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I actually re-read the entry a few minutes ago and spotted the mistake and then committed hara-kiri in my kitchen out of embarrassment and shame and am now dead
Best part of UK Seventies is there was an alternative: Benn's Alternative Economic Development was hardcore Marxism but it was better than anything Soft Labours had in their mind, as Pound collapse showed.
It would have made the UK a Western Jugoslavia and it would have been better than Callaghan imvho: we need an ucronical short history about it.
70s Britain wasn't all bad (I grew up in it). I honestly don't think there has been a more fertile time for popular music, before or since, especially when you consider all the different genres it engendered (glam rock, prog rock, disco, reggae, punk, new wave etc.).
Anyway, if you want to read up on the era, I's recommend "When the lights went out" by Andy Beckett.
It's a fascinating period because of the creativity that it did unleash. I recall reading some critical of the Thatcher era for ending the ability of certain youths to spend a lot of time on the dole, because it effectively forced them to work full-time, cutting into practice and gigging.
The 1970s were the tail end of the post WW2 multidecadal great structural transformation of the UK from one with a institutional tradition of federated decision making and geographic, sectoral, and societal diffusion of power, authority, and access to decision making within policy variable environments into a deeply centralized and standardized system with very exclusionary access to decision making. The Thatcher gov (it really the Callaghan government just before her that initiated the last phase, like it was in the USA with carter who initiated the final phase here, not Regan) tied the knots on the UK becoming economically, governmentally, scientifically, and culturally centrally planned
Dad's Army, It ain't Alf hot Mum, The two Ronnie's (Pommies) Dave Allen, Dick Emery, Some Mothers do have em, The Last of the Summer Wine. Also dramas like I Claudius When the Boat Comes in All creatures great and small, and many others. My favourite was The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.
They played The Two Ronnies on TV in Canada, but I think only up until 1982 or so. I was very, very young then, but I can still remember their faces even if I can't remember a single comedy sketch from the show.
The thing is, to me , as a Scottish man born in the mid '60s is that gritty, industrial 1970s Scotland was still a better place than the Neoliberal wasteland that followed in the 80s and 90s and ever since.
It was gritty and rough but it was honest. All towns still had a main street, full of small I dependent shops, often stacked with produce made by farmers barely 20-30 miles distant. There was small local industry.
Mostly all gone, sacrificed on the Corporate altar of Convenience.
Most small towns are soulless dormitories now the life sucked out by tax dodging corporate chains in distant retail parks.
We still had more and better maintained communities then too, before councils became corrupt conduits for outsourcing and MI6 flooded the schemes and industrial towns with Afghan heroin whilst the Regime systematically burned the industrial base.
At least Sectarianism is diminishing although they are desperately trying to push Orange marches into areas that have no history of this toxin.
"Britain" should have collapsed in the 1980s, but as usual they found another country's resources to exploit and stay off the inevitable collapse of their Imperialist construct for another few decades.
Had the US not allowed the dollar to float England was headed for financial backwater status - created colossal demand for offshore, unregulated dollar trading which reivived London as a finance hub
I was exposed to Canadian media when living in upstate NY and consuming a standard cable TV package. Main thing I remember was CBC broadcasting Apolo Ohno's gold medal race live while NBC waited several hours to do it
The first things that come to mind when I think of that era is the film A Clockwork Orange and brutalist architecture. It colors the way I look at that time.
I watched both while living overseas (spent 25 years abroad), so my reactions -- while influenced by growing-up in the US -- were perhaps more critical (of the second) than they might otherwise have been. Also, I spent two years in Alaska (US Army, Infantry) and trained often with a Canadian unit (the "Edmonton Commandos"), both of which colored my views on the two series. I was never a fan of American sitcoms, and much preferred "North of 60" as a much truer (or, at least "believable") 'Northern exposure'. Sure, "Northern Exposure" was much more "polished", but I think that was more a function of budget, than of script/acting ability. In fact, five years after returning to the US (South Florida) I took a position in Fairbanks, AK where I watched and lived "North of 60".
The Two Pommies (Ronnies) Some Mother's do have 'em. Last of the Summer Wone, The Goodies, Monty Python, Ripping Yarns, Dave Allen, Dick Emery and my favourite, The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin to name but a few.
I have watched some of these guys' videos and I guess they are okay. But in the end you really can't trust what they say about anything because they won't go outside the official parameters of truth on the edge cases such as the moon landing and titanic. So at some point it's like ... why bother? Sorry ... probably not thr kind of comment you were looking for.
I wonder if this was dependent on pkace and expectations. Mod London was financially and culturally the center of the universe, coming out of war damage repair into jumps in the living standard. For it to then crash like this must've been rough. But was it just another day in the countryside? In parts of north Ireland (not necessarily Northen Ireland) they still lacked plumbing and electricity. Comparing this to our present situation of the past several years, there is growth potential in a city job, but it's not guaranteed, and it can enter seasons of madness where crime or regulations cancel out the benefit. So the strongest situation for family is a smallholding farm removed from all that noise, from which a dad or older son can go out to exploit city opportunity, but to which they can also return. I know people who, during the Lockdown, simply went about their business on their family farm and were essentially unaffected. When the country opened back up they supplemented their income with city work.
