Independent residents were joined by Richard and Jan who gave an entertaining talk and awoke nostalgic memories with a wide display of memorabilia which took the residents back to the 1950’s with exhibits of children’s entertainment, fashion, technology, food and much more! Continue reading to view a gallery of the displays.

Fashion in the 1950s was exciting and diverse. There were new colours, fresh silhouettes, and different style options for different personalities. Key designs for the decade included dresses with cinched waists, pencil skirts, poodle skirts, gingham, floral and polka dot garments, cropped sweaters and cardigans, and much more

For contemporary children, it may be difficult to imagine kids having fun in the 1950s. Not only were there were no video games, even children’s TV operated at a bare minimum. This meant that children often had to play creatively inside and outside their homes and many spent a lot of happy hours playing outside (which was free from traffic as there was far less cars!) and there was no shortage of playmates.

Indoors, children would play board games with their friends, including snakes and ladders, Ludo, lotto & domino’s, reading was also popular

The after-effects of the Second World War were still ongoing, for instance many goods were still being rationed in the early 1950s. Sugar was rationed until 1953 and meat only came off ration a year later.

Care residents were also able to reminisce and enjoyed looking at pieces from the past

This is one of many activities available to residents at Middleton Hall, to view upcoming events and activities, please visit the link here where a copy of the activities schedule is available to download.