THE WINTER OF 1978-79 video Colin C.

[@dandy193]

This was the winter I spent clearing paths, and pavements outside bungalows so the old folk in our community could get out and about, I was 12 or 13 back then. It was something I used to look forward to tbh, waking up around 6ish and being out clearing the snow by 7am then only stopping when someone would come out with a bun or a warm drink for us...

[@cesirwin1973]

me and our lass too at Moray or Portree Close in Vigo/Barley Mow the old lady, bless her soul gave me her 'chistmas box' a short of whisky and xmas fruit cake....f,,,..g MAGIC

[@Falstaff1893]

When Britain was truly Britain

[@jonnylongmire]

Sad thing is it wouldn't happen now.

[@chris-du9hp]

No, your right it wouldn't and if it did people would want to be paid for it where as years ago we did just to help out neighbours.

[@dandy193]

@@chris-du9hp So true, a low trust society, and a lack of community these day would make it impossible, especially in some larger towns and cities. Back then we had respect for our elders and community was drilled into us. Because we only had each other, it brought us closer together. I would like to think that today there's still that sense of community somewhere in this messed up country of ours, but I maybe wishing for too much there...

[@janicebarthram6759]

I remember transport still running, schools still open and shops still open. Unlike today where after 2cm of snowfall the country closes down.

[@phrixos2826]

Yea these younguns dont have a clue do they?

[@robpugh1000]

My school closed for a month as did hundreds of others

[@mgcservices7524]

Yes, I was just telling my children how we still had to go to school, I remember us all sitting in school with our coats and hoods up 😂 loved it. My late father worked at the power station (Hinkley B), I remember him and his colleagues WALKING the 6 miles to work to ensure there was enough cover!

[@Simon-1965]

The schools and farms were closed for a few days where I lived' I was 14 years old. I remember 1 day all the men that were off work challenged us kids to a snowball fight, they didn't know what they had let themselves in for, there were about 10 of them and when the call went out every kid in the village bombarded them.

[@andrewnelson3681]

Because all the brave people who had lived through the war were in charge.

[@Mistressofthegroove]

I remember it all... And what I would give to be back there again. The best times and we didnt realise.

[@GregPodster133]

👍👏❤️

[@spudspuddy]

same, love every minute of the 60s and 70s, best time of my life

[@livesimply.lovemore4870]

Totally agree, I remember it well and the ‘simple’ life we had then! ❤😊

[@robharding5345]

We seldom do !

[@clairedavison5607]

Yes I’d give everything to be back there again! Definitely the best times!

[@theresakspence4674]

When we still carried on instead of crying!😂

[@SusanWilliams-fg1ch]

Exactly.

[@wendyj400]

Not a overweight child in sight , we all played out back in the day

[@Thenogomogo-zo3un]

No-one could afford to get fat more like

[@muckle8]

Yep and binged on spam or peanut butter sandwiches day in day out too it seemed and still thin as rakes!

[@xtr1092]

yep all day long wasnt it great

[@aleccap5946]

Came home when hungry or it got to dark

[@manichairdo9265]

​@@muckle8Only poor families ate like that.

[@Arfabiscuit]

No communal facilitys no tv no internet never bored out every chance we had great days of adventure and imagination . And books .

[@Juliukas101]

Facilities and books.

[@justinsharp752]

And a labour government😢

[@nymandalefarm4642]

@@justinsharp752somethings do change for the worse.

[@vanessahenderson1850]

We used to do paper machetes and stuff like that when the weather was really bad with snow and blizzards. Life was so much better back then right the way through to the 80's. I so miss those days and I so wish we could go back in time.

[@spudspuddy]

well i had a tv in the 70s, top of the pops, magic roundabout, it was fab

[@sircaptainchaos2388]

i wish i could go back in time

[@vanessahenderson1850]

Yeah, so do I. Far better days. How times have changed and not for the better.

[@bmac5085]

As a child of 11 then it was one of the best times of my life that winter 😊.

[@stuartandfredabruce9890]

So do I. We would never have believed what life would be like in 2024 !

[@angelacooper2661]

I would have been eight and at junior school back then!

[@rihanasaid9543]

As Gen X we truly had the best of both worlds! The no school closures, playing in the snow, just a couple of TV channels and BOOKS! Ohhh how I loved reading when we weren’t allowed out……and now we get to experience and live through modernisms although some of them haven’t been so good. I was 7 back then the snow was amazing! We just don’t have similar winters now…..

[@goinblinddoggone]

Mass snowball assaults on the playground, bloody nightmare, some of the lads would make iceballs and throw them at high velocity 😅

[@rihanasaid9543]

@ my nostalgia kind of forgot that 🤣 they were merciless 😂

[@vanessahenderson1850]

@@goinblinddoggone we used to make an igloo in the back garden when we'd got a lot of snow. In between the igloo, we'd make a snow man. Fab times that's for sure.

[@stephenchappell7512]

​@@rihanasaid9543 I was 10 back then and yes the weather was a lot different but then again we didn't have streaks across the sky back then (they've been particularly merciless this past year)

[@robertedwards1826]

Our school closed so we had lots of free time fun.

[@clivebennett7985]

Proper winters proper summers you knew what to expect back then

[@RichieReportsUK_UKCNews]

Nowadays it just seems to be mild & wet for most of the year, without any clearly defined seasons!

