Go back in time...
Discussion
Just for a minute, forget everything stressful and read this....
Go back in time...
Before the Internet or the Apple Mac.
Before semi-automatics, joy riders and crack....
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...
Way back........
I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park.
The corner shop.
Hopscotch.
Butterscotch.
Skipping.
Handstands.
Football with an old can.
Fingerbob.
Beano, Dandy, Buster, Twinkle and Dennis the menace.
Roly Poly.
Hula Hoops,
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.
Bazooka Joe bubble gum.
An ice cream cone on a warm summer's night from the van that plays a
tune - Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe Neapolitan or perhaps
a screwball, Mivi or Cider lolly or Oyster ice cream!
Watching Saturday morning cartoons....short commercials, The Double
Deckers, Banana Splits, Road Runner, He-Man, Zeebedee Tiswas or
Swapshop?, and 'Why Don't You'? - Or staying up for Doctor Who. When
around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like going
somewhere.
Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings. Sticky fingers. Melted
Gas Tar. Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, and Zorro. Climbing
trees. Walking to school, no matter what the weather.
Running till you were out of breath and getting a stitch, laughing so
hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Spinning
around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles. Being
tired from playing....remember that?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon & playing cards & pegs in the
spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle. Choppers and Grifters
I'm not finished just yet.....
Eating raw jelly. Orange squash ice pops.
Remember when...
The only types of trainers were - girls and boys, and Dunlop Green
Flash - and the only time you wore them at school was for P.E. You knew
everyone in your street - and so did your parents. It wasn't odd to have
two or three "best" friends.
You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas Eve.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
When 25p was decent pocket money
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a
realrestaurant with your parents.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to
carrygroceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought anything bad of it.
When being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the fate
thatawaited a misbehaving student at home... Basically, we were in fear
for our lives but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs
etc. Parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! - And some of
us are still afraid of them!!
Remember when....
Decisions were made by going " Ip Dip Dog Sh*t "
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.
And the worst thing in your day was having to sit next To one.
It was unbelievable that 'British Bulldog 123' wasn't An Olympic event.
Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a catapult.
Nobody was prettier than Mum.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin!
Ice cream was considered a basic food group
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest
protectors
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED.
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up"
life...
I DOUBLE-DARE YOU
Go back in time...
Before the Internet or the Apple Mac.
Before semi-automatics, joy riders and crack....
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...
Way back........
I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park.
The corner shop.
Hopscotch.
Butterscotch.
Skipping.
Handstands.
Football with an old can.
Fingerbob.
Beano, Dandy, Buster, Twinkle and Dennis the menace.
Roly Poly.
Hula Hoops,
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.
Bazooka Joe bubble gum.
An ice cream cone on a warm summer's night from the van that plays a
tune - Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe Neapolitan or perhaps
a screwball, Mivi or Cider lolly or Oyster ice cream!
Watching Saturday morning cartoons....short commercials, The Double
Deckers, Banana Splits, Road Runner, He-Man, Zeebedee Tiswas or
Swapshop?, and 'Why Don't You'? - Or staying up for Doctor Who. When
around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like going
somewhere.
Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings. Sticky fingers. Melted
Gas Tar. Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, and Zorro. Climbing
trees. Walking to school, no matter what the weather.
Running till you were out of breath and getting a stitch, laughing so
hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Spinning
around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles. Being
tired from playing....remember that?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon & playing cards & pegs in the
spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle. Choppers and Grifters
I'm not finished just yet.....
Eating raw jelly. Orange squash ice pops.
Remember when...
The only types of trainers were - girls and boys, and Dunlop Green
Flash - and the only time you wore them at school was for P.E. You knew
everyone in your street - and so did your parents. It wasn't odd to have
two or three "best" friends.
You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas Eve.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
When 25p was decent pocket money
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a
realrestaurant with your parents.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to
carrygroceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought anything bad of it.
When being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the fate
thatawaited a misbehaving student at home... Basically, we were in fear
for our lives but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs
etc. Parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! - And some of
us are still afraid of them!!
Remember when....
Decisions were made by going " Ip Dip Dog Sh*t "
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.
And the worst thing in your day was having to sit next To one.
It was unbelievable that 'British Bulldog 123' wasn't An Olympic event.
Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a catapult.
Nobody was prettier than Mum.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin!
Ice cream was considered a basic food group
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest
protectors
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED.
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up"
life...
I DOUBLE-DARE YOU
You missed scrumping for apples and coming home with lbs of them only to find the b@stards were 'cookers'.
