Hello everyone, this is my first post for a new monthly challenge – ” Tell Us About” and the word this month is time.
I am joining Gail @ is this mutton, Penny @ frugalfashionshopper, Deb @ debs-world and Mary Katherine @ mks.adventures for the challenge.
Purely by co-incidence on my recent trip to Melbourne I visited an art installation by Melbourne artist , Rone and a team of creators , titled Time. It was set on the third floor of the iconic Flinders Street Railway Station and is a vignette of working life in mid century Melbourne. I am using some of the images I took to discuss my take on the nostalgia often associated with times past.
How often do we look back at the time of our childhood years with rose coloured glasses. Mine took place in the 1950’s and 60’s , simpler times you may say or were they?
I do remember my primary school days at a small country school fondly but now think of the total lack of diversity in our learning , no room for alternative thinkers back then . I also am now appalled that our Australian school system taught us nothing of our indigenous history and the way the land of the early settlers was acquired. I knew more about English history than that of my own country. I am pleased that as my first grandson starts school soon he will learn in a much more inclusive enviroment that encourages creative thinkers.
The working lives of women are so different today than the typing pool depicted here. Further education has enabled women to follow so many more different paths and follow their dreams. Looking back to the 1950’s was a time when for many women your work life ended the day you married, Your new job was looking after the house and your husband .
Once the children arrived you were a full time stay at home mother . I know this certainly was the case for my mother and her friends and if my memory serves me correctly my school friends mothers.
I am so pleased it is so different for my daughter in law , as well as my sons and grandchildren.
I am fully aware that this is a privilege still denied to many.
Remember the old switchboards of times past, I do although the one I used in my first job was on a much smaller and simpler scale. Modern technology is often criticised but where would we be without our mobile phones and computers. The ease we connect with people all around the world today would have seemed impossible a few decades ago when either an expensive telegram or phone call was the only way to keep in touch. Looking back to 1975 and my first overseas trip the only way on a budget to keep in touch with family was an aerogram that could take a couple of weeks to reach home . Now an email is there in an instant.
As much as I love vintage fashion I am rather glad I am not expected to don a hat and gloves every time I leave the house. It must have been so restrictive wearing your stockings and girdle or garter belt every single day , to say nothing of the sensible shoes. Today’s choice is endless in terms of quality and style and so easily available , too easily sometimes but that is a post for another day.
I will finish with a couple of my favourite shots from the instillation. The first is of the ballroom , an amazing space that served many different functions over the years. The haunting vision of the young woman was shown throughout . I saw her as a vision of the future .
Time passes but some things stay the same.
Please join Gail – Is This Mutton
Penny – Frugal Fashionshopper
Deb – Debs World
Mary Katherine – mks adventures
to read their stories about Time.
Such a lovely post, with great photos, and yes, the past is so often looked at with rose tinted glasses. Personally think some of our UK politicians are in thrall to the past – but will stop there! For women the 50s and 60s were so restrictive and constrained. My mother was a full-time stay-at-home mother and honestly I think it nearly destroyed her. I was so keen to get away and be different. Could say more. But yes, your post has reminded me of so much! One of the best things about today is the ease of communication – it is so good that we are talking to each other from around the world. And it’s great we’re collaborating in this themed blog. Looking forward to the next one!
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Glad you enjoyed my take on this month’s theme Penny. I too am looking forward to our next one , even though I am finding the IT side a bit of a challenge . Totally agree many view the past through those rose coloured glasses.
The ease of communication and the ability to connect is certainly a great benefit to us all.
I love this post. Gorgeous pics.
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Thank you so much Sheila.
Loved your post and commentary. Great photos! Would love to see that art exhibit (and visit Melbourne 🙂
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Thank you so much Lorraine , glad you enjoyed the post . Appreciate you taking time to comment.
What a lovely new series Jill. Time seems to fly when we are getting older, but also the changes, in everything, develope so fast. I guess that has more to do with getting older but nevertheless it’s going fast. Beautiful photos!
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Glad you are enjoying the new series Nancy. So true time does fly as we get older.
Fascinating post Jill. My educational experiences were the same. Hardly any diversity and we studied topics like the Tudor period and European history in the 19th century. There was no mention of English atrocities against the Irish or involvement in slavery.
When I first became a reporter, we had manual typewriters. Going into local radio, the main method of sharing news with other regions was a telex machine.
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Thank you so much Gail and for organising the challenge. Interesting to know that your school system also was rather limited in its view of history too. I remember both those manual typewriters and telex machines.
Oh my sister and BIL in Melbourne saw this installation too and raved about it all! I like where you took in time and your thoughts on how fashion and life has changed over time. it’s great to be included with you all for these posts. Great photos of the installation too 🙂
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Thank you so much Michelle, the exhibition is truly wonderful. It is so interesting reading everyones take on the subjects and getting to know one another.
