The last couple of posts made me remember something we had in Germany, and I wonder if you had a similar thing in the UK (or elsewhere)?
There is very little info on the internet - it was called what translates as "Telephone Meeting" and started as early as 1987.
This was a local service (maybe it only existed in my town, no idea) with a number of channels, each was the same phone number with just the last digit being different. I think there could be up to 12 users on each line, and whenever someone joined you'd hear a short jingle, a two-note "dong-dong" like the bells of a church, and people would usually greet the person who joined with "hello, who's new?".
I never used it myself, but my older brother racked up quite the bills to the disdain of my mum, sometimes chatting normally, at other times doing what you'd call "trolling" nowadays. There were moderators who usually were just silent participators in the background, but they would step in when someone behaved inappropriately. Pretty sure my brother got "kicked" a few times.
Best thing my brother did on there:
He went to a channel, insulted one guy and told him to come to place X at time Y (it was near a big swimming arena not far from our home) so he could kick his ass. Then he went to another channel and did the same. Unfortunately I can't remember if my brother went to watch the two guys clash from a safe distance - it was winter so it would have been dark so he'd have been able to hide somewhere. :P
I used to have a load of phone cards with the pictures on them. Me and one of my old school friends literally ended up in a fight over a Castlemaine XXXX design of all things. He was adamant he grabbed it first, even though he didn’t then another one of my friends nicked it from my house the bloody thieving toerag :))
Something younger people probably haven't seen much of as you don't see them as much is the old style 80's estate cars.
I tried to post a picture of one but Imgur upload failed.
I used to have a Ford Focus Estate. As a student, it was the best car to haul your stuff around in whilst being reliable and cheap. I maintain it was one of Ford's best cars.
When I lived in Wales, I can remember a certain demographic gravitated towards the metallic green Citroen Xara Picasso for the school run. Dare I stereo type: Aggressive fast driving horn tooting driver, fag in one hand, right side bingo wing handing out the window drooping like a muffin top, hair pulled back tight into a bun at the back, fake tan, swearing as they drove with kids in the back waving fag ladened bingo wing about as they facked, fecked and f*cked verbally at other drivers whilst blocking the road as they completed their half mile drive to the school and attempted to drop the kids off".
I am trying to remember the model of estate car my Dad had. He owned it somewhere between 1978 to 1982ish. It was a Hillman, green in colour. I remember the other Hillman he had which was a sky blue Hilman Minx. I Googled it and can really only find the Hillman Hunter estate which doesn't ring a bell, but maybe I have just forgotten.
We had a Cortina Estate in the late 70s! Not quite as posh as that metallic bronze one though - ours was navy blue and didn't have the fancy strip down the side or the vinyl roof of the "Ghia".
I seem to recall that the engine blew iin ours while on a touring holiday in Ireland and it was so bad, we just abandoned it there and came back on the ferry as foot passengers and then home on the train.... :(
Funny what you remember, but that picture reminds me of the Cortina model range naming! I think it was as follows:
L - "Luxury" - actually the most basic model - classic 70s motors' overstatement :))
XL - "Extra Luxury" - this is what we had
GXL - "Greater Extra Luxury" - These were the "sporty" ones with bigger engines, quad headlights and twin exhausts :x
Ghia - Special top edition named after the Italian design studio.
Actually, after some reminiscent Googling:
I think I might have imagined the twin exhaust! :))
And I think the sporty one was actually the 3-door GT.
The GXL was used in the series Life On Mars. B-)
Our car is considerably bigger than yours.... When estate vehicles were something of a status symbol and family's wanted to take their considerably bigger than yours estate to places like Whipsnade Zoo.
We had a Cortina Estate in the late 70s! Not quite as posh as that metallic bronze one though - ours was navy blue and didn't have the fancy strip down the side or the vinyl roof of the "Ghia".
