The 70s 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.

We're going on holiday.

From do-it-yourself...

..to doing almost nothing.

You've turned into Wham!

Starting in 1950...

-Oh, my God.

-..their own home will be their time machine...

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 has transformed our free time forever.

-Are you ready?

-Yes!

Last time in the '60s, it was out with the old and in with the new.

Now they're strutting into the '70s,

a decade with something for everyone.

I was not born to stand in a muddy field,

trying to put together a stupid tent.

It's the third phase in

the Ashby Hawkins' time-travelling adventure

and the family's 1960s home has been transformed into a shrine

to all things '70s.

Social historian Polly Russell is with me

to explore what this new decade has in store for the family.

Wow, so here you are, 1970.

-You see, we've used a lot of brown.

-And there's so much more stuff.

The room is just filled with stuff.

These are all gadgets that are about leisure, aren't they?

This feels like a room that is dedicated to comfort.

A space in which you lounge, sort of spend more time relaxing.

Throughout this experiment, everything the Ashby Hawkins do

will be guided by the family-expenditure survey.

Over 10,000 families a year took part in this government study...

..recording their spending on everything from clothes pegs

to a new car.

The original handwritten diaries have been shredded

but their data give the best possible clues as to what

families were doing in their leisure time.

We've had the surveys analysed and what they show -

and it's sort of evidenced in the house -

is that people are spending more money on more goods.

-TVs and radios, I can see.

-Yup, holidays...

This is the first decade where people are spending a significant

proportion of their income on leisure activities, on fun.

Compared to how things were in the '50s and '60s,

you're really seeing a change in behaviour.

The austerity of the 1950s meant that work, rather than play,

dominated the family's free time.

The increasing affluence of the '60s brought in

new forms of entertainment.

And by the '70s,

evidence of our increased spending power is everywhere.

So people have more disposable income,

they're spending it on all this stuff

but where does this money come from?

One of the reasons that there's more money available

is that there is an enormous amount of unionised labour,

more than 400 unions exist at this time.

What that means is that wages keep pace with,

and then sometimes exceed, inflation.

Remember, inflation is very high at this period.

People are also spending on credit,

that's what's really significant in this decade.

There's an increase of about 90% spend on leisure activities.

The 1970s is often perceived as a period of political

and economic turmoil.

But, despite regular strikes, fears of rising unemployment

and hyperinflation, most British families enjoyed higher wages

and more time off than ever before.

One '70s survey reported that Britons were among the happiest

people in the world.

My memory of my childhood is that we did spend a lot of really

good time together as a family.

So I'm just really looking forward to the '70s and I'm hoping

that I'm going to spend more time out of the kitchen than in it

this time and I've even painted my nails in honour of that, so...

I hope to have a lot of fun. '70s is disco.

Come on, it's Saturday Night Fever, Bees Gees, I love it.

'70s is, you know, my home.

This is the bit that I love. Seeing the house gives me butterflies.

Oh, my God.

We've got yellow curtains.

This is a hideous.

They match!

Yeah, I can land planes again.

It's a bar!

It is, that is kind of cool.

-You could do a selfie with it.

-Two minutes in.

There's all this other stuff to look at and you're just doing selfies.

-What? It's fun.

-Unbelievable.

-Oh, no.

-So much bigger.

-That is not a cute bunny.

It says "sweets" on the front, though.

That is not a cute... Its head comes off.

Wow, look at this.

The house isn't the only thing that's changed.

We've got a patio and - can I just say? - I've got a sunlounger.

I feel like we've really gone up in the world.

Hang on.

CLUNKING

You've broken the patio!

I was born in the '70s, I was born in 1971, so I remember

everything because I enjoyed it so much and I love every bit of it.

You moved it. It was NOT there, it was a centimetre away.

Daisy won it, I'm afraid.

It's a huge contrast to the '50s.

It's like conveyor belt stuff on The Generation Game.

There's this and there's this and there's a cuddly toy.

It's just... There's so much stuff.

-Wow.

-Hello, Giles.

-Good afternoon. You look extraordinary.

I mean, extraordinarily marvellous.

You're probably expecting quite a lot of social change and excitement.

Rob, you're going to have a bit more spare time and free cash.

Spend a bit more time with your children.

Steph, you are still basically tied down to the stove.

How progressive(!)

Daisy, there is progression because, although you're still at school,

because the school leaving age has gone up to 16, you don't

have to aspire any more to being a housewife like your mother.

And, Seth, really, you know, you're a 12-year-old boy,

just get on with your thing. Even if you are dressed as Rupert Bear.

-This is your manual for the '70s.

-Thank you very much.

-Enjoy the decade of love.

-Thanks, Giles.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Giles.

By 1970, Britons were spending less time at work and more at play.

The average working day was around 40 minutes shorter than it

had been a decade earlier.

For Rob, that will mean more spare time

and a chance to try out the latest craze sweeping suburbia.

Right, son, what are we making?

-Beer.

-Beer?

Step one, heat three litres of water to 71 degrees,

adding grain mixture...

Stirring gently.

Over the '70s, our alcohol consumption rose by nearly 40%.

And brew-it-yourself really took off.

So much so that even Boots sold a home-brew kit.

With 85p and one of these and some water and sugar

you can make yourself 40 pints of wallop.

Home-brewing required plenty of patience.

The fermentation process could take up to three weeks.

Modern era, I'd never make my own beer. Would you?

No, I wouldn't.

Well, I'm 12.

By the time this is finished, you'll be 18,

you'll be able to have a glass of it, won't you?

In their normal lives, Rob is a stay-at-home dad

and Steph is the main breadwinner.

But, so far in this experiment, their roles have been reversed...

