The 1970s: Those Were the Days

The UK embraced the credit boom which opened up opportunities for buying your own home and accessories for the new 70s way of life. Adults discovered home brewing, new time-saving gadgets, duvets and the joy of a waterbed - all a welcome distraction from the mass strikes, blackouts and the Three Day Week that dominated the news.

Meanwhile, decimalisation arrived to confuse people at the tills and summer holidays got more adventurous with the emergence of the package holiday to European beach destinations.

With contributions from the likes of Shaun Ryder, Anneka Rice, Anthea Turner, Wayne Sleep, Courtney Pine, Charlie Higson, Zoe Lyons and Samira Ahmed.

From the red, white and blue street parties of the Silver Jubilee and the explosion of punk to kids' essential viewing Grange Hill, and the birth of Saturday morning TV with Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, life was a kaleidoscope of colour – though food was largely brown, despite the best efforts of Fanny Cradock and Delia Smith to inspire us to new culinary heights. The arrival of the fridge freezer made Mum's life easier, and family dinners found new focus with the frozen chip!

Inflation meant the drive to Buy British was in full force. And learned to ‘Clunk Click Every Trip'. Mary Whitehouse went to war with ‘The Permissive Society' and the first flush of populist feminism saw girls make a stand for their rights.

Our obsession with Americana was fuelled by the arrival of fast-food chains on the high street and our disco dreams of Saturday Night Fever turned space age with the arrival of Star Wars. We glimpsed the future with Tomorrow's World tech and looked into the brave new world of the 80s with hope in our hearts.