The 50s Back in Time for the Weekend

Meet the Ashby-Hawkins family.

For one summer, they're giving up the trappings of their modern lives

and travelling back in time

to live through 50 years of British weekends.

Steph, Rob, Daisy and Seth will experience a radical transformation

in how we spend our leisure time.

I'm free!

-From the formal...

-I feel like I'm going to a wedding.

..to the frivolous.

Going on holiday!

From do-it-yourself

to doing almost nothing.

You've turned into Wham!

Starting in 1950, their own home will be their time machine...

-Oooh!

-It's 1961!

..fast forwarding them through a new year each day.

What on earth are you doing?

We're making a massive dartboard.

It's beige!

Oh, there's a telly up in the corner as well, look.

As they discover how a social...

..technological...

What's that?

..and spending revolution...

Oh, my God!

..has transformed our free time forever.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah!

This time, it's back to the thrift and formality of the '50s.

Is that the entertainment? Mum playing the piano in the evening?

-SHE SCREAMS

-I get stressed

when I can't do things perfectly!

This quiet corner of suburban London is home to the Ashby-Hawkins family.

Mum Steph is an IT consultant.

-How was your day?

-Tough.

I've got a really heavy bag cos I've got two laptops today.

She's the family's main breadwinner

while dad Rob works from home as a childminder

and does all the cooking and cleaning.

I make breakfast for my family in the mornings

then lunch for all the children in my care,

then dinner for all the children

and all of my family in the evenings.

Have you got a nuclear bomb?

I don't think we should be throwing it around.

16-year-old Daisy and 12-year-old Seth's spare time

is dominated by technology.

I don't really remember life before internet because I'm only 12.

And even time spent together as a family is on individual screens.

But, for one summer, the Ashby-Hawkins have agreed

to leave their modern lives behind

and embark on an extraordinary journey into the past.

It really feels like it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

for us to do something together

cos when we don't have the devices getting in the way,

we might actually have to talk and listen a bit more.

But it's not just the family who are time travelling.

Their modern home is being ripped apart

and returned to how it would have looked in 1950.

Their entertainment-filled lounge

has been replaced by a sparse sitting room.

The 21st-century garden now has a functional shed and vegetable patch.

And, instead of open-plan living,

there's a formal dining room and basic kitchen.

'Along with social historian Polly Russell,

'I'll be running this ambitious experiment

'to explore just how much our leisure time

'has been transformed in the last 50 years.'

We have so much choice today in how we spend our free time.

Our houses are crammed with gadgets to divert and entertain us

and the sheer range of things to do outside the home

would have baffled previous generations.

So, how do we think our family, the Ashby-Hawkins,

are going to respond to this sort of a room?

They're a very modern family.

This is going to be really strange for them,

to be in a space where there is no electronic gadgets,

there's nothing for them to play with.

The kids are going to have to get used to being able to be still,

to sit and read, play the piano.

When you say that they will be reading and playing the piano,

I think that sounds quite nice for an evening, but EVERY DAY?

I mean, it's incredibly boring, probably, for a modern family.

There will not be the instant distractions that we're used to now.

In 1950, Britain was still recovering from the war.

Taxes and prices were high so people had little disposable income.

And there wasn't much to buy anyway.

Food was still rationed and most of what we produced was exported.

Just at the moment, we're not earning nearly enough

to pay for the food and materials

which we've got to have to keep ourselves going.

And, in these circumstances, we just can't afford

to spend on anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

As the government tried to boost Britain's shattered economy,

they commissioned an extraordinary survey

to find out exactly how much

people were spending and what they were spending it on.

Thousands of households kept detailed diaries

of everything they bought and continued to do so until 1999.

These expenditure surveys give the best possible insight

into what families were doing in their leisure time.

Over the next six weeks,

everything the Ashby-Hawkins do will be guided by these surveys.

So, what sort of clues does this give us

about how people were spending their time in the '50s?

Well, what you see is quite a lot of the goods that are being bought

are goods which will require time to be used.

So, things for sewing, things for mending.

This one, for instance, wood to repair the fender.

So, you see this make do and mend practice

coming out in these surveys.

Mending materials, second-hand shoes, a jigsaw puzzle,

a small piece of lace.

What's really striking from our perspective

is how little is being spent or how few goods are being spent

compared to if you did a diary of this nature now.

It's time for the Ashby-Hawkins to step back to 1950

and see their remodelled home for the first time.

I reckon it's going to be a pretty good history lesson for me.

The whole not being able to message my friends, I'm dreading that.

No Wi-Fi - really, really dreading that.

I'll be living like, I suppose, my grandad.

It's a trip into the unknown. I haven't got a clue what to expect.

I'm just genuinely really, really excited.

-THEY GASP

-Oh, my God!

This looks so gross!

-Wow!

-Look at the photos.

Oh, no! Look at Seth!

It feels like the house has gone back to where it started.

I like this room, actually,

but it sort of feels like I'm in my grandma's house.

Is that a radio?

-There is one of those modern clocks.

-I mean, where's the TV going to go?

Is that the entertainment? Mum playing the piano in the evening?

It feels like we'll be more upright.

This is a sitting room, not a lounge.

SHE PLAYS A SCALE

-That's so cool!

-This is the entertainment.

-Oh, my God, pink!

-SHE LAUGHS

It feels really, really closed in and really tiny.

