People living in the Milton Keynes area forty years ago came under the auspices of three towns, thirteen villages and a country council. Many changes have taken place in this time and it is the people, whose experiences and reminiscences are recorded here, who have shaped the area into the remarkable city it is today.'Wives did not work. Their job was to stay at home, keep it clean and tidy, look after the children and make sure there was a cooked meal on the table when the husband got home from work. There was no such thing as microwaves and washing machines. If you were lucky you had a Goblin vacuum cleaner. All the meals were cooked with fresh vegetables and the pies were home made.'All contributions come from the oral archives kept at the Living Archive of Milton Keynes which has been collecting reminiscences from city residents since 1975, and are complemented by 100 photographs from their collection.