The best piece of media about this period is the mini-series 'Our Friends in the North' (feat Daniel Craig) which tracks the fates of a bunch of lads in Newcastle during those grim times.
It shows the demolition of local cultures and class identities that happened in Britain in the 70s after the collapse of industry.
Those guys are pretty good. So much more pleasant to listen to a fairly scripted and practiced podcast than two guys hemming and hawing and winging it (I only skim transcripts of those, life is too short even to listen or watch at 2x speed).
Holland seems to be the comic relief but it is kept brief.
They focused a lot more on the personalities and Labour Party factions rather than on economic conditions and the causes of the gloom, though.
Re: The Rest is History is a good podcast. I have listened to their Christopher Columbus, Conquest of Aztecs, Protestant Reformation, and Titanic series. Tom's speaking style can be cringe at times but he does have better "outside-the-box" insight than Dominic who sticks to the mainstream views most of the time. Particularly his "defense" of the Spaniards is not something any mainstream liberal historian would do these days.
Re: British media. Perhaps its my age(GenZ) but I never liked British entertainment (other than The Rest is History I guess!). Never ending cynicism masked as intellectual superiority. Nothing virtuous about that. Always liked American media so much more. I think British media was somewhat popular amongst young Americans till the 2010s but since COVID it has lost all appeal. The only foreign media Americans under 25 consume these days is Japanese and Korean.
Hit the like button at the top or bottom of this page to like this entry. Use the share and/or re-stack buttons to share this across social media. Leave a comment if the mood strikes you to do so.
I actually looked up aglosphere thinking i was crazy and you unfailable. :-)
I actually re-read the entry a few minutes ago and spotted the mistake and then committed hara-kiri in my kitchen out of embarrassment and shame and am now dead
Nowhere to go but up, Physically. And spiritually, though not at the same time
Best part of UK Seventies is there was an alternative: Benn's Alternative Economic Development was hardcore Marxism but it was better than anything Soft Labours had in their mind, as Pound collapse showed.
It would have made the UK a Western Jugoslavia and it would have been better than Callaghan imvho: we need an ucronical short history about it.
Western Yugoslavia? As the farmer said- “you can’t get there from here”.
Yugoslavia didn't fare well once they were unable to repay the loans that they subsisted on
Better =/= good/best.
Everything is better than slow decay, as Thatcher's premiership showed to whomever wants to see.
In fact, in retrospect, a better paragon is Callaghan:Benn=Tito:Ceausescu since Benn wanted to avoid the IMF loan through AED.
70s Britain wasn't all bad (I grew up in it). I honestly don't think there has been a more fertile time for popular music, before or since, especially when you consider all the different genres it engendered (glam rock, prog rock, disco, reggae, punk, new wave etc.).
Anyway, if you want to read up on the era, I's recommend "When the lights went out" by Andy Beckett.
It's a fascinating period because of the creativity that it did unleash. I recall reading some critical of the Thatcher era for ending the ability of certain youths to spend a lot of time on the dole, because it effectively forced them to work full-time, cutting into practice and gigging.
Mike Leigh's 1982 movie "Meantime" with Tim Roth and Gary Oldman was all about 70s unemployed guys
The 1970s were the tail end of the post WW2 multidecadal great structural transformation of the UK from one with a institutional tradition of federated decision making and geographic, sectoral, and societal diffusion of power, authority, and access to decision making within policy variable environments into a deeply centralized and standardized system with very exclusionary access to decision making. The Thatcher gov (it really the Callaghan government just before her that initiated the last phase, like it was in the USA with carter who initiated the final phase here, not Regan) tied the knots on the UK becoming economically, governmentally, scientifically, and culturally centrally planned
In Australia too if you watched the ABC you'd think you were in Britain but if you watched a commercial channel you'd think that you were in the US.
I don't know how old you are (and I won't ask) but what British TV shows did they air down there?
Dad's Army, It ain't Alf hot Mum, The two Ronnie's (Pommies) Dave Allen, Dick Emery, Some Mothers do have em, The Last of the Summer Wine. Also dramas like I Claudius When the Boat Comes in All creatures great and small, and many others. My favourite was The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.
They played The Two Ronnies on TV in Canada, but I think only up until 1982 or so. I was very, very young then, but I can still remember their faces even if I can't remember a single comedy sketch from the show.
The thing is, to me , as a Scottish man born in the mid '60s is that gritty, industrial 1970s Scotland was still a better place than the Neoliberal wasteland that followed in the 80s and 90s and ever since.
It was gritty and rough but it was honest. All towns still had a main street, full of small I dependent shops, often stacked with produce made by farmers barely 20-30 miles distant. There was small local industry.
Mostly all gone, sacrificed on the Corporate altar of Convenience.
Most small towns are soulless dormitories now the life sucked out by tax dodging corporate chains in distant retail parks.
