Baby Boomer Nostalgia Show

On 29 September 2021 we held our first monthly meeting with a guest speaker for 19 months and, after welcoming members, stand-in Chairman Brian Swift announced the return of Alan Haines to give part two of his Baby Boomer Nostalgia show.

Alan commenced what turned out to be a highly entertaining performance with reminding the audience of advertising jingles from the 50s and 60s. Then, after defining who a baby boomer is (anyone born between 1946 and 1966), he played the opening bars of songs from their era before inviting the audience to join in – which they did enthusiastically. This was followed by amusingly taking us through music technology from vinyl to cassette tapes and CDs, and on to mobile phones.

There then was a break from music as he gave a brief resume of a game introduced in 1974 that became the biggest selling toy of all time – Rubik's Cube. After mentioning that only 5% of participants ever solved the puzzle, he invited a u3a member up on the stage to see if he could get her to do it whilst it was held behind her back. This he managed to do with a touch of magic.

After several anecdotes he and the audience then had great fun as he went through various aspects of life in the 50s and 60s. This included having the only telephone in the house in a cold hallway, and the introduction of table tennis video games, before having a longer session on the apparent foolhardiness in having so many nightwear related items in flammable nylon – such as nighties, dressing gowns and bedsheets.

Alan concluded by briefly talking about Twister, playing a Ukulele and then, as a grand finale, performed a card trick involving one of the members.

The conclusion brought with it a well-deserved round of applause from the audience who had been thoroughly entertained.