1 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:08,360 Over the last 40 years, technology has developed with dizzying speed. 2 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,360 But how has it transformed our homes? 3 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:14,840 And what has it done to our families? 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:21,080 To find out, the Sullivan-Barnes from Reading are taking part in a unique experiment. 5 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:27,200 They will be stripped of all modern technology, and their own home will be turned into a time machine. 6 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,200 What on earth have they done with our kitchen? 7 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,160 I would never have chosen it. I hate it. 8 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:36,400 Beginning in the digital wilderness of 1970, 9 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:42,120 the family will be fast-forwarded at the rate of a year per day. Wow. 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:47,680 The digital age. Through three decades of technological progress. 11 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,560 Each day, new gadgets will be delivered to their door 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,080 so they can see first-hand their impact on family life. 13 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,200 Wait. Why can't you be more patient? 14 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:04,400 An expert technical support team have a task of sourcing vintage technology and getting it to work. 15 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,720 The challenge for us is great, and I'm not really sure that we are going to be able to do it. 16 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:16,000 In this episode, the family go on the ultimate nostalgia trip as they speed through the 1970s. 17 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,680 I can't find the second gear. 18 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,320 Without their 21st-century technology, how will it change the way they live? 19 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:28,080 In the '70s, you probably would have got smacked. 20 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:33,480 Will they spend more time together, or just more time doing housework? 21 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:38,240 How did people cook with this on a regular basis and not have serious stress problems? 22 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,760 Has technological progress always been for the better? 23 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,640 And has it fulfilled our Electric Dreams? 24 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,600 # We'll always be together 25 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,880 # However far it seems 26 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:56,960 # We'll always be together 27 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,600 # Together in electric dreams. # 28 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,640 It's the Sullivan-Barnes last night in 2009. 29 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:19,920 Tomorrow, they will be moving out of their house so it can be turned into a 1970s home. 30 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:25,440 Adam is an accountant, and Georgie is a senior NHS Executive. 31 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:33,120 Between them, they have got four children - Hamish, Ellie, Jude and Adam's daughter, Steph. 32 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,720 Though she mostly lives with her mum, she is here for the whole experience. 33 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,720 A thoroughly modern family, the own three games consoles, 34 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:47,360 three DVD players, five mobile phones, six televisions and seven computers. 35 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:53,480 But Adam can't wait to leave all this behind and travel back in time to his youth. 36 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:58,840 I think the nostalgia for me of revisiting some of those old gadgets 37 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:03,440 I can remember from a kid will be a real thrill. 38 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,280 For the children, it is a journey into the unknown. 39 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:13,560 If I had to list one thing that everyone would miss, I'd say that I would probably miss my computer. 40 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,960 I'd miss my phone. What do you think you'd miss? Probably computer, 41 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:21,120 because I use the computer for most of my homework and stuff. 42 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:26,720 I spend the most time in my bedroom just away from civilisation. 43 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:31,000 Mum Georgie is not so sure all this technology is such a good thing. 44 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,280 I feel as though they are missing out, but you can't live your life in front of a screen. 45 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:42,400 It would be fantastic at the end of it if we were less hooked on all the techno stuff. 46 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:48,720 I'd love it if having less technology means that we can spend more time together as a family. 47 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:54,600 It will be interesting to see how all the children and the rest of us 48 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,040 interact with each other when all this kit is gone. 49 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,600 Next time the family come home, it will be 1970. 50 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,080 Across Reading, the family's very own technical support team 51 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:13,280 are gathering the vintage technology which they will soon have to live with. 52 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:18,240 Tom Wigglesworth will provide audio and communication devices. 53 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,480 We are going to have to deliver every gadget and gizmo 54 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,760 that arrived in British houses in the 1970s to their doorstep. 55 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:28,000 Even when we've sourced it, we've got to get it working. 56 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,240 Gia Milinovich is a technology journalist and computer expert. 57 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,720 I am going to be busy in the '80s, certainly in the '90s. 58 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,800 But in the '70s, what do I have? 59 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,200 I mean, this, maybe? This is it. 60 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:42,720 Wow. 61 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,040 Sociologist Dr Ben Highmore will put it all in context. 62 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:50,880 A family that is used to interacting with technology most of the day, 63 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,960 when all that is taken away from them, what are they going to do? 64 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:01,080 It is time for the tech team to put the final touches to the house. 65 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,280 # ..The place I am going to 66 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,280 # Ch-ch-ch-ch changes Turn and face... # 67 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:12,160 But the decor has already been taken back to the '70s. 68 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:17,560 To make it more like an average home of the era, rooms have been resized, and others have disappeared. 69 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:21,920 The kitchen is now just a third of the size. 70 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,680 Instead of two bathrooms, there is now just one. 71 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,920 The girls will be sharing, 72 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,480 and instead of two receptions, the family are left with a single cosy sitting room. 73 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,800 It is getting there, isn't it? 74 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,920 This room is looking really good. 75 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,040 Originally it was a knock-through dining room, sitting room. 76 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,200 But we've boarded that back up and made it into just a sitting room on its own. 77 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:54,880 The 1970 house is a completely different house in terms of how it was used to the houses we have now. 78 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,520 Much darker, much more claustrophobic. 79 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:01,360 Partly, this is about heating. If you have central heating, you can have through rooms. 80 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,160 You can have big, open spaces. 81 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:09,960 Now, this is the biggest change in the house. 82 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:15,520 Because of course Hamish had his whole entire life here, it was just computers and games and everything. 83 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,000 All I have left him is this little radio. 84 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:26,080 He is going to have to reacquaint himself with the rest of the family now downstairs. 85 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:33,600 Each day in the house is going to be one year, so we've got them this to remind them what year it is. 86 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,680 There we go, 1969. 87 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,080 Armstrong was limbering up. 88 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:41,600 Magic. 89 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,560 The transformation is complete. 90 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,360 It is time for the family to move back in. 91 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,520 And they have been transformed, too, with 1970s outfits. 92 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:03,520 They have no idea what now lies behind their own front door. 93 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,080 OK, Jude, this way. 94 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:11,960 Oh! What on earth have they done with our kitchen? It is so small. 95 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,040 I don't like it. 96 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,960 I hate it! Oh, look at the floor! 97 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:18,840 Oh, my goodness. 98 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,320 What do you think of the colour scheme? Are you impressed? 99 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,080 I would never have chosen it, but it kind of works. 