazine with us-that was the year before I was born so it's been good to see what was happening then.

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  13. I love things like this, it is such fun to find them. When we moved into our house we had to clear loads of rubbish out of the loft, but there was nothing of interest, lots of car magazines - not thrilling to me at all! - and things like a herd of red plastic cows and old lampshades. Your find is far more interesting. I love the pictures and the artwork of this sort of era, it seems to familiar and yet so old fashioned at the same time!! Gosh, that is a worry isn't it!! xx

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  14. Oh! You must put it back in the loft for someone else to eventually find!! I have been having a rummage to! I found some old knitting patterns, the Aran ones are actually quite nice, and I may even knit one of them!! It's all very well to 'de-clutter' but rather nice to find old things and reuse or reminisce!!

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  15. XOOXOXOXOOXOOX! Thank you so much for coming. Say "Hi" to Daisy!

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  16. I LOVED looking at these. So many memories. My favourite picture is the one of the food which includes apples coated in something pink......what the hell is that? Icing? Spam? xx

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    1. The apples were poached in a sugar syrup with cochineal, I wonder why were the pink apples more appealing to eat. That's another dish I wouldn't be tempted by! Sarah x

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  17. A wonderful find! Have you read the story? The bedroom looks like a doll's house set doesn't it? I remember having a similar pink carpet :)

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    1. Yes I read the story they did end up on Granada running a yacht chartering business but their lives weren't all plain sailing. The article tells how they got caught in a bad storm when the wife was 7 months pregnant and then her husband nearly fell over board and gashed his head! Luckly there were others aboard and the husband was eventually taken off the boat! Sarah x

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  18. This was very enjoyable. It is why I also enjoy old movies--My hubby and I like to look at the furniture and design in them. We often pause the movie just to look at things in the kitchens.

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  19. Oh such memories here Sarah! My mother was a great fan of Woman's Own. Although spaghetti, even in a tin, was far too foreign for her. How times change.

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  20. I keep magazines in a box under my bed but when the box is full I give them away! Would be great to find some really old ones though!

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  21. Great to see all this magazine pictures from years ago! I have not enough space in the house to keep all my magazines for my children.
    The picture from the bedroom is amazing.

    Sigrun

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  22. Gosh that was a blast from the past. My mum used to buy Woman's Own and the pages bring back so many memories - all for 7d too. x

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  23. I had to smile at those photos, Sarah, especially the knitting one! Some of the food doesn't look very tempting at all. How fascinating to compare then and now.

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  24. We always used to put a newspaper, food wrappers and a TV guide inside partition walls or lofts when we did work on a house. Wonder if any of my time capsules have been found yet.
    We couldn't find the Keiller Butterscotch anywhere and had given up looking, but now we have the name we will start looking again, thanks.

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  25. This has reminded me of a time when one of my college friends entered and won a Woman's Own model competition. She was a stunning looking girl, and now I am wondering whatever happened to her.
    I think that you should leave a current magazine in the attic along with this one.

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  26. Hello dear Sarah,
    This is such a great post. I really liked it.
    Isn't it fun to find old magazines.
    I keep some of mine in a box in my storage area.
    Every year, I see what i want to keep and what not.
    My favorite magazines are gardening, decor, design- well amongst a few.
    only the other day, I was looking through my old house and garden magazines.
    I do not keep all. But the ones I really like I do.
    I was living in Australia in 1963.. If I am correct, I think it was the year Kennedy was assassinated . I was in the cinema with friends.
    I do remember eating the Heinz spagetti with little sausages.
    Not sure about the butterscotch. I buy Wurth's and they are delicious.
    love the idea of putting the magazine back in your attic along with some others and letting the next generation find them.
    The 60's were great years.
    wishing you a happy week Sarah.
    val xxx

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  27. Oh, I adore old magazines! I used to collect them but had to part with them during a move because it was just too much to lug around any longer. I loved seeing this magazine. Some things look so dated but then others, like that Smarties ad, seem almost exactly what you might see today! That was really interesting, thank you for sharing.

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  28. I remember those packets of Smarties and my mum used to make a lovely stew with tongue usually served with mash potato. I probably wouldn't touch it now but I remember enjoying it as a child.

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  29. I was struck most with the blurb on the knitting page!! No wonder we rebelled....some things have changed, thankfully.

