Just How Chaste Where The Good Ole Days?

[EcclesCake]

I've just been watching Poirot and Hastings is publicly kissing (snogging) a young lady of his recent acquaintance.

It has got me thinking about how public couples were with their PDAs back in the day.

I'm in my 40's but the picture painted is of courting couples holding hands and a quick peck on the cheek prior to their wedding night. I find it difficult to believe that this was the case. I accept that contraception has played a significant part but what about prior to that how where things in reality?

[craft1948]

I often wondered why my parents had married so young (19 & 20) when my sister wasn't born until 5 years later.
My mother finally told us she'd had a miscarriage shortly after marrying.
Fast forward about 15 years and I was one of the few virgins to leave my all-girl grammar school in 1964............(not that that lasted long)

[hc4361]

Plenty of knee tremblers up the ginnels in the bad old days.

[zebo]

My late MIL was horrified when we discovered going through some old family documents that her Mother married 4 months before she was born. Heaven only knows how she would have reacted to the discovery in the 1911 Census that her Mother also had another child before she married, My OH recalls visiting this "Aunt" but he doesn't know if his Mother knew the true relationship, the child was with her Grandparents in 1911 although listed as Grandchild.
While transcribing Parish Registers for an online site, I've seen the words "bastard child of" used in the mid 19th Century and even later, a mother was identified as SIngle Woman.

[jno]

I've been doing some family history and it seems a I have an awful lot of premature ancestors (indeed I am one myself). Something in our genes seems to enable us to give birth at six months or, in extreme cirumstances, two.

[Eve]

I remember regretting asking someone about was it true that you only wore white if you a virgin when you married.

There was a family member who was not revealed as someone's daughter (brought up as a "sister") save to certain people for a long long time.

[Sqad]

EcclesCake.

\\\\I had assumed mutual masturbation would have been 'safe ground' for adventurous couples. \\\\

There was more to sexual lovemaking than "safe ground"(contraception) there was always that certain decent time span between each "advancement." and that regime or routine had to be observed.

[netibiza]

well in the good ole days I was chased everywhere!!

[EcclesCake]

LOL Neti....I hope you let them catch you sometimes!

[askyourgran]

Lady Chatterley didn't miss out on anything with Mellors.

Looking at my family tree one of my gt gt grandfathers had another family. I hasten to add I'm on the right side of the blanket.