I remember when I was an apprentice solicitor (neither today nor yesterday, my friends) one of my other apprentice friends met her master’s children when they were brought into the office for a thrilling look at the office machinery and to see where their Mum and Dad worked.
“Imagine,” said my friend to me, “they will just grow up with the fax, it will never seem strange or new to them.” We marvelled. It did not cross our minds that by the time those children were pushing 40 the fax would be a thing of the past. I remember one of the partners in my office had a computer on his desk and was gently mocked by the other partners for his dedication to this glorified typewriter which took up so much space on his desk and was clearly pointless.
But yet, the 90s doesn’t really seem very long ago at all. Related: have you noticed that the policemen really are getting younger?
We used to take briefcases full of paper on business trips as you could not print anything out. Also we had to have detailed itineraries so that people would know where we were and could get hold of us. Mobiles and laptops finished that off, I used to cherish being able to drop off the map if I carefully fudged my travel plans.
I take your fax machine and offer you the Telex!
Yes! I remember the briefcases of paper. I wasn’t senior enough to fudge my travel plans though, Charles, that seems next level.
Heather the telex was just going as I started work. There was one in the office and one of the secretaries knew how to use it. I remember us all crowding around her to see it in action on the single occasion that it was used during my time in the office.