Some clips taken from Thames Televisions 'Witness' series, of life in the English City of Nottingham. First shown: 17/01/1988 If you would like to license clips form this video please e mail: archive@fremantle.com Quote: VT39319
This is a useful corrective to people who mis-remember the 80s as some kind of golden era. A lot of the UK was like this, it wasn't just Nottingham. Grey, depressing, awful poverty.
Lived nearby in the 80's and I remember it was a bit rough. That said, close up shots of brick walls, fences, pavements and - admittedly, ratrher a lot of - dog poo, can be taken anywhere and it would look grim.
@@markjohn4802 Bargain! I wouldn't know about the price of women as I had a live-in girlfriend by the early 90s, who was very nice, and instrumental in my still being stoned and therefore I had other interests. Music-wise it definitely went on the slide...but of course, it did everywhere.
I worked for the City Council on Nottingham's streets,during the Eighties.Some rough holes,yes,but not as bad as that film made out.The worst area was Broxtowe Estate,and that was more to do with some rough families living there, as the housing stock was actually qute good!
The old 1980s Nottingham! a lot has changed since then.....Nottingham and the surrounding area's have new housing, apartments, hotels and office blocks going up a lot now. I'm very proud of my home town of Nottingham ☺👌
I come from Nottingham but left when I was 9 (quite a while ago), this makes me so sad, I still have affection for the place. I have lived in a small market town called in Evesham for most of my life, it too has rough areas. It's not just Nottingham. ☹️
@@stevenhewes1990 People earned less then. I am sick and tired of people moaning about how bad things are now. Coronavirus apart, we are living in some of the best times: no war, no recession (although you never know what is around the corner.) In another forty years, we will say how wonderful life was now.
Only yesterday the bin men came to empty mine .where I live there is a green island they left the bin the far side .that meant I would have to walk on the road which was icy or over the green which is a mess due to car parking.i live in mansfield.
@@madmike1708 I guess you’re kinda right. I think St Ann’s crime mostly revolves around stabbings and shootings between lads who know eachother. While radford etc theres alot of crazy crackheads and alcoholics causing mayhem.
I lived in Nottingham in the 80s I knew Hyson green well, my son went to St Mary’s school in Hyson green, I lived in new basford, before that I lived at Radford boulevard was married at the Catholic Church on Lenton Boulevard in 1979 I worked at Marathon factory in the mid to late 1970s just before it was to close down ( marathon was next to players factory), in the late 1980s we bought a house on porchester road Mapperley .....finally moved to Oxford city.
@Brant Hall if you had an understanding of the real world you'd know that unemployment rates still haven't recovered to pre 1973 levels from when we were undemocraticly brought into the 4th Reich
@Brant Hall if that is your view of Brexit then clearly it is YOU who has no comprehension of how the real world works. The EU is a dying economy. Best hop off the sink ship now.
You can’t watch this from 2019 and think “poverty”. Everywhere in general was less well-off than we are now. This is just how it was. Not just in Nottingham. People moan about “poverty” now but they think this means not being able to afford Sky or more than two TVs. In our day we had no central heating, we’re lucky to have a car in the household, and were grateful for food on the table. It was just the way it was. Not poverty - just life.
People don't mean not being able to afford sky or multiple TVs. They mean going to food banks, and having multiple 0 hour contracts that barely bring in enough to pay rent. Don't substitute ignorance and prejudice for facts.
What an astonishing statement. If people have central heating, a car in the household, and food on the table they are grateful, or should be. What do you are describing is actually quite similar to most of my street. I have no central heating, we have no car, we are extremely grateful to have food on the table. And we do not have sky tv either. Another rather grand difference is not being able to ever own a house through living below the poverty line. And for many it is infinitely worse, so despite said poverty, without the bunny rabbit ears, am extremely grateful but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. People living in poverty are not moaning about not having sky TV, unsurprisingly they have different priorities.
Imagine being introduced to ECSTASY whilst living in these streets ...... Some of us don't have to.... COLOUR LOVE HAPPINESS EASY MOVEMENT BRIGHTNESS UNITY PEACE LOVE FLOWING ENERGY CONNECTEDNESS EMPATHY UNDERSTANDING SYMPATHY Much better than poverty, damp, dog shit and unemployment.... Coming back to Pelham Street after a cheap BLISSFUL night in town ..... A little HAVEN of Sanity and Insanity until the Sun came up.... What went wrong.
That was 1988?! Something about that film quality makes it look like the 70s. I think I do remember a rag and bone man going around West Bridgford in the earlier 80s but I don't remember Nottingham looking so desolate as that.
