Look at Life - Shopping by the ton, 1960

Posted by nostalgoteket.se A visit to Smithfield Market, Covent Garden and Billingsgate, at their busiest time, the early morning.

[@stevetaylor1312]

I worked for a quality greengrocers as a young lad back in the late 60's, and loved it; this film takes me back to those days. sigh.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

wow all that packaging and not a plastic bag in sight...

[@videocurios]

I Love these films I grew up in Kings Cross in the sixties me and my brothers would walk to Old Covent Garden and lug a big bag of potatoes back to Kings Cross

[@surreyscouse2873]

Not a piece of plastic, a moped hoodie,drug dealer or a mosque in sight. Loved the look of the steaks straight off the open grill too.

[@MegaMsc123]

Get lost boomer. We need more Mosques in London and its happening!

[@TriangleAnimation]

Back when the media was even more corrupt and ideological than it is now. It's hilarious hearing you silly old men pander at the old western propaganda. The machine was running even harder and faster then.

[@maximedwards3456]

Very sad, but true.

[@reinerraymondo1586]

Oldster having a whine...

[@johnseabrook1703]

MegaMsc123 I hope you are joking

[@atlantic1952]

Brilliant film! Brings back the good old days so well. Thanks so much for uploading!

[@garulusglandarius6126]

I’d go back and live in the 60s- 80s in a heartbeat, better times and better people. Those steaks at the end look amazing .👍🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@beefy0978]

Wooden crates and sack cloth. No plastic in sight!

[@sidewindersid4180]

Very true.

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

beefy0978 2:37 plastic around the carrot sacks. Morons like you will see what they want to see

[@pauloliver6813]

@@handsoffmycactus2958 Morons like you can be very pedantic. Of course there is some plastic. But far less than today. Literally everything from a film from 60 years ago from the culture you grew up in will be familiar, but different. "The past is a foreign Country, they do things differently there" L.P Hartley. The Go Between.

[@coolhand1966]

@@handsoffmycactus2958 loves to take it up the Gary Glitter

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

Paul Oliver you can’t un-invent the invented. What about all the lorries, cars, leaded fuel used, pollution was rife and everywhere. But no, you just plod in agreeing with yourself cos you’re so blindsided with the falsehood of your own ego and bullshit

[@dannork1240]

Everyone looks so thin! And formally dressed, too... and they all have a cigarette going!We're so fat, lazy and slobby nowdays... These films are great, I'm so glad they got put up here!

[@pigknickers2975]

Slobby and badly dressed, I bloody hate it.

[@wharris302]

We aren't lazy, we just have easier ways of doing stuff now.

[@Noi5ee]

Wait, is not smoking a bad thing ?

[@lunarbeetlejuice9768]

funnily enough it was probably the cigarettes keeping them thin. Nicotine is an appetite reducer.

[@mikerochburns4104]

Eating shit food is what making people fat.

[@geoffdundee]

see how fit and healthy the workers all looked and see all the british made trucks and lorries

[@RyanJohnson-ox3py]

I love watching these old films to see what life was like before I was born

[@bluetoad2001]

love the narration and soundtrack

[@Weeflowerofscotland]

No plastic bags ❤️

[@jacksugden8190]

I remember the old Covent Garden Market in full swing, it shut in 1979 and went to Nine Elms.

[@gcfcos]

Proper grafters.

[@gallimead]

health and safety would close that down in seconds now!!

[@pieman3007]

Food hygiene regs too! Amazing film, especially when you look at what all 3 markets are now.

[@garyhooper2728]

My grandfather had a stall in billingsgate i went there many times in the 60’s great film many memories a different world then

[@witchslaugh]

Amazing to see it all like that. Thanks for posting.

[@deeppurple883]

I worked the equivalent in Dublin and I love it. Anything got to do with that kind of work made me happy, but few and far between. Now everything is done in warehousing indoors. Bring back the bad old day's. ☘️

[@deanooo2531]

Vegans would love it here...😅😅😅😅

[@patriciabracken7546]

Lovely to see London back then.

[@mack_titan]

I'm here to look at trucks!

[@martinwebb5588]

Lorries if you please ... we aren't bloody Americans.

[@richardhorner9185]

Not a fridge wagon in sight

[@martinwebb5588]

@Ken Roberts… It's called the ENGLISH language for a reason, because we invented it, so shit head you are using our language, see if you understand this … FUCK OFF.

