What era (decade) was the best for you and why?

[Demitri_C]

6 hours ago, osmark86 said:

80s - Only experienced 4 years in this colorful decade of hope and Reaganomics. Had colic as a baby and a lot of ear infections, but saw the wonders of the world through tiny eyes so I suppose it was alright.

90s - Childhood + early teen years, Sweden made an incredible run in the world cup and we all fought over which player celebrations to choose from. Sega + Nintendo provided some great entertainment. Family moved abroad and I realized playing football with a bunch of kids that only spoke french wasn't as fun as my old friends. But the new country brought new friends and all in all my childhood was a good one. Got two brothers during this decade. Twas nice all in all. The music from this decade is generally boss too.

00s - Teens and young adulthood years. Had a great experience in high school with great friends and met my first love + first heartbreak. Played in some dumb bands but had a blast. Went to uni and met some of the best people that I'm still very close to to this day. The indie music was brilliant, found my appreciation for metal and electronic music. Took a one-way ticket to Birmingham with my best mate for no particular reason other than "**** it" and found a love for Aston Villa and a re-invigorated love for football. This decade was noice all in all besides an over-abundance of shite big room EDM.

10s - mid 20s and 30s - Met mrs. osmark right at the crack o' the start of the decade and made a life with her. Went back to uni for two years which landed me new opportunities. Finally not a broke bastard and could afford to see the world and buy the guitar of my dreams among other things. becoming more comfortable in my own shoes and got married. Also finally came to terms with my parents being completely dysfunctional and having to make space. All in all a very nice decade with some ups and downs. Guess the music was pretty damn boss if you knew what to look for.

20s - mid 30s - Much more stable and comfortable as a person, but COVID sucks and Putin sucks etc... Hasn't exactly shaped up as a great decade yet, but we'll see where it takes us. Turning 40 this decade makes me feel a bit old XD.

Ah man i remember, one of the greatest moments in my childhood in the 90s was at xmas when my dad bought me and my brother our first console- the super nintendo with the scope. I cant tell you the excitement i had.

Was the best Xmas ever.

I dont know if kids still have that sort of feeling these days 

[mjmooney]

3 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Was the best Xmas ever.

I dont know if kids still have that sort of feeling these days

I'm guessing that they do, given that in the 90s I was similarly sceptical about your generation's experience of Xmas, compared to mine in the 1960s. 

[Demitri_C]

25 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

I'm guessing that they do, given that in the 90s I was similarly sceptical about your generation's experience of Xmas, compared to mine in the 1960s. 

What was yours like in the 60s?

I think its different now as most kids have alot more than we did at my age just like i probably did than you did in the 60s

[villa4europe]

51 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Ah man i remember, one of the greatest moments in my childhood in the 90s was at xmas when my dad bought me and my brother our first console- the super nintendo with the scope. I cant tell you the excitement i had.

Was the best Xmas ever.

I dont know if kids still have that sort of feeling these days 

Yeah why not? 

The first console is the ps5 (if they're lucky...) but I don't see Xmas as changing, at its core from what I can tell with my brothers kids Xmas for them is exactly the same as Xmas for me, even with social media and everything the lie seems to keep working, my 9 year old nephew hasn't stumbled across father Christmas being fake on Wikipedia 

Apart from the elf nonsense but that's not happening in my house anyway 

And yeah I can remember me and my brother getting a snes with street fighter 2 for Xmas in probably about 93 or 94 and the buzz was real, thats my only Xmas console

[osmark86]

56 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Ah man i remember, one of the greatest moments in my childhood in the 90s was at xmas when my dad bought me and my brother our first console- the super nintendo with the scope. I cant tell you the excitement i had.

Was the best Xmas ever.

I dont know if kids still have that sort of feeling these days 

I bet they do. The world is big and complex at that age regardless of the times.

[Xela]

Born in '79

80s - from what i can remember i loved it. Great childhood, loved junior and middle school, lots of good mates, started watching Villa with my Dad. Brilliant.

90s - start of the 90s i wasn't keen - hated secondary school, couldn't wait to leave. Mid to late 90s were ace though - BritPop, Euro 96, got my first job in 97, first car in 98, clubbing, great nights out, great memories. Spending all my salary on clothes and going out up town (mate) to meet women! Villa were decent as well... all my favourite games from that era - 2 cup finals, Inter x2, Tranmere, Atletico. First started using the internet - chat rooms, MSN Messenger, everyone seemed really friendly online. Met up with loads of people I chatted with online and none of them were axe murderers! It was like a generation connecting with each other. The exciting early (in mass use terms) days of the net. 