In the late 80s what passed as a recovery from the crippling recession and de-industrialisation was creeping up the Midlands and just starting to tentatively reach a few bits of the North. The scars were starkly visible,though.
The usual racist rhetoric appearing in the comments already. Let's always blame immigration; not Government lack of investment in industry and infrastructure. It's just so much easier than considering the bigger picture, isn't it.
@@HenningDiesel Immigration IS required. The tens of thousands of vacancies within the NHS is evidence of that. Or maybe you believe that the role of highly-skilled nurses, doctors, surgeons, etc. can be filled with British Chavs/Chavettes that can't even be bothered to get their lazy arses out of bed in the morning?
@@HenningDiesel Actually, you are quite wrong in that statement. Many NHS medical professionals do indeed come from Third World Countries. Keep digging that hole for yourself dear chap. 🤣😂🤣😂
Very little in that clip showing any genuine poverty, the shots could come from Hampstead. Some middle class voice over, fierce dogs in back yards and dog shit on a pavement. No doubt there was genuine poverty but the TV clip wasn't going to provide the viewer with any hard and fast evidence. More like a middle class person's idea of poverty.
In the Eighties in Mansfield , I remember having to go to Radcliffe on Trent to collect my Dog . The Dog man used to shout Bruce over to his Bedford H.A. van and he would jump in . L.o.l.
Strongest people on earth come from this city. I'm young I wasn't born until 2002. Way after this. But where I live sherwood. I love it. With all its flaws I'll never move away. This is home I love it here. My grandparents on both sides grew up here. So we what if we fight and take drugs. Like that doesn't happen in every major British city lol. But as a kid playing out I was safe. The adults took care of us. Women didn't have to worry. It's only people in the game who get got around here. It's just a run down poor area. But it's people are amazing. Fucking love this city. Love the entire country.
I was lucky enough to live in Mapperley Park but I had a girlfriend from Forest Fields that I used to visit. I never felt in danger but that could be the folly of youth. A friend who moved there was beaten up and another friend was murdered in Radford in the late 90's. Lots of drugs and crazy folk floating about that place. A local 'Artist' used to go around spray painting the dog shit different colours. I do actually remember that lad in the red sweatshirt from around those times. I think he was an evening post seller.
I remember dog poop being everywhere back in the 80s - very pleased that's gone but seems to have been replaced by 'will I get hit from behind by a cyclist/scooter rider doing 15-25 on the pavement?'. Decisions on what goes on regarding pavements always seem to be made by people who don't use them that much.
Her & her monetarist policy lead to an increase in poverty, she put more store in Milton Friedman’s hard care-less theory than the actual evidence of the grinding poverty it created all around her, she gleefully ignored families going hungry which eventually lead to food banks becoming the norm. Poor people still vote conservative.
From beeston originally and Lived in Nottingham for 19 yrs, it's a great city!. But like anywhere has deprived rough areas, some more than others. St Ann's & broxtowe Bestwood. Are probably roughest areas I've been to. They need Abit of redevelopment!
I'm not clear from this clip how Nottingham was supposed to be poor ? There's a guy pushing a pram with a washing machine and there's a lot of dog shit ?
there is no dog shit on the streets of nottm today,no one takes their dog for a walk anymore the fear of being robbed assaulted or worse,80% of Nottingham within city boundaries is a no-go area. if there are no kids playing out on the streets that is the sign of danger keep moving on.
1:51 lol, don't know If it's the same in Britain but where I'm from (across the pond) you let your dog shit on the street without bagging it today you better be ready to be confronted about it (by several people).
1980s stab city shottingham drugs rife everywhere in ng7 area I was born and bred in Nottingham and now thank goodness all this has gone for the mostpart it’s a great city to live great kind and mostly tolerant people !
Upvc has now taken the buildings to a new low, it's previous gritty resilience and architectural integrity removed making everything look more unloved and poorer still. Today only rich areas have their proper windows making our social divide wider.
I preferred the old Nottingham to the city we have now. It's unrecognisable. Everywhere you look it's student accommodation and luxury flats standing empty while people are living in tents or in shop doorways. It's really bad.
I grew up in Top Valley and then moved to radioed when I was in my teens. I can't remember it being as bad as this film made out. Top Valley was a proper racist shithole. radford was a step up for me
@NFFC I'm from st anns mate I'm not trying to make anything look like anything it's statistics the average wage in nottingham is lower then any other city in England hence the word poorest
Well the 80s was better than the 70s was better than the 60s was better than the 50s. Real suffering is what we do to each other and not how many goodies we have.
Things were different then. People used to send their dogs out on their own and they'd come back when they were ready. Very rare you see a dog on its own nowadays but it was commonplace at the time.