I seem to recall that the engine blew iin ours while on a touring holiday in Ireland and it was so bad, we just abandoned it there and came back on the ferry as foot passengers and then home on the train.... :(
Funny what you remember, but that picture reminds me of the Cortina model range naming! I think it was as follows:
L - "Luxury" - actually the most basic model - classic 70s motors' overstatement :))
XL - "Extra Luxury" - this is what we had
GXL - "Greater Extra Luxury" - These were the "sporty" ones with bigger engines, quad headlights and twin exhausts :x
Ghia - Special top edition named after the Italian design studio.
My Dad had a standard Cortina in the late 70's. I remember it went all the way to Paighton and back on holiday in 1979. It was very reliable but was a gas guzzler i think. I remember my mum giving my dad a fiver to fill up the tank! :))
My gramps and my uncle both had estate cars that's cos they used to drive round selling tools (spanners, wrenches etc.) to people, so they didn't need a van and it doubled as a family vehicle.
I am trying to remember the model of estate car my Dad had. He owned it somewhere between 1978 to 1982ish. It was a Hillman, green in colour. I remember the other Hillman he had which was a sky blue Hilman Minx. I Googled it and can really only find the Hillman Hunter estate which doesn't ring a bell, but maybe I have just forgotten.
The only other Hillmans from that era I can remember are the Avenger. and the Hunter
My uncle had a regular Chrysler Avenger. He found out while passing a truck that if he gave it too much welly at speed, the engine died.
Being a skint young man he was doing it up, had just replaced the rusty front wing, then tanked it into the side of a bridge going round a slippy corner taking us for a day trip to Loch Ness (smashing the new wing, which was handy as it took some impact, but writing the car off anyway).
Me and my heavily pregnant sister were in the back without seatbelts, but he'd installed big bucket seats up front that acted like airbags - I just shot off my seat into a spongey mass wondering wtf just happened.
Shame, as it was a nice car for the time and he only had third party insurance. The police came along and shoveled all the broken bits off the road and chucked them over the side of the bridge to join all the bits from previous cars as it was something of an accident hotspot.
I did get to ride up front in the big tow truck though, which was fun for kid me. We had to wait hours for our other uncle to come pick us up, which wasn't so fun.
This might have been the same car that had the windscreen smashed by gravel kicked up following the rest of the family on another trip. Driving home at speed, in the rain, with no windscreen isn't recommended. Windscreen wipers are not effective minus the windscreen.
I am trying to remember the model of estate car my Dad had. He owned it somewhere between 1978 to 1982ish. It was a Hillman, green in colour. I remember the other Hillman he had which was a sky blue Hilman Minx. I Googled it and can really only find the Hillman Hunter estate which doesn't ring a bell, but maybe I have just forgotten.
The only other Hillmans from that era I can remember are the Avenger. and the Hunter
On reflection it must have been the Hillman Hunter. My memory had just lost that bit of information. I remember me and my cousin traveling in the back cargo area rolling around as the car moved. We would never get away with that nowadays LOL.
Also remember my Dad had a really cool looking scooter, maybe from the 70s. I am not sure what it was exactly, maybe some kind of Vespa. I used to sit on it and pretend I was riding.
They used to show test broadcasts late at night very occasionally and some of them were very weird when you were a stoner student so that was a great bonus.
Middle is only the best if you are playing for a draw I think. Corner is better if you playing someone who doesn't know how to play, it's easier to set up unblockable wins.
EDIT: Obvs don't play on the edge like they did though, lol.
That is sooo cute. I'm right into wee micro cars these days.
Well, this isn't an old fashioned estate..mght as well have been though. 4 litre 87 Jeep Cherokee Chief I had in California. think it's long wheelbase. Had some brilliant times in it. :)
Comments
Note the top one with the later BT branding.
But additionally I found something else in my box of crap, which the under 40s won't remember...
Don't wish to brag, its an empty box... Actually they probably ran out of date. :))
@luny@mstdn.games
https://www.luny.co.uk
There is very little info on the internet - it was called what translates as "Telephone Meeting" and started as early as 1987.
This was a local service (maybe it only existed in my town, no idea) with a number of channels, each was the same phone number with just the last digit being different. I think there could be up to 12 users on each line, and whenever someone joined you'd hear a short jingle, a two-note "dong-dong" like the bells of a church, and people would usually greet the person who joined with "hello, who's new?".