100 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:27,640 Where's the fridge? 101 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:33,400 No, that's the washing machine. So where is the fridge? Here! There. 102 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:35,200 No dishwasher. 103 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,840 We definitely don't have a microwave. 104 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:44,360 What about a freezer? That's just a fridge. Right now, I love it. I think it's fab. 105 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:50,680 But by the time I try to cook dinner later, and I've done 10 days living and cooking and washing in it, 106 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,360 you might want to ask me again and get a different answer. 107 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:55,760 Jude, I love the bead curtain. 108 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,560 Oh, no! 109 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,080 This wallpaper is so cool, isn't it? 110 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,320 Look at that TV. 111 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,040 Is it old? 112 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,040 It's black and white! 113 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,640 Oh, fabulous. Is that ITV? It must be ITV. 114 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,880 Look, it's Dr Who! 115 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:23,600 The family will only be able to watch TV at the hours it was available in the 1970s. 116 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:28,720 Which means often no daytime TV at all, and shutdown before midnight. 117 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:34,600 I reckon I'm going to be watching telly more now, just because it's so different. 118 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:36,720 Do you like black and white, then? No. 119 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,520 Oh, my God! 120 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:42,640 I love it! 121 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,680 It is amazing. 122 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:46,440 We are sharing a room! I love it. 123 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,400 I want it to stay like this, I really do. 124 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:51,840 Wow, the wallpaper is groovy. 125 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,760 Oh, look! Oh, my God! 126 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:58,000 We can have a little room reading music here. 127 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:00,200 We have got a record player up here. How cool. 128 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,720 Whoa! 129 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,120 Oh, wow! 130 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,640 I love it! 131 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,680 I love the wallpaper. This is so cool. 132 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:13,160 A bit of Simon and Garfunkel on. Adam? Yeah. 133 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,760 Have you noticed what we haven't got any more? What? A bathroom? 134 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:18,680 The en suite is gone! 135 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:21,400 Oh, no! That means we have got to share a bathroom with the kids! 136 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,240 How hideous. How disgusting. 137 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,680 I definitely do not think I am going to be spending so much time in my room. 138 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:33,120 I am going to be downstairs on the guitar and watching Doctor Who on the black-and-white TV. 139 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,640 That's it. 140 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:36,880 # All lies and jest 141 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,600 # Still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest... # 142 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,920 Oh, look! Our lovely bedroom. 143 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,240 It is just fabulous. So romantic. I'm so pleased. 144 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,240 TV: Now on BBC 1, 24 hours with Kenneth Allsop. 145 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,240 It just evokes so many memories of childhood 146 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:59,760 that you kind of regress to a different mental state, I think. 147 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,320 There is very little here. There's a radio, a couple of TV channels, 148 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,680 and there's some music through LPs. 149 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:09,760 And that is pretty much it, from what I could see. 150 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:14,280 Georgie is getting to grips with her kitchen circa 1970. 151 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,320 Which means no freezer, microwave, automatic washing machine or tumble dryer. 152 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:24,560 My brain is going... whirring like mad. I'm trying to think about things like the washing, 153 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:30,000 and there's a twin-tub washing machine over there, which I am dreading getting to grips with. 154 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,080 By the time I've worked out how to manage the functions 155 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,440 of being a mum with a house of four children, 156 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,280 it'll be... more than past my bedtime. 157 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,000 There is part of me that is hoping that the kids'll get on fine 158 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,000 and enjoy not sitting in front of the telly all the time, 159 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,480 and there's a cruel streak in me that makes me think, "Ha-ha! 160 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,200 "Let's see what they will do without all that stuff now." 161 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,160 CLATTERING LAUGHING 162 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:13,560 The children don't want to go up to their 1970s bedrooms, which are cold and empty of anything entertaining. 163 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:17,800 So, unlike 2009, television viewing is a shared family experience. 164 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,120 We stopped producing workers throughout... 165 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,120 The news shows a Britain the kids have never known, 166 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,960 a country that proudly manufactured its own cars, clothes and electrical goods. 167 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,040 But it was also a nation in crisis. 168 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:39,080 This was the start of a decade of industrial unrest. 169 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,680 While the strike lasts, there will be no new telephones installed and delays over repair. 170 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:48,280 This is the era of collective bargaining and strike action. 171 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:52,360 Post Office strikes were even threatening the telephone network. 172 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:55,080 PHONE RINGS 173 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,120 But at least, unions permitting, the Sullivan-Barnes have a phone, 174 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:04,520 albeit a single fixed handset tethered in their draughty hallway. It's ringing. 175 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:10,200 They're lucky. In 1970, half of British homes didn't yet have a phone line. 176 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:13,600 Hello? Hello, Hamish, it's Tom from the tech team. Hi. 177 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,400 How you doing? Fine, thanks. 178 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,240 Could you tell your family that only 25 per cent of the population had central heating in 1970, 179 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,880 so, as a result, we have switched your central heating off. However, on the front doorstep, 180 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:32,560 there is your first gadget, and it will make the morning chill a little bit easier. 181 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,920 Right, let's hope they like tea. 182 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,080 Uh, guys, 183 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,080 we have us a parcel. 184 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:48,280 It's from Tom and the rest of the technical support team. Is that what the phone call was? 185 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:54,680 Yes. Only 25 percent of people in the 1970s had central heating, so they have turned ours off. 186 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:59,560 We don't have central heating any more, but this is to help make your mornings a bit warmer. 187 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,600 Hee hee hee! 188 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,120 Yes! 189 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,000 What is it? Is it a teasmaid? 190 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,480 I believe so. 191 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,680 It's for Adam and I to have in our bedroom. 192 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,640 So we can have a nice cup of tea in the morning. 193 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:15,880 So it'll make YOUR morning warmer. 194 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:20,320 Yay(!) Thanks(!) Why did they give us that? 195 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,480 Is only benefiting you two. 196 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:30,120 The technical support team's first delivery comes with original '70s instructions and '70s chauvinism. 197 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:35,560 So, "You now have a Goblin teasmaid, the second-best tea-maker in the world. 198 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:38,520 "Naturally, we would never dream of competing with a woman." 199 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,320 Ha! How dare they? 200 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,840 Steph wasn't very impressed with the teasmaid. 201 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,360 I think she was hoping it would be something for us or for her. 202 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,320 What about our present from the tech team tonight, the teasmaid? 203 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,360 Hey, we've got that charged up and ready to go, haven't we? 204 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,400 Waking up with a cup of tea, 205 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:10,560 nobody having to be the brave person that ventures out in the cold with no central heating. 