isolation.

I remember a time in the summer school holidays of my childhood when my mam would join the other mother's of our street, and on hot days sit on the garden wall of a neighbour for hours on end putting the world, well the local world anyway, to rights. Is it me, or is this long gone pastime of the street enlightened a sad loss nowadays. People seem much more isolated today, the local shops like Marian's, Enid's, Little Billie's and the like, have almost all turned the shop doors closed sigh for the last time. No more pencil behind the ear for totting up the bill on your greaseproof wrapping paper, definitely not at the local supermarket they won't. Now the local pubs are becoming few and far between. I feel there's no getting together of neighbourhood people any more. no real sense of belonging now. Do we all know everyone in our street, or road or even our close neighbours?.

Terrific post Dave.

Sounds like Les Dawson's Cissy and Ada, Dave

Everyone doesn,t have a garden wall to sit on anymore & a lot more women work than a few years ago,

I'm having to use public transport far more than I used to, the other day when I was on the bus, at least 90% of the folks on board were using their smart phones, didn't hear any conversation.

bentlegs'
My point was that even when people have garden walls, it just wouldn't happen today. It's not the lack of walls to sit on that keep people apart. more women having to work, day time telly, more money in some cases, cars lots of things have made changes to how people interact with each other. I don't say times were better then, but I do think today many people are much more isolated within their neighbourhoods

Dave:

And you could leave your front door open!

Because there was naff all in most houses to nick.

i sa hello to my next door neighbour if we are both pegging out at the same time and might have a short chat. I live in a street of 34 houses. Most I don't know and about 6 we exchange a passing hello.only one i will have a long chat with because our children grew up together.
I too remember summer evenings when mums would come out and chat all evening while the children played, and they would chat while waiting to be served in shops - supermarkets stopped all that. Yes we are more isolated and it's a shame. There must be may lonely people out there who don't speak to anyone for days on end.

Summer nights and chippy suppers; May Queens; camping in back gardens; and the general slow pace of life in the sixties...

Or was it?

Adults still had to graft down mines, in factories, and on locomotive footplates.

But the quality was there: you had nowt and appreciated the little things that you received.

Actually

I am going to have to be a Tonker and disagree with most of the comments on here, because in actual fact folk talk or should I say 'communicate' far more than in the days of yore, and you have already heard the reason, because folk are talking to each other via their smart phone, wether that be by social media, messenger, skype or in these days of unlimited minutes, they actually talk to each other using their voices on their phones

Good point TTS