‘The Swinging Sixties’ – or were they?

"Sexual intercourse began in 1963, between the end of the Chatterley ban and The Beatles' first LP."

That remark was made by the poet and novelist Philip Larkin and acknowledges that 1963 is often seen as the beginning of a new era in British society. The main news story that year was a sex scandal involving a Tory minister, a prostitute and a Russian spy amongst others, but it was also the year when The Beatles, the most popular rock group in history, became prominent. The contraceptive pill was now available and the era of so-called ‘free love’ and ‘the permissive society’, which the Tory politician Norman Tebbit was later to blame for many of this country’s ills, began.

Yet only three years earlier, Penguin Books had been charged with obscenity for printing the unexpurgated version of D.H.Lawrence’s novel ’Lady Chatterley’s Lover’. The jury acquitted the publishers in November 1960, opening the door for others to print expletives in books and magazines, but before they did so, the out-of-touch prosecutor famously asked them if ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ was the sort of book they’d want their servants to read! As Peter Stansill of ‘The Guardian’ explained: “Connie Chatterley's touchy-feely adventures in the woods with her bit of rough had struck a communal nerve. Nothing would ever be quite the same.”

The 1960s certainly saw an end to deference, at least to politicians, if not, sadly, to royalty, and that decade saw the growth of satire, typified by a new magazine called ‘Private Eye’. During a stage production of a show called ‘Beyond The Fringe’, Peter Cook spotted the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, in the audience and deviated from his script to attack him verbally. On a BBC show called ‘That Was The Week That Was’, Bernard Levin said that Macmillan had achieved his position by "a brutality, cunning and greed for power normally met only in the conclaves of Mafia capi". Levin also called the next Tory Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas Home, “a cretin” and “an imbecile”, and he was no kinder to Labour’s Michael Foot, saying that he was "unable to blow his nose in public without his trousers falling down".

In October 1964, Harold Wilson became the youngest Prime Minister of the century. That fitted in with the ‘Swinging Sixties’ phenomenon, which was youth-oriented and which emphasised the new and modern. It was also a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. Women stopped wearing the same clothes as their mothers and many started wearing miniskirts. The centre of fashion moved from Paris to London, where Carnaby Street became famous for its independent fashion boutiques and designers such as Mary Quant. In April 1966, ‘Time’ magazine said how “nothing illustrates the new swinging London better than narrow, three-block-long Carnaby Street, which is crammed with a cluster of the 'gear' boutiques where the girls and boys buy each other clothing.” Jean Shrimpton, occasionally referred to as "the symbol of Swinging London” and the "embodiment of the 1960s”, became one of the world’s first supermodels.

A pirate radio station called Swinging Radio England started up soon after that ‘Time’ magazine article. However, ‘swinging’ - in the sense of ‘hip’ or fashionable - had been used since the early 1960s, including by Norman Vaughan in his "swinging/dodgy" patter on ‘Sunday Night at the London Palladium’. In 1965, Diana Vreeland, editor of ‘Vogue’ magazine, said "London is the most swinging city in the world at the moment”. Later that year, the American singer Roger Miller had a hit record with ‘England Swings’, which presented a stereotypical picture of England, with lyrics such as "bobbies on bicycles, two by two”. The music scene was dominated by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who and The Small Faces in what was known in the USA as the "British invasion".

There was a surge of patriotism after the England football team won the World Cup in 1966, and in 1968 the Union Jack became the symbol of the short-lived 'I’m Backing Britain' campaign; that was initiated by five secretaries in Surbiton who volunteered to work an extra half hour each day to boost the British economy (or more likely, their boss’s profits).

The late 60s saw a wave of student unrest and protests against the Vietnam War, culminating in the UK in massive demonstrations outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square in London in March and October 1968, the first of which turned violent. When Harold Wilson founded the Open University in 1969 (which in the following year was nearly strangled at birth by the new Tory PM Edward Heath), a few cynics wondered if the plan for the future was going to be to encourage students to study at home, where they would be more isolated and less likely to cause trouble.

But were the 1960s really so 'swinging' in the UK? In a macabre sense they were, since murderers were still being hanged until August 1964. Children continued to be caned in state schools until 1987 and in private schools until 1999, even though corporal punishment for adults had been abolished in 1948. Homosexuality and abortion remained illegal until 1967, and although the contraceptive pill was available from 1961, it couldn’t be prescribed to unmarried women until 1974.