[@nopasaranexetercityfc4666]

I would love a proper hard winter, I live up on Dartmoor and it used to be deep snow. However the farmers wouldn't agree with me :)

[@thenanlife1141]

Absolutely

[@williamgardner2739]

I am now 83 yo and i remember the 1962-63 and the 1978-79 winters, i also remember getting out of bed to see the snow, and the fine ice falling from the curtains onto my hands. But i still had to get up and go to school.

[@112sje]

I was 11 and we nearly all went to school in wellington boots and changed into shoes when we got there. It was so cold on the way home some of us even wore our shoes (on top of gloves) on our hands to keep them warm. At home we couldn't get the front door open !

[@112sje]

... I also seem to remember that nearly all cars only had rear wheel drive !

[@aperturescience2]

Curtains?? luxury

[@jaynemiller2787]

I remember February of 1979 as I had just met my future husband, and he took me on the back of his off road motorbike and we rode through the woods in the night time with the snow falling heavily and it was the most magical scene with fir trees laden with snow and everything sparkled in the headlights .

[@LindaOvenstone-hg3gl]

For us I was 11 my brother was 8,going to school in moon boots,the yellow and blue ones my brother had red and blue😂 we had paddington duffle coats,we had to walk to school down the middle of the road snow too deep on the pavements, when we got to school every radiator had socks tights etc hanging on them drying off and steamed up windows when school was over we went out and slid down big hills on bin liners because we didn't have sledges,one day my dog did an escape bid and we couldn't find him, during the night I heard him barking had to go out in the dark to rescue him from the neighbours garden in my nightie and slippers😂we also had no radiators or central heating only an electric blanket,the windows used to have ice in the inside,my brother had a pet newt in a fish tank with gravel water and a rock well it froze solid poor thing,the things you remember it was hard but we were happy and healthy

[@anthonyfieldhouse9691]

I was 17 and went to work every day. No crying just got on with it

[@Mark-fx1zj]

I remember it.i was 10 years old I’m 55 now .was the good old days sadly missed

[@billi996]

I was 9, so miss those days

[@craigbuckley3373]

Excellent. You wouldn't believe it without seeing it. Great documentary of social history. Thank You

[@mandypinkney5949]

Remember it like it was yesterday. We had to walk 7 miles into work do a full shift & walk home again EVERY DAY. FAB Memories

[@marktaylor9678]

Same here I use to walk to work and back 5 miles each way

[@RosemaryK-kr7lb]

When we just got on with life and most of us enjoyed it, as seen here by all the happy faces. Many thanks for showing these. Remember it well.

[@robinberryman5949]

I was, 16 year old and of course had a moped to get to work on, boy that was cold and so dangerous on two wheels. I never fell off, went to work ever day knowing spring would come and my 17 birthday and I could ride a 250cc bike just wonderful

[@markwade1376]

Me too but a year later, had an ss50 5speed when I was 16 and an RD250D when I turned 17, ahhh the memories.

[@Snowysmum07]

Truly enjoyed growing up in the 60's and 70's . That big snow fall in 78 digging people's cars out. Post man still delivered and people walked miles to get to work and yes kids went to school. Happy days ❤

[@madelief47]

I remember this winter very well! I was 19 years old then. living in the south of the Netherlands. On New Years Eve nothing was happened. When I woke up the next morning my room was still dark. I lived in the top of the house, the attic. I had a big glass window there, flat on the roof, it was completely covered with snow. When I opened it, I could hardly see trough a strong and very cold blizzard. Everything was white! The garage could not be opened due a large mountain of powdersnow... So, in a couple of hours, every went completely white and frozen. I had vacation, and with some friends I dicided to go for a walk across the farmingfields and the forest. For hours.... We made it, but my feet were almost frozen. But the sight of everything in a thick layer of snow was wonderful! Going to school; I had a moped, and to my school was a nearly 2 and a half miles. I had to go on the mainroad, between the cars. All other paths for bicyclists were not possible to drive on. In februari there was an icerain. It sounded like falling glass. Everything went under a layer of thick ice. Roads, people could skate on it, and they did. In the garden we had a plant with large leaves. If you broke off the ice, it had the exact shape of the leaf. So I had an iceleaf in my hand... Good memory's, nice to see this back, thanks for posting!

[@Justjad007]

The beautiful days... Even the hard days was the good days back then..

[@kentonnur]

You just cannot imagine how this hi tech but pampered society of today would cope with even the hint of a winter like this. The media would go into meltdown

[@CliveHateley]

Especially if the internet was down, but they would manage and hopefully see that there is more to life than that.

[@vanessahenderson1850]

@@CliveHateley yeah definitely. In some respects the internet and social media has been a really bad thing. If they decided to pull the plug on the internet it really wouldn't bother me.

[@LOCHLEVEN12]

Memories, children being children and people and communities helping each other, what the hell has happened 😭😭🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@valwright9871]

We gave our power away time to re create what you describe.

