WELCOME TO 1947
The Second World War is over and the world is altered and attempting to recover.
What are these bulky things! This is how Lily and Lucy’s time enjoyed and experienced the world before google and portable devices. This time epoch is known as B.G BEFORE GOOGLE.
Lily has an on the spot light bulb moment and runs to get her slightly smashed laptop.
It is at this point Other Lily can see how far technology has come.
‘Lily was totally intrigued by it and I had to explain it was like a typewriter that could make movies and access all kinds of books, pictures, music and information across the whole wide world …
OL was impressed with the laptop and said it was like Lucy’s old typewriter and gramophone together with all her records , her mum Beryl’s entire newspaper hoard and top secret recipe notepads her dad Ken’s home projector, family slides PLUS her own entire book/encyclopedia collection and Kodak Brownie camera all rolled into one.’
All of these things now fit into our hip pocket in the form of a smart phone!
Did you know that people can get NOMOPHOBIA- THE FEAR OF BEING WITHOUT YOUR MOBILE PHONE.
Sixty something years have passed since Other Lily was trapped in the mirror and Lucy was listening to Frankie Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and The Andrew Sisters were in the fore with popular music. How does their appearance, sound and lyrics compared to Justin Beiber and Miley Cyrus or Lady Gaga.
A teen would be stepping lightly to bonza new dances known as the jitterbug and the swing. Beryl was scandalised – well how would she feel about one shaking one’s junk in one’s trunk? Smelling salts anyone?
Wind up the gramophone … To hear the Voice of Frank Sinatra LP album.
I bet your bottom dollar Lucy’s collection consisted of ten or so albums made of the shiniest vinyl and she would have had to wait for the new tunes to arrive from overseas. Major time lag. Months!! Lily.G has thousands of songs at her disposal and a neat 750 songs on her laptop.
A Wireless radio was not only a source of entertainment but a stylish piece of furniture.
Other Lily’s family might have gathered around their wireless to listen to the news, sports, radio serial plays and stories … and music if Beryl’s nerves could hold up.
It is interesting to note we still love a serial, think about Home and Away and Neighbours!
Post war rationing is beginning to ease but ration cards were still important for some food and goods. Princess Elizabeth (AKA the Queen) also collected them and with the support of the nation’s brides received an extra 200 cards to ensure top quality sparkly stuff. Some brides even gave up their own ration cards but they were returned. The nation was behind her.
A younger person may have kept amused by playing card games and collecting / trading sporting cards from cigarettes packs. Everyone has a favourite marble or jack or knuckle (and sling shot and pea shooter) and of course bats and balls.
A kaleidoscope allowed our grandparents to see the world in psychedelic before the Beatles went to India. Discover the mind altering fun for yourself!
Lego came in free range fun packs, there was no media deals with Stars Wars or Harry Potter or Minecraft or The Simpsons or Frozen … you get the idea. Toys were traditionally gender stereotyped with boys enjoying trains sets, riding their bikes and football and girls enjoying sewing, crafts, drawing, skipping and knitting hats with flattering pom poms. Embroidering handkerchiefs, making daisy chains, pressing flowers and writing in our journals in neat loopy handwriting kept a girl out of trouble.
Collections were popular – stamps, coins, medals, shells, pebbles, bookmarks, pinned dead butterflies and assorted insects … all very charming.
Favourite homemade treats lollipops, nougat, penuche, candied nuts, taffy and fudge and patty cakes. A big day in the kitchen for Mum and doled out as treats and sometimes food.
Now our thumbs are well exercised on our playstation, XBOX and Nintendo consoles and we might ask ‘Can we get Macca’s can we can we can we.’ Drive through and tap card, don’t forget to supersize! But we also enjoy a huge array of differing sports for everyone. Lily G. is ecstatic that girls can now play professional football but can’t think about it too much as it reminds her of her own lack of coordination and prowess.
It was at this time that many of our superheroes were invented in comic books particularly Marvel and DC comic books. Did you know Superman was created in 1938! How does he compare with today’s version of Superman?
If you had a florin in your pocket you were doing well for an eleven – year – old.
Kodak Six – 20 Brownie Model Camera was cutting edge in home photography resulting a very small black and white photo that faded and aged like the back of Nimmy’s hands.You could also take photos as a slide and then with a natty little projector and a white rolled up screen send entire families and whole neighbourhoods into a sleep induced coma as you showed off your holiday slides.
With the victory of winning the war girls celebrated by styling their hair in an aptly named victory roll. Curls and waves were created with curlers and pins and a permanent home wave kept your hair in place forever. Not a sign of a hair straightener or coloured highlights. Snoods, slides, combs, ribbons and turbans kept your look cutting edge. Gloves were chosen over acrylic multicoloured nails.
Serial weekly instalments of magazines such as Girls’ Crystal were very important for a dose of adventure and fun. Now we have Buzzfeed, Facebook and snapchat, twitter, u-tube. Discuss? Do you know someone with nomophobia?
Ask students to google the answers to the questions below? How would they have found the answers in 1947? Encourage students to click on images to really give a good idea of how the 40’s looked?
Who was the Prime Minister of Australia in 1947?
List some favourite foods of the time?
How did children learn … think of books, blackboards, repetition and the cane! Ouch!
List the three top songs in Australia at that time?
Look up the jitterbug and the swing on You tube? Get ready to tap your feet.
What do these Aussie slang words mean? bottler, fair dinkum, bonza, give it a burl and she’ll be apples.
What did a ration card look like and what purpose did it serve?
How much was a loaf of bread, a bottle of milk and a postage stamp?
What measurement system did we use?
What in the world is a SNOOD?