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  30. Ι also keep some old magazines and I always enjoy this journey through time.Sometimes with nostalgy sometimes with detachment ... But I think that the 60's was a particularly beautiful period which continues to have some effect nowadays.

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  31. What a treat a peep into my past...I love the bedroom it reminds me of my Sindy Days !!
    Thea xx

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  32. Hi Sarah - I did giggle when I spied the tin of Heinz spaghetti...I had hoops on toast for supper tonight - forever the 70's child!

    Nina x

    ps. I also wanted to say thank you for your wonderful words - they truly cheered me up. xx

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  33. Ah yes - old magazines telling the social history of times gone by...I have one or two...
    I might have that casserole dish somewhere....
    A Christmas treat in our house was mum's specially cooked tongue and it was my job to take the outer skin off - it was delicious - a bit like corned beef.
    wishing you a delightful 2014
    Best wishes
    Jenny

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  34. Aaaah the good old 60's I remember them well and wish sometimes we could return to that era. I too keep old magazines in the loft - I have a Brides magazine from the 70's when I married and a Vogue from the early 50's when I was born.

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  35. ~ Helllooo Sarah,
    As you know I tread the path of sweet memory lane quite frequently in my little corner of blog land...
    I enjoyed looking through the pages here too! Life seemed more simpler and leisurely then....I guess technology has changed all this some what!
    I've mention before that I have pages cut out form my magazines from the late seventies..It's the pictures on the back that made me chuckle, the most....
    and the advertisements for those delightful knitted tank tops...
    Happy good old days...
    Thank you for a sweet visit down memory lane...It all seems soooo long ago!
    Hugs, Maria x

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  36. This was so much fun.

    Thanks for sharing life when I was in my first year of high school. I probably looked at that couple on the beach and dreamed of a life like that.

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  37. hello Sarah
    How nostalgic. I really enjoyed flicking through with you x

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  38. Goodness! What a find in your attic. They certainly make interesting reading, the prices of things are always interesting and the clothes and hair styles don't look so out of date. Happy reading.

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  39. What a brilliant post ... love the idea of you returning the magazine to the attic with a contemporary companion for someone to find in future ... if only you could control who the discoverer would be to ensure that it would be someone who would appreciate what they had found.

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  40. Dear Sarah,

    How wonderful that you found the old magazine and was neat to see all the interesting food, clothes, thanks for sharing.
    I have many old 17 magazines from when I was young - that are in storage and fun to look at and bring back memories.
    Will be fun to put it back in the attic and let someone else find it - maybe many years in the future.
    Happy Thursday
    hugs
    Carolyn

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  41. What a neat find Sarah. Thank for sharing it with us. Love the bedroom photo. The weather here is grey and I think the rain may have forgotten about us here.

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  42. Dear Sarah, all very well observed! Actually it is a shame that the same topics still keep us busy or is it fortune not to have to think of other (more important) things? However, this post is wonderful and really interesting! By the way: Tongue is in fashion again (at least over here but just with some people I must admit) in the sense of not just eating the fillet but also the other part of the animal. Thank you so very much for your comment today. I am sorry that you cannot watch the recommended documentary. As I hear from Rosemary Pete Owen Jones is a well-known person in the UK. So you may have seen him appearing on TV on another occasion. Wishing you a good evening. Christa

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  43. Dear Sarah,

    I share your readers' above enthusiasm! Through this post you've brought your love of social history alive. I very much like the thought of you feeding rusks to your dog as a baby!

    Warmest wishes,

    Stephanie

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  44. October 63 I was eight months old ! What fun; I'd put it back with a magazine from this year for a bit of fun x

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  45. That is so much fun with old magazines - love them!
    Have a lovely week!
    Ingrid xx

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  46. An amazing look back at the past - what a find I'm a social history buff too!
    Food has changed hugely - well everything has.
    Except my little granddaughter feeds a lot of her food to their Jack Russell from her high chair!!

    I hope you will return this issue with a current copy as well as a copy of your national newspaper to give an overview of 2014. A note from you would be a nice touch too! I know how excited I would be to find a package like that!
    In our old home we found a copy of The New Zealand Herald dated Friday November 13, 1863 (price Threepence)!
    I loved this post Sarah - thank you!
    Shane

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  47. Must be great to stroll through these old magazines. I remember old magazines from when I was a child but don't have them. I wonder if my mother still has some, I doubt it.
    Marian

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