Doreen, born in 1920, was interviewed by Ruth Clacey and Katie Williams on 1 July 1999 at Archer's Court, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Could you describe some of the main changes in technology that have occurred and the impact that they have had on your life?

I used to use a range to cook on. This later progressed to a gas cooker, which was upright. These gas cookers improved and included a grill and from this came the electric cooker. These developed to become electric cookers with timers to now, self-cleaning ovens - a major breakthrough! From this developed a microwave, which I have used but not really modern ones. I used to have a really big one, but now they are all dual ovens or really small ones.

Have these changes in technology affected what you eat and the time you spend cooking?

Using a microwave has decreased the time spent cooking and ovens have meant that you can time things and can go and do other things but you can do without a microwave -but I could not survive without a self cleaning oven!

What other kitchen gadgets do you use?

Electric toaster and electric carving knifes have made a difference. Food processors, these have developed as at first you had to mix by hand and then using spoons to using whisks which were easier to use and then a rotating hand whisk which clamped onto the table to the electric processor. I have a food processor but rarely use it and do not find it particularly useful, as you have to keep washing the parts. You have to find somewhere to store it and it takes too long to get it out and adjust all the various parts. Time is wasted in cleaning them up. Overall they probably are useful especially if you have a family and are making a large amount of food but not if cooking for one or two people.

To do the cooking I used to use a back fire boiler which was about a meter and a half off the ground, it had a round top which you could put a kettle on or boil some potatoes and it used coke or coal in it. There was a grid that went under the fire which could be pulled out at night and this helped to give you hot water. A back fire boiler was a fire which had a boiler behind it which kept water warm for washing up or baths. Then there was a Baxy fire, which you could keep going for several days depending on how big you made the fire. There was a well which you could put water in to put the fire out but if you forgot then you had to store the hot grate and embers somewhere and lift out the basket to dispose of your hot ashes.

This developed to a geezer to heat the water but it was often only in the bathroom. This progressed to the ordinary heating that we have today. Water needed for cooking was put over a coal fire in a pot. A gas kettle was also used if you had gas in your house. Tubing was attached to your kettle and it was heated that way This progressed to a whistle kettle that was useful as you could move away from the kettle while you waited. Then you had the electric kettle and now there are the jug kettles that are an advantage as they are more decorative and do not have an awful spout.

One of the main changes must have been having fridge's and freezers because they have developed so much. Did they have a big effect on the way you did things, on the type of food you ate, not having to go to the shops every day?

Before freezers and fridge's you had terracotta pots. These were round and varied in depth. You could keep butter or milk in them and you put water in them. You put the top on them and this kept the product in them fresh. If you could not get one of these they used an ordinary basin and then put milk in it and then put muslin over the top with the ends of the muslin in water which kept it cool but you had to keep changing the water. From this it went to fridge's then to separate freezers and also fridge -freezers. These made a tremendous difference as you could store your food for a longer period and it was healthier. For the meat you had a meat safe, this was a wooden box with a wire mesh over the front and you could see what was in there and it kept flies away.

Dishwashers - I had one at my last house but do not have one now. When I did have one the washing up process was quicker but I still had to rinse the dishes and I may as well have finished the job and so unless there are a lot of people it is not necessarily quicker. Most of the technology that has been developed is mainly time saving more than anything else.

Do you use personal items such as hairdryers and curling tongs?

I used to use curling tongs that had a convex part and had a rod coming into it and a handle and you heated one end. If you heated it too much you would singe your hair but if you did not heat it enough it would not curl your hair. Hairdryers do make a difference and if I am in a hurry I use it.

Do you think that the decrease in people playing musical instruments is due to all the changes in technology such as televisions and radios?

There used to be a crystal set, this went to a loud speaker set, which was done by charging an accumulator. This then developed to wireless transistors, to radios. The technology developed to black and white television sets to coloured television sets to now having television sets which have Sky, digital etc and being able to record a program while you watch another one - now this is technology! It has changed considerably but has it changed for the better? It depends on the programmes, there are some programs that are excellent, but others are not so good.

Do you feel that this increase in technology - the huge amount of television and radio and gameboys and things like that have meant that younger people, maybe our generation or older than us have less social skills because we watch television, we do not go and do other things?

This has had an effect. People do get together but they do things such as watch television and there is not much conversation and society is not benefiting from it at all.

