Lion in Winter

My early childhood phone number - WIM 4311.

We were taught to say that when answering the phone, no names, no "hello", just the number. Not that the call was ever for us.

SultanOfSwing

Yeah, that's pretty much the standard. And now with touch screen mobiles, we can just switch the keypad to letters to make it even easier.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as area codes until we went to the Isle of Man for a holiday and we had to use one to call my grandparents. Any numbers I dialled were all within our town, and we only had to prefix the number with '9' to call Belfast. At some point the code lost its last number and local numbers were changed to 6 digits, then our code gained a '1' after the leading zero.

We were then one of the regions that were given 8 digit numbers, so NI had '028' as the 'region code' and then there was an area-specific '9x' number, followed by the six digit local number that was.

Such a bloody faff. I like that out here, all numbers follow the same 10 digit format, including mobile numbers, so we don't have a bloody great '07...' number to memorize as well as our home number

They did actually use the letters, then.

I remember answering the phone with our number, too.

Nutmegger

We had to answer the same way, but we never had a party line. I do remember the old black phone with the braided cord and the big silver dial -- a good nail destroyer when I got older. My folks must have had that same instrument for 30 years!

scrubbedexpat099

Also had a party line, answered the phone quoting the exchange followed by the 5 digit number.

Anian

I saw it as a great anagram to find out what words I'd be able to make with my phone number - except that every number I have had has a zero in it.

scrubbedexpat099

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chawkins99

My mother STILL answers the phone with the last 4 digits.

We got our first phone around 1970. I believe it has always had a 7-digit number prefixed by 021 for Birmingham. Later became 0121.

SultanOfSwing

Now all I can think of is this:

yellowroom

We had a grey job, in the hallway with nowhere to sit. Also was a party line with a neighbour until the early 80s when Mum had enough of the neighbours hogging the line and we could afford to get our own outgoing line. Loved pressing the button on top to get the dial tone. Also had to answer with the last 4 digits of the phone number (in Manchester, format was 061 xxx yyyy). Was also taught to reply "who is calling please" in best telephone voice if someone asked by name for someone in the household.

At a young age I was also taken to the local phone box and taught how to call home in case I was ever lost or in need of help. Always had to have 2p on me for such a purpose.

When Mum and Dad got our own line we upgraded our phones, and they still have and use the beige one...

Steerpike

Didn't used to be that way, apparently ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_exchange_names
The Telephone EXchange Name Project

PS - do UK mobile #s still follow a unique pattern? And if so, I presume that means you don't have number portability from landline to mobile, as you do in the US.

Jerseygirl

My MIL and SIL still use the beige one too!

SultanOfSwing

I suppose that link explains why you'll see stuff like 'Klondyke 5' in phone numbers in The Simpsons, etc.

I think even around here back when my wife was growing up, she said you didn't need the 1st 3 digits (what's essentially the area code) in order to dial local numbers. But then again, they also had the '312' area code up here, which is now exclusively Chicago and since I've been here they ran out of numbers for the replacement '847' code and had to add a new one!

I don't know if there is a pattern in UK mobile numbers or not. I always used 'pay as you go' phones out there anyway. I know out here I've been able to keep my mobile number and I've changed phones 4 or 5 times over the years and even switched providers.

yellowroom

I think there was in the early days - my number used to be 0467 and then became 07767 (just looked it up, and yes, they used to be assigned to the provider.

On the subject of mobile phones, I've had the same number now for 20+ years. I got my first (analogue brick) phone at the Ideal Home Exhibition, and was shown a list of numbers and I could pick the one I wanted. I chose a nice easy to remember one and have had it ever since, porting it round virtually all of the providers by now. I'd feel like I'd lost part of my identity if I had to change it now!

Nutek

8675...

Steerpike

According to this site, Mobile phone number list • UK Area Codes , all mobiles start with 07.... . So that tells me, in the UK, you cannot 'port' a number from Landline to a mobile, as you can here in the US (where all numbers follow a standard scheme, and mobiles are indistinguishable from landlines). I suspect this is due to the fact that in UK, calls to mobiles are charged differently from calls to landlines.