Pubs had restricted opening hours, and few of them sold much food other than snacks like crisps and cheeselets. As Sunday trading in England and Wales was not generally permitted until 1994, only a few corner shops and chemists would open on Sundays. In the 1960s, professional football and cricket matches were not played on Sundays, but up until 1962, an anachronistic cricket match originating from 1806 - the Gentlemen versus the Players - was still being played annually between amateurs and professionals.

The 1960s music scene wasn’t all ‘swinging’ either. Ken Dodd topped the UK charts for five weeks in 1965 with a cheesy song called ‘Tears’, while in 1966 the kilted Kenneth McKellar was chosen to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, coming ninth in the competition out of eighteen entries.

In October 1964, a Tory MP was elected in Smethwick after his supporters used the slogan: “If you want a n*gg*r neighbour, vote Walker, vote Labour”. He was referred to by Harold Wilson as “a parliamentary leper”, and in the following year the race Relations Act outlawed discrimination “on the grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins in public places”. A subsequent Act in 1968 made it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to a person on racial grounds. The Tory MP Enoch Powell opposed both the legislation and immigration from the Commonwealth, and he managed to get himself sacked from the shadow cabinet by making an inflammatory speech in April 1968, the likes of which would land someone in jail for a hate crime if delivered now.

The 60s were certainly a time of great change worldwide, when the first man walked on the moon, when black people gained equal rights in the USA and when 32 African countries gained independence from their European colonial rulers. It was a time when music, style, and a hope for peace and freedom came together as a youth-led protest against authority and war. Yet in reality the 1980s, when Norman Tebbit was in Thatcher’s government, was a far more permissive decade than the 1960s which he derided, certainly in attitudes to sex before marriage and gay relationships, at least until AIDS imposed some limit to sexual freedom.

Sources used:-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/28/lady-chatterley-trial-50-years-yorkshire-reaction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cook

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/10/1092102456031.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnaby_Street

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swinging_London

In the 1960s we also had a "People's Bank" in the shape of the National Girobank, set up by Postmaster General Tony Benn as an alternative to The Big Five.

That did not long survive a subsequent Tory government, and was sold to a Building Society for smothering.

Very interesting whistle stop tour of the '60's, but two important things you've missed out, in my view, that were really important are the Vietnam War - although it was a long way away from England and another country's war, it did seem to feed the appetite for rebellion and choosing to be different from one's parents' generation.
Another ,closer to home, set of events was the French students' rebellion, which I remember was copiously written up in the underground press - I do believe it completely changed the face of student politics (and by extension perhaps parliamentary politics?)

"Heads" will insist that if you can remember "the sixties", you weren't really there.

I’m grateful to those of you who have taken the trouble to read my opening posting. There was so much ground to cover, but I did just about mention the Vietnam War and the student unrest of the late 60s. It is to Harold Wilson’s credit that he refused a request from President Lyndon Johnson to send British troops to Vietnam.

The point of the article was to question if the 60s were quite as ‘cool’ as has often been suggested. For example, Sundays were still as much of a ‘prison’ to most people as they had been in Victorian times. Furthermore, Ken Dodd topped the pop music charts for five weeks with a song which the grandparents of the young people (who were supposedly leading this social and cultural revolution) might have liked.

Here’s another example. This is a real extract from a sex education school textbook for girls, printed in the early 1960s in the UK and written by a woman:-

“When retiring to the bedroom, prepare yourself for bed as promptly as possible. Whilst feminine hygiene is of the utmost importance, your tired husband does not want to queue for the bathroom, as he would have to do for his train. But remember to look your best when going to bed.

Try to achieve a look which is welcoming without being obvious. If you need to apply face cream or hair-rollers, wait until he is asleep, as this can be shocking to a man last thing at night. When it comes to the possibility of intimate relations with your husband it is important to remember your marriage vows and in particular your commitment to obey him. If he feels the need to sleep immediately then so be it. In all things be led by your husband’s wishes, do not pressure him in any way to stimulate intimacy. Should your husband suggest congress then agree humbly, all the while being mindful that a man’s satisfaction is more important than a woman’s. When he reaches his moment of fulfilment, a small moan from yourself is encouraging to him and quite sufficient to indicate any enjoyment that you may have had.

Should your husband suggest any of the more unusual practices, be obedient and uncomplaining but register any reluctance by remaining silent. It is likely that your husband will then fall promptly asleep, so adjust your clothing, freshen up and apply your night time face and hair care products. You may then set the alarm so that you can arise shortly before him in the morning. This will enable you to have his morning cup of tea ready when he awakes.”

