Having the time of their life back in the Sixties

A STUDY into how young people spent their leisure time in the 1960s has shown they were not so different from today’s youths.

The Time of One’s Own project saw Glasgow University’s Pearl Jephcott interview more than 600 young people from Armadale in West Lothian, as well as Dennistoun and Drumchapel in Glasgow, who were all between the ages of 15 and 19 in that era.

Researchers found that most did not go out during the week and when they stayed in, they watched television. Pop music programmes were the most popular, followed by sport and then television serials.

Cafes were popular and many of those surveyed attended dances, but strongly associated them with trouble, including those held in local church or Scout halls.

They said that antisocial behaviour was normally linked to alcohol.

Glasgow and Leicester universities are planning to publish photographs taken as part of the study.

Moira Rankin, of Glasgow University Archives, said: “Pearl Jephcott’s archive collection has been in the university since her death in 1980.

“It was only when the team from Leicester brought the wonderful artwork to our attention that we began to look in more detail.

“Pearl was obviously a gifted social researcher who, unlike many others of her time, placed an emphasis on exploring the experiences of ‘ordinary’ young people.

“Her work is a fascinating insight into the lives of our teenage parents and grandparents.”

John Goodwin, of Leicester University, added: “Pearl Jephcott was a genuine innovator, way ahead of her time, in that she used photographs, drawings and paintings in her studies.”