[@robertreape]

Much simpler times and think where we are nowadays

[@mrr2880]

Used to go to a cafe in Smithfields market early mornings when I worked nights in a City bank.. took my posh boss in there one morning, look on his face when the porters started their banter with each other.. so funny, he'd never heard language like it before .. they all looked so pale though, like they'd never seen sunlight.. great times.. guess it's all shutdown now?

[@michaelwest4325]

My wife enjoyed the central markets in Barcelona so much that while in London this year she booked a tour of the meat market shown here, she did not know it was a wholesale market, it was freezing cold that early, even colder inside, I found it quite interesting, sadly it will be gone soon, another piece of history lost, but in many ways it was not unlike how you see it here.

[@rickhctep1503]

Look at the fat on them steaks he was cooking at the end, real meat not this crap we are eating today. Brilliants films, thanks please keep it up.

[@mescko]

The only steaks that go on my grill look like them!

[@farmcentralohio]

Go somewhere besides walmart and you won't have that problem lol. Meat is the same as it's always been genius.

[@reinerraymondo1586]

@@farmcentralohio no its not genius.... Quite often its been stored 2 years plus before it lands on your plate..... and all the fat will have been cut off by the butcher .... Tasteless,, dry piece of meat.

[@kevrockism]

Working in the food industry all my life, that kinda meat still exists, unfortunately it doesn't make it to the shop shelves, it goes to all the restaurants instead. The stuff in the shops in packaging is pure shit believe me. One thing I say though, Lidl red meat is decent, it's as good as what you would get in most butcher shops in my opinion

[@bull716]

Old school work never killed anyone bring it back 💪💪💪💪💪

[@RollaArtis]

Unfortunately the Coal Exchange was demolished shortly after.

[@raylawes8938]

They found a Roman bath house underneath, isn't that right?

[@renhoek3851]

Those steaks at the end!

[@johnwiddowson5695]

I used to do this in the 70s from Spitalgate Market. Everything from cabbages, tomatoes, apples to potatoes. All had to be sheeted then up the A1 to my bosses greengrocers shop in Retford.

[@Isleofskye]

Good Old Spitalgate. I used to go to Billingsfield myself...

[@flipper2392]

@@Isleofskye Get yer fish and veg togeva

[@Isleofskye]

Zeen, Mi Bredda. Yu mek wurlappa sense Bredrin :)

[@jennytalia226]

Remember when oranges were wrapped in tissue paper with a colourful advert on from the different growers ? What on earth went wrong with the world ?

[@needleontherecord]

Enoch Powell’s paradise.

[@michaelwilson6483]

I bght some potatoes from the market a few weeks ago, from Leeds market , they were quite nice, i had them boiled with butter, mind you potatoes aren't half as good these days, not like when my grandad was a lad

[@borderlord]

Brilliant..I love the Look at Life series ..real history...just see how the London markets have changed..I think even Smithfield is now moving soon...and the skyline around Tower bridge the transformation..alot of it not good!

[@mikekavanagh8952]

Excellent.

[@Fifury161]

I'm guessing Health & Safety have seen an end to those leather hats...?

[@illuminatedgalaxies7777.]

Fantastic nostalgic filming love it(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

[@christopherhulse8385]

It's great to see this in colour, as most footage of the time is black and white.

[@spencerwilton5831]

What a shame Covent Garden is now filled with hoards of tourists (never understood the attraction myself) and human statues.

[@jonwu6273]

good old days

[@neonskyline1]

Oh yes, it was fabulous down a mine

[@oddities-whatnot]

I couldnt cope with all that. Far too crowded. I want my own bay these days!

[@MarhHughes]

K

[@CARLIN4737]

Brilliant.Absolutely magical

[@housedadtrains]

i remember loading and unloading here no forklifts then and still bear the scars from the ferrile cats.

[@cricketbat09]

One forklift driver could do the work of 50 of those lorry loading labourers.

[@neonskyline1]

it was like that in Poland, only it was called communism

[@deeppurple883]

It wasn't the good old days but they were much better day's. I would swap all these day's for one of those day's. Blissful ignorence. ✊ ☘️

[@iansutton3176]

Them were the days!

[@pauloliver6813]

Isn't it wonderful that perhaps we are the first intelligent creatures in the Universe who can see and hear what was happening in the past as though we were there...