I love the fact you've got your best china on display.

What is that?

-I don't want to move it.

-That? Bring it out, bring it out.

-It's a carpet sweeper.

-Yep.

-Look at that.

You push it backwards and forwards, instead of a Hoover.

There's not much in the way of technology in the house,

but the garden shed is packed with all the tools

no self-respecting '50s husband would be without.

That's brilliant, look. They've got massive tools in there, look.

-Look at the size of that wrench!

-What would they use that for?

I love the little vegetable patch

and the tools inside the shed, there's about 30 different spanners.

For me, to have my own shed is quite cool.

I'm looking forward to sawing stuff or wrenching stuff.

Yeah, that's really good.

I've come to ensure the Ashby-Hawkins understand

just how much the strict conventions of the 1950s

will control what they do with their time.

Hello, Ashby-Hawkins family.

-Hello, Giles.

-How do you like your '50s house?

-I like it, I like it.

-I like all the aspects of it.

I say YOUR 1950s house.

68% of people didn't own their houses in the 1950s.

That's the rent book.

I would hand it to you, but you're a woman so you wouldn't understand.

I'll hand it to Rob, because Rob will be the breadwinner.

You're going to be at home all the time, running the kitchen.

-Mm-hmm.

-You'll be in there a little bit, helping your mother,

training to become a full-time mother

-because you're 16, aren't you?

-Yeah.

So there's no such thing as a teenager.

Children have been invented, but there's nothing for you to do.

Invented? They're not really invented. They are more sort of...

Smart-arse remarks like that to your elders

and betters in 1950 won't wash. Yes, a bit of that.

You'll just have to run around outside and amuse yourself.

But, yes, you've got nothing to do in the modern sense.

There's no TV in here, there is no computers, there's no phones.

-They've all been taken away from you, haven't they?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Like going to prison.

I've got a guidebook for you - How To Live In The 1950s.

It's quite thin.

There's not a lot to do, you have to make your own fun.

Good luck, have a brilliant time in the 1950s!

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Awesome!

Normally, the weekend is the time

for the family to kick back and relax.

But, in the 1950s, Rob's got jobs to do.

I'm going to attach... the terminal...

-HE LAUGHS

-It looks nothing like that!

Let's start from the beginning, shall we? Always handy, isn't it?

The expenditure survey is full of spending on tools and hardware

and Rob's following in the footsteps

of a '50s husband from Hampstead who bought...

..to build a new doorbell from scratch.

How's it going, son?

The batteries are wired in series, ie the tail of the first

is connected to the centre terminal of the second. What?!

So, basically, if you were to attach this part,

you'd have to attach it to the opposite part of that.

So, there's positive. Put that onto negative,

-is that you're saying?

-Yes.

-OK.

In this era before cheap mass production,

ready-made items were a luxury.

Men were encouraged to make everything themselves,

from a clothes horse to a draining rack...

..even their own stepladder.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

Three, two, one...

SILENCE

See, that's why I do the washing

and ironing and cleaning and cooking.

-You're not very good at DIY.

-No, I'm not very good.

With no washing machine, dishwasher or Hoover, for Steph,

the prospect of leisure is even more remote.

Oh, my God, it's revolting!

It really is horrible.

This doesn't feel like it'll be any different than it would have been

100 years, 200, 300 years before.

It seems like in the last 30 or 40 years, we've come an awful long way

with appliances and stuff, but this is just no further on

than washing stuff in a river

and throwing it on the stones, is it, really?

-ARCHIVE VOICEOVER:

-'A pile of washing, a couple of tubs,

'gallons of hot water, clouds of steam, bars of soap

'and a whole heap of honest to goodness elbow grease.'

In the early '50s, a washing machine cost around £30,

just over a month's wages.

It was so expensive that only 4% of households owned one.

Domestic chores took up 11 hours a day, seven days a week.

It'll be interesting to see exactly how dry

the stuff comes out the other end.

And the answer is actually not very much difference at all.

It's still really wet.

But I've just seen something.

I think I'm doing it the wrong way round. Look at that!

See, THAT'S the way you mangle!

Yes!

Let's try it down here.

-BELL RINGS

-Oh!

You DO have to connect it!

BELL RINGS

It's alive!

Next week, making a car.

Right.

Affordable power tools are nearly a decade away

so Rob's got to install the bell with a hand drill.

I think... Please, please...

You can't just get an odd job man in to help.

With virtually full employment, most men had full-time work

and tradesmen were hard to find and expensive.

Doing it yourself became a necessity.

I think that's it, I think I'm in.

I've done it. I think I've done it.

I really, really hate DIY.

SHE COUGHS

So much dust!

16-year-old Daisy normally spends her spare time on social media,

but, in 1950, she is a housewife in training

and expected to help out.

It's really annoying me now!

Mum, can you get one and help me?

Please!

SHE COUGHS

'I had an inkling about what it was going to be like

'in terms of being a '50s housewife.'

I think it's just brought it crashing down as a reality of,

"Wow, this is actually going to be quite hard work!"

Nearly there! This is it, this is it, this is the moment!

So, erm, yeah...

Hang on a minute.

BELL RINGS

Rock and roll! Yeah.

After this, we can do the other carpet in the lounge.

Oh, that will be so much fun!