..reflecting the fact that, even by the 1970s,

half of married women were full-time housewives.

Lift your feet up.

And, although our homes were full of labour-saving devices,

it was still a woman's job to push them around.

Mum, this magazine, I don't know if it's serious or not.

Did people actually think that moustaches were, you know,

-attractive and sexy?

-Yeah.

At what point do you go, "Oh, he's nice! I want to get with him"?

Millions of girls...

I...I...I...even...

bleurgh!

-He's saying what I'm thinking. "Very nice."

-"Very nice."

-That's the hour.

-Yup.

Now, it says, "Place sieve over third empty pot, pour grains into

"sieve and collect sugary liquid, or 'wort', in the empty pot below."

Check.

Beer.

Seth, we've got a telephone, it's so cool.

So cool. I mean, the only issue is I can't take it round the house.

I've got to sit here. Do you like it?

It is a bit impractical.

Because in, like, modern day, you just go, contact list,

-find their name, hit call.

-It's better than the phone box.

The Ashby Hawkins are among the lucky ones.

They've joined the 35% of households who now have

a telephone line.

Like this London family who spent £1.45 a month

renting their phone from the Post Office.

It means I can have my four-hour telephone calls again.

That will cost a lot of money.

That's fine, I'm not paying the bill.

I think it's unfair that I'm still doing all of the housework, I don't

understand why, because I'm a woman, I should be doing all the housework.

I didn't understand it and '50s, '60s and now the '70s. Damn.

I don't know any tunes.

Erm...

First day, massive smile and I made beer,

although I've got to wait two or three weeks to drink it.

I might just go and buy some beer while I'm waiting.

Maybe that'll do the job. Thank you.

Boggle! Boggle.

It's a new day and, in this experiment, that means a new year.

-It's 1971.

-Yay!

-Yay, I was born then!

PHONE RINGS

-There's the phone.

-Do you want to go get it?

I'm going to go and get the phone.

-No cheating.

-I'm not cheating.

So far in this experiment, Rob and Steph have rented their home.

Hello? Giles?

But I've made arrangements that could change all that.

-OK, thanks very much.

-Bye, kids, see you later.

See you later.

Throughout the '50s and '60s,

the majority of Britons rented their properties.

Even by 1971, only 49% of British families were homeowners.

And getting a mortgage required a face-to-face meeting

at the bank or building society.

Our last mortgage,

I just pretty much sat in my pants at home on the computer.

You can't do that today. You have to be like this.

Got to go in a suit and tie.

In 1971, the Conservative government had encouraged high-street banks

to enter the mortgage market.

And the number of home loans quadrupled.

Bedroom, second bedroom,

the master bedroom.

When you do tell people you've got your own house, you know,

to say to somebody, it just feels nice. You know?

If you pay rent, I mean, you pay it for the rest of your...

rest of your life and, at the end of it, you've nothing to show.

Oh!

Come on, Max, jump off the edge, jump off the side.

With their parents otherwise occupied,

Seth has joined friends at an adventure playground,

while Daisy's at the nearby youth club.

Come on, come on, come on.

L-O-S-E-R.

In 1971, nearly seven out of ten teenagers were youth-club members.

It's actually not that bad.

Oh, no! No!

Children had far greater freedom to play and to roam.

Oh, God, they're really thin.

Often in conditions that would be considered downright dangerous now.

Playtime meant scrambling over old tyres, planks and plenty of tarmac.

Over there, when we were injuring each other,

that was fun because, normally, adults would be stopping us saying,

"Oh, no, don't do that, don't do that,"

but it adds to the fun,

the fact that we're doing what we want to do.

Today, one-third of children aged eight to ten have never played

outside without an adult.

And two-thirds have never been to a park by themselves.

Normally, I'd be sitting inside playing on my computer

and Skyping my friends.

I feel like this is a much better way than computers

because you're out and about, you're socialising with your friends,

you're laughing, you're having fun and it's just a lot better than

looking at them through a computer screen.

Seth is back just in time for tea and to hear some good news.

"Dear Mr Hawkins, the bank is prepared to lend you

"the undermentioned amount subject to conditions, advance of £5,000."

Wow.

£5,000 to buy a house in 1971.

We're rich!

Does that mean we can change the wallpaper?

Why would you want to change the wallpaper?

"Why wou..."?

Between 1970 and '73, house prices more than doubled.

The cost of the average British home soon hit £10,500.

And an all-too-familiar problem emerged.

With inflation on this scale, for many, the prospect of ever

owning their own home forever retreats into the distance.

La Dolce Vita! The sweet life.

Rising levels of ownership saw more Brits than ever

using their free time to indulge in a spot of home improvement.

You'll find fuses mainly in two places, in the fuse box...

They're clever, these electrical people. ..and in the plug itself,

if you've got one of these square pin plugs.

People were spending on wallpaper, paint, tools and brushes.

# Gimme some more... #

Like this family in the East Midlands,

who spent £3.45 on DIY materials.

While the Ashby-Hawkins have invested in another '70s fad.

Cork tiles.

# Yes, gimme some more... #

-Pretty satisfying. It's really satisfying.

-It's our difference.

And I've actually got a smile on my face.

The point is, we're making a difference to the house.

Well, I'm so happy to be out of the kitchen.

I'm so happy that we're actually doing something together

and interacting.

Mine's going much better than yours.

I've already managed to mess this up.

-Oh, that looks so cute!

-God, this is so...difficult!

I'm making a daisy.

It's just lovely to be actually doing something.

I do think it's... It is like, you get an idea

-and you execute it to the nth degree...

-What on earth are you doing?

-We're making a massive dartboard.

