Explore every episode of the podcast Ray’s Rants Life in the 1950s 1960s 1970s Great Britain girls England family UK work school British music night clubs pubs fashion pirate radio Caroline English holidays television

The coldest city on Earth -71c. Crikey! I moan if the temperature drops to +3c. Are you keeping warm? All this will soon be over and we can enjoy the spring and summer. 

As usual, there's so much to talk about in this episode. Steam Engines. Haircut. School. Christmas. Adverts. Winter and Summer. Deliberate Mistake. Yes, I've had my hair cut! Santa Klaus Father Christmas. Please, join me this Sunday. 

Making cheese, churning butter, weather balloons, freezing cold Siberia, and much more.

There's a lot to get through in this episode. Churning butter. Radio Sonde weather balloons. Stone age times. Puncture outfit. Building a bicycle. Happy days!

Let's talk about Christmas... how it was in the good old days. Home made decorations, real Christmas trees with roots. Home made presents... Happy days!

In this episode... Christmas TV repeats. Vintage office equipment, old duplicators and type writers. The village magazine, local gossip and more! There's a deliberate mistake in this episode, can you spot it? 

I'm late today! Crikey! I hope you're keeping well. It's cold here. 0c this morning with a lovely frost and beautiful sunrise. 

In this episode... Childhood memories. Village tales. Horse and cart. Spy radios. Milkman. Coal man.Sayings from the old days. Kelly's directory and so much more...

Winter is approaching fast. It was -2c this morning! That's 35f. As kids, we used to love the winter. Snowball fights, ice slides... great fun! Although, a few of us ended up having stitches at the hospital. Happy days!

Another busy Sunday podcast. Villages revisited. Freight trains. Real ale. Music. Graffiti. Litter. Local policeman on a bike. Parish council. P lease, join me this Sunday.

The BBC. January Sales in October. Telling the time. 25th December. Join me for a quick midweek chat. 

There's so much to chat about in this episode. High Tea. Frozen Milk. Underground Bunkers. Bonfire Night. Derek's Cafe. Chinese Whispers. Food served on a piece of wood or slate and more...

Clockwork doorbells, fish and chip shops, fireplaces, bringing up children in 1878 and much more... Please, join me for a chat.

Expensive Friendships. Poisonous Snakes and Spiders. Meditation. Christmas Curry. Fairies. Rubbish Dumps. There's a lost to talk about in this episode. Please, join me. 

Car park attendants. Swanbourne Lake aircraft crash. Milking a cow. Gas fire pokers. Telephones. Join me for a quick chat this Wednesday. 

Toasted Crumpet by the fire. Fawlty Towers.  Board Games. Gravel Pits. Train Sets. Pirate Radio. There's so much to chat about in this episode. I hope you enjoy it! 

Faulty Towers, more pubs and shops closing, Netflix nights to blame? Join me for a quick chat. 

Privately Owned Pubs, Where am I? Air Raid Shelters, New Houses and more...

Thia restaurants and beer. Fish and chip restaurants. Gin traps and a local rifle range and much more. Please, join me. 

Let's rant about bad car drivers. Why do we use mugs rather than cups and saucers? Where have proper tea sets gone? Fish and chip prices have gone through the roof! Pubs can stay open later... That's all very well but landlords can't afford to pay the staff to stay until midnight! Council houses, new-build house prices, quiz night... and so much more!

Prefabricated buildings, so-called friends who let you down, warning notices on TV programs, loud adverts and films... and more! Please, join me!

I loved visiting the Rural Life Living Museum in Hampshire. I also loved 1960s Fashion, Friday Club Night, Fish & Chips with loads of salt and vinegar... Happy days!

The railway quickly developed and spread throughout the country. Goods were carried from A to B, which was great, but... people also started to uproot and travel around the country. Was that a good thing? We're off to Hampshire, the weather is boring, but I hope you'll join me for this week's Midweek Message. 

Dreams, Stalkers, Control Freaks, Lies, Thieves, Job's Worth... and more. There's a mixture of stuff to chat about! I hope you enjoy this hour of rants and inane drivel! 

Old busses, trams and other stuff. A girl who fell for a control freak. 

Change is inevitable, but it happens too fast. People can't keep up with the changes going on in society. Also... ghosts in the woods? Steam engines. Smelly farms and noisy schools. Plus, loads of other stuff. Please, join me for a good old chat.

Dumping friends, lying about your car, being an unpaid taxi driver and loads of other stuff. Please, join me for this Midweek Message. 