Then we can wash Dad's clothes, then Seth's pants

and then we can do the socks afterwards.

CLOCK TICKS

After a long day on their feet,

the family can finally sit down together.

This is really difficult.

I hate to say, baby, it's cos you're not doing it right.

I'd normally be on my phone or watching TV.

I haven't really made a lot of jigsaws since I turned ten.

I think what you're trying to get across here

is it's just so limited

that the only thing that you have to entertain yourself

is a piece of cardboard with a bit of a picture on it.

-I love a jigsaw!

-Yeah, but, Mum, you grew up on the jigsaws.

You didn't have an iPhone.

'The lounge is so empty, it's not even a lounge.

'It's not for lounging around and watching TV.

'Usually when I sit on the sofa, I'm looking at the TV'

and now, I am looking at the floor cos there's nothing to look at.

It's a bit weird.

'The tech I thought I'd miss would be my computer

'and tablet and that sort of stuff, but actually the tech I've missed

'is the white goods cos everything's really labour-intensive.'

The state of my hands after all that washing!

They're all dry and crusty

and I've got hangnails, which are really sore.

I don't know how women coped doing that every day.

It's really, really grim.

It's a new day, which means a new year for the family.

# Good morning, life

# Good morning, sun How are your skies above?

# Gee, it's great to be alive and in love... #

Even though it's the weekend, there's no lie-in for Steph.

Sunday would normally be quite a relaxed day.

Generally, Rob does a Sunday roast every Sunday, which is lovely.

My sister comes over and we chat and we have a massive dinner

and I drink half a bottle of wine. I miss the wine!

-NEWSREEL:

-London on a Sunday.

Any other town in Britain might look much the same.

Boring, do you think, or just nice and quiet?

On a typical Sunday in the 1950s, there was almost nothing to do.

It was illegal to trade and shops were shut.

Commercial sporting events were banned

and cinemas and pubs had extremely limited opening hours.

In fact, pretty much the only thing open was church

so that's where the family are heading.

Sunday mornings for us

are the only morning of the entire week where we get to have a sleep.

The appeal of just staying in bed on a Sunday morning

just becomes too powerful, more powerful than God.

You're thinking, "Duvet or God?

"Duvet or God?" And you go, "Duvet every time."

You're going to go duvet every time.

I kind of like Sunday best, but I do feel wildly...

I feel like I'm going to a wedding. I feel like really...

-Overdressed.

-Overdressed. And now ridiculous.

In 1950s Britain, most respectable families went to church.

Contributions to collection plates appear regularly

in the expenditure survey, like this family of three from Manchester,

who gave sixpence to their church collection every week.

# All things bright and beautiful

# All creatures... #

Rob, Steph and Daisy will be attending the main service,

while Seth and his friends Harvey and Tom

are doing what the majority of children did on Sunday mornings.

-Good morning, children.

-Good morning.

Welcome to Sunday school.

How are we today?

Today's lessons will be led by Ann Widdecombe,

a former Sunday school teacher.

Right, well, I think you will find that in church today,

they're learning all about the Good Samaritan

and that's what we are going to learn about this morning.

CHILDREN SING HYMN

In 1951, over 50% of children went to Sunday school every week

compared to just 5% now.

Seth and his friends have never been before.

I want you to think of situations today

where you can help somebody and be a good Samaritan.

I want you to write me a little description of that.

'It wasn't a big chore to go to Sunday school.

'I used to walk two miles to get to mine in Bath.

'We would certainly have been in our best shoes and socks.

'Any old thing wouldn't have done.

'The majority of people went to church'

and I think eyebrows would have gone up a bit if you didn't.

What have we come up with eventually, Seth?

I came up with helping an injured animal by taking care of it,

feeding it and keeping it warm before setting it free.

Absolutely right and particularly

as the animal would be helpless, wouldn't it?

So, before you go back into church,

we want to say a little prayer, don't we?

So, hands together, eyes closed.

O Jesus, help us always to be good Samaritans

and help us to look round and look for the needs of others.

We ask this in thy name.

-Amen.

-Amen.

Still weeping, she stooped to look inside

and she saw two angels in white,

sitting where the body of Jesus had been.

Sunday school over, Seth has rejoined his family in church.

Supposing him to be the gardener,

she said, "Sir, if you have taken him away,

"tell me where you have put him and I will go and remove him."

ORGAN PLAYS

For a nonbeliever like Steph,

the demands of 1950s respectability are proving too much.

She's leaving the service.

CONGREGATION SING

If I'd been a '50s housewife, I'd be seething with resentment

and having to suppress it and that would be awful.

And it's not saying that I think religion is wrong

or people are wrong to worship or whatever, it's up to them,

but if I were being forced into doing something,

I would have been one of those poor women

that got locked up for hysteria.

It doesn't really seem fair, the fact that people have to go.

People would heavily judge you and frown upon the fact

that you didn't go, even though the things that they were teaching you

during church were not to frown upon people, no matter what.

Perfect!

Conforming to what is expected doesn't stop at the front door.

While Steph and Daisy cook Sunday lunch,

Rob and Seth get to relax

with activities appropriate for a Sunday afternoon in 1951.

I am reading Prelude To Space by Arthur C Clarke.

Sundays were sacred and children were expected to stay inside.

Some parks even tied up their swings.

It feels like I should be doing something active with my hands,

which is, in this case, shuffling cards.