[@JonClark-nb9sn]

Thatcherism then Tony Blair

[@arthurmee]

Still happens at least in our neighbourhood in Devon. . . Try to be a bit more positive. The generation before used to complain about the same thing about us . . and so it goes . . .🥱

[@vanessahenderson1850]

Yeah, life was so good back then. How things change and not for the better. I wish we could all just go back to the good old days. Life was far easier, people were a lot happier, children were allowed to be children and I can't even remember anyone I knew ever saying they felt stressed, anxious or depressed either. I also miss the milk man and the lemonade van that used to come down the street every week. Friday would be fish and chip day and the rest of the week, we'd eat proper home made food. We'd always be out on our bikes and stuff in the good weather too.

[@JonClark-nb9sn]

You have the same memories as me Vanessa , I enjoy the randy Travis song called dear heart no hands " take care J ​@@vanessahenderson1850

[@christopherward9230]

Some great photos from when Britain was Britain and people helped each other, not to mention not a mobile phone in sight. 😊🇬🇧

[@KatsCats2619]

Those were the happy days i remember them well🙂

[@robharding5345]

Not many grown ups welcome the deep snows, But you can bet your bottom dollar, all the kids loved it.❤

[@TheDazza2]

I remember this very well, I was 14 at the time living in rural Dorset. It was a brilliant time, our village was cut off, no school for 2 weeks! We spent every day sledging! Myself and my brother had to walk 6 miles to his digs to get more insulin for him as he was running out, the drifts were as high as the hedges and we were walking on top of cars that had been abandoned. I have never seen snow that bad ( or good ) since then, they were happy times and I miss the carefree days of youth

[@charleshart6992]

Excellent, l remember both 63 and 78 very well!

[@davidharwood9552]

Yes I was born 1954 I was living in Prestwood Great Missenden in 1978. Remember being cut off for days

[@clivebennett7985]

@charleshart6992 I was 9 1n 1963. It was just a great time to be alive. Frozen windows in your bedroom, dad and me walking down the hill with a sledge to get our coal from 5he coal man and milk off the milkman. Just brilliant. Everyone helping one another

[@jhareng]

Show it the new breed, it never happened in denial. We still went to school and work, maybe we were late but still got there. Just passed my test 3 months prior it was good training driving through snow drifts, probably why i look down on the hyperventilating breed of today thats never lived.

[@amandaduggan9051]

I remember the winter of 78/79, I was 23. I had to walk to work up a hill over a mile long. The snow was so deep on the pavement where it had drifted so I walked all the way on the road. I remember the birds perched on top of the snow desperate for food so I fed them with my sandwiches and by the time I arrived at work I had none left! A lot of people had frozen pipes in their homes; as most people did not have central heating then or double glazing.

[@colinthegeordiehistorian10]

Same here Amanda only had coal fire and a paraffin heater that used to be used in the kitchen and Bathroom crazy days but you just worked with what you had. Thank you for the comment.

[@amandaduggan9051]

@@colinthegeordiehistorian10 Back in the day my folks had a green Alladin Parafin heater and used it on the landing. The top could be unscrewed and removed and you could boil a kettle on it! There was a Rayburn in the living room/kitchen which was kept in all winter and my mum did all her cooking on it. It kept us from freezing in 1963 and many other cold winters.

[@davidtomlinson6138]

I was 20 that Feb . Great days

[@lyntonryan4766]

Back then it was Single glazed metal frame windows in our council house , I used to scratch my name in the frost on the inside of the window 🥶 !

[@amandaduggan9051]

@@lyntonryan4766 We lived in a council house with metal framed windows when I was a kid. Not only was it usual in cold weather for them to be covered in frost on the inside, but they would also be frozen shut and you couldn't open them unless they thawed a little. We had a Rayburn in the main room and my dad used a paraffin heater on the landing just outside the loo to try and prevent the pipes and old cast iron cistern from freezing solid. We used rubber hot water bottles in our beds and put eiderdowns on top for extra warmth. When my mum passed away in 2014 we found one of those old eiderdowns in the cupboard! It brought back so many memories.

[@davidtomlinson6138]

I turned 20 that Feb. remember it well , lots of snow , i had a red mini van , not had it long ,paid £85 great fun 🙂🥶☃️better days than the crap we have now 🙄🧐

[@Zooumberg]

Looking at the pictures, one thing stood out to me. All the white faces.

[@zigzogoid4591]

Painted as a grim period, but I worked as a draughtsman throughout this time and was having a really good time. The snow never stopped me getting to work. Slid through it. Jim Callaghan was not so lucky.

[@sallybutton6237]

I witnessed both 1963 & 1978/79 winters. I know these were extreme but we just don’t seem to get hardly any normal winters now, many years pass by without even a hint of snow. I wish to see one more snowy winter before I die. The only true winters I remember are all mostly from my childhood & early teens. We all just got on with life during these heavy snowfalls, even attended school. What a different world it is now, doubt the youngsters could cope as we oldies did.

[@andrewkitchenuk]

The current generation would cope just fine if they had to.

[@Mike-1000]

Haha yes, we walked over 3 miles in the deep snow to get to school. Virtually everyone made it too, teachers and pupils.

[@leeeastwood6368]

@@andrewkitchenuk, no they wouldn't. I was in the army for the summer of 1976. I was just out during the winter of 1978/79. the UK would not be able to cope with either of those weather events today!

[@GP-pw5wb]

I cannot remember missing one day of school in the 60/70 we just got on with it no matter what mother nature threw at us. Todays society it seems every thing just shuts down at the slightest indication of bad weather.