206 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:15,880 What is that whole central heating thing? They obviously have a sadistic streak somewhere 207 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:20,960 where somebody out there wants us to be cold and not very happy. 208 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,240 A new day means a new year. 209 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,840 BUZZER 210 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:35,680 Tea, dear? 211 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:37,920 Oh, yes, please, darling! 212 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:42,920 The teasmaid was an expensive luxury, costing around a week's salary. 213 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:48,880 Like most electrical goods of the 1970s, it was made in Britain - in this case by Goblin of Leatherhead. 214 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,200 Morning. 215 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:59,240 The teasmaid 's popularity would fade during the 1970s as ever more homes got central heating. 216 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:06,720 By the year 2000, the Goblin teasmaid was no more. 217 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,120 What a total waste of time. 218 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,280 What on earth were they thinking? 219 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:16,400 What is so great about having a thing that's really noisy sitting next to your bed 220 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,480 to make you a cup of tea when you could go downstairs and make one? 221 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:21,120 I don't understand! 222 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:23,800 I don't understand what you don't like about it. 223 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,640 Why wouldn't that be brilliant? Neither of us have had to get out of bed. 224 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,680 "MORNING HAS BROKEN" PLAYS Monday morning. 225 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:36,960 It's school for the children and work for Adam. 226 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:40,360 First, time to check out another '70s gadget. 227 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:45,880 You can smell it a bit. It reminds me of my old train set. 228 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,720 It's not actually cutting anything. 229 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:07,040 Where's everybody got to? Maybe they're queuing up for the bathroom. 230 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:13,760 Georgie's taking the day off work to get the housework done without the aid of modern technology. 231 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:18,480 I've got my uniform on, ready to get on with a bit more washing up. 232 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:26,520 I do seem to be taking up station by the kitchen sink and waiting for the next bit of washing up to arrive. 233 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:29,920 So far, no offers of help from the family. 234 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,160 RADIO: The change to decimal currency has been a big operation. 235 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,320 Tills to be changed, sales girls trained... 236 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:46,360 Adam's of to work in his Ford Cortina, Britain's best-selling car of the 1970s. 237 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,200 It seems to be working OK. 238 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,320 Clunk Click Every Trip, thanks to Jimmy Saville. 239 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,960 I'm sure it will drive as well as it looks. 240 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:02,640 But it doesn't take long for his warm bubble of nostalgia to burst. 241 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:09,360 It's got no wing mirrors, so I've got no idea what's going on behind me. 242 00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:11,720 Absolutely none. 243 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:18,240 Though just about roadworthy, modern safety regulations wouldn't allow a car like this to be built today. 244 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,120 There are no air bags, no rear seatbelts, 245 00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:26,720 no head restraints and, of course, no power brakes or steering. 246 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,760 This is a big test because the brakes... 247 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,600 I've got no brakes! I've got no brakes. 248 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,400 Oh, God, here we go. 249 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:45,200 Just going round a corner takes a real effort, just because the... 250 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,200 I can't find that second gear. 251 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,000 I can't... I can't find the second gear. 252 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,240 I've got to tell you, my modern car is streets ahead of this. 253 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:04,400 It's a lovely car to look at, but boy oh boy, this is a death trap, I think. 254 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:10,520 Georgie is trying to throw herself into life as a '70s housewife. 255 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,560 This is quite heavy. 256 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,880 I do the cooking, I've just made the children's beds. 257 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:19,480 Brilliant! 258 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:25,520 That's great, that's just what I'd want for myself and for my daughters to see happening. Perfect. 259 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:28,560 Generally, I'm a really busy working mum. 260 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:32,000 There's a house of four kids and Adam to look after. 261 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,640 He's as much work as the children a lot of the time. 262 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:41,760 It's fun for now, but if I was coming home at the end of a working day and sitting down 263 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:48,000 trying to work out what we're going to cook tomorrow and how I'd buy the ingredients as we've no storage - 264 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,480 we've a tiny fridge, no freezer - 265 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:56,600 I couldn't do a weekly shop for fresh goods and I've no idea when I'd buy them. 266 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:01,360 Washing with a twin tub is a two hour ritual, taking over the entire kitchen. 267 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:08,120 In the 21st century, the kitchen is often the social hub of the home. 268 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:13,120 But in the 1970s it was a no-frills centre for domestic labour. 269 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,920 It smells not right now. 270 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:23,840 It smells... 271 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:28,880 There's an electrical smell as though the motor is about to object to life. 272 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,440 I've turned it off, I'm not very happy to be using it with that smell. 273 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,960 Georgie's finding the kitchen full of trials. 274 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,840 Even cooking tonight's desert is perilous. 275 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:48,600 Domestic microwave ovens weren't launched until 1974, 276 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:56,240 so to cook a pudding in half the time meant boiling it under pressure to over 250 degrees Fahrenheit. 277 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,560 It's the first time I've ever used a pressure cooker. 278 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,280 This is where you really wish you've got a microwave. 279 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:07,320 By that time the children return from school, Georgie has spent the whole day in the kitchen. 280 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:14,360 Homework without computers is their idea of a chore. 281 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:17,600 Adam is also home. 282 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,440 Hello, darling. Your slippers are upstairs. 283 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,040 And he's seeing danger all over the house. 284 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:29,840 It's that whole kind of kitchen set up just gives me horrors, especially with the little one around. 285 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,360 The kettle is dangerous, this is dangerous because of its edges. 286 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:39,440 The fire's dangerous. 287 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,480 Anything around the cooker is dangerous. 288 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,280 Pressure cooker or micro - no competition. 289 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:53,040 It's so scary, how could people cook with this on a regular basis and not have serious stress problems? 290 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:56,760 I think it might be like a bomb. If we open it now, it might just go boom! 291 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,840 I really like everybody being busy when we came home, 292 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:08,360 rather than just lounging around watching telly, that kind of thing. 293 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:14,600 I like the fact that all the meals for everybody, we've sat down and eaten as a family. 294 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:19,000 And I like the business around the cooking in the kitchen 295 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,920 and that everyone's been around and chilled. 296 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:28,240 Now time for the pressure cooker pudding. 297 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,320 Oh, it looks disgusting! 298 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:36,160 Who would have thought that anything could survive what was going on inside that pressure cooker 299 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,160 and come out looking even a tiny bit edible? 300 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,800 What's it taste like? It's really nice. 301 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,320 Oh, God, does that mean we have to make it again? 302 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,800 After dinner, there's another delivery on the doorstep. 303 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,040 There's nobody there. 