And so it was

One of those old Facebook memes has been doing the rounds again. You probably know the one: a picture of an audio cassette tape next to a picture of a pencil. The text is something like: "Do you know the connection?"

It's a no-brainer for Generation X. But although the times have been a-changin', members of Generation X don't age. (Do we?) 

It's other things that age. Things that a youngster like me has little trouble recalling. So here's my top five "I remember when...".

5. Commercial scheduled aircraft had a smoking section.

(So much for health and safety. On Balkan Airlines, smoking was to the right of the aisle, and non-smoking to the left.)

4. Telephones rang using bells.

(Actual metal bells, yes. We were advanced, so they were hidden inside a Bakelite box. But metal they were.)

3. The toolbox in the car included a crank.

(This was just a back-up in case the automatic ignition failed. I saw my dad use it once, I think. But there it was.)

2. Television was black and white.

(I certainly remember the fuss when the old black-and-white set was replaced with one of the new colour miracles. The wonders of technology.)

1. There were no calculators in maths lessons. 

(And we were too modern for slide rules. How the heck did we manage? Oh yes ... pen and paper ... and log tables.)