THE GOLDEN SIXTIES EXPOSITION

Last week together with my friend Nicole we took the train to Liège to see the "Golden Sixties Expostion", which takes place in Liège in the station.



The station itself is already amazing and looks like a building from a futuristic world. When we arrived it was just lunch time so without leaving the station we had lunch in this modern beautiful restaurant.



This Belgian plate is called "Americain, frites, salad" which means an "American with chips and salad". It's very fresh minced raw beef meat with capers and spices. It was delicious.

Then we entered the exposition. I was 20 in the sixties and honnestly I had never thought at that time that I would once see my youth in an exposition ! It took me back so many years, but it was as if everything had just happened yesterday.



It brought back so many memories, that I put aside the headset which explained all things which were exposed, because I knew everything I had lived these events and the voice of this guide got on my nerves.



The wall was built in August 1961, separating east from western Germany. Many people died because they jumped out of their windows into the western side before the wall was completed, and after that quiet a lot were shot when they tried to escape.



A sign which said "Attention you leave East Berlin"



Then Kennedy was murdered, the exposition showed Dallas and the event it in a maquette,



and we could see a copy of the gun Oswald had used to kill the president.



There was also the May 68 revolution in France where students fought against authority and institutions. It later became a strike which involved 11,000,000 workers, over 22% of the total population of France at the time, for a continuous two weeks.

I wouldn't call these events being part of the "golden sixties", but rather the sad side. 



But then came Armstrong, the first man who stepped on the moon.



The Belgian most famous Cristal factory "Val St. Lambert" had made the food print in cristal



Women rights increased, the first contraception pill came on the market, which made the pope very angry, the first woman presented the news on television and women started in politics.



Brigitte Bardot created another kind of beauty the child/woman beauty.



and  Marilyn ended a marriage



The Beatles became famous and we could admire a guitare from John Lennon,



The new microphones for the singers



and  Juke boxes were installed.




The first graffitis showed up



and a special east German car was created "the Trabant" On this picture Breshnev is kissing Honecker



Warhol made his first Marilyn Monroe pictures



and Belgium advertised a new Jupiler beer



For the first time there were also TV shows for children.



The Oscars in the 60th



The first James Bond movie was produced



and we could see some accessoires he had used, and which a private collector had lent.



The first record players came on the market and I remember I had one similar to the above left one. Of course it was for the 78 turn rather big records.



The kitchen appliances which we now find in all households came just on the market. Honnestly there is not such a big difference between yesterday and today !



The first electrocardigram also started in the 60th and Dr. Barnard did his first open heart surgery.



Coca Cola came out with a cool box



Vespas conquered different European countries



I think this radio, record player would be very stylish for today !



and the Tupperwears haven't changed their look very  much



Fridges became available for average families. This is a Frigidaire a brand mark created by General Motors.



There were also the first petrol stations



The Mini Morris created by William Morris in Oxford came on the market



More and more camera models became available,



Little bars with Juke box and slotmachine



and a completely new furniture style. I remember that I had two of those armchairs in my room. Today this style is very "in" again.





The dresses I used to wear I now looked at as "historical fashion style" and I thought I could still wear them today, they are also in fashion again.



and when we left the exposition we didn't really know if this sitting area was from the 60th or from 2012.

When we finally left the exposition, we realized that we were born in a very special time. So many things had been invented when we were 20 and so many changes were made in the society and social life. Everything you see and hear today came from this period. Except the computer area, this was later.