304 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,440 Look, there's a parcel. 305 00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:59,680 We've got another parcel. 306 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,240 Put it in the living room for later. 307 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:08,000 With 35mm cameras, the technical support team have sent the family a note. 308 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,000 In the 1970s, families would turn their pictures into slides. 309 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,360 We suggest you host a slide-show evening at the end of the decade. 310 00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:22,600 The tech team want the family to use the cameras to document their time in the 1970s, 311 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,640 and then put on a slide show for their friends and neighbours. 312 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:32,520 Kind of a joke in the '70s was people boring other people with their slide shows. 313 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,600 For music, the family now depend on a true relic of the analogue age. 314 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,480 The radiogram, in mahogany and in mono. 315 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,560 I use my MP3 player a lot. 316 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,720 I use it in the car, on the way to work, on the way home from work. 317 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,760 I use it when I get home to put some music on. 318 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,200 There's always noise going on in our house. 319 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:53,800 NEEDLE SCRATCHES 320 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,240 EASY LISTENING MUSIC PLAYS 321 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,800 How groovy is that? 322 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:09,520 Another piece of technology that doesn't quite live up to Adam's nostalgic expectations. 323 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,640 I don't think I would crave one of these in my sitting room. 324 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,000 But he won't have to wait long for progress. 325 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:27,360 'If you've got a space so big by so big, you've got room for a music centre with a full-size...' 326 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:31,960 In the early 70s, the stereo music centre arrived in Britain. 327 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:38,320 It's futuristic Japanese design broke free of the radiogram's fuddy-duddy British image. 328 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:43,560 No longer did it attempt to hide its knobs and dials behind mock mahogany doors. 329 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,080 Technology was coming out of the closet. 330 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:53,400 Tom, from the technical support team, is on a mission to find one for the family. 331 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:58,560 The dad is a big music nut, so I'm going to get a music centre with a compact cassette. 332 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,640 The key innovation of the music centre was the cassette deck. 333 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,720 The magical component that changed how we listen to music. 334 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:14,720 For the first time, the average consumer could actually record as well as play records. 335 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,960 But Tom is struggling to find one in working order. 336 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:23,240 Considered trashy by hi-fi buffs, few '70s music centres survive. 337 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:30,280 On eBay I've typed in 1970 to narrow my search, because it was coming up with a load of modern tosh. 338 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,560 This... Oh! This one wasn't on before. 339 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:37,640 This is perfect. 340 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,440 This is in Oakhampton in Devon. 341 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,400 This music centre was class-leading in it's day. 342 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,200 "As far as I'm aware, everything works. Comes with Sony speakers. 343 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,600 "I used the turntable and radio recently, so know they are OK, 344 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:49,960 "but I cannot guarantee the function of the cassette player." 345 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:54,040 "Cannot guarantee the function of the cassette player?" Everything worked a minute ago! 346 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:56,960 Perfect. There's a photo there. This is exactly what I need. 347 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,120 Once Tom has got the music centre back to his workshop, 348 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:04,520 he still has to coax the aged cassette recorder back to life. 349 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,920 There you go. Quick reset. Lovely. 350 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,800 It is anyone's guess whether this is gonna work. 351 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:20,040 The cassette format was originally designed for dictation, so quality wasn't important. 352 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,560 But its compact size meant it was also ideal for music. 353 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:24,360 Hey, it's working! 354 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:28,120 Now you could slip an entire album into your pocket. 355 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,200 We're off. We can give the family a fully working system. 356 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,320 LAUGHING 357 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:41,640 Look, it's got a tape deck and everything! Wow! 358 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:43,560 What a change. How brilliant! 359 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,560 The Tech Team have asked Adam to use the new music centre 360 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,560 to create a mix tape for their end-of-decade slide show. 361 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,160 This is a leap in technology from this thing. 362 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:58,120 But even now, you just think, "Nah!" 363 00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:02,240 To help with the mix tape, the Tech Team have sent music writer 364 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,600 and former NME journalist David Quantick. 365 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,000 Hello, I'm David. Nice to meet you. 366 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,760 How are you doing? 367 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,480 Nice to meet you, David. 368 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:18,760 At their peak, over 83 million blank cassette tapes were sold each year in the UK. 369 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,920 Now, with music downloads, they're virtually extinct. 370 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,040 And so is the art of creating a mix tape. 371 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,600 It became a way of talking to people. 372 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,200 If you wanted to impress girls, particularly. 373 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,040 Or impressing your friends. Roxy Music is a great one to impress your friends. 374 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,120 A Roxy Music album track says, "I'm sophisticated. 375 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:37,080 "I smoke, I drink Campari. 376 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:42,200 "I'm stylish." Of course, the signal it also sends out is, you have no life. 377 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:43,960 So it's a fine balance! 378 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,680 We're in the heat of the moment here. 379 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,360 We're creating art. 380 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:53,280 Right, you can tell the gaps between the songs because you can see them. 381 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,800 You have to be a bit of a marksmen really to do this. 382 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,240 You need to find the exact point. 383 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,720 Now you've got to take the risk. You've got to jump in, just lower it. 384 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,240 Another way to do it is just trial-and-error. 385 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,040 Because it is only a piece of plastic in the end. That's great. 386 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,760 So... Whilst it's in the groove, might as well just go for it. Now? 387 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,960 Now. LAUGHTER Right...! 388 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:19,160 What? No, it's fine, you did well. You didn't do too badly. It's what I would have done. 389 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,200 It's all bit like a Japanese tea ceremony. 390 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,640 It's all ritual, and knowing when to go in and when to come out. 391 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,520 You put an iPod in a dock, and play it through computer speakers, 392 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:31,520 it's just not the same as putting a needle on a piece of plastic. Crunch! 393 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:37,320 It's dirty, you know, it's nasty. How long have you got till your slide show? We're gonna have to delay it. 394 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:42,240 MUSIC: "A Song For Europe" by Roxy Music 395 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:51,640 13-year-old Hamish, who had never played a record until today, is impressed. 396 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:53,600 When you go and buy a record, 397 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:59,040 you go and buy it, and it's like a thing that you can hold and you can see and you can feel. 398 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:05,520 Whereas if you download something, it's like there, but you can't touch it. 399 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:10,560 And I think I prefer being able to hold the thing, and say, "Look, here it is." 400 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,280 It's 1973. 401 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:15,720 POP MUSIC PLAYS 402 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:24,680 Outside the home, Britain was far from harmonious, as industrial unrest escalated. 403 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:29,800 Ted Heath was trying to cap pay rises, so the miners were working to rule. 404 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:36,680 All this, at a time when ever more domestic technology meant an increasing demand for electricity. 