This is my 1950s version of what I would be doing

instead of texting people.

Very nice!

That looks...edible. It does!

Don't look so surprised!

It looks really nice.

It's meatloaf, which is onions, oats and egg and some beef.

And we've got the best china today and crystal glasses, we decided.

Here's to going through today and getting through the other end

and it be an experience for us all, OK, and just be grateful

that your parents have not forced you every Sunday to do that.

What's really weird is that, in the generation we live in now,

we shut the front door, anything goes.

It's none of anybody's business

and actually it's almost as though it was somebody else's business

what you were doing behind closed doors,

that you'd be judged if you did things differently.

If Rob was seen at the kitchen window, for example,

you would be judged for it.

I thought the hardest thing was going to be,

that I was going to find the hardest

because I wouldn't have my technology.

Now, it's not the technology I'm missing.

I'm actually missing genuine freedom.

A normal Ashby-Hawkins weekend is more relaxed.

It is not so intense and we will spread out our things evenly.

If one person lays a table,

the other person clears, regardless of gender.

My mum and I have no downtime whatsoever

and we spend our entire time looking after other people.

"Fulham hit back after early reverse."

It's 1952 and Daisy and Steph

are still looking after the men of the house.

It's really weird seeing you going out.

-It's normally the other way round. Have a good day!

-See you later!

Now he's the family breadwinner, Rob is off to work.

Seth is off too and, for boys, that meant freedom.

All over the UK, millions of children

were members of organisations like the Scouts, Boys Brigade and Cadets.

The average boy would be a dab hand with sharp tools, self-defence,

even amateur boat-building.

-NEWSREEL:

-If it's adventure you want, you can get it easily enough

if you're only prepared to "Scout" around for it.

'What mattered was being outside and having fun.'

-Hello, Seth.

-Hello!

Hello, kids. Welcome to your 1950s childhood.

-Do you know what this is?

-A forest?

This is the great outdoors.

This is basically where you spend all your time.

Your parents just chuck you out in the morning

and you don't come back till nightfall, if at all.

-Wow!

-And your first job is to pitch your tent.

Let's get to work, then.

-Just lay it out flat.

-Are those instructions?

-No, I think these are pegs.

-Yeah, they're pegs. Let's lay it out.

I don't really know how to do it.

I've left them to get on with it.

Most '50s boys could make camp with their eyes closed.

-CLATTERING

-Oh, they all fell out!

It's not the best hammer!

-Pull, Harvey!

-Oh, sorry. That way, sorry.

-That way, yeah.

There you go.

Amazingly enough, if this were the 1950s,

our boys would definitely have one of these

for chopping wood for the fire.

They'd have all sorts of sharp instruments,

which I think is fantastic that they had that sort of freedom.

It's not as if they didn't have safety procedures.

This is from a boys' handbook from the 1950s.

"When one uses the axe,

"chop downwards and never in the direction of one's own body,"

so it's basically, "Don't chop your own head off."

"If the base becomes loosened from the head,

"desist your actions immediately."

So it's "Foom!" I guess, what you don't want there.

Do you know, to be honest, sensible though that is

and amazing though it is to think that in the 1950s,

you'd send your kids to woodland with a very sharp implement

and no supervision, it is marvellous,

it's just unthinkable now.

Here's a Dandy and a Beano.

I haven't given them the axe, but I have left them some matches.

-There we go.

-Finally!

-We have...fire.

-No, we don't.

I can't see any flame, I think that's just smoke.

While Seth learns how to survive in the great outdoors,

Daisy is inside, training to be a housewife.

One must-have skill was sewing

and expert seamstress, Rob's mother Jennifer,

has come along to help teach Daisy.

The expenditure surveys show thousands of examples of women

buying fabric and haberdashery for sewing projects,

like this housewife from Manchester,

who bought two yards of curtain material for five shillings.

Social historian Polly Russell is joining the group,

bringing with her one of the year's most fashionable designs.

-Hello, good morning.

-Hello.

I'm bringing you some fantastic fabric

because we're going to be making some curtains and some cushions.

That is what woman did in the 1950s.

What do you think of this fabric, Jennifer?

I think it looks modern NOW.

I'd actually make a pair of curtains in that.

How are all your sewing skills?

My mum taught me the basics of how to knit and how to sew.

What about you, Daisy?

-Where are you?

-No, I can't sew.

Actually, last night, I sewed some buttons on

with the wrong colour thread and the wrong buttons

and the wrong technique so, yeah.

-So, I think the pattern goes down the fabric.

-Yeah.

-I'm feeling the other way.

-What, you think it goes that way, do you?

Of course it can't, that's the side.

I'm just trying to sort of semi-press a line in there

and the pins are really just a guide, Daisy.

This is really putting me off, actually, really putting me off.

I don't have the patience to do this.

I think if you think about if you're in the 1950s as a young woman,

there wouldn't be very much else to do.

Women's lives were very much centred around the home

so you can't go to the pub, you can't go out betting,

you probably aren't going to go to football.

Your social life is quite domestic.

It's just very long and difficult and...

So, it's not instant?

Yeah, I need something to be like there, done.

It's not going to take that time.

-Wow!

-It's like the Olympic torch.

Apart from the fact that the Olympic torch actually got set alight.

Right, chaps, how are you getting on?

What you've got here is...