[@leeeastwood6368]

@@GP-pw5wb, bunch of snowflakes!😁

[@andrewtongue7084]

I remember it well, Colin. On one occasion, my Mother & I ( I was eighteeen at the time) had to negotiate two miles of serious snowdrifts on foot to our nearest town for food supplies - there were no online deliveries as we have now. I recall dragging my Mother's relatively full wheelie basket on the return journey - it took us three hours to get back; soaked clothing, frozen extremities, with attendant chillblains. That said, as with many individuals across the country, we endured & were none the worse for our (collective) experience. Can you imagine the magnitude of outcry there would be for today's younger generation. I consider few, if any, would have the resilience to sustain themselves or cope, now. In retrospect, it was a tough Winter, but I look back & smile at such adversity....

[@sam.p12345]

Eighteen and still living at home with mummy, presumably having left school at 16 with bollock all qualifications and shuffled along to your local public sector employer, with days off for a bit of snow, from whence you retired in your 50s. Imagine how happy the younger generation would be with that scenario.

[@andrewkitchenuk]

I don't agree, this generation would cope just fine and that's the opinion of a man in his 70s. Don't believe all you see on social media, they're as resilient as we were when they need to be.

[@andrewtongue7084]

Each to their own, Andrew. My opinion is not based upon "social Media", at all - it is referenced from behaviours that I have witnessed on the high street - entitlement, lack of coping with the minutest of issues or in decision making, & if you cannot deal with that minutiae, it's unlikely that the significant matters in one's life are going to be dealt with effectively...Intrinsic values are, for the most part, no longer existent. It is understood that as time passes, things will inexorably alter - but should not be sacrificed for common decency, respect for others, & a willingness to be proactive in one's community - & I'm only a decade younger than you, Sir. Enjoy what remains of your day.

[@lyntonryan4766]

@@andrewtongue7084 Ye chillblains now I do remember them , came home one night freezing took my boots off put my feet Infront of the fire , my old mother said "you'll get chillblains" I thought what she going on about my feet are freezing , then I had chillblains , life is definitely a learning curve no doubt about that !!!!

[@andrewtongue7084]

You have that right, Lynton, chillblains are very painful....we all learn, & often the hard way ...

[@richardgiles2484]

I remember both. As a child in 63 I remember opening the back door and seeing Six foot of snow 😂. In 79 I remember saying to my Dad see you tomorrow and didn't see him for a week 😂😂😂

[@theautumnalcyclist7629]

I was 7 and in a Barnados children's home. I remember walking to school, the log fire's, neighbours checking in on each other, it was wonderful,

[@vanessahenderson1850]

Yeah, when neighbours were really nice unlike a lot of them today who are only interested in gossiping and only help people if there is something in it for them.

[@grumpyowl66]

I never forgot February 1979 as i was due having baby. Lived in village on hill, fun and games NOT when pregnant. No heating in maternity hospital, no laundry, and no visitors. Joy, times to remember.

[@dennishughes1942]

My wife the same. Luckily she was admitted to Hospital the day before for observation and was there during the storm. Our twin boys came early on the 19th Feb.

[@susanvanderbilt358]

Me too! Had a toddler n it was a right bastard going shopping n ready to drop one out too!😂😂😂.. thank god for me silver cross pram.. they were so sturdy😂

[@vanessahenderson1850]

@@susanvanderbilt358 Those silver cross prams were the best by far.

[@chrisjacobs5926]

I was 15 in December 78. Went to bed after midnight. It was already snowing. Really windy and the snow was blowing all over the place. When l woke up the snow was still falling and still blowing about. I could not believe how deep the snow was and how it had drifted. I was in North Kent and had seen snow a lot but nothing like that. 8 hour blizzard. On new years day it snowed almost all day, very light snow though. I don't think it got above freezing for a week. At night it was about -8 to -10C in the towns. Even colder in the countryside. Out toward Meopham the roads had 10ft drifts up against the hedgerows and fences. Totally amazing. Thanks for reminding me of it.

[@alanhindmarch4483]

I remember it well. I was 24 at the time, my late brother 19. We walked 10 or so miles from home to our Grandfathers, to check he was OK. Some roads hadn’t been opened and we were the first through, with snow waist high and climbing over drifts as high as 10/12 feet or more. Then back again, absolutely knackered when we got home after being out for about 10 hours.

[@RHR-221b]

💚

[@Georgieastra]

What part of the country was that?

[@alanhindmarch4483]

@@Georgieastra Around the area Bishop Auckland, County Durham

[@Georgieastra]

@@alanhindmarch4483 Cheers My dad is from Newcastle. The north east tends get snow even if most places escape it.

[@giannihallett4951]

Remember it well kids nowadays won't know what we went through back in the day now we're lucky if we see snow go into panic mode loved watching brought back memories

[@colinthegeordiehistorian10]

Thank you so much for taking time to comment

[@trevorford9432]

So true we had steal framed windows in the 70s the net curtain used to freeze to the inside of the window (they where the good old days) 😊 and only one coal fire to heat the house.

