Teenagers were only invented fifty-odd years ago. Before that, children were children – little versions of their mums and dads that became adults at 18. No pop music, no disposable income, no culture of their own. Rock and Roll came along to free a generation that couldn’t remember a war, and didn’t relate to the establishment and its stuffy rules. Over the subsequent thirty years, the gulf between the old guard and the young kids grew and grew – the kids had their own language of pop culture, and the older generation had biscuits and bingo wings. There was, it seemed, no going back.
Then, a strange, inevitable thing happened. The baby boomers of the sixties became society’s elders. So where does that leave the children and, by now, grandchildren of those first teenagers? What do they rebel against? Why, rebellion itself, of course.
And so we have the socio-cultural phenomenon of “young fogeys” - a generation sick and tired of sexually explicit advertising that can’t go any further, imagery so prevalent it’s lost any sense of mystery. They would rather play bingo and take caravanning holidays, pursuits normally associated with pensioners and the middle-aged.
The National Caravan Council announced more than 28,000 touring caravans rolled off production lines last year, the highest number for ten years and more than any other European country. Many large manufacturers are producing models with trendy Ikea-style interiors to suit the new market.
Bingo, grandmother’s game, has also seen a sweeping change in demographic. Now reincarnated as an unlikely pastime with style-conscious youngsters, Bingo numbers Kate Moss, Russell Crowe and Liz Hurley among its famous fans. An estimated 3 million people a week pour in and out of Britain’s 700 licensed halls. A similar scene is playing out across the Atlantic. Apart from Bingo, quiz nights and games such as Scrabble and Monopoly are becoming popular barfly pursuits, evidence of a cultural shift back towards the innocence of a bygone era.
And in fashion, the “power frump” look is hitting the catwalks, all pussy-cat bows and demure tweed skirts. Designers including Marc Jacobs, Louis Vitton and Giles Deacon are all getting in on the act, with granny handbags and sensible shoes the new must-have items for fashionistas. As Jacobs recently said: “This season is all about finding the ‘Margaret Thatcher look’ sexy.”
If you think you might be a young fogey, Mecca Bingo has over 130 clubs nationwide. You can search for caravans and used cars at Fish4.co.uk .