-What we're doing, Daisy,

is home improvement! To the home that we now own.

What are you doing to this house?

Seth, come and see what Mum and Dad have ruined!

-You've led the witness.

-Seth, you've got to give me your honest opinion, Seth.

-Don't be led into it.

-Come here, come here and look.

What do you think?

-It's not finished...

-What have you done?!

-Exactly!

There we go.

So you get a mortgage, which means you're allowed to do anything

to your house, and the first thing you do is THAT?

1971 and I actually got out of the kitchen! Whoo-whoo!

OK, well, I moved from one side of the room to the other,

but you know, hey, it's progress, isn't it?

'I've really enjoyed today.

'Because we got to spend time together.'

...with a cork tile on your head!

-I like this DIY larky!

-Where's the cloth?

Yeah, 1971.

It's all right.

If you like cork tiles.

-It's 1972.

-Ooh!

-See you later, darling. I'm off to work.

-Have a good day.

And you. Bye-bye.

In about 25 minutes' time,

we should know which player has won the Pot Black trophy.

What ball is that?

How can you tell if they're doing well or not?

-I do like the bow ties, though.

-Yeah, their outfits are kind of cool.

Ooh, we've got some post, kids!

"It's 1972, the year of borrow now, pay later!"

I like the sound of that.

"Hot off the press, here's your very latest Access credit card."

Whoohoo!

"And I've arranged your first purchase, too.

"Happy spending, from Giles."

Oh!

Look at that! It's a credit card!

Access. Your flexible friend.

Although the first credit card had been introduced six years earlier,

the arrival of Access in 1972 rapidly increased their popularity.

I'm meeting financial expert Martin Lewis to find out how

the explosion of credit would transform our leisure time.

-Hiya.

-Nice to see you.

There it is, the Access card itself.

"Borrow now, pay later" was their catchphrase.

So what were people doing up until now?

Before we had this type of credit card freedom,

whatever you wanted to buy, if you needed to borrow for it,

you had to go and talk to the bank manager or the building society,

you had to pitch it to them, bow and scrape.

"Would it be OK if..." "How much is it going to cost?"

"I'm not sure you should be doing that!" This card's totally different.

Just the name itself.

"Access" to whatever you want, "access" to go and buy your washing machine.

Look at the advert. "Access helps you listen in stereo".

And he looks very relaxed about paying!

-Right, now, what do we need in this store? Children's clothes? Food mixer? Cosmetics?

-Ohhh!

Access, the ads promised, "took the waiting out of wanting."

By the end of the decade, 9 million of us had a credit card.

That's one in four adults.

The future was plastic.

-Hello, there, darling!

-Hello!

-I've got your first purchase...

-Uncle Mario!

..that you've made.

-How are you?

-I'm good. The telly!

-It's your first purchase here for you.

-Is it heavy?

-Well, heavy for you, but not for me.

-Are you sure?

-I don't want you to do your back in.

-How's that?

-'Not everyone could have a new telly delivered by a relative.'

-Careful!

'But in 1972, Steph's Uncle Mario was a manager

'at high-street electrical chain Curry's.'

Keep watching, you will see what happens.

Oh, oh, there we go! It's coloured! That looks really cool.

You can actually make sense of the game now!

I used to watch Pot Black with my dad.

I used to watch it in black-and-white and then when we had colour,

I watched it even more. I used to love it.

It's smashing, isn't it?

When the first colour television came out,

I seem to remember that we cleared the shop floor, you know?

Everything.

-We reached the stage where everything was sold.

-Wow.

A colour television was a new gizmo.

People said, "Oh, tonight, snooker is on!"

It was a social evening, you know?

You'd get a few sandwiches out and things like that, and watch colour television.

-You could say, "Oh, look! The black's gone in!"

-The colours are absolutely beautiful.

-It is quite... It's a beautiful television.

-Yet, it does.

It feels like, more...vibrant.

While the kids settle in for an afternoon in front of the telly,

Steph's found some precious time for herself.

She's getting into the home-made spirit of the '70s.

Clothkits, as in make your own. They are printed with patterns on,

and all you have to do is cut around the outline and stitch them together.

It's actually quite therapeutic to do this, because I'm making something.

It's actually doing something that's useful and...

And creative and fun.

I had a Clothkits skirt, when I was a little girl,

so this really brings back memories.

They've got some corking stuff in there. Like, look.

Would you put your child in that?

BLUE PETER THEME TUNE

Oh, it's Blue Peter!

In '72, even classic children's TV

couldn't avoid news of a looming crisis.

Now, what with the power cuts continuing and the situation

doesn't appear to be going to get very much better in the near

future, it's a particularly difficult time for old people.

It certainly is, because older people get cold very easily.

We've got a bed over here, and the best thing to do is lay out

sheets of newspaper, fairly thickly, between the blanket.

And if you do that, the old folks will stay as warm as toast.

In January 1972, 300,000 miners had walked out on strike,

demanding a 25% pay increase to keep pace with inflation.

In these days before North Sea oil, Britain consumed

two million tons of coal a week.

With the mines closed, the National Grid risked shutdown,

and power cuts became a regular occurrence.

Sales of candles and camping gas rocketed and many factories

and offices closed before dark.

So Rob's able to come home early.

-I'm home!

-And that means more fun with the family.

Hey! Hi, kids.

Tonight, it's indoor golf.

You can't do this on a carpet.

-Yeah, I'm going to.

-Yeah, on the floor, without the carpet.

-Here we go.

-Oh!

-OK.

-What's the par?

-It's a par two.

SETH SNORTS

-Yeah?

-OK?

Hole-in-one!

-Oof!

-One!