Holidays always meant south west Wales or Cornwall, or Norfolk etc and always with Granny. I thought the Isle of Wight was abroad cos you needed a boat to get there
10 kids on the back seat of a car if it was raining too hard to walk to school
Party 5's and double diamond in tins
Not drinking guinness down the local cos it was over a £1 a pint (mid 80's)
Understanding and using both metric and imperial measurement day to day.
5p pocket money used to get a stash of sweets if you knew what you were doing. 1/4lb of those fruit pip things. (late 70's)
rows of glass sweet jars down the corner shop. and a penny counter with 1/2p sweets
Nothing open on a Sunday except the Church. Everything closed after 5:30pm every other day. How did we survive ?
Whatever happened to white dog poo. My kids don't believe it ever existed!!
Holidays always meant south west Wales or Cornwall, or Norfolk etc and always with Granny. I thought the Isle of Wight was abroad cos you needed a boat to get there
10 kids on the back seat of a car if it was raining too hard to walk to school
Party 5's and double diamond in tins
Not drinking guinness down the local cos it was over a £1 a pint (mid 80's)
Understanding and using both metric and imperial measurement day to day.
5p pocket money used to get a stash of sweets if you knew what you were doing. 1/4lb of those fruit pip things. (late 70's)
rows of glass sweet jars down the corner shop. and a penny counter with 1/2p sweets
Nothing open on a Sunday except the Church. Everything closed after 5:30pm every other day. How did we survive ?
AC79xxx said:
And dribbling the football around the white dog poo in the park
Whatever happened to white dog poo. My kids don't believe it ever existed!!
fighting for the back seat on the top deck of a Leyland Atlatean bus (whered they all go?)
athena? posters (lambo in california police colours/tennis player scratching bottom)
knowing that i was gonna be a fighterpilot astronaut rallydriver when i grew up.
street wolf
airwolf
knightrider
white dog doo (something about ash being in the dogs food)
ring pulls that came off of the can when you opend them
twernt all good though. i can remember spending friday nights in a bus shelter tabbing and drinking MD20/20 or white lightning.....arrrgh! i was a chav!
athena? posters (lambo in california police colours/tennis player scratching bottom)
knowing that i was gonna be a fighterpilot astronaut rallydriver when i grew up.
street wolf
airwolf
knightrider
white dog doo (something about ash being in the dogs food)
ring pulls that came off of the can when you opend them
twernt all good though. i can remember spending friday nights in a bus shelter tabbing and drinking MD20/20 or white lightning.....arrrgh! i was a chav!
Funnily enough, I know you lot are talking about the '60s and '70s, but change a few programmes here and there and this was my childhood in the '80s.
I think the main culprit in the change in childhood in technology, specifically the computer. When I was a kid, we just played 'out'. Nowadays when I go round to friends houses and they've got younger siblings, the kids are either playing computer games, up in front of the TV (both of which will be in their room), or if they are actually using any exercise they'll be acting out what they just played or watched. If they are reading, it'll be Harry Potter and nothing else.
Anyway, rose-tinted specs back on. Remember when:
-Being 'caught for speeding' involved a police officer.
-'Computer Games' were all handheld. Other than that, a 'computer' was a big grey thing your Dad did the accounts on.
-'Digital' and 'stereo' were impossibly futuristic terms found only on the coolest of gadgets and toys.
-Your local paper had perfectly serviceable, MOT'd cars for sale for two-figure sums, and garages sold them for 3-figures (I can just about remember when you could get a new Fiesta for under a grand)
-There was no such thing as 'retro'. Things were either 'new' or 'old'. You wouldn't try and make a 'new' thing look 'old'. In the '80s, the concept of making a Golf look like a Beetle or a Metro look like a Mini was just plain stupid.
-Rap music wasn't about being a gangster or a pimp or having loads of 'bling', but actually an intelligent form of protest music, the natural successor to punk.
-Wearing a baseball cap with the peak sideways was cool.
-No-one 'downsized'. Your new family car was always a bit bigger and faster than the last one.
-America was the coolest place on earth.
-People found the Beatles and Elvis a bit old hat and uncool. Sinatra was exclusively listened to by pensioners.
-Motorsport was bonkers and had no rules or regulations. Different people won the races each week.
-'Pop' didn't necessarily mean 'manufactured money-minded rubbish'.
-You could dance to dance music without having to resort to mind-altering drugs to keep up.