[@canman5060]

Moment after the food rationing and people stomachs are grouching !

[@ed9709]

I have been to covent garden market in the sixties.

[@Jakeboii222]

1:45 Docter Who :D

[@oldskertonion]

Excellent thank you

[@isaacstone7899]

Today many people don’t like to touch fish. My roommate’s kids complain when I buy fish for dinner. They also complain about meat, but they eat burgers with bacon and fish chips.

[@joemengler1666]

Kids were listening and thought I was watching Tom & Gerry 😂

[@MegaMsc123]

Its jerry you boomer

[@jasperedwards81]

Another gem. This whole Look at Life is a fabulous series. Where in the world did you find it?

[@chrismaynard6016]

Hello John. All these are available on the Look at Life DVD's and can be bought on Amazon, Ebay, Simply Entertainment. All brilliant and takes me back to when I was a kid. Hard to believe how the UK has changed since then. Let's just say I would go back in my Tardis ?

[@captainchaos2671]

@@chrismaynard6016 i weren't born until 78, the 80s, and 90s were good for me, and even a few years into the naughties weren't bad, but i love watching these movies and in a strange way i wish i was born 20 years earlier

[@ant7936]

These were shown at the cinema, with TWO films, trailers, ads and cartoons. Four hours entertainment!

[@robsiddall9731]

It's funny , 10 seconds in I was thinking wow stuff must of actually fallen off the back of lorries

[@markd8799]

My car was 7 years old back then.

[@Cody-zd2ye]

My old man yused to drive those old three wheels scammel scarabs for British rail who went on to be called national carriers I'm sure they had an electric version in yellow

[@Del-yv1qy]

Better days for sure.

[@Pianoguy32]

Rip coal exchange, demolished 2 years later.

[@vtecpreludevtec]

2016,Native white British drop under50% in London,,who permitted such madness?

[@martinwebb5588]

+ Mike Berg Londoners that's who, all those white Londoners who moved out to Essex, Kent and Hertfordshire leaving London to the none white population ... white Londoners deserted London over many years moving out to the shire counties ... that was only ever going to lead to one outcome London was going to be mainly none white ... Londoners only have themselves to blame, they deserted the capital for better pastures and the result was whites drop to under 50% in London, that's what happens when British whites leave in large numbers, no good complaining about something Londoners bought on themselves.

[@tdonovan4735]

Do you ever ask yourself how much of the white people in that film were native White? Are you unaware that England had an influx of Irish, polish, Hungarian, Czech, Jews etc throughout the 20th century? You assume that they are all native English - shows your total ignorance

[@foleyoni]

The karma of Empire

[@wacka2]

the Labour Party

[@Isleofskye]

You are right but the truth is that I was born near Brixton and Peckham in 1954 and never heard a foreign language spoken on our streets until circa 1971...so they could not have been that prevalent ( does not include the excellent 200,000 Jewish populace ) @ @@tdonovan4735

[@simonipswich]

LOL! Yeah it's Matt Smith!

[@lukespammitchell9553]

Doctor Who you're meant to be saving the world not buying strawberries!!! 1:45

[@dylan3657]

it's the image of him

[@Springamatul]

I went past Billingsgate on docklands today I think Billingsgate was elsewhere then I wonder whre is Smithfield market

[@vincentdeguard4726]

Spring Amatul Smithfield is more central next to the City/"Square Mile"...close to Holborn area of central London. Plans are to have it relocated to somewhere on edge of London (logistics of having it so central playing a part on the consideration) and the building being developed into a "new" Museum of London" which is looking at having a new purpose-built home with more space.

[@justinhaynes2819]

Farringdon.

[@sanjeevpereira6765]

Great vedio

[@robertparkes4982]

What the fuck happened to our Country ?

[@vtecpreludevtec]

Immigration

[@rattmann36863]

+Robert Parkes Muslims?

[@sixfootbear]

+Robert Parkes Do you want to work like this?

[@Vakito227]

Thatcher Merkel Trade Unions Cheap Imports Political Correctness Excessive Health and safety The internet making people dumber Chavs Nanny state Immigrants Housing Collapse American influences such as black Friday Loss of industry Overpopulation People becoming fat and lazy Loss of regional identity Everything is owned by a foreign firm these days

[@Crouchenders]

Smithfield market is EXACTLY the same these days.