-We've got a bucket of leaves!

-You've got a bucket of leaves, haven't you?

-Do you think we should start again?

-Yeah.

'My three years as a cub scout

'in 1970s north London are finally paying off.'

Right, well, we have our fire basically working now and hot

so let's cook. What have you got?

-I'm looking for a whole roast piglet or something.

-I've got some spam.

-And baked beans.

-You've got spam and baked beans.

-Yeah.

Oh, that's good.

-That looks good.

-I don't know if that looks good or not.

Oh, look at that spam fritter! That's bubbling nicely.

-Who's going to go first?

-I'll do it.

-Go on.

Mmm! It's like salmon.

Spam is actually not bad.

Does it taste better because you're outdoors

and you're bonding with your friends and battling the elements?

I think it feels a bit more like an achievement, actually.

That's probably why I like it a bit more

because we made the fire, we found the wood and the leaves.

I mean, today, in the school holidays,

if you weren't here doing this, what would you be likely to be doing?

-Gaming, playing computer games.

-Really?

I think it would be nice to kind of do this more often,

sort of get away from a screen and go out here and do this.

..paper, scissors... Yes!

It's nice to see these 21st-century kids who are into gaming

responding to the 1950s outdoor lifestyle.

One has to remember that the flipside of that

was they were being trained to respond to authority,

to be given orders, to follow rules, to put on uniforms,

to join the army, to be men, to be grown-up members of society.

It wasn't all fun and games.

5.15 sharp and Rob is home.

But there is still work for the man of the house.

She's made the curtains.

It would appear I'm the one who has to put them up.

I'm not sure it's going to be great, but, I don't know, the bell worked.

Am I going the right way?

I'm going the right way now, there we go.

Oh, is it that way?

I think that's the way.

What you do is rinse the plates first

cos otherwise you end up with all the bits floating in the water.

Just soak everything? I think that's easy, yeah.

-But if you rinse it first...

-No, no, no, no, no.

I think men were constrained and women were constrained in the '50s.

How they coped with that, I don't know.

My idea of leisure and pleasure isn't DIY.

I definitely am feeling trapped

and the fact that girls my age

actually thought this was what their life was going to be

for the rest of their life makes me kind of go, "Wow! WOW!"

Right now, I'm actually in the tent.

It's really nice to be out here, actually.

It's been a lot of fun,

just enjoying and sort of chilling and hanging out.

I have absolutely no idea what the flowers are at all.

Red, white and blue is what I know.

In 1953, Britain was in the midst of a massive house-building programme.

1.5 million homes were built,

replacing those destroyed by bombs and slum clearance.

As a result, many British families got their first ever garden

and gardening became one of the nation's favourite pastimes.

I mean, how hard can it be to plant plants? It can't be that difficult.

You've got to make sure that the flower is above the surface

of the earth, and the roots are below the surface of the earth.

New garden centres made it easy for novice enthusiasts by selling

pre-grown potted plants.

Like those bought by this couple from Shropshire, who,

on 8th May, 1953, spent two shillings on a dozen lobelia.

I'm going to go for red bull's-eye, white on the outside,

then blue on the outside of that.

See how it works out.

It may look dreadful but, at the end of the day, it would be

an explosion of colour, and that's what's important.

Rob's created a patriotic floral display to celebrate

the biggest event of the year.

Once it's bedded in and it's blooming,

it's going to look absolutely fabulous, I'm sure.

TRUMPET FANFARE

1953 saw the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

-TV ANNOUNCER:

-'The most important symbol of all is the crown of St Edward.

'The Archbishop gently sets this splendid emblem

'on the Queen's head.'

'All hail the Queen!'

'And the trumpets sound!'

The day was declared a national holiday.

And, like millions of other families,

the Ashby-Hawkins are celebrating with a party...

"Cream fat and vanilla together."

Is butter fat?

..which means it's Daisy's job to make a cake.

It's a bit shelly. That's OK.

It does look like cat sick.

-OK, ladies. Welcome to the lounge of 1953.

-Oh, my goodness.

Oh, I remember carpets like this.

The party's special guests are Barbara, Anne and Frances,

local WI members who all set up home in the '50s.

Look at the radio.

Typical.

-So, does this lounge look familiar territory to you?

-Yes.

-Yes.

No fitted carpet,

just carpets covering as much of the room as possible, you know.

Interior design hadn't really taken off.

Nothing was desperately co-ordinated.

Which is what this has the appearance of.

-It's a mishmash, isn't it?

-It is a mishmash.

It was things left over, really.

People hadn't really got on top of things in the early days of '50s.

Things were still very lean on the ground.

No wonder an estimated 17 million people across the country

leapt at the chance to forget austerity and celebrate.

Dates and cinnamon,

and then the icing is coconut and orange.

That looks lovely, thank you.

I think the '50s has turned Daisy into a domestic goddess, myself.

-TV ANNOUNCER:

-'Crowds have waited for this moment,

'as the golden coach appears in view for the first time...'

Like 96% of the population, the Ashby-Hawkins don't have a telly,

so they're listening to the coronation on the radio.

'..escorted by her cavalry, she drives through cheering crowds

'down the gaily decorated avenue of the Mall.'

Flags everywhere, bunting everywhere, you know.

And we were very patriotic.

I think it was an event that

lifted the general public.

