Doctor, No.
When Irene, AJ, Susie and I arrived in Gullane, 50 years ago last May, Spud Bennett was the primary school headmaster, Doctors Barr and Blackett were the GPs, and it was a question of who arrived on your doorstep first, The Welcome Wagon or Doc Whiteford, the minister. The WW led on to The Housewives’ Register, which brought people of a similar age together, the main purpose being to have parties and get very pished. Today we have Facebook, Gullane News Group, the fledgling GVA, a few hundred new high-end houses, a medical centre with more doctors than I could name, a primary school that is growing exponentially, and the same unspeakable and inaccessible beach toilets. Knowing what I know now, if we were back in 1971 and a Time Lord offered to take us 50 years into the future, would I accept? Not a chance, because I would lose out on all the friends I made then and who are still with me today, physically or in my heart. If today’s twenty and thirty somethings are half as lucky, they’ll have done alright.
Quintin Jardine's blog 
Dont think anyone would stay in the present, I’d stay in the 70s if I could
You were indeed very lucky most people nowadays live in neighbourhoods that don’t have neighbours just people who happen to live next door most don’t even no there names & they wouldn’t piss on you if you were On Fire .
We moved to our house in 1973 (brand new) just twelve family’s we all helped one another, we did babysitting & everything else Sadly a thing of the past
Oh yes, we had a babysitting circle too, with its own currency, plastic rings.
The housewives’ register in 1970s in England must have been very different! We drank coffee and met in each other’s homes for serious (non domestic) discussions ranging from genetic engineering to racial preudice. The group enlarged to include a supper club, babysitting circle and family outings. Some of those friends we are still in contact with. Like you, I feel sorry that today’s young people have very limited social contacts or support, especially when stuck at home with small children.
Ah, 1970’s Gullane – Bissets, The Golf, The Queens, The Old Clubhouse and The Mallard. Only one left in existence. Not to mention a school full of great teachers 😉
And Spud.
Put the fear in you as a kid, thankfully he retired not long after the new school opened 🙂
An unpleasant little bastard with a drink in him.
I had the pleasure of being taught by Mrs Jardine. She ment a lot to me and helped take a dyslexic young boy from a village in Scotland in the 80’s to an amazing career in Australia.