Columnist Nora Johnson: Ain’t what it used to be

REFLECTING on my recent column about the 1970s, it seems strange that ‘Boomers’ (then in their 20s and 30s) who were trying to make their way in the world had to put up with the overnight quadrupling of oil prices, eye-watering interest rates, ‘three day weeks’, power cuts and incessant disruptions through trade union action (let alone platform soles, flared trousers and tank tops).

And yet now they’re frequently pilloried by the young for having lived ‘gilded’ lives!

Really? Boomers just sat in the dark with candles and paraffin stoves, led by a generation who had experienced the war and displayed a level of resilience and stoicism which everyone soon adjusted to. Strangely, nobody needed counselling or therapy to recover. Admittedly, housing was relatively cheap, the main expense for young people today.

All large companies had reasonable pension schemes. CEOs earned good money, but nothing like the multiples of their workers’ salaries today. (And the music was good.)

Everything considered though, the good old days weren’t SO good! Nostalgia is mainly due to only focusing on the good things and forgetting the things that were rubbish (which literally piled up on the streets!).

Nora Johnson’s critically acclaimed psychological crime thrillers (www.nora‐johnson.net) all available online including eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, audiobooks, paperbacks at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.

Nora Johnson’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

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