Sussex columnist on the importance of a good girls' night out
Some things have changed so much since I was a child, it makes me feel like I’m about 300 years old when I reminisce.
In fact, I was only born in the ’80s, but the ’80s was a very, very different beast to the 2020s. Some things are better now, but there are definitely things I’m really sad my children won’t ever experience or truly understand.
On one of our work catch-up video calls this week, the subject of comics came up. It got me wondering whether children, teenagers and even those in their early 20s even know what they are.
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When I was younger, my nan paid for a comic subscription for each of her grandchildren. My choice was Bunty, a wholesome comic aimed at young girls that featured short stories and puzzles. It was always so exciting when my nan brought it round to my house every Wednesday, accompanied by pocket money she would give out related to our age (60p if you were six, 70p if you were seven, etc., etc.).
And then, at Christmas, we would always be gifted the annual of said comic. It was a staple present. And while we have tried to get our kids into having Lego or other annuals, they just don’t seem to hold the same excitement now.
My husband and I somehow ended up talking about renting videos this week, too.
We both said how much we loved being taken to a video rental shop as children and being able to look at tangible video cases with pictures to decide what we wanted to hire. It was always such a treat, and so much more fun to be given the autonomy to pick what you wanted having had a really good look around. The equivalent now, where I scan through Netflix with my children looking for movies, just isn’t as fun. More convenient, maybe, but not the same sense of occasion. I think children like to see things laid out in front of them. Could somebody bring back a video store, please? I promise I’ll rewind the tape before I give it back!
Then there are CDs and cassette tapes. We actually gave a lift to a teenager we know the other day and he was baffled by the CD player in our car (yep, our car is old enough to still have a CD player!). He didn’t know what it was, and was equally confused by the CD you had to put in it to make it work. I do love being able to stream music now, and while I know you can still buy hard copies of music, with most new cars not even having CD players it somewhat eliminates the ability to do that. Again, it was so much fun when we were younger, going to HMV, Virgin Megastore or even the Woolworths music store to buy a CD single and, hopefully, influence what got to number one that week. And then sit there on a Sunday night, listening to Bruno Brooks run down the UK Top 40 chart, hoping your purchase made the difference.
But, I guess, that’s just the way things go. And when my children have their own children, maybe they’ll sit there craving the ‘good old days’ where you used to stream music and watch apps on your TV. Maybe?!
Other than having a couple of nostalgic moments, I’ve also been to both of Worthing’s brilliant cinemas this week. My husband and I caught Bad Boys: Ride or Die (it’s a bit meh, I wouldn’t waste your time) at the Connaught Cinema and then we took our children and two of their friends to the Dome’s Sunday morning cinema for IF, which is brilliant. You’d have to be made of stone not to shed a tear at this heart-warming family movie. My husband, of course, didn’t and thought I was slightly crazy for blubbing at the plight of pretend creatures.
I also went to a brilliant, women-only night out at Patterns in Brighton (that in itself was nostalgic when I realised it used to be the Escape club and it was where I celebrated the turn of the new millennium!). The evening was intended to be a fun, safe space for women to enjoy an evening out with other like-minded girls. And it was exactly that. My friends and I got our faces adorned with glitter and gold leaf, had a couple of drinks and snacks and danced like nobody was watching for hours.
Sadly, I think they only happen once a year, but I would so go again. And if anyone fancies doing one in Worthing so we don’t have to spend £70 on a cab home, even better. Might just need to give my post-dancing achy knees a break before the next one...