I'm going back to 1971 for an insight into South Tyneside life as it looked 55 years ago
It seems like an eternity ago but it was only 55 years since all this was on offer in South Tyneside.
If you were a borough resident in 1971, you will remember all of this.
Maybe you remember Colwell’s newsagents which was determined to offer a friendly welcome to customers. It sold toys, stationery, sweets, cigarettes and more from the shop in Prince Edward Road.
And in 1971, it took out an impressive advert when it urged people to ‘call in and meet our staff.’ Tell us if you did and if you recognise any of these workers.
It was the year when decimal currency and the metric era was introduced.
Hebburn Tech was a leader in 1971
The future meant measuring temperatures in degrees centigrade, lengths in metres, areas in hectares, volumes in litres and our weights in grams.
It was confusing time for many, particularly as the change came fast on the heels of Decimal Day earlier that same year.
But in the metrication stakes, South Tyneside, and particularly Hebburn Technical College, was proving no slouch. The college had taken on the task of educating the region’s industries for the change.
Two years earlier, a team of lecturers at the college’s mechanical engineering department got together and decided that industries would require formal metrication education for many of their staff.
A treat for kids at the Gaumont
The Saturday Club was a regular treat at the cinema for South Tyneside children and the offering in February 1971 at the Gaumont Cinema was Mystery On Bird Island.
Travel agents Common Brothers in the Market Place was advertising summer cruises around Greece and Italy for just under£40.
Hairdressers Howard Dale, in King Street, South Shields, was offering a shampoo and set for 8 /- in the ‘luxury salon’. Tell us if you remember it, by emailing [email protected]
In case you missed it;
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