I don't think at any point,

I was thinking, "Oh, yeah, 1970s! Golf on the shagpile!"

I didn't think that at all.

-That's five.

-It was about seven... Oh, my God! Dad! Stop it!

Mum, is the window insured?

-What?

-Nothing!

-No, don't worry about it.

You've broken my house!

-18!

-ALL: Yay!

It's time to put it away, that's what it is, yeah.

-No, it is not!

-I'll play that, I'll play that.

-ALL: Oh!

-Oh, no.

-Oh, no.

-Where's the candles?

-Why is it dark?

-Power cut!

Er, Mum?

I've got a couple more in the kitchen...

And...

And because I now can't sew, I thought

-I'd join in with a candlelit game of golf.

-OK, so two, five or six?

Two, five or six? Come on.

It's also a bit strange, now, because the '70s seems a lot more technology-reliant.

I mean, you've got colour TV, a stereo, and then suddenly,

-"Oh, no, you can't have any this any more!"

-They didn't have the power, yeah.

Here, have some power cuts!

Aw, that's brilliant.

MUSIC: La Marseillaise

Oof.

Why?

-RADIO:

-The French national anthem on this,

an historic morning for Britain,

our first in the European Economic Community.

In January '73, Britain had joined the EEC,

opening new trade markets with Europe.

So today, the Ashby-Hawkins are getting a French-made continental treat.

It's being delivered by the very first presenter of Top Gear.

-Hello?

-Angela Rippon! Hello!

TOP GEAR THEME PLAYS

ANGELA LAUGHS

And that's where we end this first edition of Top Gear.

I brought your new car.

Oh, it's lovely. Thank you so much! How exciting!

-I think it's bigger than the last one you had. You had a Mini, didn't you?

-Yes.

-Yeah. Oh, it's beautiful.

-But this...

-Wow.

..is a Renault 5.

The Renault 5 was one of 1973's most popular new models.

It could do 0-60 in an impressive 19 seconds.

Very innovative, because it's got a hatchback.

We decided we wouldn't give you any old rubbish.

-We're so thrilled, thank you.

-Not at all.

Well, I hope you enjoy driving it. Who's got the keys?

-Shame we can't take Angela with us.

-I'm not going in the boot!

HE LAUGHS

HORN HONKS

-Oh!

-That's a nice car!

-HORN HONKS

Back in the '60s, Rob had taken the wheel.

But now, like a third of '70s women, Steph's got a licence.

Just like Angela.

There are a lot of bad drivers.

Some of them are women, but an awful lot of them are men.

By 1973, just over half of Britons owned a car,

opening up more options for our leisure time.

From trips to historic buildings and the seaside

to simply popping out to the pub.

Kids, me and your mum are going in for a beer. What?!

-We're going for beer.

-But what about us?

-You're staying in the car.

-We'll see you later.

-The window's open to keep you cool.

-Why did you bring us in the first place?!

-See you later!

-You left us in the car?

It'll be another 21 years before children are allowed in pubs.

DAISY SIGHS

Luckily for Rob and Steph,

'70s attitudes to childcare were more relaxed than today.

Spot the ball. They're jumping up, he's looking over here. He's looking down.

Shall we do one each?

-There.

-OK.

Just abandoned us.

They've dragged us all the way to the pub

and we can just...stay in the car.

I'm not a dog.

We have no phones, we have no computers, we have no books,

we have nothing.

We're just going to sit in here, bored.

-Cosmopolitan.

-Yep, it's looking good already.

-Oh...

-"Should you be single?" quiz.

"You'll have many lovers!"

Don't look at me like that!

"And when break-up time comes, you're the first to move on.

"Sometimes, friends find you a bit too in command."

HE LAUGHS

MUSIC: Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield

To celebrate joining the EEC, Steph's preparing a continental feast.

MUSIC CONTINUES

While Rob, who normally does the cooking, puts his feet up.

So I'm cooking French tonight.

And I've never made Boeuf Bourguignon before.

Really hungry now.

Thanks for making me hungry, Mum.

Here's the wine.

This is the continental bit.

The only thing I've got is...leftover Chianti,

which for me... It's very unusual to have anything left over in the wine department.

You sound like an alcoholic.

What I want to talk about today is a fact that a decision rarely

has a single intended impact...

While her Boeuf Bourguignon simmers,

Steph's using the time to broaden her horizons.

She's starting an Open University social studies course.

It's actually quite hard to watch this,

because the facial hair is quite alarming.

And the jumpers are quite...

Quite distracting.

Let's take a decision-maker A, who intends an impact X.

The OU had taken on its first students in 1971.

Courses could be done from home, making them an attractive option for housewives.

This could, I think, have tremendous impact of change.

The OU itself could be revolutionary.

Perhaps it isn't so awful being married to somebody

who can actually think, instead of just hoover and dust.

If I were a '70s housewife,

I think I would have been doing anything to keep my brain alive.

I think there were probably a lot of women who felt very trapped

that actually used this as an escape.

So, brilliant.

BASS-HEAVY SOUL MUSIC PLAYS

Family, it's 1974!

Seth!

1974 began with another economic crisis.

Conflict in the Middle East led to a sharp hike in the price of petrol.

It now cost five times what it had in 1969.

The price of petrol's going to go up to 50p a gallon!

They've decided to more than double the price of their oil

from 5.09 to 11.6.

That's a big hike, isn't it?

We're going to have to think twice about going out in the car.

The government's response was to implement a three-day

working week in an effort to save fuel and resources.

So what does it mean to us, then?

It basically means there's going to be more power cuts,

and I'm going to be spending more time at home with you.

I thought the '70s was going to improve!

