In my young day....

As a senior citizen, I am often drawn into discussions by my contemporaries about how terrible the world is these days, and how much better it was when we were kids. I usually find myself saying something like "Oh yes, it was so much better when we didn't have 'fridges so the milk went off before you had a chance to drink it, freezing cold in the winter with no central heating, draughty windows, no hot water until you'd raked out last night's ashes and got a fire going. Those were the days!". No, in my book life is infinitely better these days, certainly on the practical front, but there's no doubt that attitudes have changed and that it's a very different world. This was brought home to me again the other day when our local paper published a notice for people to cut out if they wished and put in their front windows saying "No carol singers, thank you". When I was little I used to go out on my own on Christmas Eve (not before) and sing carols (at least two) at every house up and down our street, and get maybe 6d (2½p) a time. These days people are unwilling to open their front doors to strangers after dark, even if they can hear the singing over the noise of the television. It was, I think, a more open and innocent world in my young day, but a better one...?