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Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

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Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#11

Post by 2b3a51 »

hereonout2 wrote: post #9
mikestew wrote: post #5

Argos pioneered a new form of catalogue retail where customers made their order in one of the company’s high-street shops before waiting for their items to be brought out from the warehouse at the rear. Sounds a lot like the British version of the U. S.'s Service Merchandise[0]. Write down your order on a little sheet of paper, hand it to store personnel, wait for your items to come rolling down the roller ramp. On a…

That was in 1979, the 42%, it's nothing like that now. But yes they are / were greatly subsidised housing. This was after a period of massive home building and the introduction of the welfare state after WW2. I don't think Britain was a shining economic example back then (it was known as the sick man of Europe), but council houses seemed rather a good thing. My mother's parents were given one in the late 50's, where…

Not sure there is a lot of subsidy for council/housing association housing. Building costs paid back over 60 years or so generally. Perhaps land may be allocated?

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#12

Post by tiernano »

on a slightly related note, Argos pulled out of the Irish market on 24th June 2023. I think a mix of Brexit and competition from Amazon and other online retailers was the final nail in the coffin. It could never compete on price, but did have a large selection of stuff...

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#13

Post by _dain_ »

cjs_ac wrote: post #10
mikestew wrote: post #5

Argos pioneered a new form of catalogue retail where customers made their order in one of the company’s high-street shops before waiting for their items to be brought out from the warehouse at the rear. Sounds a lot like the British version of the U. S.'s Service Merchandise[0]. Write down your order on a little sheet of paper, hand it to store personnel, wait for your items to come rolling down the roller ramp. On a…

> Wait a minute, wut? Explain to this former colonist what cultural cue he's missing, because how is it possible that 42% of a country's population lives in public housing? Or is it not "public housing", as in U. S.-style subsidized housing? Or were times just that bad in Great Britain in the 70s? There were a few factors. 1. Yes, many people were very poor. Today, many Britons are still very poor. 2. In the war, an…

They also introduced the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947, which made it illegal to build any kind of housing or modify existing housing without asking permission from the government. We would not need council housing nowadays if the private sector were simply allowed to fill the market demand. We are no longer in the days when children played in the rubble of cities flattened by the Luftwaffe.

Blaming Thatcher is too kind to the current government. They're the ones who keep listening to nimbys. Thatcher's mistake is that she didn't go far enough; axing the 1947 Act and its descendants should have been part of the supply-side reforms.

The fondness for council housing is an example of a peculiar psychological coping mechanism of Britons, stemming from imperial decline. We pretend a necessary evil was something positively desirable all along. The Americans are right, it is actually embarrassing to have 42% of your population in state-owned housing, I'm sorry to say.

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#14

Post by _dain_ »

mikestew wrote: post #5

Argos pioneered a new form of catalogue retail where customers made their order in one of the company’s high-street shops before waiting for their items to be brought out from the warehouse at the rear. Sounds a lot like the British version of the U. S.'s Service Merchandise[0]. Write down your order on a little sheet of paper, hand it to store personnel, wait for your items to come rolling down the roller ramp. On a…

>Explain to this former colonist what cultural cue he's missing, because how is it possible that 42% of a country's population lives in public housing?

Because they criminalized private construction of housing. It can only be done after a lengthy procedure where you beg for permission from a bureaucrat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_and_Country_Planning_Act_...

>The Act established that planning permission was required for land development; ownership alone no longer conferred the right to develop the land.[1]

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#16

Post by gorgoiler »

_dain_ wrote: post #13
cjs_ac wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Wait a minute, wut? Explain to this former colonist what cultural cue he's missing, because how is it possible that 42% of a country's population lives in public housing? Or is it not "public housing", as in U. S.-style subsidized housing? Or were times just that bad in Great Britain in the 70s? There were a few factors. 1. Yes, many people were very poor. Today, many Britons are still very poor. 2. In the war, an…

They also introduced the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947, which made it illegal to build any kind of housing or modify existing housing without asking permission from the government. We would not need council housing nowadays if the private sector were simply allowed to fill the market demand. We are no longer in the days when children played in the rubble of cities flattened by the Luftwaffe. Blaming Thatcher…

One counterpoint to this is Lisbon, with its unregulated building codes. If you’ve shoulder barged a doorway that’s too narrow, looked out of a window that’s one third obscured by a brick wall, or sat on the can and had your knees hit the walls, you’ll know what I mean.

Planning and standards aren’t quite the same thing, but unregulated building has negative consequences on quality if not quantity. Does terrible Portuguese architecture go hand in hand with an abundance of affordable housing?

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#17

Post by gorgoiler »

mikestew wrote: post #8
ggm wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, since people who lived through this time are still alive we have oral history and other approaches. I think this catalogue is illustrative of an ideal. And, other catalogues will tell a similar story. As a child of prior times I certainly recognised social coding in the change from old kitchen ware to new. The utility function of Teflon was high but the ability to signal "I can afford to buy new things" was also…

Tupperware was pure utility function in colours, but it failed to signify success. Snobs like me rather looked down on it (shamefully, I regret my past) It is an unfortunate outcome of the sales and marketing of Tupperware (multi-level marketing). So the ecosystem of Tupperware was looked down upon, similar to Amway. And if you have Tupperware, then you have been to a Tupperware party. The upper crust, I am confident…

Elizabeth II kept her breakfast cereal in Tupperware — this article probably just means commodity plastic food storage, but maybe HM sent out secret shoppers to Knightsbridge parties?:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/may/20/what-th...

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#18

Post by _dain_ »

gorgoiler wrote: post #16
_dain_ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also introduced the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947, which made it illegal to build any kind of housing or modify existing housing without asking permission from the government. We would not need council housing nowadays if the private sector were simply allowed to fill the market demand. We are no longer in the days when children played in the rubble of cities flattened by the Luftwaffe. Blaming Thatcher…

One counterpoint to this is Lisbon, with its unregulated building codes. If you’ve shoulder barged a doorway that’s too narrow, looked out of a window that’s one third obscured by a brick wall, or sat on the can and had your knees hit the walls, you’ll know what I mean. Planning and standards aren’t quite the same thing, but unregulated building has negative consequences on quality if not quantity. Does terrible Port…

This is a common fallacy trotted out by opponents of planning deregulation. They conflate it with building codes, as if the planning laws have anything to do with health and safety, fire mitigation, and so on.

The example we should look to is Japan. Being a country prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, they have rigorous building codes. But they have very loose planning restrictions. Meaning, so long as you make the building safe and habitable, you have a great deal of latitude to build what you want, by right, within an urban or suburban area.

https://twitter.com/380kmh/status/1638247647776473089

https://twitter.com/AntBreach/status/1121362679367598080

It is that key phrase "by right" which is lacking in the UK. You cannot build anything by right. This must change.

Re: Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

#20

Post by adhesive_wombat »

danw1979 wrote: post #19

All those kettles from the 70s look realy well made. Maybe it’s the abundant chrome.

How unprofitable. Much better to use bits of metallised plastic which flake to death in a few years. Cheaper to make and those suckers'll be back soon enough.

You can probably fix the flex properly too, new ones often have a moulded captive boot in the cable instead of a screw clamp.

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