We still had more and better maintained communities then too, before councils became corrupt conduits for outsourcing and MI6 flooded the schemes and industrial towns with Afghan heroin whilst the Regime systematically burned the industrial base.
At least Sectarianism is diminishing although they are desperately trying to push Orange marches into areas that have no history of this toxin.
"Britain" should have collapsed in the 1980s, but as usual they found another country's resources to exploit and stay off the inevitable collapse of their Imperialist construct for another few decades.
Aye
Had the US not allowed the dollar to float England was headed for financial backwater status - created colossal demand for offshore, unregulated dollar trading which reivived London as a finance hub
I was exposed to Canadian media when living in upstate NY and consuming a standard cable TV package. Main thing I remember was CBC broadcasting Apolo Ohno's gold medal race live while NBC waited several hours to do it
https://youtu.be/_V5M33t1Zww?si=SM9kz-kCFQ5y_gqc
The first things that come to mind when I think of that era is the film A Clockwork Orange and brutalist architecture. It colors the way I look at that time.
Re, Brit TV... Lower production value but more creative and for this Canadian, better, more clever than many American programs.
Fawlty Towers vs. Rhoda? I mean c'mon. Monty Python vs any number of ghastly Yank game shows? Different planets
CBC "North of 60" vs. CBS "Northern Exposure"
Interesting comparison. Both had their strong points. Thoughts on both?
I watched both while living overseas (spent 25 years abroad), so my reactions -- while influenced by growing-up in the US -- were perhaps more critical (of the second) than they might otherwise have been. Also, I spent two years in Alaska (US Army, Infantry) and trained often with a Canadian unit (the "Edmonton Commandos"), both of which colored my views on the two series. I was never a fan of American sitcoms, and much preferred "North of 60" as a much truer (or, at least "believable") 'Northern exposure'. Sure, "Northern Exposure" was much more "polished", but I think that was more a function of budget, than of script/acting ability. In fact, five years after returning to the US (South Florida) I took a position in Fairbanks, AK where I watched and lived "North of 60".
Depending on what years you served, the "Edmonton Commandos" unit was probably the Airborne Regiment based at CFB Edmonton. They were hardcore.
Yes! As mentioned, my preference always veered towards the British shows.
The Two Pommies (Ronnies) Some Mother's do have 'em. Last of the Summer Wone, The Goodies, Monty Python, Ripping Yarns, Dave Allen, Dick Emery and my favourite, The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin to name but a few.
I have watched some of these guys' videos and I guess they are okay. But in the end you really can't trust what they say about anything because they won't go outside the official parameters of truth on the edge cases such as the moon landing and titanic. So at some point it's like ... why bother? Sorry ... probably not thr kind of comment you were looking for.
No, it's fine Michael. I agree with your assessment regarding their colouring within the lines.
I wonder if this was dependent on pkace and expectations. Mod London was financially and culturally the center of the universe, coming out of war damage repair into jumps in the living standard. For it to then crash like this must've been rough. But was it just another day in the countryside? In parts of north Ireland (not necessarily Northen Ireland) they still lacked plumbing and electricity. Comparing this to our present situation of the past several years, there is growth potential in a city job, but it's not guaranteed, and it can enter seasons of madness where crime or regulations cancel out the benefit. So the strongest situation for family is a smallholding farm removed from all that noise, from which a dad or older son can go out to exploit city opportunity, but to which they can also return. I know people who, during the Lockdown, simply went about their business on their family farm and were essentially unaffected. When the country opened back up they supplemented their income with city work.
The best piece of media about this period is the mini-series 'Our Friends in the North' (feat Daniel Craig) which tracks the fates of a bunch of lads in Newcastle during those grim times.
It shows the demolition of local cultures and class identities that happened in Britain in the 70s after the collapse of industry.
This sounds good, thanks.
Those guys are pretty good. So much more pleasant to listen to a fairly scripted and practiced podcast than two guys hemming and hawing and winging it (I only skim transcripts of those, life is too short even to listen or watch at 2x speed).
Holland seems to be the comic relief but it is kept brief.
They focused a lot more on the personalities and Labour Party factions rather than on economic conditions and the causes of the gloom, though.
Re: The Rest is History is a good podcast. I have listened to their Christopher Columbus, Conquest of Aztecs, Protestant Reformation, and Titanic series. Tom's speaking style can be cringe at times but he does have better "outside-the-box" insight than Dominic who sticks to the mainstream views most of the time. Particularly his "defense" of the Spaniards is not something any mainstream liberal historian would do these days.
Re: British media. Perhaps its my age(GenZ) but I never liked British entertainment (other than The Rest is History I guess!). Never ending cynicism masked as intellectual superiority. Nothing virtuous about that. Always liked American media so much more. I think British media was somewhat popular amongst young Americans till the 2010s but since COVID it has lost all appeal. The only foreign media Americans under 25 consume these days is Japanese and Korean.
Tom Holland continues to inch towards Christian apologetics (especially historical), but he's in old man territory now