Laughed out loud reading that - we didn't get sex education in our school, but I can quite believe that sort of nonsense was being peddled.
I was still in my teens at the end of the decade, so, unlike today's youngsters, still pretty much under the parental thumb. (Arguments about music, skirt lengths etc)
I used to buy the International Times (think it came out fortnightly) but my main memories are about the bizzarre shifts you were forced into to dress in a 'cool' way - it looked as if all the girls I knew had very thick waists due to skirt waistbands being turned over often 5 or 6 times once you were out of sight of home.
I think the 'swingingness' of the 60's was much more notional than real, but I do think we started thinking and believing that the future could be different from the past, and later, maybe in the '70's along came feminism and other political movements that did change the mental and physical landscape. (Wonder whatever happened to feminism?)

Old rockers never die -----

The sixties were probably one of the most influential decades in American history. Although I literally felt alienated and depressed with my generation growing up in the sixties because I didn't believe in the mores and values of many young people at the time, still, the world's moral compass was forever changed. "Free love", drugs, the self-centered "do my thing, and the heck with everyone else" philosophy that became the accepted norm then was just a predecessor, or should I say innovator, for many of the ills of the world today, especially in western countries....I've always said that the years 1968-69 were the most pivotal in my life with Woodstock, the blossoming of the hippie counter-culture, and the heightened fighting and anti-Vietnam war demonstrations and race riots in the United States.

There certainly wasn't such a wide choice of food in the UK in the 1960s:-

* Pasta hadn't been invented
* Curry was a surname
* Olive oil was kept in the medicine cabinet
* Spices came from the Middle East where they were used for embalming
* Herbs were used to make rather dodgy medicine
* A takeaway was a mathematical problem
* A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower
* Bananas and oranges only appeared at Christmas time
* The only vegetables known were potatoes, peas, carrots and cabbage
* All crisps were plain; the only choice we had was whether to put the salt on or not
* Condiments consisted of salt, pepper, vinegar and brown sauce if we were lucky
* Soft drinks were called pop
* Coke was something that we put on the fire
* A Chinese chippy was a foreign carpenter
* Rice was a milk pudding, and never part of our dinner
* A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining
* A microwave was something out of a science fiction movie
* Brown bread was something only poor people ate
* Oil was for lubricating, fat was for cooking
* Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves and never green
* Coffee was Camp, and came in a bottle
* Cubed sugar was regarded as posh
* Figs and dates appeared every Christmas, but no one ever ate them
* Coconuts only appeared when the fair came to town
* Jellied eels were peculiar to Londoners
* Salad cream was a dressing for salads, mayonnaise did not exist
* Hors d'oeuvre was a spelling mistake
* Only Heinz made beans
* Leftovers went in the dog
* Special food for dogs and cats was limited to Lassie, Chappie and Kit-e-Kat
* Fish was only eaten on Fridays
* Fish didn't have fingers
* Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi
* Ready meals only came from the fish and chip shop
* For the best taste, fish and chips had to be eaten out of old newspapers
* Frozen food was called ice cream
* Ice cream only came in one colour and one flavour
* Nobody had ever heard of yogurt
* Healthy food consisted of anything edible
* People who didn't peel potatoes were regarded as lazy
* Indian restaurants were only found in India
* Eating outside was a picnic
* Cooking outside was called camping
* Seaweed was not a recognised food
* Pancakes were only eaten on Shrove Tuesday
* ‘Kebab’ was not even a word never mind a food
* Hot dogs were a type of sausage that only the Americans ate
* Cornflakes had arrived from America, but it was obvious they would never catch on
* Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold
* Lettuce and tomatoes in winter were only found abroad
* Prunes were medicinal
* Muesli was readily available, but it was called cattle feed
* Turkeys were definitely seasonal
* Pineapples only came in chunks in a tin
* Nobody had heard of ‘croissants’ or was able to pronounce it
* Garlic was used to ward off vampires, but never used to flavour food
* Food hygiene was all about washing your hands before meals
* Salmonella, e.coli, listeria, and botulism were all called 'food poisoning'
* Water came out of the tap; if someone had suggested bottling it and charging more for it than petrol, they would have become a laughing stock

.... and nobody thought of putting tables outside a Café.

In ENGLAND? Are they MAD?