[@stevek3036]

I was born in 64 so was 14 in 78 - I have to say I don't recall that winter as being especially cold but here's the thing. Our generation just sucked it up as part of life - We didn't question events, we got on with dealing with it and I have happy memories

[@CH-qp7cl]

Me too, I remember the snow but not the cold

[@Ben-xe8ps]

Same here. I was just turned 18 that winter and still at school in the 6th form. I have no recollection of it being particularly snowy or cold. I remember the long hot summer of 1976 but don't recall anything unusual about the winter of 1978/9.

[@rabbit64sj91]

Remember it well. I turned fifteen in February 1979, so was a 4th year in secondary school. Our school would close one or two days a week due to the fuel crisis, combined with the very cold weather. I had a paper round to do also, and came off my bicycle a few times, ouch! Thanks for posting on here. ⛄❄😀

[@Ben-xe8ps]

The 'three day week' due to the fuel crisis was in 1974 not 1979.

[@rabbit64sj91]

​@@Ben-xe8pswho mentioned a three day week? I was at school in 1979, my school would close on certain days, early 1979, as I well remember of course! 😉

[@HandleyR]

I was 12 years old and life seemed a lot easier for us kids then.🤔

[@christopherwatkins4005]

I remember my dad making me a sledge and taking me bradgate park in Leicester i was only 10 years old but as much fun we had in the snow it was super cold we had no central heating and only aluminium framed windows there was as much frost on the inside as there was outside … great video mate brought back memories thank you

[@grahamjordan1040]

No such thing as super cold 🙄

[@PeterSmith-ls7ut]

@@grahamjordan1040 East Antarctica 🤪

[@mhd5826]

I was 11 at this time and we couldn't have got to Bradgate if we'd wanted to, our south Leics village was almost cut off with no buses (no school!), no deliveries and lots of fun!😊

[@sayitlikeitis8759]

My dad made a sledge for my children that year, I remember borrowing it to drag my shopping home from the local supermarket. We had a lot of fun that winter.

[@splifsend]

I remember it well. I was 11, My Dad sent me to the shops to get him some tobacco, Usually it would take me about 30 mins there and back, only this time it took me hours because of the snow drifts at least 10 foot tall in places.. I got lost going across the fields - everything was white I completely lost sense of direction.. On a more positive note though a few friend and I got together and built a bob slay run through the woods, the snow was so deep it was mostly tunnels all the way.

[@hondac7028]

I was only eight but remember it well was a great time to be that age my kids don't believe me when I tell them what winters were like I remember heart of glass by blondie was number one to my favourite band.😂

[@thenanlife1141]

Yes wish I could go back in time ... late 70s and 80s great eras ❤❤❤❤

[@steveh5230]

I remember 1979 and how we kept warm and in december nine months later we welcomed our first baby 🍼🍼

[@nowhere982]

I do. My first child was born in 1976, beautiful heatwave summer and I remember the snow of 1978.....it was lovely.... Well I was young then so not intimidated by weather 😂💕 I also remember the really bad winter in the early 60's( 63?). Now that was bad, no central heating!!!

[@lescorlett4133]

'81 wasn't so much cold but the snow was incredible. We were clearing 3 ft snow drifts from road outside our home and the orange glow of the street lights made everything seem magical to us kids.

[@kayray4858]

On this day I was wearing sandals, in class I felt a tickle on my toe, so I screwed up my toes and BANG the worst pain I ever felt, I looked down as a wasp 🐝 flew out of my sandal. I told the teacher the whole class laughed at me😢 because it was snowing. I pushed my bycicle for 4miles thru the snow. I sat in our shed with my foot in the snow for 3 hours, my mom came home and found me😱my foot and leg had swollen so much you couldn’t see my foot. I found out I’m severely allergic to wasps, the snow stopped the venom from reaching my heart.

[@caldwellfisher5288]

Why did you ware sandals in the worst winter in years? / I don't disbelieve your story but I've never seen a wasp bee fly butterfly ant or any kind of bug in winter. A nasty way too find out your allergy~ and being more aware now maybe saved you several times. I expect picnics are not on your fun list.

[@daylightdies7194]

Stone the crows that sounds ruddy awful I’m glad you were ok if not a bit cold 🇬🇧

[@mrright8794]

I guess it was during a spelling class that you got stung.

[@AndrewEvans-us6mv]

Wow 😮🙏🏼❤️💛💚🌹

[@Fred-rj3er]

Wow! Ya both lucky and cursed lol

[@glpilpi6209]

I was moving freight trains around East Anglia to London. It was so cold in Cambridgeshire that the rubber brake pipes were freezing straight . It was chilly , but we kept the freight moving with plenty of hot tea.

[@TheWacoKid1963]

Sledges, we never had sledges, Fison's fertiliser bags split down the sides was wayyyyy better 👍

[@amandaduggan9051]

Or a large metal tray.

[@stevetaylor8698]

Until you slid over a brick!

[@TheWacoKid1963]

@@stevetaylor8698 I'd hate to disappoint you, but, it never happened 1) You don't find many house bricks in the middle of a field that hasn't been touched by farming or industry 2) When using a sheet of plastic, you create a ditch like a bobsled run 3) We used the same piece of ground every year 4) unlike yourself, we weren't as thick as pig sheet

[@lyntonryan4766]

I remember this winter I was 10 years old snow everywhere , diving into snow drifts your mates having to pull you out , rolling a snowball so big we couldn't push it any further , sledding everyday , back then it seemed to last for ever but it did when you was young and free !

