FOR this week's Nostalgia edition we wanted to take a look at what Whitehaven was like in the 1970s.

This was a time when the half crown coin ceased to be legal tender, Richard Branson started the Virgin Group with discounted mail-order sales of popular records, Tonga became independent from the UK, The Methodist Church allowed women to become full ministers for the first time, comedy series The Goodies is first broadcast, on BBC2, the first Iceland frozen food supermarket is opened, in Oswestry, by Malcolm Walker, and the Gay Liberation Front organised its first march in London.

It was also a time when the United Kingdom became the sixth nation successfully to launch a satellite into orbit using its own launch vehicle, BBC Open University broadcasts began, Rolls-Royce went bankrupt and was nationalised, The Daily Mail appeared as a broadsheet newspaper for the last time, being relaunched the following day as a tabloid, the children's show Blue Peter buried a time capsule in the grounds of BBC Television Centre, due to be opened on the first episode of the year 2000, The Who released their critically acclaimed album Who's Next, and the first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner in London.

These photos show what was going on here in Whitehaven five decades ago. We can how people in our area lived their lives in years gone by.

It is fascinating to see just how much things have changed in this space of time. We hope that these pictures bring back some fond memories for some of you.