We'd had so much doom and gloom.

And I think it was an excuse to party.

Well, happy coronation.

Cheers. Here's to the Queen, huh?

Here we are. Cheers.

God bless her.

NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS ON RADIO

For the 1950s generation,

standing up to sing the national anthem was almost instinctive.

It was played in cinemas, theatres and on the radio

and television every day.

# ..happy and glorious

# Long to reign

# Over us

# God save our Queen. #

-TV ANNOUNCER:

-'And, so, this day of days most memorable comes to an end,

'and with it begins a new era.

'Long may she reign!'

I think I actually felt the joy of the occasion,

just purely with flowers and bunting.

The moment they stood up and sang was priceless.

For me, that was brilliant.

I can't believe Daisy actually successfully made a cake

that people could eat without spitting it out.

That's really good, I'm really pleased for her.

And, yeah, it's been a really good day.

-Oh, it's revolting.

-Is it getting in your face?

-It's so disgusting.

-Sorry.

-I can smell the sink and everything you've washed up in it.

I literally scrubbed that sink yesterday, so it should be clean.

So far, Daisy's time has been dominated by domestic duties.

But today she's got the chance to go out

and get a taste of some respectable '50s fun.

I think you're done.

Ballroom dancing was a hugely popular leisure activity

in '50s Britain, with over 200 million tickets sold every year.

People flocked to dance halls across the country,

all dancing to the same music and following the same steps.

Left foot forward for one.

Right foot to the side and slightly forward for two.

Close your left foot up to your right foot for three.

Now, can I see you doing that?

Daisy and her friend Ella have come to the local village hall

to be taught ballroom dancing by someone who learnt in the 1950s -

Angela Rippon.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Daisy?

-Yes, hello.

-And Ella?

-Yes, nice to meet you.

-I have to say, you both look lovely.

-BOTH:

-Thank you.

Well, I have to tell you, a 16-year-old in the 1950s,

if you were a proper young lady at that time, you would not be able

to go to a dance if you could not do proper, grown-up dancing.

'The extraordinary thing about ballroom dancing

'when I was a teen is that you were doing what your parents did.

'Most of the time, I was dancing at events

'that I went to with my parents, so I got the advantage of being able

'to dance with my dad who could really dance well.'

Now, all we're going to do is three steps.

You're going to go forward...

sideways...

-and then bring together. All right?

-All right, I've got that.

Do it again. Forward... sideways, bring together.

Back, side, together.

You can waltz!

Ready? And...go.

Three, back, two, three, forward, two, three, back, two, three,

back, two, three.

OK?

In time with the music, that's it.

'Being able to dance formally

'and properly in the '50s was certainly very important.

'The majority of young women were

'thinking about growing up, getting married, being a housewife,

'doing that as a career, and having children.

'And being able to dance was all part of that.

'You had to learn how to, you know, be a good wife and a mother,'

and a good social companion for your husband.

We're going to do the quick step.

Which is what it says. It's quicker.

As simple as that.

Forward, forward, side. Straight lines.

Back with your left. One, two, sideways.

You can see how ballroom dancing is, sort of... It's formal

because there's a set pattern to the steps.

It's not, like, music of the 21st-century - the 20th century! -

or even later in the '50s and '60s when it was rock and roll,

and you could, kind of, freestyle and do, really, what you liked.

But in ballroom dancing, there are set steps.

And, go.

One, two, sidestep, one, two, sidestep...

THEY LAUGH IN FRUSTRATION

One, two, sideways. One, two, sideways.

One, two, sideways. One, two, sideways.

Go back. One, two...

Once you'd mastered the steps, you could go on to the real thing -

have fun dancing with boys,

and even possibly meet your future husband.

'We would go to a dance hall in Plymouth called The Majestic.

'And the girls would all sit around the outside, and the boys

'would come up to you and say, "Can I have this dance, please?"'

And you'd be sat down with your girlfriends,

and you'd size him up, and if you thought, "Yeah, he's a bit fit,

"he's all right," you'd say, "Yes, thank you so much."

And you'd get up, you'd be very demure,

and you'd go out and dance, and you'd get that physical contact.

That's the great thing about ballroom dancing.

Of course, you get the physical contact of it.

And if you didn't like the look of them, you'd say, "No, thanks."

I totally enjoyed dancing. Even though I can't do it very well,

I still have a laugh and it's really nice,

but it's still formal.

In the '50s, everything is formal and, you know, I have to go

to a dance to meet a husband, to get married and to be like my mum,

-and it's quite annoying!

-Yeah.

SHRIEKING

I get stressed when I can't do things perfectly!

It's Saturday afternoon and Rob's on his way to the pub.

1950s boozers were a different world -

no women, no kids, but plenty of beer and fags.

Before the link between tobacco and cancer was well-known,

cigarettes were cheap and smoking was a national pastime.

The expenditure survey features countless examples of daily

spending on tobacco.

80% of men smoked and you could light up anywhere -

at home, at work,

even on the pitch.

A respectable housewife like Steph would certainly not have

gone to the pub to smoke and drink.

Luckily, there's plenty at home to keep her occupied.

# A woman's touch can weave a spell

# The kind of hocus-pocus that she does so well

# With the magic of a broom She can mesmerise a room

# With a whisk-whisk here and a whisk-whisk there

# And a dustpan for the cinders With a rub-rub here

# And a rub-rub there She could polish up the winders... #

I'm here in the house and, actually,

I'd quite like to be in the pub as well...

without the criticism of, "But have you done the washing?"