[@katalinhorvath8139]

Thank you for this! I was a kid back then in Hungary, having the same experiences! All children together, it was lovely.

[@mariatyraa8345]

Brilliant! It brought back memories. I was pregnant with my second child and had a one yr old. I really struggled with snow passed my knees and a very large bump 😂

[@colinthegeordiehistorian10]

Glad you got through it Maria

[@mariatyraa8345]

@@colinthegeordiehistorian10 I certainly did, a 10lb baby boy arrived in early May.

[@PaulBooth-m1d]

winter videos are great it hleps ppl rememenber them times nostalgia some ppl may have alziemers but remember this if seen , its great to see the old things again too today nothing is has great as them times i was born 67 so i rember these times only the other day i was telling my 37 yr old son the same but now ive sent him the video to see what i ment lol they have not seen real snow falls theyd panick like the council do thou my son and grandsons love the outdoors whatever weather and would love build a giant snowman they may have kids of there own by time they see heavy snow falls one 15 leaves shool nxt yr and one of ten i dont know where the time has gone i miss bringing my lad up we had fun in the snow walking cycling camping swimming football train spotting , least the boys are extremly clever get a star in all subjects and awards for science and physics from keel university thanks for the videos there awsome even brought tears to my eyes silly old fool me lol memorys are all we now have if we dont get alziemers etc the beginning of lifes exciting the ends just misery but great we have seen and done that kids today will never probably see or do unfortunatly and we thought the future was going to be a bed of roses and no worrys well tommors world didnt work out

[@martiniv8924]

I was out cruising the streets on my Yamaha DT175 trail bike in the snow 😁

[@hungryboy424]

Remember the 4 hours taken to get home work !! Great video.

[@HomeSickAlienJayman]

I was 9 at the time. We must be due a winter like this again soon, i know it brings chaos but the child in me wants it.

[@snappycanon]

4:46 Real kids playing in the street as I did, great photo you can see in the boys face just how cold it was, did the children care cause they didn't, love it.

[@jimmyrichardson67]

Best photo here

[@jimmyrichardson67]

5.33 I had my first paper round that year

[@getstek]

I was 18 during the Winter of 1979. Just got a job as a postman. It was a nightmare start to a career! Fortunately I got through it and never saw a Winter as bad again.

[@colinthegeordiehistorian10]

It was a hard winter getstek

[@irenedavo3768]

​@@colinthegeordiehistorian10amazing

[@zaftra]

82 was bad.

[@pam164]

I was 18 in 1979 also.

[@gerardmackay8909]

Dec 81 Jan 82 unbelievably cold and snowy (mild February stopped that winter being a record breaker) Mid Jan 87 saw the coldest day since 1740 with London maxing out on the 12th at -7 and even the Scilly Isles not getting above -2

[@chloedevereaux1801]

i tell my mate this and he doesn't believe me.... i can show him this now!!! i remember looking out my bedroom window and seeing nothin but snow halfway up the houses ( i was 9 ) in 79..... wonderful .

[@tonyr1963]

I remember that winter. I was in my last year at school. I can’t remember missing any school time during that winter. We always got there somehow. No double glazing or central heating in our house. Would often wake up to frost on the inside of our windows. 🥶 I’ve done a vehicle check on the snow blower at 1:43. It was registered in 1979 and was owned by Durham CC. It was showing on their Winter Service Plan for 2010/2011 as being based at their Wolsingham depot. Last change of logbook was in 2012 so it may have been sold but it’s showing as being taxed until next July. I’d say they’ve had their monies worth out of that 😁😁

[@robshorts]

Was only 5 in Winter of 1979, had started school only a few months earlier in September 1978 and remember deep snow in the playground and a path that the caretaker had dug out. At the time I didn't think much of it all as was so young, it was all more of an adventure. We had also moved from a house with central heating to a house with no central heating in the summer of 1978. So the first winter in that house was with no central heating. Each room had a either a gas fire or gas wall heater. It was warm, but my parents did receive a high gas and electric bill as it was an inefficient way of heating.

[@ddivincenzo1194]

Nice compilation! I was born in Massachusetts in '65. Two record blizzards here were in '68 (I have vague memories of that) and '78 (I remember quite well). Our first beloved dog was born during the latter. RIP Inca, Lyle and Pem.

[@davelane6176]

I can just about remember this year,I was 12 or 13, the worst snow I can remember was in 1981

[@FrankJCarver]

I remember it well. I was 15 and living in Northern Ireland at the time. I lived in the country. It was very picturesque, I have to admit.

[@dawnyWestScotland]

I remember as a young kid of the 70’s with deep snow and the blizzards. Great pictures!

[@jonathanperry4189]

I wad 6 and remember it fondly. Off school & playing out. I don't necessarily think everything was better then,. but I'd like to relive some of those times

[@jedilegoarts9882]

I was born in Yorkshire in the 70s and this is one of my earliest memories. We had just moved into a new home with central heating. Mum was beside herself with happiness living in the first house she’d ever lived in with radiators. We watched out the window as local lads were trying to push a van up the hill in the heavy snow, as we hugged the radiator with glee.

[@bloggalot4718]

I started work in winter of 63, cycling to work as best I could, I remember the snow lasted for three months.