-People used phone boxes. Mobiles had their own briefcases.
-Advert breaks were shorter and you'd often get cartoons plugging the five-minute gap between programmes.
-Kids weren't pumped full of anti-car messages in schools.
-'Paedophile' wasn't a word.
-Helping your Dad with the woodwork made you feel all grown-up.
-But there was no compulsion to actually grow up. 'Sex' was a word you learnt at school.
-You had a small, innocuous-looking keyring with a selection of rubber buttons on it that made annoying electronic noises when pressed.
I think the main culprit in the change in childhood in technology, specifically the computer. When I was a kid, we just played 'out'. Nowadays when I go round to friends houses and they've got younger siblings, the kids are either playing computer games, up in front of the TV (both of which will be in their room), or if they are actually using any exercise they'll be acting out what they just played or watched. If they are reading, it'll be Harry Potter and nothing else.
Anyway, rose-tinted specs back on. Remember when:
-Being 'caught for speeding' involved a police officer.
-'Computer Games' were all handheld. Other than that, a 'computer' was a big grey thing your Dad did the accounts on.
-'Digital' and 'stereo' were impossibly futuristic terms found only on the coolest of gadgets and toys.
-Your local paper had perfectly serviceable, MOT'd cars for sale for two-figure sums, and garages sold them for 3-figures (I can just about remember when you could get a new Fiesta for under a grand)
-There was no such thing as 'retro'. Things were either 'new' or 'old'. You wouldn't try and make a 'new' thing look 'old'. In the '80s, the concept of making a Golf look like a Beetle or a Metro look like a Mini was just plain stupid.
-Rap music wasn't about being a gangster or a pimp or having loads of 'bling', but actually an intelligent form of protest music, the natural successor to punk.
-Wearing a baseball cap with the peak sideways was cool.
-No-one 'downsized'. Your new family car was always a bit bigger and faster than the last one.
-America was the coolest place on earth.
-People found the Beatles and Elvis a bit old hat and uncool. Sinatra was exclusively listened to by pensioners.
-Motorsport was bonkers and had no rules or regulations. Different people won the races each week.
-'Pop' didn't necessarily mean 'manufactured money-minded rubbish'.
-You could dance to dance music without having to resort to mind-altering drugs to keep up.
-People used phone boxes. Mobiles had their own briefcases.
-Advert breaks were shorter and you'd often get cartoons plugging the five-minute gap between programmes.
-Kids weren't pumped full of anti-car messages in schools.
-'Paedophile' wasn't a word.
-Helping your Dad with the woodwork made you feel all grown-up.
-But there was no compulsion to actually grow up. 'Sex' was a word you learnt at school.
-You had a small, innocuous-looking keyring with a selection of rubber buttons on it that made annoying electronic noises when pressed.
It's all very evocative. PLaying out 'til dark through all the back alleys and nipping over to the gas works etc for a ride on the Grifter. Waiting until your mam stood on the step shouting you in.
But, anyone remember Toxteth?
Russians in Afghanistan?
Protect & Survive TV ads?
Books with Mig bombers in
The miners strike?
Maggie Thatcher the Milk-Snatcher?
Bay City Rollers?
But, anyone remember Toxteth?
Russians in Afghanistan?
Protect & Survive TV ads?
Books with Mig bombers in
The miners strike?
Maggie Thatcher the Milk-Snatcher?
Bay City Rollers?
Anyone remember the "World War Three" series on channel 4 (IIRC just after it started)?
Was all about how the Russians would trash the hell out of us if it ever came to a fight, 'cos although we had the better kit, there were millions of 'em...
Articles in the local paper (Stoke) arguing whether Manchester or Birmingham would be nuked first, with 2-page diagrams showing that it wouldn't really matter which was hit first, as we'd all be reduced to dust in a matter of minutes (the only difference being whether the shadows we left on the ground would be facing north or south)
Scared me witless for weeks.
And I was just that bit too young to have a chopper. Had a tomahawk instead.
Was all about how the Russians would trash the hell out of us if it ever came to a fight, 'cos although we had the better kit, there were millions of 'em...
Articles in the local paper (Stoke) arguing whether Manchester or Birmingham would be nuked first, with 2-page diagrams showing that it wouldn't really matter which was hit first, as we'd all be reduced to dust in a matter of minutes (the only difference being whether the shadows we left on the ground would be facing north or south)
Scared me witless for weeks.
And I was just that bit too young to have a chopper. Had a tomahawk instead.
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