The last time we spent time with the family, you left me in the car with Seth.

That's not family time.

-RADIO:

-The government has ordered severe cuts in electricity...

The three-day week meant a period of adjustment to a more basic way of living.

Street lights were dimmed by 50%, to save power.

Speed limits were reduced to a maximum of 50mph to conserve fuel.

Even the BBC closed down early, at 10:30 PM.

On behalf of all of us here are the Television Centre,

a very good night. Good night.

But there were some benefits.

The three-day working week meant a four-day weekend.

Richard's Bicycle Book says before we go out on our bikes,

we have to test to make sure everything is in working order.

BELL TRINGS

Check the brakes, please, roll forward. They work excellently. Check your lights.

-Don't have one.

-Check the dynamo, you've got your dynamo on the back.

-Off you go then!

-I don't have a helmet.

It made me the man I am today, not wearing a helmet.

So off you go! See you, kids! From me and Richard, bye-bye!

BELLS TRING

DAISY SHRIEKS

During the three-day week,

more and more Britons abandoned their fuel-guzzling cars for pedal power.

By the end of the decade, bike sales had trebled,

with well over a million new bikes sold every year.

So far, 1974's been really, really good.

I've really, really enjoyed it.

Just going out is really nice.

It's much better than the '60s and '50s,

where I was quite...indoors a lot. Do you know what, Seth?

In the '70s, we didn't... We've actually spent quite

a lot of time together, and you know what? I'm glad we have.

-I love you, my little brother!

-I don't.

I think Seth's just being a bit modest about spending time with me.

You're not cool!

That's so rude!

MUSIC: It's A Family Affair by Sly and the Family Stone.

The three-day week means Rob's got more time to share with Steph, too.

# It's a family affair... #

Although Mastermind's perhaps not top of his list.

# It's a family affair... #

So I've sent a special guest with one of the decade's most popular games.

-DOORBELL RINGS

-The door!

-Are you getting it?

-We're both getting it.

-Think we're both getting the door...

-Hello.

-Eric Bristow! Wow.

-Hello!

-Come in! Welcome, welcome to the 1970s.

-Hello, sir.

-How are you?

-Good afternoon. I'm very well.

-Thank you.

-Welcome to our house.

How absolutely amazing!

Fancy a game?

In the mid-'70s, darts was phenomenally popular.

According to one national survey,

three times as many adults regularly played darts as played football.

Eric Bristow was then a rising star in the game.

A warm welcome to Eric Bristow! Come on, Eric.

He went on to be five times World Darts Champion.

-What was it like playing in the '70s?

-It was superb.

It was a different era then.

I mean, we played darts then on TV where you could have a pint

-and you could smoke even on TV.

-Of course, yeah!

I've got some beer actually that I made...recently.

I've not tried it. I might go blind in one eye.

-I had a brewing kit and I made some beer.

-Dangerous. Dangerous.

-It is.

-So how did you get started?

-My dad got me a dart board when I was 11.

But by the time I was 14, he took me down the local pub

and I used to play for a tenner a game, sixpence a game then.

-Get in there. You have a go there.

-Go on, bull's-eye.

Pound for bull's-eye. Pound for bull's-eye.

Darts may have taken off down the pub, but it wasn't just for men.

Everybody was throwing a dart.

Even my mother joined a ladies' dart team.

Once the week, she used to go out with them

and it was just a bit of fun and that's still the same now.

-I nearly killed the cameraman!

-Yeah, I think you did.

THEY LAUGH

A five.

-Oh!

-YEAH! See?

Cut! That's it.

-Let's...play...darts.

-CHEERING

-Oh!

-Off the wall!

-Holy Moses!

The Daily Mail reported that, despite the global crisis,

-the three-day week may actually be good for us.

-58.

It seems that it was just a lot more family time now

that's being spent in the '70s.

There was a lot more bonding experiences.

It doesn't happen in the modern day. Not really that often,

because we're all sort of, "Oh, yeah, hello, yeah.

"Food, let's eat," done. That's it.

So it just seemed a lot nicer now. I don't know why.

It just felt...a lot nicer.

I'm really enjoying the experience and finding it very different.

Do you know what, I realise I'm really not missing my technology

as much as I thought I would.

I would expect myself to go, "Oh, I don't have my phone!"

But I really don't care.

HE CHUCKLES

Yeah.

That was... Wait. One, two...

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you 1975.

THEY CHEER

Guess what. We're going...

Oh, look at those!

I wouldn't be able to do that in my skirt, but they're cool.

We're going on holiday.

In 1975, about eight out of ten holidays were taken in the UK.

Full-time workers were now entitled to three to four weeks' paid holiday,

almost double what they'd enjoyed in 1960.

All the way round, it's yours.

But with inflation running at over 20% that summer,

most families had to watch the pennies.

Who's looking forward to going camping?

-CHEERING

-Fishing.

# We're all going on a summer holiday! #

-Are we there yet?

-I'm not singing that. I can't do that.

# We're all going on a rainy holiday. #

-We're here, kids. We're here.

-Yey!

-Whoo!

-So, is this our pitch here?

-This is it.

-You're parking right in the middle of the pitch?

-Just right here, look.

Right. What I'm going to do is I'm going to sit in the front

and instruct you on how to do it.

-Pitch it here.

-Here.

-You OK there?

-Can't undo the knot.

-This is revenge for when you left us in the car...

-Yeah.

-..when you went to the pub.

-This bit runs across the pointy top of the roof.

-This is the top?

-Yes!

So I should be holding it like this then?

CAR HORN TOOTS

I'll put this tent pole somewhere in a minute!

CAR HORN TOOTS

-Stick that in that corner there. That'll connect, won't it?