[@Jaringan2]

Good.....work for meal on the table and eat for work energy ...and round and round and round...life cycle....... that is life......as long we keep enjoy our life and accept that as a part of our life Process .... to become something that we never know what would it be....Ce sera sera

[@tkx86]

Needs more mosques..../sarcasm.

[@sidewindersid4180]

Lol😂😂😂

[@neiluk78]

@TheRenaissanceman65 Another twerp/Guardian reader/Marxist who loves to hand over the Country to invaders. Traitors like you will not be around in a hundred years when the indigenous Britons are a minority in their own lands.

[@neiluk78]

@TheRenaissanceman65 Lmfao, how do you define harassment cupcake? Freedom of speech is not harassment. Jog on you super clown bot/troll.

[@martinhowe3679]

@TheRenaissanceman65 wheres the harassment tosser????

[@martinhowe3679]

@TheRenaissanceman65 only to pratts like you i am with neilboxer oo

[@jamesoates1334]

Food from all over the world, and not a poxy EU mark in sight

[@marclaw4511]

People had to eat and this gave it to them.

[@michaelwilson6483]

check out the guy with the fish at 4:31

[@UberSynth]

Surely its shopping by the tonne? Get ya rapples an pearz now Two and thrupence, two shillings, half a bob

[@snowflakemelter1172]

Nope " tonne" is a metric tonne," ton "is an imperial ton. The film is 10 years before Britain went metric.

[@ivornappinion9406]

@@snowflakemelter1172 Never knew that

[@farooqishaq6974]

good old days when the British worked like the Bangalis..!

[@curiousorange7723]

So true...we had 12 to a room back then too

[@xenu-dark-tony]

Yep, very true, AND our bathroom habits were somewhat questionable too. Not an overweight person in sight though, and look how quiet London was then! Nowadays though it's the British slaving away to pay for the colossal amount of 'unemployed' and non English-speaking third-worlders who've arrived with their sectarian, religious and cultural absurdities, including moving to somebody else's country and expecting them to adapt, not vice-versa. It's hard to see how Britain will ever recover from what Bliar did inviting in millions of people who had no idea how life was going to change, the poor things.

[@hideouslyugly]

@@xenu-dark-tony Well said. We aren't racist, other countries love their culture, we lose ours, and have to bow to everyone else.

[@Elconbrioso]

Halcyon days. This film produced in the days when people spoke proper . 2018 AD , Smithfields is the last man standing !

[@joanne26]

I have not seen any plastic pallet shrink wrap and no plastic containers. In todays globalized world cucumbers in the supermarkets are wrapped in PLASTIC!! WHY??? My late mother used to shop every day and she would walk there ( could not drive till 1974 so no car) pulling her trolley. It would take about 15 minutes there and she would buy all her meat, fruit and veg loose. There were brown paper bags but she would just get the produce weighed and it would all be put in her trolley. Even the meat would be wrapped in paper and then in a brown paper bag. Was climate change mentioned then? I dont think so!!

[@villaparis2]

Poor Craps and Lobsters

[@differentname8051]

villaparis2 I've never known anyone that feels sympathy for crap.

[@villaparis2]

I EAT THEM

[@differentname8051]

Eh? You mean you eat crap? Well each to their own. Yuk

[@villaparis2]

Sushi isn't crap

[@albatelf]

matt smiths the doctor at 1:47

[@consul1957]

What is 1305? Don't know what you're saying!

[@leebritnell2405]

Sick of the whining racist comments to these films.

[@curiousorange7723]

Look up the word racist...and communist,comrade Britnell.

[@sidewindersid4180]

I dont care what you think.

[@Isleofskye]

You HAVE to be Under 30 and not EXPERIENCED the change Lee . Are you and do you, actually, live in Multi-Cultural London....?

[@farooqishaq6974]

serious fire risk and who gives a shit

[@gromit3315]

And not a Muslim in sight. Yet.

[@MegaMsc123]

Shutup. Muslims taking over!

[@denysmith9469]

Most of these people would have been in the war...you can see it in some of there eyes but there still working...no ptsd claims here just work hard and try to forget

[@nousername123451]

Yeh good on them, ignore their trauma and go home and batter their families or drown in the bottle.