405 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:41,760 As coal supplies ran low, Britain struggled to cope. 406 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:45,840 We do reckon we can match... 407 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:53,320 To give the family an authentic evening in 1973, the Tech Team have a surprise for them. 408 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:55,760 Multiply that by 12, we get... 409 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:57,200 SCREAMS 410 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,200 Where are the torches? I'll find some. Sit down, please, sit down! 411 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,360 Don't, because there's... It could knock anything over, it could be dangerous. 412 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,160 Wait for Adam to get the torch. 413 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:13,680 Give one to Mum. Darling, there's some candles in the cupboard. 414 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,040 How long do you think it's gonna last? 415 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,080 Georgie calls the Tech Team. 416 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,680 Have you got any power cut advice for us? 417 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:39,080 Though whole towns were plunged into darkness by power cuts, life went on - by gaslight. 418 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:43,320 '70s families learnt to prepare themselves, so the Tech Team 419 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:47,880 have provided candles, torches, and a camping stove. Good night. 420 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:55,000 Erm, it's as a result of the miners' industrial action, and the power cut will last until the morning. 421 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:57,400 GAS RAGES 422 00:29:57,400 --> 00:29:59,560 Blimey, that's a bit fierce! 423 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:05,080 Blimey O'Reilly! Ooh, listen to that noise and that smell, really remind me of camping holidays. 424 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,360 Is that secure? No, darling, it isn't secure. It's a little tiny trivet 425 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,240 with a pan on it. 426 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:20,240 The miners may have downed tools, but a true homemaker never does. 427 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:24,680 I need to make the jelly now, because I've got to go to work, even if there is a power cut. 428 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,320 There won't be pudding for tomorrow if I haven't got on with it now. 429 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:31,600 Buckaroo or Cluedo? 430 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:33,360 Oh, Buckaroo, definitely. 431 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:41,800 For just a little bit of one-night fun, it brings back huge memories, of family togetherness! 432 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:47,160 Which has why I said, let's play games! Let's play games and make jelly! 433 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,320 LAUGHTER 434 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,600 It's not that funny. 435 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:58,400 Oh dear! I think the fact that we haven't got that much to do here makes it extra-special as well. 436 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:00,520 It's not like we're missing anything. 437 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,040 I was quite enjoying Dr Who. 438 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,760 Adam, if you haven't got much to do, just let me know. 439 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:09,600 Because I don't seem to stop, I'm constantly washing up or cooking or cleaning, so... 440 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:15,160 Chip in, if you're feeling a bit bored! Oh... 441 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,960 I don't think life was that great. You have to do a lot more for yourself. 442 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:25,280 Yeah, you had to do a lot more for yourself. There was lots of power cuts, lots of strikes. 443 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:27,320 No central heating. 444 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,080 No phones. 445 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,720 No like hi-tech... Night. 446 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,960 The power has returned to the house, and so has the heating. 447 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:47,720 By the mid-'70s, half of British homes were centrally heated, 448 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:52,160 which is just as well for Hamish and Georgie, who are up at 5am. 449 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:56,400 Hamish is about to start his first proper job - a paper round. 450 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,320 If Hamish does get into trouble, then he's not going to be 451 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:04,080 able to telephone me on his mobile or anything like that. 452 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:05,840 But you'll enjoy the paper round. 453 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,280 Quick, quick, you're gonna be late. 454 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:10,000 Hurry up! 455 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,920 Paper rounds were a big part of a '70s childhood. 456 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:19,360 But today, newsagents struggle to recruit paper boys and girls - 457 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:24,520 mainly because modern parents fear for their kids' safety, walking the streets alone. 458 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,960 DOG BARKS 459 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:38,680 Even so, Georgie is keen for the children to spend more time playing outside, like she did. 460 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:42,880 So the Tech Team have a surprise for them, back at the house. 461 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,400 Oh, my God! What's this? I did my cycling proficiency on that thing! 462 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:50,920 I am loving these bikes. 463 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:57,440 That is my bike! If there was one thing that if I could keep, I would, it's the bike. 464 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:02,840 But cycling 1970s-style create some dilemmas for Georgie and Adam. 465 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:07,240 If they were going out on bikes in the '70s, they wouldn't have had mobile phones. 466 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:11,760 I never used to wear a helmet, I don't know about you. They would have to wear a helmet. 467 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:15,280 Mobile phones? The mobile phones, so often when I try to ring one of 468 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:20,680 the kids, it's either turned off, or they've got it in the bag and they can't hear it ringing anyway. 469 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:25,840 Or they've forgotten it. The mobile phone probably lulls you into a false sense of security. 470 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:32,640 And at least we had our instructions in those days, that you had to be back at whatever time for tea. 471 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:36,240 So, no, I think they'll be OK. 472 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:42,960 Modern children spend less than a fifth of the time playing outside than their '70s counterparts. 473 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,640 # Bicycle, bicycle... # 474 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:48,680 With less to entertain them in the house, 475 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:52,920 the great outdoors is proving a draw for the Sullivan-Barnes kids, too. 476 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:55,120 # I want to ride my bicycle... # 477 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,480 But Hamish may have taken his '70s freedoms too far. 478 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:04,960 He's decided to cycle into town, without a mobile phone, or asking Georgie. 479 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:13,040 It's seven o'clock, and Hamish still isn't back. 480 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,600 This is the note that he's let. 481 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:17,800 "To Mum - I'm probably in town as we speak. 482 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:21,160 "I cycled in and borrowed your helmet since I couldn't find mine. 483 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:25,920 "I have a bike lock and will be with George. Call him if there's a problem, or I am needed. 484 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:30,160 "I've gone into town. I promise not to do anything outside my time, ie, the '70s." 485 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:33,920 I can't believe that! On the Chopper that he got yesterday, 486 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:38,800 that will probably get stolen, in the dark, in winter. No lights. 487 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:43,960 And he could have rung me at work. I'm furious. Absolutely furious. 488 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,920 Well, when he gets home, he's gonna go to bed without any supper tonight. 489 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:53,600 Because in the '70s, he probably would have got smacked, but I can't do that. No, don't do that. 490 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:58,000 He doesn't have a mobile and he's suggested that I might call his friend on his mobile. 491 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:03,640 But I haven't got his friend's mobile number, cos it's on my confiscated mobile! 492 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:08,400 This could be him. At half seven, Hamish finally returns. 493 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:10,400 It is him. 494 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:14,040 Hi, Mum. Don't hi me. Go and put the helmet in the porch. What? 495 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:18,520 And come back in here. I'm really angry with you. 496 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:23,040 You know that that wouldn't have been all right with me, going into town on the Chopper. 497 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:27,720 And you could have rung me at work. You're not having supper. You're going upstairs now. 498 00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:30,520 You can have a bath and then you can go to bed. 499 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:38,200 In the 2000s, I wouldn't have sent him to his room as a punishment, because 500 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,880 everything that he loves his up their - his computer, his PlayStation. 