Because I bet you there was a lot of that went on.

"Yes, it's all right, dear, you can go off and do whatever you want

"as long as there's dinner on the table, the house is clean,

"my shirts are starched," all that sort of stuff.

"Absolutely. Have as much free time as you want." Er...there isn't any.

I was expecting it to be the communications tech that I would miss.

I hadn't really thought about the domestic tech that

I absolutely take for granted.

I miss the washing machine, the dishwasher.

I mean, you've got a mangle and you've got a washboard

and you've got a rudimentary sink.

It feels like I'm just waiting for the explosion of technology

to happen that's going to really free me.

By Jove, the tech is going to free me.

By the second half of the decade,

Britain's economy was finally picking up.

The average wage jumped from £7 a week in 1950, to just over £10.

Almost everyone had a bit more money to spare

for treats like children's cinema club,

a regular Saturday morning fixture across the country.

-NEWSREEL:

-Today, the modern housewife uses aluminium foil,

for that is the correct name...

The club screened anything from westerns to educational documentaries.

The films are quite boring for us

compared to what we watch in the 21st century.

But the good thing is, as usual, it's an adult-free zone.

My parents will probably tell me to sit down, shut up.

Now I can sort of turn on Harvey and just do that.

It wasn't just kids who were getting treats.

The expenditure surveys reveal how women were too,

like this young woman from Hackney who bought herself a little

luxury for Valentine's Day.

A powder-puff for one shilling and threepence.

Capitalising on this new market, Boots' cosmetics range exploded

and Polly's come to meet their archivist Sophie Clapp.

In the '50s, in store the range expanded on a scale that had

never happened in the past.

We started to introduce things like this beautiful

powder for after the bath.

I mean, this is just pure luxury.

-It's just a bit of being a film star in your home, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

And what about the cost of these?

What was the most expensive in the range?

So surprisingly, it was our lipsticks.

-That was seen as the luxury item.

-Oh, really?

It was beautifully decorated with these stars,

again, that touch of glamour

and the idea really was that women could pull it

out of their handbag with a flourish,

because they were confident because it looked so beautiful,

so that was the real aspirational piece.

And you definitely get a sense that this is what women want.

You know, they've had this period of not being able to treat

themselves, so by the end of the decade,

they're very comfortable on buying themselves a treat.

And it's sort of self-perpetuating, isn't it?

You know, the more you have, the more you want,

the more that's available, and it just sort of goes on and on.

Sort of the beginning of the rise of consumerism.

Complete explosion.

"I've splashed out on a little treat for you.

"A new lipstick in the most popular shade in 1956, copper rose. Enjoy."

From Polly.

Oh, my word. That's wild.

This is the first, like, ultra-glam thing that's happened to me

in the '50s and I know it's only a lipstick, but I'm really chuffed.

Thank you, Polly! It's a lovely present.

I kind of feel a bit more... you know...more modern.

# Oh, the good life

# Full of fun Seems to be the idea... #

After seven days in the '50s, the Ashby-Hawkins are beginning

to look like a picture book version of times gone by.

The kitchen might be his usual domain,

but Rob's starting to feel at home in the shed.

He's spent all morning making a table.

The instructions are bit vague,

because it looks like there should be a lip here,

so I've given it a lip and now I'm going to put the very last leg on.

I've really enjoyed sanding as well. It's all...smooth and lovely.

Very satisfying.

Well, he's been doing something in the shed for hours.

Yet to see what it is.

I'm sure there will be a grand reveal at some point,

but I think his DIY has got better.

Or should I say less worse?

Yeah, sturdy, solid and level, and that was without a spirit level.

I've never ever made a table before.

I think I'm really proud of it.

I didn't think I could do it when I started.

I'm really pleased with that.

-My attractive, modern table.

-Ooh!

-Wow! Look at that!

-Did you really make it?

-I really made that.

-That's really cool.

-Huh?

Seriously, I'm really impressed that you've put it together.

My dad's table, which he made, which I thought was pretty... It was OK.

My dad is normally all cooking and stuff.

It doesn't seem right that he suddenly transfers all the way over to DIY.

It's a bit weird seeing him in another form, sort of.

It's 1958! Yay!

By the end of the decade,

a new generation was emerging with a name all of their own.

-NEWSREEL:

-This is the age of the teenager.

Youth 1958, what's it got to say for itself?

This is us, see? We're today.

If you don't dig us, shoot away some square joint with the rest of the creeps,

or why not stick around and get with it?

In 1958, Britain had a million more teens

than at the start of the decade.

Thanks to full employment and the new welfare state,

they were healthier and wealthier than any generation before.

Teenagers across Britain rejected conformity

and embraced their own fashions, fads and, most of all, music.

-Right, OK, that's a lot older than I expected it to be.

-Right.

-So, I guess...

-# One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock, rock... #

I think we have to tune it in.

# ..Six, seven o'clock eight o'clock, rock

# Nine, ten, 11 o'clock 12 o'clock, rock... #

-SHE SNIGGERS

-Do you want to dance?

-I'm not dancing.

-Come on, darling! You have to.

-I'm not dancing.