Don't we all dream of a UKIP wonderland?

Adapted from an article by Deborah Ross

UKIP wants to take us back to an age when there was a grammar school in every town, freedom to smoke, freedom from the rest of Europe, heavily curtailed immigration, no gay marriage, strong ‘family values’ and, probably, busty wenches serving in every pub. Nostalgia experts put that as somewhere between the 1960s and 1970s.

It was great for everybody, and here are just some of the voices from that era, ones which UKIP will surely exploit with time:-
* I am a child at a secondary modern and am so pleased to have been given up on at such an early age;
* I am gay, am happy in my closet, and would like to wish anyone going out ‘queer bashing’ tonight the best of luck;
* I am black and get access only to the worst housing and jobs, which may be more than I deserve;
* I am a busty wench and have the clap but feel too much shame to request treatment, which has saved me from hanging around in doctors’ surgeries;
* I am a phone box and have been vandalised and pissed in and don’t work anyhow, which is exciting;
* I am a university-educated woman currently tied to the kitchen sink, but if I’m ever untied I’m going to do something crazy, like rotate my dusters.

Remember the television and how brilliant it used to be, with ‘Jim’ll Fix It’, and ‘It’s a Knockout’ and ‘The Rolf Harris Show’? Such innocent fun, without a ghastly, cynical, exploitative reality show in sight.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/dont-we-all-dream-of-a-ukip-wonderland-8609397.html

I clearly remember that my childhood was spent roaming the fields or cycling to the beach in warm sunny weather, with salmon-and-cucumber sandwiches in my saddlebag. Thanks Mum! Thanks also for devising entertainment and distractions at home when the British summer was wet, or cold, alternating with cold and wet, which I never noticed because Dad went out to work so that Mum had time to cook and clean in order to make a comfortable home for all of us.

What do this Government really attribute to "family values"? Does that actually refer only to their time off from photo-opportunities and strutting the world stage?

salmon-and-cucumber sandwiches

Your family must have been rich! more like fish paste in my youth - - still, mostly the mum was at home, making home a meaningful place.
Kids don't have that any more - most mums have to work full time to pay the rent etc - goodbye family values.

50 years ago today - Thursday 31 March 1966 - Labour under Harold Wilson held a general election and increased its parliamentary majority from 3 to 96. Wilson was, in my opinion, the second best PM we’ve ever had (after Clement Attlee) and, judging from this, Polly Toynbee might well agree with me:-

“What Labour needs right now is the talent of a Harold Wilson for holding together a fissiparous party.
He was the agile, cunning, clever rider of many horses. But that’s rarely a romantic role. The art of compromise and arbitration between incompatibles is not regarded as a heroic skill.

What did he ever do for Labour? He won four elections and a divisive referendum. He made possible the great liberal reforms that symbolised the 1960s – on capital punishment, abortion, gay rights, theatre censorship and more. He founded not just the Open University but polytechnics and new universities in every great city, with comprehensive schools to open the doors to them. By the 70s, he presided over a country greatly more equal than it had ever been before or ever has been since.

David Owen has praised Wilson’s foreign policy: how deftly he managed to avoid antagonising the Americans, navigating his way round Lyndon B Johnson while resolutely refusing to send troops to Vietnam. How well he stood up against apartheid and Ian Smith’s Rhodesia. But, with no great grandstanding, that principled grounding is missing from his popular reputation.

Labour’s warring factions need to remember that in the end all that matters in politics is what gets done. Fine ideology never rescued the poor from food banks, built new houses or cleared the air of Tory selfishness. This month marks the centenary of Harold Wilson’s birth. This is a good to time for Labour to celebrate him – and high time he was awarded a full-length statue in the House of Commons.”

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/24/warring-tribes-westminster-politics-harold-wilson

Ivan wrote:"Labour’s warring factions need to remember that in the end all that matters in politics is what gets done. .”

Quite so.  I suspect that quite a lot of Mr Corbyn's internal opposition comes from those pseudo-socialists who really just wanted a share of the spoils apparently available to Tory MPs.

As presumably did the Lib-Dems six years ago.

Might Hugh Carlton Green have spotted the shortcomings of Jimmy Saville, had he still been DG a few years later?

What really mattered in the 'sixties was the rise of the New Left (and perhaps the Pill). All the rest was Press decoration, as I recollect - though people did keep giving me wet little dogends at parties, to take my attention away from my drink and my girl!