[@Bettinasisrg]

I was 11 and flew from San Diego CA to Chicago O'Hare airport during this insane blizzard. We had to circle in the air for almost 2 hours then sat on the tarmac for another 3. There was no food or drink left on the plane and we were the last plane allowed to land there. The airport was jammed with stranded people and luggage and they had made walkways within the wall to wall luggage and people! Of course I was flying by myself but I loved it. Best winter for a kid.

[@PrinceWesterburg]

Gods I had forgotten about this - thanks for the video to remind me! Yeah, autumn 1978 was long and warm and golden, leaves where around in piles for ages. Then the snow came and came and came, it was mesmerising. I remember taking up chess and being in the chess club after school and walking home on my own through the dark countryside and streets matressed in white, dragging my bag behind me like a sled - I felt I was living in Russia (the influence of the chess I think). The endless snowball fights in at school - none got seriously hurt and none cared, we where all having so much fun! :D

[@roymeadows1708]

I was 13 years old and I remember helping the council dig out the paths around Dormand Villa (old peoples home) in Station Town, County Durham so people could get in and out. .Happy times where everyone stuck together and helped each other out

[@PeterSmith-ls7ut]

4 star petrol, 79 pence a gallon, wow

[@anthonyeaton5153]

And you were earning £20 a week.

[@PeterSmith-ls7ut]

@@anthonyeaton5153 I was, exactly!

[@JonClark-nb9sn]

Not long after soon went up to £1Gallon & it was massive news .

[@arthurbaldwin1804]

Yes and we thought that expensive. Mortgage rates were between 13-15% imagine that today and we were really worried about it.

[@OldeJanner]

I started driving in 75 and it was 30p. I used to put 50p in every day for my 15 mile drive into Plymouth and back, on Friday I had a free day. God I miss those days and my Morris 1000.

[@chrisrixham6723]

I was 11 in 78, remember it well. We lived in a house with coal fires and remember standing in front of it getting warm after playing out in the snow for hours. Great video thanks 👍

[@deoxyrobo]

Thats an amazing video! I was just turning 8yrs old and remember it well, we lived in the southeast countryside and were cut off for Week in our village. No central heating in those days and went to bed in pj's, socks, dressing gown, hat and extra blanket....not forgetting the hot water bottle! The pictures brought so many memories, sledging down the hills and having snowball fights 😁 Innocent times, i so miss them ❤

[@martinriley106]

So good to see how things were back then again, it’s easy to forget what it was like. You’ve just brought back lots of old memories now.

[@kevinmoffatt]

Started a new job on the 12th Feb '79, an hours drive, on a good day, from where I lived. Had a mk3 Cortina with a non functioning heater so screen was frozen inside and out. Thank God I was young then and we had the miners producing coal so we weren't cold indoors. Different times, everyone got on with it, no one moaned (much).

[@billynightmare]

I remember, what fun I had!! all that time off school playing on the ice and in the snow

[@RD-650]

Worked at the gas board an still had to go to work in high drifts etc

[@Fred-rj3er]

It melted in the sun then froze at night. Then another layer of snow, and repeat Snowploughs in local streets raised a wall of ice 4ft high so ya couldn't get down ya drive I loved it. Teenagers were strange even then lol. Thanks for this.

[@VWT5Alive]

I doubt we’ll see another winter like those again !

[@tedthesailor172]

I remember thinking I might have trouble getting to work. When I opened the door next morning I couldn't even find the car...

[@chasidahL]

Fantastic video, Colin. Very atmospheric photos and a superb explanation of each phase of the winter crisis. Particularly loved the beautiful dog being rescued. So glad he was safe. I was 2 yrs old in that winter of '62 too! I remember it well. The '79 winter was definitely an improvement, but it was still a real harsh time to live through. It was bitterly cold outside, but the warm community spirit certainly saved the day. Working class people, as usual, helping each other and just getting on with it. Thanks for the walk down a very chilly memory lane, Colin! 🥶🥶🥶🥶

[@colinthegeordiehistorian10]

Hi Chasidah good to hear from you thank you again for your comment. Hope you are well not long till christmas lol

[@simontracey3920]

Im glad i was a child of the 70s and 80s.

[@mickbaker2483]

Thank you Colin C I've watched both of these videos the one about 1962/3 and this one from 1978/9 during the 62/3 storm's I was 9.5yo and I lived in Somerset we didn't see a 8 foot high washing line post for 13 weeks and us kid's took mum's tin trays and slid down the snow drift at the front of the house witch was up to the bedroom window mother went mad with us kid's for opening the back door and her bedroom window but my god we had great fun, 78/9 winter was something else by this time and I'm 25 yo and a truck driver the fun had gone out of the snow and it was very hard work driving I'm retired now so if we get a decent snow fall it could become fun again, thank you for both these video's they brought back some fantastic memories and a few not so much but ha ho thanks again and have a great Xmas.

[@sollyolly9547]

Great video. Sadly, I was sick and in hospital, as quite a young kid. In those days, kids were put on adult wards, according to the condition (Jimmy Saville would have loved it!). My parents must have really fought the conditions to come and visit me...I remember my Dad lifting me up to window level in those old hospitals to show me the snow, he knew I loved snow, and I literally couldn't believe it. So I missed playing out in it, but at least we still did get proper winters in the first half of the 1980s...it really saddens me to see the 'winters' of today, just damp and mild. Perhaps people of my age are the last generation to remember and experience what I would call 'proper' winters...my favourite season.