-CAR HORN TOOTS

Stop it! Really? You can't do that on a campsite.

Is the roof done?

It doesn't look very stable.

We've been here for about an hour now and the tent is still not up.

Oh, is it going to stay up?

If you have a choice of a cheap package holiday to somewhere

warm and sunny and this...

yeah, there's no contest.

The sun for me every time.

There, Steph Ashby goes. Is she going to do it?

Is she going to do it? Oh!

-DAISY LAUGHS

-They've broken it again.

I was not born to stand in a muddy field,

trying to put together a stupid tent with no proper instructions!

That's not in line. That bit's wrong.

Who's going to lose it first, Mum or Dad?

You're not helping, OK?

-Do you hear me, the rest of you?

-Rob, don't.

You can see why we don't go camping in the modern day.

Not because we don't want to, because of this.

MUSIC: Benny Hill theme

It's taken three and a half hours, but finally the holiday can begin.

Ready, steady...and they're off!

DAISY SHRIEKS

Come on, Daisy! Do it for the girls!

Daisy's the winner! Winner!

Camping was synonymous with simple pleasures in the great outdoors.

Whatever the weather.

-Have you caught anything yet?

-No, not yet.

When I was a lad, my dad used to take myself and my brothers

fishing all the time. I used to absolutely love it.

I used to tie the rod to my Bomber bike.

-One of my favourite sports ever.

-Yeah, I really enjoy it.

I'm glad you enjoy it. I'm passing that down to you.

Camping wasn't everyone's cup of tea, though.

It's probably no surprise that many Britons

turned their backs on the charms of the UK and flocked to sunny Spain.

Burning hot '76.

-TV:

-'The series of high anomalies over Europe

'has meant that we've had far higher pressure than usual...'

I don't actually know what he's talking about.

This country is now in one of the worst periods of drought

since records began 200 years ago.

As the country enjoyed the hot summer of '76,

Brits took any opportunity to spend more time outside.

..Till you rinse the bonnet, or as they call it in France, Dubonnet.

Nice, soapy bubbles.

-Bubbles!

-Bubbles!

You know, you can never say "bubbles" angrily.

-What are you doing?! Stop!

-Ladies.

We've got to conserve water.

We've got to cut our water consumption by half.

Turn our stopcock down by 90% to reduce the flow.

Flush the toilet only when absolutely essential.

-What does that mean?!

-If it's yellow, let it mellow.

-If it's brown, flush it down.

-Yeah.

-ROB:

-So, basically, the code of your jumper.

-STEPH AND DAISY:

-Oh!

That summer, temperatures peaked at 35.9 degrees centigrade.

Weather more reminiscent of the Costa Del Sol then Clacton.

Water was in such short supply,

we were even encouraged to save water - bath with a friend.

I'm trying to do the breakfast washing-up,

but because the stopcock is turned down 90%,

it's just taking an absolute age to get any water.

This I would normally just tip straight down the sink,

but this is destined for re-use, so probably to flush the toilet.

Very essential.

As the drought dragged on, ever more desperate water-saving measures were

introduced and some families even had their supply cut off altogether.

Whole streets had to share communal standpipes.

Us British, we can't decide if we like the hot weather or the cold weather,

and then we complain if it rains and then we complain if it's to sunny.

While the kids head to the standpipe,

Polly's arrived with a delivery for their garden.

-Hello.

-Good morning.

-Hello, Polly!

-How are you?

-So have you been having a balmy time today, 1976?

-Yeah.

-We sent the kids out to get water.

-From a standpipe, yeah,

-while we sat inside.

-It's difficult to believe, isn't it?

I think if you were actually wearing that much nylon in 1976,

-you'd have fainted with the heat.

-Yeah. So, why the oranges?

More people are going abroad,

so people are bringing back a bit of the exotic to the sort of

English garden and particularly in 1976,

really great to grow plants from a Mediterranean climate

which are going to withstand this summer of incredible heat.

It was a real challenge for gardeners

in '76 to keep their gardens alive.

Obviously patios, which is an idea that comes from Spain,

and rockeries - they're much more easier to manage than

the kind of English, sort of, idyllic lawn.

-SETH:

-There we go. A bit more.

Otherwise, we're going to be here for ages.

-Got to bend my knees for this.

-Put your back into it!

Brought back a memory of my dad

attaching a hose to the bath upstairs

and then trying, with suction, like he did with his home-brew, to try

and get the water flowing down into buckets and stuff downstairs.

I remember that.

Do you know what, that was actually advice given in The Times.

-SETH:

-Turn it off!

-I can't!

Empty the coffee jug out.

No, into the bucket!

Argh! I can't do anything!

-Oh! It's all over my...

-I don't even need to shower!

Seth, come on, you've got to help me.

I think we should give the problem to the eldest.

-Have fun!

-DAISY GROANS

-POLLY:

-One of the other consequences of the drought was that aphids died

and as a result of that, ladybirds had none of their own

natural food and there were great swarms of ladybirds.

Lots of reports of people being bitten

and they became the sort of killer ladybird.

That's ridiculous, isn't it?

MUSIC PLAYS

By the end of August,

some parts of Britain had gone 45 days without rain.

Ice cream van!

It was good news for some, though.

This is a blast from my childhood, having an ice cream van.

-It's very loud.

-It's the best thing ever, isn't it?

-That's so cool!

-How beautiful!

-I remember all of this from my childhood.

-It's amazing.

-Cardboard, yes. Of course, they used to cover

the ice cream with cardboard, didn't they? I used to lick the cardboard, it was delicious.

-What are you going to have, kids?

-DAISY:

-Lemonade lolly, please.

