Wednesday 28 November 2018

Stressful day? What you need is a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down



'A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down' was an expression that became a common Australian saying post WWII when aspirin became readily available.

It came to be used in the pejorative and abbreviated form "go and take a Bex" to indicate that someone should take a more relaxed attitude to a certain subject, or to soothe a frazzled housewife.




As was Valium in the UK, Bex in Australia was referred to as "mother's little helper". Sadly though, Bex only helped in the short-term, while killing in the long-term.


In the 1960s, women routinely used Bex to get through the day. However, once it was recognised that these substances were addictive and large doses of phenacetin were resulting in kidney disease, analgesics came under government regulation in the 1970s.

An ad I recall so vividly from my childhood!

Like so many other housewives, one of my characters in The Swooping Magpie (the heroine's mum) a 1970s Aussie psychological suspense novel, is addicted to Bex. During my research I came across this Bex TV ad, that I remember so well. Watch it here.



If you'd like to learn more about Lindsay's mother and the other characters, you can buy The Swooping Magpie for only 99c/p New Release price HERE.

1970s Australian medical drama















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