Do you find that you are increasing the amount of television that you watch as there are more channels and programmes available?

No, I do not watch more but there is more variety. I prefer listening to the radio as I can do other things at the same time.

Has the use of sewing machines caused any difference and helped you?

I had a hand sewing machine but I did not use it much. I then got another one and then did not use this much and it broke. I went to sewing lessons and tried using a treadle but did not have one. This was a great step forwards as it meant people had two hands they could use. Then there was the electric sewing machine. I do have an electric sewing machine. It is a pity that people do not sew these days as you get individuality from this.

One of the main changes has probably been washing machines and ‘wash day'. How has this changed?

This has changed considerably as you used to have to bring the metal bath in and fill it up with water that took a long time to fill up. After you had washed the clothes you had to use a mangle. It took a long time and a lot of energy. Then it went to a boiler, you put your washing into the boiler and started it and you could go and do something else but you still had to use a mangle. Then came a washboard this helped, as it was not so difficult. You also had bluebags, which were tiny little bags of blue grains that were put in the water to keep your clothes white. From this came the washing machine that made it very simple unless you mix the colours! I do not have a separate tumble drier but have a combined washing machine and tumble drier. I do not use the tumble drier much as it is so expensive.

If you were a young mother with a big family do you think that having as tumble drier would be useful?

I suppose it would be for nappies but a young mother would not have the money to use it. Now we have launderettes you can take big items to these. It can be useful but it is a question of expense. Overall it is timesaving.

Irons - there were gas irons they were similar in shape to today's iron but they were very deep and had tubing attached which you would attach to your gas pipe that brought gas into the house and then you used those. They were not highly successful and you could not use them for long. Then you had flat irons that you put on a gas stove to heat up. From this developed the basic electric iron. These have extended into cordless irons and travel irons and trouser presses and sheet presses etc.

One of the main changes in technology has been the increase in communication. What impact has this had on your life - with the telephone, fax, e-mail etc?

Telephone has made a lot of difference It has not improved life, it has made it easier and quicker. With the telephone you now have recorded messages and 1471 so you get people's numbers etc. All of these are useful and have been a great improvement.

What do you think about the Internet?

I am interested in it but have never used it. I am in two minds about it; there are a lot ofdangerous things on the Internet. How do you stop people putting information on theInternet and how can you stop people looking at it?

How easy have you found it to integrate all this technology into your life over the years?

It has been easy to integrate the technology into my life but I can see how it could be a problem for people. The technology that has been introduced into the home has been useful but television I could live without. But I think things like the telephone are now a necessity. The changes have made my life easier. There is more time for sport and more time to socialize. But when you are older it does not always affect you as it is harder to get about.

It is a pity there is less integration between age groups as there is a lot of segregation between them which I feel there was less of when I was younger.

Do you feel isolated from us, the younger generation, because the way we have grown up and our way of live is so different?

I do not feel isolated but I feel sorry for you because you do not have the same sort of freedom that we had. We were able to go out on our own for miles without worrying, but we were not able to go so far away as much as you do, as the transport was not available.

Do you think that there has been a big improvement in the communication networks?

It has and has not been an improvement as in the village where I used to live there was little public service, which is partly why we moved. The increase in number of cars a family has can be problem as there is often nowhere to park them. Train stations are over crowded and trains are often late and like buses they may not be at times that are convenient. People can move around more easily now and that is good. There used to be trams and there were tracks in the middle of the road. The trams were double decker and if you were on the top deck then you had a rain coat on the seat in front of you that you pulled over you to keep you dry. From this it went to trolley buses which were double deckers. And they came to your side of the road unlike trams where you had to go to the other side of the road - but there was less traffic. Then we went to buses and these have improved and are quicker and cleaner now.

Have you found that shops have changed as technology has?

You used to have home delivery where you could go and put your order in and then someone would bring it up later. This was a tremendous help but it does not happen today. Everything was cut to order in shops and then packed for you. Fruit and vegetables were seasonal but now you can get them all year round. There were shops which specialized such as a pork butcher or a poultry and game shop. You had things brought to you in shops, which does not happen now.

Finally to wrap everything up do you think that the changes in technology have been good overall and would you want them to keep moving forwards?

It depends on which direction they are going to move. Overall I think that the changes have been good but I do have reservations partly because I am part of the older generation. On the whole the changes have been good.

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