Buying and selling property, moving house can be a nightmare! What Americans think of us Brits and our strange sayings. What's it like living alone? I don't think I'd like it. Join me for a chat this Sunday.

Poisonous frogs, train strikes, gridlocked roads, nothing works properly... what's happened to our country? Join me for a good old moan! 

Friends Not Lovers, red phone boxes, gold diggers, no driving license... quite a mixture this Sunday. I hope you enjoy the episode.

The music intro last week went down well... NOT! I knew it! People do NOT like music introductions to podcasts or videos. You'll be pleased to know that I'll never do that again. I've had a haircut... stone the crows, it's cold! 

Family Life. Milky drinks, Tizer, bonfires in the Autumn, phone boxes, television... What a title! I hope you enjoy this hour-long episode as much as I enjoyed recording it. 

This is the BBC Home Service. Here is the news... News readers spoke the Queen's English back in the old days. Now, anything goes! Such a shame. I hope you're keeping well. Autumn is well on the way now, time to go scrumping! 

Yes, we had sex, drugs and rock and roll in the 1960s. But, we still have that now... don't we? In this episode, I look back at the 60s and the fun we had back then. I also rant about cars, busses, trains, people and... well, just about anything and everything!

Leaving your doors open in the old days wasn't always a good idea! It wasn't only neighbours who popped in! New washing machine, anyone? Ripped jeans... why buy them when you can rip your own jeans? Happy days! 

Is it true that people didn't lock their doors in the old days? Neighbours would wander in for a chat or to borrow a cup of sugar or some milk if they'd run out. People were more trustworthy back then... most of them, anyway! 

Cars, dustmen, seagulls, hammering... plenty of background noises to day! Is eating meat good for you? Or should we all go vegan? Noooo... I'd miss my cheese and pickle sandwiches! 

Have we progressed as a society? Have things changed for the better? Good question. Also, bicycles with no lights, More on allotments, electric trolly busses replaced by diesel, paper bags rather than plastic... Join me for a good old rant!

Dentist, optician, teeth, glasses... Stone the crows! Expense! Local councils might be selling off allotment for developers to build houses. Sacrilege! I hope you're keeping well. Let's have a good old moan!

Your first car, first house... do you prefer new or old? I love old cars. It doesn't matter if the car is scratched or dented, who cares? Old houses have character, history and stories to tell. Would you cover your entire garden with a greenhouse? The ide sounds great but... Do you like electrical storms? In this episode, I’m in the garden recording the storm!  Join me this Sunday for a good old natter. 

Eating out. Chinese, Indian, Thai restaurants. Fish and Chip shops. Join me for a chat about the good old days... and these days.

Picnics in the countryside, unexploded bombs and a German aircraft found in Swanbourne Lake, Arundel. And, of course, lots more! Please, join me. 

A lovely Sunday afternoon listening to live music in the pub... NOT! What a disaster! The train was cancelled, my knee hurt, my ears were tortured with the noise... Then there's the window cleaner who decided clean our windows. Stone the crows!

How did we heat out homes back in the 50s and 60s? We had a coal fire in the lounge but, what about the bedrooms? Also, man caves.... every man, and woman, should have one! Would you like to be a house husband? Imagine staying at home doing all the household chores while your wife is at work. Manners maketh man, does that still hold today? Electronics everywhere! It's all too much!

The weather, computers, cars, a big shout out... apparently, a top doctor reckons that going to the pub is good for mental health. I'll drink to that! Sadly, we're losing pubs at the rate of one a day. 

What girls really wanted in the old days and what they wants now. Steam trains, or not. Pubs closing at the rate of one a day!  Leaving school and more... Join me! 

Massive rain storm, heatwave on the way, town centre shop closing, moaning and complaining, stress... Join me for a good old natter!

We know all about the past, what happened when and where. But, what about the future? AI, will authors and playwrights be out of a job? Will we need to learn to drive a car? Cars will be driverless! Will shops exist? Order everything online. Join me this Sunday for a chat. 

It's hot, too hot! I mustn't complain about the heat. After all, I've been moaning about the cold throughout the winter and now it's summer. I hope you're keeping well and not overheating... like me! 

How has your town and your life changed over the years? Buildings have been demolished and replaced by monstrosities. Your life has changed in many ways, some good some bad. Remember the fairground visiting your town? Happy days! Working from home, does it work?  Join me for a good old chat this Sunday.