-SETH:

-I'll have a Mini Milk.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you so much. There's some money.

-Oh, thank you!

-Delicious!

-Look at that.

This is absolutely lovely.

Yes, that's another hit!

You've already asked me that one!

It's 1977 and Queen Elizabeth is celebrating her silver jubilee.

And it's a big year for Steph too.

For the first time since she started this experiment,

Steph's going out to work.

I have to say, it feels pretty good to finally,

finally be getting out the house to do something other than go shopping.

Actually going out to work. I never thought I'd say that.

I'm really looking forward to going to work. It's great. Can't wait.

See you later.

The '70s are often seen as a period of doom and gloom.

For women, the decade brought many positive changes.

By the mid-70s, about 50% of married women were in some

form of paid employment, compared to one in three just a decade earlier.

Leaving the kids back at home,

Steph's taken a part-time job at her local library.

I'm not actually thinking about what anyone else at home might be

doing right now, which probably makes me a terrible mother, but

they're big enough and ugly enough to take care of themselves, aren't they?

I'm just concentrating on what I'm doing, so it's kind of nice really.

They actually might have to make a cup of tea for themselves.

Excuse me, I must get on.

Steph's not the only one welcoming new opportunities.

Women, come and join us!

High-profile campaigns for equality

were starting to make a real difference to women's lives.

I think it's absolutely tremendous.

Women are coming together and they want a change.

The recent introduction of an Equal Pay Act

and the Sex Discrimination Act provided encouragement that the

days of the housebound housewife may at last becoming to an end.

It's not exactly stretching the mind, but it's lovely to be out.

In my little, womblike office at the library.

So, yeah, I am actually smiling. I like it.

BLEEPING

-Yeah! Ha-ha!

-Oh, no!

And with another wage coming in,

-there's enough money for the latest in '70s home entertainment.

-Aw!

-How would the trailer for this game be like?

-Trailer!

-They'd have a family there going...

-GASPS

Looking really amazed by it all.

And rightly so, because this is the first computer game.

3-0.

This is actually kind of difficult.

4-0.

No, no, no!

-I'm changing the game!

-No, don't change it halfway through.

I did actually play this to death when I was a kid.

I mean, I played it and played it and played it and played it.

I want my laptop back now.

This basic game that we're looking at here, one can turn it

into a football game, one can turn it into a basketball game.

If you have your way, nobody will be watching TV, they'll be playing ball games!

-Oh, I say!

-Would you like to serve to me?

No, I'm absolutely duff at it.

BLOWS RASPBERRY

It's Seth's first taste of videogames technology,

and a sign of things to come.

Bye, Dad!

He might be playing on a British console, but foreign

expertise was challenging the notion that buying British is best.

Just a decade earlier, a survey had asked Brits to name

the country they'd least like to buy from.

Japan topped the poll.

-Bend your knees.

-Bend my knees.

But now, British consumers were waking up

to what Japanese manufacturers have to offer.

And their innovative and affordable technology began to fill our homes.

Like this family in London, who paid £55.15 for an imported stereo.

-ALL GASP

-Aw, look at this!

-Quick, move the box.

-Out the way.

This is the exciting thing.

-IRONIC GASP

-A cassette player(!)

Oh, it's got the radio as well. It's a music system, isn't it?

With that one we've got a separate amp, but this is all in one.

Why is there a record player?

So the record, you play the record

and you can record it straight onto tape.

Yeah! And then you stop it, stop the tape, you put another record on,

-so you play your next song...

-That is awesome!

It's like the start of mixing.

I'm going to make a mix of Pink Floyd and Santana.

Mash it up a bit, you know? I think that'd be really cool.

There we go. I'm on BBC now.

MUSIC: Stayin' Alive by The Bee Gees

ALL: Oh, yeah!

-I can't do groovy dancing to this.

-Just follow your dad.

Follow my lead!

Back in the '50s, the lounge had been a place of quiet reflection

and the occasional piano recital.

But by the '70s, anything goes.

And turn.

And to the sky! Pow!

-SETH:

-Today I actually managed to get a computer game!

It's something I wasn't actually expecting in the '70s,

but actually, now it's here, I'm really excited.

So I'm hoping for a lot more technology,

and better technology in the '80s.

And that's just basically what I'm hoping for.

And better video games to play, and an Atari.

Cos that'll be nice.

That's... Yeah.

While I eat my butterscotch...

..Angel Delight.

Whoa. Amazing.

I went to work today!

Part-time job in the library.

That's quite fun, lovely to be out.

It was odd being away from the family.

But actually a more normal thing for me,

because I spend a lot of time separated from the family.

But I'm sure a lot of women in the '70s would have been

really worrying about how the troops were getting on at home,

and whether they were burning the house down.

ROB WHISTLES STAYIN' ALIVE

Now Steph's at work,

Rob can get back in the kitchen for the first time.

Albeit only in his Marigolds.

Yes, it's Friday, and it's Crackerjack!

-AUDIENCE:

-Crackerjack!

What the heck's... What type of a name is Crackerjack?

In cricket, what does lbw stand for?

Leg before wicket.

Leg before wicket, well done!

They've given the kids toilet rolls!

That's not a prize!

They are just the dumbest prizes I've ever seen.

For Daisy, Friday night's a chance to let loose.

This is so much fun!

In 1978, a new phenomenon hit our shores,

all the way from the USA - roller disco.

Skating had been popular since the '30s,

but now it had its own soundtrack.

MUSIC: Everybody Dance by Chic

Radio One DJ Trevor Nelson was a teenager growing up

in North London in the late '70s.

I was brought up in Hackney,

which was very black, Asian, Jewish - everything.