[@solangemarques6640]

✌✌✌✌

[@TheFlyingScotzman]

the collapse of Christianity and the vacuum filled by humanism is what happened.

[@rockolutheran]

hahahaa

[@g30ffs79]

Ah yes Christianity: homophobia, subjugation of woman, and child genital mutilation.

[@andrewoliver8930]

Christianity. Such a wonderful way of turning your brain off.

[@BillDFC]

August 23rd. 1305. Never forget.

[@billyboyjones5746]

Wallace was captured by Scots and handed over to the English.

[@diggerpete9334]

Not a single jihadist or muslim wearable tent in sight.

[@spencerwilton5831]

Peter Peter I thought I saw one, but watching again I realised it was a pillar box.

[@zeus-mt7wx]

Cn you believe no refrigeration

[@francky4990]

1´58´´ john steed 😜

[@delboyoelmundo4718]

Wonder what the meat porters would hv made of Veganism

[@eurouc]

Well, that was depressing. Tossing around the carcasses of sentient beings. Imagine if those were human corpses hanging in rows and you get the idea 😒

[@snowflakemelter1172]

They're not human corpses so your argument is a fallacy.

[@neonskyline1]

And yes, there were other people than British whites

[@hannahtaylor3841]

Every one of these 60's videos has some racist remarks in the comments. Disgraceful...

[@davemdevon.5423]

Hannah Taylor , maybe but, look at the facts Britain has changed out all recognition over a very short period of time and the population has never been asked if that's okay . When and who will decide when it's enough ? Personally I think it should be a multi racial society ( as race is only looks ) and not multi cultural as cultures clash and one culture thinks they are superior to another like the ........... Muslims

[@dulls8475]

I agree it is not the colour of your skin it is the values and culture you bring that matter. I would have every culture in this land except one. Look at the state of the middle east to know why.

[@Noi5ee]

All the racist comments add to the immersion :P

[@curiousorange7723]

You are fake news.

[@markd8799]

During the war...

[@davidhumby]

life before the sodding EU

[@TheFreshSpam]

Your angry at globalism not the EU. spastic

[@davidhumby]

@@TheFreshSpam i can see by your remark you have no respect for anything. why call me a spastic? thankfully iam not disabled but you assume iam because i said somthing you did not like. clearly you are a very entitled would be free loader who thinks everyone knows nothing only you. i maybe be wrong but i bet you are about fourteen years old and sucks up to mummy and gets what ever you want. well my little snowflake do your home work and when you have the brain of an adult come back and i will try to educate you about life. and by the way my spelling and grammer is crap i dont need you to tell me.

[@TheFreshSpam]

@@davidhumby Ahahah, classic over thinking and enduglence in your own home cooked arguement. The fact you take the word spastic so heavily and rely so much on its meaning really goes to show me your level of brain power here. I don't expect you to think much further than googling the meaning. Without really looking into the context here. My point still stands, and it's stands proven. In both sense of the terms ( Globalism and your spasticated head if you've forgotten ) You haven't got a point to say and only scrape at the bottom of the barrel analysing a simple word, you are literally a spastic, the word you contest If I had no self respect for anything I'd walk away from this hilarious exchange. Why help a poor head like yours understand why it's angry? Ignorance is bliss right? 😅 Icing on the cake is the fact you also cuss me too. Who's the worse one here? ( Before you answer, have a think first ) Oh and you like your own comments, whos the real loser

[@davidhumby]

@@TheFreshSpam you are a very sad person the type i have over the years met and discarded with the contemp you deserve

[@TheFreshSpam]

@@davidhumby Ahahah and how's that? You cant tell crap from your own ass yet alone the differences of what Globalism and the EU is. Rock on baby brain, im sure it's gotten you real far in life 😂 I mean you must be struggling if you hate the EU. ' Those darn elites ruining my useless depressing life' Oh and you still like your own comments. Ahahaha , discarded with contempt? More like desperately looking for validation

[@Solkar420]

Then you invited the musilums in end world .

[@4376ED]

It just looks like a third world country . My god how out of date it was. Just like Victorian times.

[@mauronavarenho6090]

sem higiene nenhuma

[@tudy4x4]

Bio.

[@mauronavarenho6090]

lack of hygiene

[@kirstm.2215]

mauro navarenho it used to be called building an immune system. Not wrapped in cotton wool like todays kids