00s - start of the decade was pretty much like the late 90s... lots of going out, women, loving life. Joined my current employers in 2002 and made loads of new friends. The department I joined as all roughly my age and we'd go out every Friday night straight from work, sometimes 30 or so of us. Good times! This was the decade I really started going away a lot. Cheap flights, lads holidays. Probably saw 40 countries in this decade. Some absolutely legendary holidays. Memories of a lifetime. Moved out of my parents, lived alone for the first time, lived with a lady for the first time, then lived alone again!  Career really took off in 2008.

10s - A more 'grown up' decade. Saving money, buying my place, still going away but started to reduce as friends got married and had kids. My health started to go south around this time and I got a bit lazy. Stopped going to the gym, weight started going on and the work stress hit insane levels.

20s - More of the 10s but a bit more laid back with work now and in terms of my health, luckily no further deterioration, in-fact, probably slightly better than before. Still need to get my diet sorted and do more exercise. I've reached the age where I think i'm more comfortable with my decisions and opinions and don't worry too much what people think. The wider world though is a bit of shit at the moment. 

In summary - 90s and 00s were my favourite, can't really narrow it down from that.

[osmark86]

20 minutes ago, Xela said:

Born in '79

80s - from what i can remember i loved it. Great childhood, loved junior and middle school, lots of good mates, started watching Villa with my Dad. Brilliant.

90s - start of the 90s i wasn't keen - hated secondary school, couldn't wait to leave. Mid to late 90s were ace though - BritPop, Euro 96, got my first job in 97, first car in 98, clubbing, great nights out, great memories. Spending all my salary on clothes and going out up town (mate) to meet women! Villa were decent as well... all my favourite games from that era - 2 cup finals, Inter x2, Tranmere, Atletico. First started using the internet - chat rooms, MSN Messenger, everyone seemed really friendly online. Met up with loads of people I chatted with online and none of them were axe murderers! It was like a generation connecting with each other. The exciting early (in mass use terms) days of the net. 

00s - start of the decade was pretty much like the late 90s... lots of going out, women, loving life. Joined my current employers in 2002 and made loads of new friends. The department I joined as all roughly my age and we'd go out every Friday night straight from work, sometimes 30 or so of us. Good times! This was the decade I really started going away a lot. Cheap flights, lads holidays. Probably saw 40 countries in this decade. Some absolutely legendary holidays. Memories of a lifetime. Moved out of my parents, lived alone for the first time, lived with a lady for the first time, then lived alone again!  Career really took off in 2008.

10s - A more 'grown up' decade. Saving money, buying my place, still going away but started to reduce as friends got married and had kids. My health started to go south around this time and I got a bit lazy. Stopped going to the gym, weight started going on and the work stress hit insane levels.

20s - More of the 10s but a bit more laid back with work now and in terms of my health, luckily no further deterioration, in-fact, probably slightly better than before. Still need to get my diet sorted and do more exercise. I've reached the age where I think i'm more comfortable with my decisions and opinions and don't worry too much what people think. The wider world though is a bit of shit at the moment. 

In summary - 90s and 00s were my favourite, can't really narrow it down from that.

Prioritize exercise my man! Good health = more decades to look back upon with fond memories.

[Demitri_C]

40 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Yeah why not? 

The first console is the ps5 (if they're lucky...) but I don't see Xmas as changing, at its core from what I can tell with my brothers kids Xmas for them is exactly the same as Xmas for me, even with social media and everything the lie seems to keep working, my 9 year old nephew hasn't stumbled across father Christmas being fake on Wikipedia 

Apart from the elf nonsense but that's not happening in my house anyway 

And yeah I can remember me and my brother getting a snes with street fighter 2 for Xmas in probably about 93 or 94 and the buzz was real, thats my only Xmas console

I mean i probably say that as i see how the worlds evolving for example you have 5 year olds playing on ipads. When i was 5 i was getting he man toys and thunderkats num chucks!

Elf nonsense? Am i missing something?!

Ah you can relate to the buzz. Honestly it was fecking fantastic.  I remember it as clear as day. That bloody snes scope was the greatest thing i had either seen at the time

[villa4europe]

Just now, Demitri_C said:

I mean i probably say that as i see how the worlds evolving for example you have 5 year olds playing on ipads. When i was 5 i was getting he man toys and thunderkats num chucks!

Elf nonsense? Am i missing something?!