Beautiful photos of a great art installation. Yes, life was so restrictive in my youth, and I began my working life in a typing pool, later learning to use one of those switchboards too. Fortunately, after a while my fast shorthand got me into the secretarial game, and it was more interesting. I wore gloves to work in the early 1960s. How things have changed! Love the photo of the ballroom, which must have looked fantastic filled with dancing people. Great post thank you.
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Thank you so much Patricia , it was such a brilliant exhibition. Lucky you to have mastered shorthand , a skill I never managed. I had heard rumours about the ballroom over the years but it was never open to the public , so I was thrilled to actually see it. You can just imagine the ladies dancing in their ballgowns.
What a beautiful exhibition you went to, Jill. The photos are gorgeous! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post too. I grew up slightly later than you, having been born in 1975 and so much had already changed-or was changing-by then. It’s amazing how the world has changed in fifty years, isn’t it? Just imagine what it’s going to be like in another 50. I think it will unrecognisable!
Hugs
Suzy
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Thank you so much Suzy , glad you enjoyed the photos, the exhibition was amazing.
You were born the year of my first ever overseas trip . Agree so much as changed over the last 50 years , so many things that have improved the world for the better. I often wonder about the world my grand sons will grow up in. xx
A fantastic post, Jill! I loved reading about your experiences. x
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Thanks so very much Vix.
What a beautiful post! My husband’s father used to say, “Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.” When we look to the past, you are right there were so many things middle class, white families did not have to deal with that people of color (regardless of country – I’m in the States) did. We were shielded from the realities of poverty and discrimination. And as you point out, the prevalent view of the world, resulted in women having to fit into the mold of mother and housewife, regardless whether it suited them or not.
People bemoan “the evils” of social media, but I find it amazing. Yes it is filled with a lot of crap, but I now have friends and acquaintances from all over the world. People and perspectives that were once out of my reach.
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Thank you so much Michelle. I do most certainly agree with your husband’s fathers saying , so very true.
Social media used wisely has way more advantages than disadvantages , at least for me as regards contact and communication.
I absolutely loved this post, Jill, and the accompanying photos are fantastic as well.
I do suffer from bouts of nostalgia, and the passing of time is one of my pet subject. But it’s all to easy to look at the past through rose tinted glasses, isn’t it? Although I never felt a lack of diversity in my learning at my old – and utterly brilliant – primary school, I do agree about women’s lives being very different and restrictive when I was growing up. My Mum continued working – as a typist! – after she married my Dad but went part-time after I was born and became a full-time housewife after my brother came along. I do remember most of the women in my street being stay-at-home Mums! xxx
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Thank you so much Ann , glad you enjoyed this one. You are not alone having those bouts of nostalgia Ann but I firmly believe that for so many women the world today holds more promise. xx
What a great way to tie in photos from this exhibition with reflections on the past and how women’s lives reflected that. The part about what we were taught in school has resonated with many of us – the “whitewashing” of culture and our forebearers efforts to eradicate indigenous culture, regardless of what continent we grew up on. I have never been to Australia, and I’m fascinated by all aspects of your culture. I’m delighted to be included with Gail’s blogger group and to have discovered you, Jill – looking forward to more!
What a great way to tie in photos from this exhibition with reflections on the past and how women’s lives were determined by it. The part about what we were taught in school has resonated with many of us – the “whitewashing” of culture and our forebearers’ efforts to eradicate indigenous culture, regardless of what continent we grew up on. I have never been to Australia, and I’m fascinated by all aspects of your culture. I’m delighted to be included with Gail’s blogger group and to have discovered you, Jill – looking forward to more!
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Thank you so much Mary Katherine it was an interesting topic for our first one , I too am looking forward to many more challenges over the coming months. It does seem that the lack of education on the history of the treatment of our indigenous peoples is a common thread.
Oh, that photo of the switchboard made me cringe. I lasted about 2 days working on a much smaller switchboard between two neighboring stores owned by the same family. Horrible job!!
These photographs and memories are moving. Your post took me back down Memory Lane but more thoughtfully so. Although, we have much room for improvement globally in teaching children about the indigenous peoples of the world, we are beginning to move in the right direction. We are watching the series ‘1923’ and I have been disturbed by the ways the nuns ‘educated’ the Native American girls in schools created to ‘civilize’ them. Pretty horrific.
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Thank you so much Leslie glad you enjoyed my post. I have no idea how anyone ever managed those large switchboards.
It seems that for many of us , regardless of our country,s school system there was little mention of the history of the treatment of our indigineous peoples. Change is slow but at least it is happening.