501 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:48,280 But in 1970, it's colder upstairs, and there's not really very much to do. 502 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:52,000 Maybe I should ban the typewriter! 503 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,560 People in the '70s 504 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:58,360 didn't like communicate when they went out, they just planned ahead. 505 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:08,000 I'm sure if I'd planned ahead, I wouldn't have even been allowed to go out. 506 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:16,000 In the 2000s, Hamish would have sent me a text message at work to tell me what he was doing. 507 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:22,680 And he would certainly know that to go into town without doing that would have definitely not been OK. 508 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:27,800 But not having the opportunity to text me, he just decided that he would just chance it. 509 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:29,960 I think it's quite cool, actually! 510 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:33,400 I was quite impressed with it! 511 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:37,720 Just with the way it was all planned and executed! And the typed letter. 512 00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:43,160 The typed letter, which must have taken ages, and the fact he thinks the Chopper's really cool. 513 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,480 Cos I think the Chopper's really cool, too. 514 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:53,320 Hamish is in a bit of a mood, because Mum told him off because he went into town with the Chopper. 515 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,000 So, Mum was angry, told him to go to his room. 516 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:01,720 And he couldn't have dinner. 517 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:04,680 Now, he's gone to bed in a strop. Now he's already asleep. 518 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:09,200 It's power cut jelly! That looks quite good. 519 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,280 The family are halfway through their time in the '70s. I like it. 520 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:21,720 And the demanding schedule of domestic chores is taking its toll on Georgie. 521 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:27,200 Normally I'd be doing other stuff in the evening. I'd do a bit of work, or I'd make some phone calls, or 522 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:31,680 do some housework or something, that I don't seem to be able to fit in at the moment. 523 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:34,520 It would be fantastic to have a freezer. 524 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:39,520 Even if I did not have the convenience foods, to have the freezer and to cook an extra meal, 525 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:44,560 and put it in the freezer, and take it out, and almost use it like convenience food, 526 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,360 would definitely be a big plus. 527 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:51,960 Georgie won't have to wait long for her dreams to come true. 528 00:37:55,720 --> 00:38:02,280 Freezers were initially sold as a place to store home-grown fruit and veg, or even a whole pig. 529 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:09,320 In the mid-'70s, Britain took the deep freeze to its heart, but used it for entirely different purposes. 530 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:15,840 Dr Ben Mymore has managed to find what he hopes is a '70s model. 531 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:20,160 This is massive! Yeah, it's your proper, original chest freezer. 532 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:23,800 During the '70s, women were moving away from traditional roles 533 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,960 as housewives, to joining the workforce. 534 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:32,160 One of the things that allowed them to do that was the freezer. It freed them up from the daily shop. 535 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:35,960 Now they could just do a weekly shop, and have the corner shop in the home. 536 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:43,240 But I'm slightly worried whether it is a '70s freezer at all, or whether it's a 1980s, early-'80s freezer. 537 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:47,560 Whoah! Oh! Smells like it's from the, er... You're gonna have to clean that. 538 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:52,920 Chest freezers would basically be fairly standardised in technology. 539 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:56,560 So I'm thinking that we just clean it up, and maybe kind 540 00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:00,360 of give it a bit of a makeover, to make it look a bit more '70s. 541 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:03,480 It's gonna look ridiculous. It's gonna look great! 542 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:09,640 Customising appliances with sticky-backed plastic was common practice in the '70s. 543 00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:13,040 This way, any appliance could blend in with the brown all round. 544 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:18,120 How's that looking? Quite cool, isn't it? But it looks '70s, more than it did. 545 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,680 It does look very '70s. OK, I'm gonna take it round to the family. 546 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:28,320 By 1975, half of British homes had a deep freeze, 547 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:35,560 despite the fact that the cost almost £1,000 in today's money, and took up an awful lot of space. 548 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:40,480 Good morning! Georgie, hello. Got a delivery for you. All my dreams have come true! 549 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:44,960 I feel really disloyal to womankind, being excited about a piece of... 550 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:50,280 So you should, so you should. ..electric kitchen apparatus! Where d'you want us to put it? 551 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:54,240 I don't know. It's bigger than the fridge! It is huge. Maybe the garage? 552 00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:57,000 You almost need a garage to fit one of these in. 553 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:03,920 You look like pallbearers. So, do you want to show us where you'd like us to put it? 554 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:09,000 Erm, probably quite near the garage door, so I don't have to... Maybe here? 555 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:13,600 Right... One of the first things you're gonna need to do, Georgie, is stock this up. 556 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:18,840 Get in the Cortina, drive to a supermarket, and get those frozen goods in there. 557 00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:24,600 The chest freezer found its purpose in an era that saw 558 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:28,680 an increase in car ownership and the rise of supermarkets. 559 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:34,680 For the first time ever, the weekly rather than the daily shop became a reality. 560 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,840 Georgie's shopping for the slideshow party, but she's only allowed to buy 561 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:42,360 products that would have been available in the '70s. 562 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:46,480 Wow! A lobster. That's really '70s. 563 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,280 Cook from frozen. So, perfect. 564 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:53,160 I can go to the garage, grab it, stick it on a tray. 565 00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:57,440 Put it straight on the table ready for everybody to eat. 566 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:03,800 Just so completely different to making dinner last night. Just all these frozen lumps of...stuff. 567 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,280 Mmm. This looks good! Does it look good? Yeah, it looks good. 568 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:18,160 Because all of that was in the freezer half-an-hour ago. 569 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:20,600 # I can see clearly now... # 570 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:24,080 1976 - the year the number of colour television licences 571 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:29,960 overtook those of black-and-white for the first time. 572 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:33,160 POT BLACK THEME TUNE 573 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:40,600 Alan Weeks! God! There he is! Welcome to Pot Black's gala night... 574 00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:44,080 I hate snooker. Do you have to watch it in black and white as well? 575 00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:47,520 Snooker was brought to TV by BBC2 controller David Attenborough, 576 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,040 to make the most of the new colour service. 577 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:52,000 Kind of an interesting game. 578 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:56,320 When you're watching it in black and white, it becomes even more challenging. 579 00:41:56,320 --> 00:42:01,480 But the family won't have to struggle with snooker in black-and-white for much longer. 580 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:03,000 Out with the old... 581 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:06,000 Tom from the Tech Team is delivering them a new colour TV. 582 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,520 Fire her up, then. There we are. 583 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:13,480 Can I try it? Are you ready to see what would happen if a rainbow leaked into your old TV? 584 00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:17,160 Hurray! Whoo! 585 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,240 Hurray, it's colour! Whoo! 586 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:28,680 Fantastic! 587 00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:30,880 That's worth leaving the washing up for. 588 00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:37,400 Television viewing was Britain's biggest pastime in the 1970s, even though there wasn't much to watch, 589 00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:41,040 which probably explains how The Generation Game 590 00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:44,520 regularly ended up with almost half the country tuning in. 591 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:47,200 Erm, UV light... Coffee. UV light. 592 00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:49,320 Blender. Fan heater. Electric light. 