Ah you can relate to the buzz. Honestly it was fecking fantastic.  I remember it as clear as day. That bloody snes scope was the greatest thing i had either seen at the time

Elf on the shelf! To me personally that seems like a lie too far, Xmas day and father Xmas I can fully understand the magic but to me elf on the shelf is mugging kids off and when they realise that its nonsense what else will they question 

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, Demitri_C said:

What was yours like in the 60s?

I think its different now as most kids have alot more than we did at my age just like i probably did than you did in the 60s

Fan- **** ing -tastic. My parents weren't well off, but it wasn't all "We were happy to make do with an orange and a lump of coal". And you have to consider that I was a spoilt only child, so I got lots of nice presents. But that's not really the point - it's just the thrill of Xmas eve. I'm sure that doesn't change. 

[Demitri_C]

10 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Elf on the shelf! To me personally that seems like a lie too far, Xmas day and father Xmas I can fully understand the magic but to me elf on the shelf is mugging kids off and when they realise that its nonsense what else will they question 

I thought you was gonna tell me its when the whole family dresses up in matching elf outfits!

[osmark86]

1 minute ago, Demitri_C said:

I thought you was gonna tell me its when the whole family dresses up in matching elf outfits!

There are likely oddballs doing that today. Whether that constitutes a good xmas or not is up for debate.

[tonyh29]

14 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Fan- **** ing -tastic. My parents weren't well off, but it wasn't all "We were happy to make do with an orange and a lump of coal". And you have to consider that I was a spoilt only child, so I got lots of nice presents. But that's not really the point - it's just the thrill of Xmas eve. I'm sure that doesn't change. 

ditto  ... a stocking was an orange , some walnuts , a Shoot annual ,some colouring pens and maybe a Walnut whip  ... And me and my brother loved every moment of waking up on Christmas day to open the pillow case ( a stocking would have been extravagant) 

One of the best presents we ever got was a fishing tackle  seat box .. my dad worked at the Acton works for London underground and someone on the line that built the tube trains made them for us  out of available materials .. a sort of aluminium box with straps so you could carry it like a rucksack and a padded seat to sit on  .. we both still have them 

I guess getting order and we as a family becoming more affluent took the fun out of it  all ... now instead of a Shoot annual , I'm sorta expecting someone to buy me a football club  

[TheAuthority]

8 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

ditto  ... a stocking was an orange , some walnuts , a Shoot annual ,some colouring pens and maybe a Walnut whip  ... 

What is it with the weird sweets you wouldn't eat at any other point during the year? Every Christmas me and my sister would get a HUGE box of Turkish Delight. No chocolate, just a huge tub of pink, sweeten gelatine. Why on earth did my mother think that was some sort of exotic treat?

Never even saw those boxes in shops (did see the bar that was chocolate wrapped.)

[tonyh29]

4 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

What is it with the weird sweets you wouldn't eat at any other point during the year? Every Christmas me and my sister would get a HUGE box of Turkish Delight. No chocolate, just a huge tub of pink, sweeten gelatine. Why on earth did my mother think that was some sort of exotic treat?

Never even saw those boxes in shops (did see the bar that was chocolate wrapped.)

My folks still buy arctic roll , guess you stick to what you know !!

M&S do some Percy pig walnut whips type things , they are more addictive than crack 

[chrisp65]

They’ve just refurbed the M&S up the road from me.

There is now an aisle of Percy Pig related products.

[mjmooney]

5 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

What is it with the weird sweets you wouldn't eat at any other point during the year? Every Christmas me and my sister would get a HUGE box of Turkish Delight. No chocolate, just a huge tub of pink, sweeten gelatine. Why on earth did my mother think that was some sort of exotic treat?

Never even saw those boxes in shops (did see the bar that was chocolate wrapped.)

I always got a "smokers' set" at Xmas - candy cigarettes and spun sugar 'tobacco', chocolate pipes and cigars. Can you imagine it nowadays? 

[Davkaus]

Percy pig can get in the same bin as that stupid Colin **** Caterpillar cake that people seem to have decided is some kind of English cultural icon. **** off.

[tonyh29]

9 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Percy pig can get in the same bin as that stupid Colin **** Caterpillar cake that people seem to have decided is some kind of English cultural icon. **** off.

Sounds like someone is miffed they didn’t get a Percy Pig Easter egg last year  

 

[tonyh29]

16 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

I always got a "smokers' set" at Xmas - candy cigarettes and spun sugar 'tobacco', chocolate pipes and cigars. Can you imagine it nowadays? 

I used to get those … there was also another set made from liquorice that had a pipe with bobbly bits on the end  

 

and yet it never encouraged me to smoke .. go figure