[@DrCrabfingers]

Somerset....flat snowfall was level with the tops of rural hedges...8ft? I remember going for a walk and realising I was walking on cars that had been abandoned. I also remember being able to touch the tops of telegraph poles due to immense snow drifts. It was wild....and very chaotic....suddenly we were living in Arctic conditions. The photo's of kids wearing cold wellies and washing up gloves made me chuckle...I did the same....my hands still haven't thawed out. Good upload...bought back a lot of memories.

[@susanwestern6434]

I was ar college in Winchester and had gone back home to rural east Devon for the weekend. Then it started snowing. I couldn't leave for a week as the narrow lane with high banks was full of snow. The neighbour next door was heavily pregnant, so a group of us , including the neighbour, walked across the fields as it was less deep due to drifting. We made it to a wider lane that had been snow ploughed as owner lived in the village. She made it to the hospital, her husband was away on a business trip at the time.

[@stop4tea]

Very interesting video thanks, I was working on a farm in Lancashire at this time, just getting to work was hard going. Defrosting the water and getting food to the cows took all day, often the water freezing several times a day. Amazingly the milk wagon got through but he had exhausting days getting stuck and getting going again, there was a good spirit ìn the countryside to help each other out.

[@harryc8415]

I was 14 years old and wworked the weekend and school holidays as a molk boy and a countryside round here in Scotland. Incredibly cold at 5 am carrying glass milk bottles that kept sticking to my hands etc but a strangely happy memory all the same. Funnily enough I was singing the milkman’s praises to someone just yesterday about his driving skills in icey hills etc.

[@phrixos2826]

I remember this! I was 4 but i remember the snow up our windows!

[@leedavies3629]

I remember it well I was 11 we had massive drifts I remember walking over a single decker bus the snow was that high in Manchester we got snowed in is was brilliant as a kid Nice one dude thanks for the memories 🙂🇬🇧✌️

[@DaveAppleton]

I remember it well, I was 10. We lived out in the sticks surrounded by hills( great for sledding, my dad built one for me). My Aunt and Uncle came out for a meal with us on the night it started and when they left they had to come back as the snow had come down so thick and fast they couldn't see the road. They had to stay with us over a week before we could dig our way out to a road that had been cleared so they could go home. It was great being a kid during this time.

[@FatherZed696]

I was 15 .. a real mod skinhead our school closed ..the specails were the top band at that time 🏁 2tone records ! Snow was 5 foot deep brilliant days !

[@skdinterceptor2828]

This was a testament of hard minded people, getting on with it...........dealing with reality.

[@willhemmings]

This brought back precious memories. Our family used to holiday in the summer near Devil's Bridge, in Wales, but we had the opportunity to stay in the holiday cottage once over winter, the winter of 1979-80. The snow started to fall and we might have been stranded, and feared we would be, but we gamely set off back to Oxfordshire. I don't remember everything, but the long, slow, fearful journey from Llangurig to Rhayader along the A44, a narrow slot between vertical slices of snow I recall thinking were at least twelve feet high, cut through by the plough, constantly in a state of swirl and drift that threatened to close up the vital path we desperately needed to stay open, remains clear in my mind

[@stevehearne]

Great video, superb photos and atmosphere. I was about 11 when we got cut off from the world for a few days living in a village at the top of a very steep hill in the Blackdown hills. Devon. Nearly lost my little brother in a snowdrift, not on purpose honestly! 😂. Got fresh milk from a farm and heated it up on the aga. No school for ages. Good times!

[@teresamaskell6863]

I remember snow ❄️🌨️ 78-79 we went out on new year's eve 78 snow was very heavy in restaurant we went out for meal snow outside window look like winter wonderland 🥶

[@jamesfriery]

I remember it all too well. I was 85 and had to shovel 6 tons of snow from my back door down to the cludgie of a morning and night. We didn't have time to frolic in the snow. To warm up the rabbit we put it in the oven, gas mark 4 for 40 minutes. Those were the days. 6:28

[@macraghnaill3553]

You did well shoveling 6 tons of snow at age 85, obviously stood you in good stead for you to make it to age 130

[@colinthegeordiehistorian10]

Cheers James I never knew you were 85 in 1979 lol.

[@PeterSmith-ls7ut]

Is that you , the cat? You do look well for 129 . What's the secret, kitty kat? ... wow, cats and their 9 lives!

[@marknestbox]

Only six tons? We had to shovel twice that amount from front room as it kept acomin down chimney, and was throwin' it tout front en back doors, but we ended up entombing ourselves until thaw set it. It was 'ard but we survived with a smug grin. Oopstars was nay better neaver; Cold? COLD? it twer reet freezin, even contents of bedpans was solidified, it made usin' um proper uncomoftababble. Kids were usin starcase as toboggin run, twer a propa piste take I tell the. It even affected our accent it were that cold en why I cane not find the one I once had, let aloon scribble it. Twas a hard winter, indeed, but tell young folk it was so and they mock the, they dunt know how luck they are by gum. Anyhows, cherri-byes. x

[@IreneHarrison-Bond]

How could I forget that one, my son was born on 12 th Jan 1979