593 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:54,600 Cuddly toy. Didn't he do well? Didn't he do well?! Oi! Oi! 594 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:57,000 Didn't he do well?! 595 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:02,720 I can feel the family getting sucked into the technology, and... 596 00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:05,480 I'm still making Jello in the kitchen. 597 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:07,680 Good rumba action, strong legs... 598 00:43:09,240 --> 00:43:14,400 But the colour TV doesn't seem to offer much excitement to Hamish. 599 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,560 I still don't think I'm gonna be watching it as much. 600 00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:20,640 The TV I'm used to, 601 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:21,960 it has satellite. 602 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,840 So there's lots more channels to go through. 603 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:31,240 It hasn't got a remote so you have to get up and press the buttons all the time. 604 00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:36,840 Ooo, ooo, ooo...! The three TV channels are about to face their first rival. 605 00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,200 Tom is back with the very latest in electronics, 606 00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:44,920 containing the first computer chip to enter the '70s home. 607 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:48,120 When we first saw you, you were all playing video games. Yeah. 608 00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:52,880 Everybody in the house seemed to up to be hooked up to some sort of television. Yes. 609 00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:58,080 So this is the first rung on that ladder, back to your normality, of video games. 610 00:43:58,080 --> 00:44:00,360 It's absolutely brilliant. 611 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:02,480 Oh, brilliant! I remember this! 612 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:06,440 Hamish! The sad news is, it's in monochrome. So you'll enjoy that. 613 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:10,120 Here's a brand new idea from the United States, 614 00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:14,680 which can turn your television set into a game that two can play. 615 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:19,200 Unplug the aerial, plug in the electronic game simulator, 616 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:22,800 switch on the set again, and now, who's for tennis? 617 00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:25,440 Right, Wimbledon, here we come. 618 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:28,160 Are you ready? Play. 619 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:31,080 Oh, yeah, there we go. Is that sharp or...? 620 00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:34,000 VIDEO GAME BEEPS 621 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:35,760 What...? This is weird. 622 00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:42,440 Created by Atari in 1972, Pong is recognised as the first home video game. 623 00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:46,040 Soon, manufacturers worldwide made their own versions, 624 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:51,480 and over 500 different systems flooded the market. 625 00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,840 Though the controls were kept to a bare minimum - 626 00:44:54,840 --> 00:45:00,000 a single rotary knob - this is the beginning of the television as an entertainment emporium. 627 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:03,120 It's quite clever, for what it is, but... 628 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:04,760 VIDEO GAME BEEPS 629 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:08,320 Obviously, Adam has more experience in these kinds of games. 630 00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:14,120 It's 1977. 631 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:18,920 # God save the Queen... # 632 00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:26,640 While the Queen's Silver Jubilee flew the flag for tradition, revolution was breaking out. 633 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:31,080 The computer revolution. 634 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:35,120 Computers were starting to make inroads into the workplace. 635 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:39,200 But the era of the home computer was at least five years away. 636 00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:44,840 Gia is in search of any sort of computing power she can offer the family. 637 00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:48,000 Clearly I can't give them a computer in the '70s. 638 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:51,680 So I think it's got to be a calculator. 639 00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:53,680 And there's only one man to go to. 640 00:45:53,680 --> 00:46:00,960 He's the guy who brought calculators to the masses - my hero, Sir Clive Sinclair. 641 00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:06,920 When I told people that I'm coming to meet you today, everyone said 642 00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:12,720 you have to tell him how important he is to me. He's changed my life so thank you very much. 643 00:46:12,720 --> 00:46:15,040 Did you feel that it was important that 644 00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:20,240 the average person have some kind of contact with computers and calculators, and...? 645 00:46:20,240 --> 00:46:22,080 They were magical. Prior to that, 646 00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:26,720 calculations were elaborate, and you either used a slide rule or log tables. 647 00:46:26,720 --> 00:46:31,880 And then suddenly, pocket calculators came along, and changed it all. 648 00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:35,040 These were something that was space-agey, and they caused 649 00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:39,680 a lot of excitement, and that was rather fun to be involved with. 650 00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:48,080 Well, I've got the calculator for the family. Sinclair Cambridge. 651 00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:51,800 When these came out in the early '70s, they were incredibly expensive. 652 00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:54,920 But by now, they were affordable, they were about £8.95. 653 00:46:54,920 --> 00:46:57,480 So anyone could afford these things. 654 00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:01,800 And they were still a bit of a status symbol, still very exciting to own. 655 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:04,840 So, I'm gonna give it to them now. 656 00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:08,600 Oh, look at that! It's a calculator! 657 00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:14,120 And your maths homework will be so quick and easy now, because you can do it all on the calculator. 658 00:47:14,120 --> 00:47:18,920 D'you remember doing rude words on them? Like boobs? D'you remember what the number was? 659 00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:23,840 Yeah, I think it's 58008, and then you look at it upside down. 660 00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:32,080 It's so infantile, I can't believe you know that. 661 00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:37,240 Hamish has found a proper use for the calculator - his maths homework. 662 00:47:37,240 --> 00:47:42,720 Teachers at the time were anxious about their potential impact on children's arithmetical ability. 663 00:47:42,720 --> 00:47:45,520 Even so, the pocket calculator was unstoppable. 664 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:52,160 In 1977, Britain bought nearly five million of them. 665 00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:56,600 But the meagre computing achievements of the '70s - Pong and the calculator - 666 00:47:56,600 --> 00:48:01,400 have brought home to Hamish how much he's missing 21st century technology. 667 00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:06,280 I'm quite bored. There's nothing really to do. 668 00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:08,440 I'd normally have my computer. 669 00:48:08,440 --> 00:48:10,360 Games and...stuff. 670 00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:18,640 He's even resorted to helping Georgie with the housework. 671 00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:30,880 1978 - and industrial relations had reached a new low. 672 00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:35,880 Britain is stricken with its worst industrial problems for years... 673 00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:42,760 While Denis Healey was attempting to freeze wages, Britain was shivering through the winter of discontent. 674 00:48:44,120 --> 00:48:48,440 30-odd years later, snow covers Britain again, 675 00:48:48,440 --> 00:48:53,160 and Adam has a dilemma - whether or not to go into the office. 676 00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:55,920 Normally I probably wouldn't go to work, actually. 677 00:48:55,920 --> 00:49:01,880 I'd probably work at home. Cos I've got broadband connections, and, you know, a direct link into the office. 678 00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:09,160 And mobiles, and all the technology that allows me to be mobile, and work anywhere, really. 679 00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:13,440 Probably 30 years ago, I probably would have struggled in, I guess! 680 00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:23,040 Going to work in this Cortina is crazy. It's not up to the job. It's not engineered for this! 681 00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:26,800 But having said that, people in the '70s did. 682 00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:30,040 So, why shouldn't I? Is the question. 683 00:49:32,160 --> 00:49:35,160 Oh, I'm not taking a Cortina out in this. It's crazy. 684 00:49:35,160 --> 00:49:38,280 I've got a 4x4. I'm taking that. 685 00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:48,080 But before Adam arrives at his office, Gia is making a few modifications. 686 00:49:48,080 --> 00:49:53,880 Out goes the internet workstation, and in comes a Commodore Pet computer. 687 00:49:53,880 --> 00:50:01,200 Work is certainly the first place people would have encountered a computer. 688 00:50:01,200 --> 00:50:05,160 And this one was, you know, massively high tech. 689 00:50:07,400 --> 00:50:12,040 Software is loaded using a tape deck, which is both unreliable and slow. 690 00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:16,680 But the Pet, with a basic word processor and spreadsheet, 691 00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:19,520 was a popular business machine into the '80s. 692 00:50:19,520 --> 00:50:22,400 Hello. Morning! 693 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:25,200 Ha-ha-ha-ha! 694 00:50:25,200 --> 00:50:29,560 Look at that! 1978 today. I didn't think it was 1978. 695 00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:32,960 These came out in 1977. Commodore Pet... 696 00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:37,640 Really? I just assumed it was a lot later than that. 697 00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:40,360 So, I know that you work in accountancy. 