-Yeah, so multicultural.

-Lovely, multicultural era. I loved it.

In Hackney, I felt that the whole world was like this.

But I realised, when I first went out of London, it's not like this.

Mass immigration was changing the face of the nation.

Particularly in our inner cities.

The Britain that young people were growing up in

was a world away from that of their parents' generation.

In the late '70s, I'm 13, I used to wonder what I'm doing here?

A black kid in white England? How did I get here?

When you grow up, will it matter to you what colour somebody is, do you think?

-I don't think so.

-ALL: No.

What I look for is a kind heart.

But not everyone's attitudes were always so enlightened.

Britain in the '70s remained rife with racial tension.

People are really rather afraid that this country might be

rather swamped by people with a different culture.

If you want good race relations,

you've got to allay people's fears on numbers.

For all the tough talk, the number of immigrants

in the late '70s had actually already started to fall.

And although Britain's racial mix may not have been popular

with everyone, there were signs of a more harmonious future.

Went to a school where I was in a minority.

But the way I connected with a lot of these guys was through music.

Kind of prepared me for life.

And the one thing I had to say in a burgeoning

multicultural world, was music mixed the races more than anything else.

Especially when you're young.

When a disco tune was on, I think everybody was just dancing and feeling free.

MUSIC: Ladies' Night by Kool and the Gang

The only thing I'd say about disco, I didn't like the fashion.

-Really?

-No.

-I love the white suit that John Travolta wears.

-No!

-I hated the fashion.

-Really?!

Collars out here, flares, men wearing platforms.

-Are you saying you hate what I'm wearing?

-No, for women, fine.

It was the first time I saw white men trying to get hair like black men.

White men with Afros, let's be honest.

Do the wave! Do the wave!

Erm...

Sorry. Disco, 1978.

It was awesome, loved every minute of it, it was so much fun.

It was something different, because most of the time,

my friends and I are just dancing in a corner.

But this time we were properly skating, it was so much fun.

So, yay for 1978!

They see me rolling...

Whoo-hoo!

It's 1979, and the Ashby-Hawkins have invited friends and family over

to mark the end of the decade.

-Shot glass number two.

-There we go.

I'm finishing off the party food.

Very colourful. Lots of stuff on sticks.

Beef crisps.

And the piece de resistance really is the pate in aspic.

Hey!

-Hello, parents!

-Hiya!

-Hello, Mum, you all right?

-Yes!

-I like the Access card.

-The flexible friend!

-Is that your mortgage?

-That is my mortgage, yeah.

-My God!

£5,000 mortgage. 20 years.

-Five grand?!

-For this house?

It's the bull's-eye!

I've come along too -

a chance to try out Rob's homebrew and the '70s buffet.

Duck and orange pate in aspic, with tinned mandarin segments in it.

I'm sure you'll love it.

I actually thought that was a placemat.

Rob's prepared some classic '70s entertainment -

a slideshow.

CHEERING

ALL: Aw!

-That's a selfie, isn't it?

-Yes, that's a selfie.

Aw, there's Stephanie, there.

Blending with the sofa, very nice.

So it looks to me like the '70s was a better decade for you and your family?

-I loved it.

-Yeah, '70s was fantastic.

One of the things we wanted to do was spend more time with the kids

and strengthen our relationship.

And I think it's genuinely done that in the '70s.

So I think, as a family, it's made us closer.

Why do you think that was?

-Do you remember it being that great the first time around?

-I loved it.

My childhood was the '70s.

I was lucky to have a really happy childhood.

And it was great second time around.

I think a lot of it is to do with the fact that we danced a lot.

So, kids, the '70s - surely a better decade for you?

The '70s has been amazing.

I've actually got closer to Seth in the '70s.

I've spent way more time with you,

we've done a lot more stuff together, whereas in the '50s

and '60s I spent no time with pretty much... no-one in the family.

So definitely closer to Seth, with doing activities.

I reckon this was the best decade of all.

It was a lot more entertaining, there was technology -

which was pretty bad,

but it's in hope of better technology in the future.

I've enjoyed going out with my friends with no adults,

no supervision. Just me and my friends having fun.

-DAISY:

-That's loud.

-ROB:

-Is this a ladies' night?

-This is a ladies' night!

-Oh, yeah!

I think they're quite obviously having the time of their lives so far.

There seems to be something for everyone.

Rob is living la dolce vita,

Steph gets to go out for work and be a modern woman.

For Seth, there's a little bit of technology.

For Daisy there's, even better than the '60s, the music and the fashion.

They haven't yet gone over the tipping point of mobile phones

and screens everywhere, where we lost a little bit of something.

The family seem to be closer together, they're boogying.

They're just really sorry that it's over.

# It's ladies' night, oh, what a night! #

I don't want the '70s to end. I want them to remain here forever.

I don't want to go back to contemporary life.

The '70s, we did loads of stuff together!

And that's what it was all about for us -

leisure time and pleasure time together.

I think it's the closest we've ever been as a family before.

I said when I started this that I wanted to create memories.

We have.

I'm really emotional, It's ridiculous!

It's really good.

It's happy, happy crying, though.

Fabulous.

MUSIC: Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now by McFadden & Whitehead

Next time:

Read the instructions!

The family's leisure options multiply.

What's that?

You must have hit the shift key.

I want to go to a rave, like, right now.

In the decade when good taste was everything.

-No, no, no!

-No!

Daisy, stop it!

We've got to live in here!

# Ain't no stopping us now

# We've got the groove

# There's been so many things that's held us down

# But now it looks like things are finally coming around

# I know we've got a long, long way to go

# And where we'll end up, I don't know... #