I never used it myself, but my older brother racked up quite the bills to the disdain of my mum, sometimes chatting normally, at other times doing what you'd call "trolling" nowadays. There were moderators who usually were just silent participators in the background, but they would step in when someone behaved inappropriately. Pretty sure my brother got "kicked" a few times.
Best thing my brother did on there:
He went to a channel, insulted one guy and told him to come to place X at time Y (it was near a big swimming arena not far from our home) so he could kick his ass. Then he went to another channel and did the same. Unfortunately I can't remember if my brother went to watch the two guys clash from a safe distance - it was winter so it would have been dark so he'd have been able to hide somewhere. :P
I tried to post a picture of one but Imgur upload failed.
I guess these count, unfortunately..they didn't get forgotten. I remember seeing them in US a plenty and just saying WTF!
Used to collect Telia phone cards..for a while. Works of art some of them.
I seem to recall that the engine blew iin ours while on a touring holiday in Ireland and it was so bad, we just abandoned it there and came back on the ferry as foot passengers and then home on the train.... :(
Funny what you remember, but that picture reminds me of the Cortina model range naming! I think it was as follows:
L - "Luxury" - actually the most basic model - classic 70s motors' overstatement :))
XL - "Extra Luxury" - this is what we had
GXL - "Greater Extra Luxury" - These were the "sporty" ones with bigger engines, quad headlights and twin exhausts :x
Ghia - Special top edition named after the Italian design studio.
I think I might have imagined the twin exhaust! :))
And I think the sporty one was actually the 3-door GT.
The GXL was used in the series Life On Mars. B-)
My Dad had a standard Cortina in the late 70's. I remember it went all the way to Paighton and back on holiday in 1979. It was very reliable but was a gas guzzler i think. I remember my mum giving my dad a fiver to fill up the tank! :))
Not very big, but fun. ;)
@luny@mstdn.games
https://www.luny.co.uk
The only other Hillmans from that era I can remember are the Avenger. and the Hunter
Being a skint young man he was doing it up, had just replaced the rusty front wing, then tanked it into the side of a bridge going round a slippy corner taking us for a day trip to Loch Ness (smashing the new wing, which was handy as it took some impact, but writing the car off anyway).
Me and my heavily pregnant sister were in the back without seatbelts, but he'd installed big bucket seats up front that acted like airbags - I just shot off my seat into a spongey mass wondering wtf just happened.
Shame, as it was a nice car for the time and he only had third party insurance. The police came along and shoveled all the broken bits off the road and chucked them over the side of the bridge to join all the bits from previous cars as it was something of an accident hotspot.
I did get to ride up front in the big tow truck though, which was fun for kid me. We had to wait hours for our other uncle to come pick us up, which wasn't so fun.
This might have been the same car that had the windscreen smashed by gravel kicked up following the rest of the family on another trip. Driving home at speed, in the rain, with no windscreen isn't recommended. Windscreen wipers are not effective minus the windscreen.
On reflection it must have been the Hillman Hunter. My memory had just lost that bit of information. I remember me and my cousin traveling in the back cargo area rolling around as the car moved. We would never get away with that nowadays LOL.
Also remember my Dad had a really cool looking scooter, maybe from the 70s. I am not sure what it was exactly, maybe some kind of Vespa. I used to sit on it and pretend I was riding.
I find it more irritating.
'GO IN THE MIDDLE!!!!!!!'
It's the best square!!!!!
Carole Hersee vs. Bubbles.
I wonder who won.
EDIT: Obvs don't play on the edge like they did though, lol.
EDIT2: It's on internets so obviously correct
Technically it was the middle. That x marks the middle of the screen.
That is sooo cute. I'm right into wee micro cars these days.
Well, this isn't an old fashioned estate..mght as well have been though. 4 litre 87 Jeep Cherokee Chief I had in California. think it's long wheelbase. Had some brilliant times in it. :)