698 00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:43,120 I've got you a finance programme. 699 00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:46,080 OK. Hopefully you'll be able to do something. 700 00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:48,920 This should be interesting. 701 00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:50,560 This came with 702 00:50:50,560 --> 00:50:56,520 4-8K of RAM. My mobile phone for example has 64 Meg. 703 00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:00,440 So, mobile-phone is 16,000 times more RAM than this. 704 00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:02,600 So, it's gonna be a bit slow! 705 00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:08,080 Does it actually do anything? It does. I've loaded up a programme here for you. 706 00:51:10,160 --> 00:51:15,440 But Adam struggles to do his 21st century job with a '70s computer. 707 00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:20,120 The lack of any connection to the outside world is its biggest shortcoming. 708 00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:23,520 D'you think it would be possible to do your normal, daily work 709 00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:26,640 on a computer like this? Absolutely not. 710 00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:33,200 Lack of technology back home has caused another problem for Adam. 711 00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:40,760 Turns out that an e-mail was sent out very early this morning to all staff, saying, because of 712 00:51:40,760 --> 00:51:44,800 the weather conditions outside, don't come in. Work at home. 713 00:51:44,800 --> 00:51:47,600 And clearly, I can't work at home. 714 00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:51,160 And I can't get e-mails! So, I didn't know about it! 715 00:51:51,160 --> 00:51:57,840 So I've come in and battled my way in, only to be met with an empty office. 716 00:51:57,840 --> 00:51:59,520 Adam returns home early. 717 00:51:59,520 --> 00:52:04,360 And all the family head outside for some good, old-fashioned fun. 718 00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:09,680 It didn't come about quite in the way that I thought it might do. 719 00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:11,480 But I've got what I wanted. 720 00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:16,800 I've got more time together as a family, doing the same activity, and enjoying each other's company. 721 00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:21,360 Despite Georgie's nostalgia for the past, '70s parents would actually 722 00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:25,240 spend as little as 25 minutes a day with their children. 723 00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:29,400 Today, the average is over an hour and a half, nearly four times as much! 724 00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:31,320 ..mouth now, just needs your nose... 725 00:52:38,440 --> 00:52:41,440 This is the '70s re-created in your back garden! 726 00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:45,520 Tomorrow is the last day of the '70s, and I'm gutted. 727 00:52:45,520 --> 00:52:49,320 I've really liked the '70s. I like not having the technology. 728 00:52:49,320 --> 00:52:54,200 Each year we tick on and we get more gadgets, it's kind of disappointing, really. 729 00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:57,720 I'd just like to freeze-frame here and stay here a bit longer. 730 00:52:57,720 --> 00:53:00,160 That would be great. 731 00:53:00,160 --> 00:53:06,400 But back inside, they discover there's a problem with their favourite piece of '70s technology. 732 00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:09,760 Adam, could you have a look at the TV? It's broken. 733 00:53:09,760 --> 00:53:13,240 What makes you think I'll fix it, then? 734 00:53:13,240 --> 00:53:18,480 It was working a second ago, as well. 735 00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:21,000 Anything happening? It's getting more broken. 736 00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:25,440 It's started making a little desperate humming noise, and it's now completely dead. 737 00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:30,120 Erm, our TV is broken... 738 00:53:30,120 --> 00:53:32,560 Hamish phones the tech support team for help. 739 00:53:36,400 --> 00:53:41,280 Anything up? In the '70s, the TV repairman was a common visitor. 740 00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:44,920 Colour sets cost around £3,000, in today's money. 741 00:53:44,920 --> 00:53:48,200 What seems to be the problem? It won't switch on. 742 00:53:48,200 --> 00:53:54,880 But they were also consistently unreliable, so it's little wonder 70% of families rented. 743 00:53:54,880 --> 00:53:59,920 90% of TVs in the '70s broke down at least once a year. 744 00:53:59,920 --> 00:54:05,280 A few sets, about 20% of sets, actually broke down five times or more. 745 00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:10,240 But then, the Japanese - mainly Japanese - imported sets were made to a higher standard. 746 00:54:10,240 --> 00:54:12,640 They didn't break down anywhere near as much. 747 00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:16,440 Occasionally, they were even dangerous, getting so hot, 748 00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:21,200 they'd set fire to the room, earning them the nickname curtain burners among TV repairman. 749 00:54:21,200 --> 00:54:28,560 It's always the thing on these Baird sets, the last screw never goes in. It was John Logie's idea of a joke. 750 00:54:29,360 --> 00:54:33,720 OPEN UNIVERSITY THEME PLAYS 751 00:54:37,640 --> 00:54:40,080 First of all, welcome to the course... 752 00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:42,320 Nice beard! 753 00:54:42,320 --> 00:54:45,240 Look at that jacket, it's absolutely ridiculous. 754 00:54:45,240 --> 00:54:47,760 ..came down to solving a quadratic equation... 755 00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:51,400 I'll leave you to Bob Coats and his mathematical equations, Adam. 756 00:54:51,400 --> 00:54:54,600 ..equals two times y over x... 757 00:54:54,600 --> 00:54:57,880 Give me a call if any other problems arise. 758 00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:02,080 The decade is nearly over. 759 00:55:02,080 --> 00:55:08,440 Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope. 760 00:55:08,440 --> 00:55:12,800 Tonight, the Sullivan-Barnes family are putting on a slide show for 761 00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:16,360 friends to see their time-travelling adventures. 762 00:55:16,360 --> 00:55:20,680 Georgie has been busy in the kitchen all day preparing food for the party. 763 00:55:20,680 --> 00:55:25,600 Freezer food has made the job easier, but she's still not getting much help from the boys. 764 00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:28,040 I need some cheese grated. 765 00:55:28,040 --> 00:55:32,680 Can you please help, and stop playing with watches? 766 00:55:32,680 --> 00:55:34,400 Go on, help. 767 00:55:34,400 --> 00:55:40,400 Georgie has done a lovely spread of '70s staples - vol-au-vents and fondue. That looks fine. 768 00:55:41,640 --> 00:55:45,000 Adam is in charge of the era's favourite drinks. 769 00:55:47,040 --> 00:55:50,960 That's all right. Is that OK? Yeah. The snowballs are here! 770 00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:53,880 Although no-one's impressed with the Soda Stream. 771 00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:58,480 The fondue's good. You should try the fondue. 772 00:56:00,040 --> 00:56:03,360 Hamish provides the music, with his mix tape. 773 00:56:07,760 --> 00:56:10,000 Adam with his Chopper! That's a nice one! 774 00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:13,040 I've always been fond of my Chopper! 775 00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:16,440 I told you Georgie was rather keen on the Cortina! 776 00:56:16,440 --> 00:56:20,600 For the family, it's a chance to reflect on their '70s experience. 777 00:56:20,600 --> 00:56:26,960 I think most of it is nostalgia, and just having so many happy memories 778 00:56:26,960 --> 00:56:30,040 from childhood, that keep being rekindled. 779 00:56:30,040 --> 00:56:34,960 That you just don't want to leave them behind, really. 780 00:56:34,960 --> 00:56:39,640 Georgie got what she thought she wanted, a home free of high-tech distractions. 781 00:56:39,640 --> 00:56:42,000 But it has come at a price. 782 00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:45,000 I've liked being fairly low on the technology front. 783 00:56:45,000 --> 00:56:49,320 But it's meant the inconveniences - cooking a meal, doing some cleaning, 784 00:56:49,320 --> 00:56:54,520 everything was very hands-on, and took a long time to do. 785 00:56:54,520 --> 00:56:59,960 Technology has made domestic life easier. But the children have realised that some modern tech, 786 00:56:59,960 --> 00:57:03,120 like mobile phones, for example, has its downside. 787 00:57:03,120 --> 00:57:06,760 I do think, in the '70s, children had more freedom. 788 00:57:06,760 --> 00:57:11,200 Because I think nowadays parents are more cautious. 789 00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:18,600 As children in the '70s, we felt a lot freer, and a lot more able to go off and just do things. 790 00:57:18,600 --> 00:57:24,120 I look today and I sometimes see our kids sort of at home, glued to the computer. 791 00:57:24,120 --> 00:57:25,920 And it quite saddens me. 792 00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:30,440 I do think the kids saw the value of the family time together. 793 00:57:30,440 --> 00:57:32,880 And they certainly saw how much I enjoyed it. 794 00:57:32,880 --> 00:57:37,640 I think we will make an effort to do stuff as a family, even 795 00:57:37,640 --> 00:57:41,080 if poor old Hamish would rather be playing on his games console. 796 00:57:41,080 --> 00:57:44,600 I don't think I'll miss the '70s, really. 797 00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:49,080 Cos there wasn't much to do in the '70s. 798 00:57:49,080 --> 00:57:53,560 Really sad, actually, that it's over for the '70s. Really sad. 799 00:57:53,560 --> 00:57:55,960 I really am quite sad to leave the '70s! 800 00:58:02,040 --> 00:58:08,360 Next time, the family enter the 1980s, and are faced with an explosion of domestic technology. 801 00:58:08,360 --> 00:58:10,360 Complete leap of technology. 802 00:58:10,360 --> 00:58:17,240 This is more like it. But will the '80s bring them labour-saving must haves, or time-wasting boys' toys? 803 00:58:17,240 --> 00:58:18,640 ELECTRONIC JINGLE 804 00:58:18,640 --> 00:58:21,160 Ha-ha! I've got it working! 805 00:58:21,160 --> 00:58:24,960 Can modern kids get to grips with the primitive electronics of the day? 806 00:58:24,960 --> 00:58:29,200 Wait, wait, wait! Why, why can't you be more patient? 807 00:58:29,200 --> 00:58:31,320 Nothing ever works! 808 00:58:33,320 --> 00:58:36,880 And you can continue your journey through the decades online, with 809 00:58:36,880 --> 00:58:44,240 the BBC and the Open University, by visiting: 810 00:58:49,800 --> 00:58:52,080 # We'll always be together 811 00:58:52,080 --> 00:58:55,480 # However far it seems 812 00:58:55,480 --> 00:58:57,040 # Love never ends 813 00:58:57,040 --> 00:58:59,800 # We'll always be together 814 00:58:59,800 --> 00:59:07,000 # Together in electric dreams. #