And unlike ballroom dancing,

it isn't up to Daisy's boyfriend TJ to take the lead.

-We're not actually going to dance. Do we have to?

-We have to.

-OK.

Erm...

-I have no idea what I'm doing.

-What are you doing?

-I don't know!

-Do I keep in time with you?

-Yes, just keep the foot... Right.

-So sorry!

-You're not sorry, though, are you?

Rock and roll signalled a sea change.

The days of following in your parents' footsteps were over.

-Boom!

-Boom!

It's really, really nice.

Like, the clothes have changed, I'm a lot more, like, relaxed.

I had fun in the first time in this decade!

And change is afoot for Steph too.

I got rid of her mangle and everything,

and we're going to put this in there to make her life easier.

So far, Steph's life in the '50s has left her very little

time for leisure and the washing has been the most time-consuming

chore of them all.

But Rob's bought her a surprise present, a piece of technology

-that would change women's lives forever.

-Just here.

There we go. Looks nice, doesn't it?

Thanks to the relaxation of borrowing laws,

which led to a surge in hire purchase, modern appliances

were finally becoming affordable to ordinary families.

Ms Harrison, what have you bought on HP?

Well, there's the mixer, the fridge, the washing machine,

the dishwasher and the polisher.

In 1958, sales of washing machines leapt by 48%,

eclipsing even fridges in their popularity, and no wonder,

when washing was one of the most time-consuming

tasks of a woman's 75-hour week.

-ARCHIVE ADVERT:

-It's the new English Electric Liberator.

You can be miles away

and when you come back, your washing has been done for you.

-Come and have a look. Come on. Go through and have a look.

-What is it?

It's for you to find out. It's to make your life easier.

Thanks.

-That's pretty impressive, actually.

-What does this do?

-That does...

That's a lever.

With hot water.

MACHINE WHIRS AND SQUEAKS

Oh, I think it might need oiling.

Look how filthy the water is.

1950s women would've thought it was a miracle.

We're not there yet, but it's a simple...

It's a beacon in the corner of the kitchen.

We might actually be able to get out that way

and that men might actually come this way.

I'm excited because I actually get to go out.

# Good golly, Miss Molly! #

Hopefully this is the start of a bit of liberation for me,

so, you know, my nice washing machine -

maybe life is looking up for me as a '50s woman.

Oh, God, I really hope so. I really do.

And...

-it's 1959!

-Yay!

-Woohoo!

The last year of the decade.

We're celebrating the end of the 1950s

and I WILL be celebrating the end of the 1950s.

I'm looking forward to the '60s, so we're having a few friends round

and we've got some fabulous 1950s party food,

which consists 90% of Spam.

I expect there's a technical term for this in 1950s housewife arena.

It's probably persuading,

persuading a blancmange out of the mould or something, isn't it? Right.

I'm going in.

-Oh. I heard a plop.

-SHE GIGGLES

Hm.

I think we're going to need a bigger plate.

Guinness?

One Guinness for you, look.

I'm joining the party to find out how the family got on in the 1950s.

-There you are, sir.

-What's that?

-It's a festive ginger beer.

We have devilled eggs, we have sardines, we have Spam.

-Corned beef.

-And if you don't like Spam, we've got Spam with tomato.

Rob is quick to use the occasion to show off his new-found skills.

What do you think it looks like? What does it look like?

-It looks functional.

-And?

-And stylish.

-And...

What do you think it looks like?

I think it looks like an attractive, modern table.

CHEERING

How's it been? How has the '50s been for you?

I am glad it's over, because it's been really hard,

because I've been in all the time.

How's it gone with the DIY? How's it gone in the shed?

DIY started off poorly, but I became better as I went along.

-Do you think you'll kick on and make more things?

-No.

No, I'm finishing on top. I've peaked, that's it.

It has given me an appreciation of what it was like in the '50s,

because we have lived it 24/7 and it's so different.

It's so different from our lives now.

As a '50s woman, leisure didn't really exist for me. It just didn't.

I think the '50s was... It was very strict and conventional.

In the evenings, we would play cards and we would talk

and that was quite nice, but as a family,

there wasn't a great deal of leisure time that we had.

This experience has made me really appreciate, you know, my freedom

as a person because I can go out at any time.

I don't have to stay at home and clean the kitchen.

I don't have to do that.

I think I have had the best deal out of everyone.

I'm the only one that sort of can do what I want to do, rather than

being put in their place by social expectation.

The Ashby-Hawkins have survived a decade of austerity,

hard graft and rigid convention.

The '60s are fast approaching with the promise of a bit more freedom.

-ALL:

-# I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts

-# There they are all in a row

-Boom, boom, boom

# Big ones, little ones Some as big as your head... #

It's clearly been very difficult for them.

They're a very modern family, you know, even by modern standards,

so to go back to that era of conformity,

for there to be so little freedom of expression,

they're restricted in everything that they do,

they have very little freedom of movement, apart from Seth.

He's really happy. Seth seemed to think it was marvellous

and when we think of the '50s as a golden age,

the people we're listening to are people who are old now, who were Seth's age then.

We're not hearing the voice of Rob and Steph, we're hearing the voice of Seth.

Clearly it was a great time to be 12.

Next time - it's out with the old... and in with the new...

Oh, yeah!

..as the Ashby-Hawkins swing into the '60s.

Yeah!

I'm free!