In all the photos I have in my old albums the ones that make me smile almost the most are ones from photo booths. There has been so much in the news about the way young people are always taking selfies. According to some people they are a sign of self obsession, vanity and even that they have nothing better to do with their lives. Poor teenagers all they are doing is trying to fit in with other young people as young people always have. I think the main problem lies with older people who have forgotten what it was like to be young. In the 1970s we had our own selfies, they were called the Woolworth's photo booth!
On Saturday mornings we would often head off to Woolworths in Epsom and have our photo taken. It was nearly always with a friend and we would share out the photos. 50p for a lifetime of memories! Some days there would be lots of us and we would jump in and out of the booth in the few seconds between flashes to change places. It would be the cause of much hysterical laughter and loud tutting from older people shopping in Woolies at the time. This is me and my friend Janet in 1974.
We even had them taken on days out at the coast. Never mind photos on the beach at Brighton or Littlehampton we would head to the local Woolworths for memories of the day!
I remember this colour photo so clearly. We had heard there was a brand new colour photo booth opened in Woolworths in Croydon. We set off on the old 470 London Country route to West Croydon which took about an hour, just to get our photos taken. I still have this precious photo although being at the back I'm not quite sure if it was worth the long journey!
This final photo I have, I remember having taken to send to my new penpal and I eagerly awaited her photo in return. Much more fun than facebook! I remember I had got my hair cut and really wanted to look like Suzi Quatro.
So I say to young people, enjoy your selfies. One day in the future your descendants will be saying "Wasn't Great Granny lovely." Enjoy the moment in history.
I'm off later today to meet my old school friends for an evening out no doubt for a bit more nostalgia about the 1970s. So if you're up near the Thames tonight and you see a group of 60 year olds (nearly!) acting like a crowd of 1970s teenagers that will be us. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Back blogging Monday, xx
