First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while
they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and
didn't get tested for diabetes.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and
when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we
took hitch hiking .
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a van - loose - was always great fun.
We drank water from the garden hosepipe and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE
actually died from this.
We ate cakes, white bread and real butter and drank pop with sugar in
it,but we weren't overweight because......WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
In the summer we would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride
down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into
the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem .
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at
all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound,
no cell phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet
or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
Made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told
it would happen, we did not poke out any eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or
rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Local teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who
didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't
it?! lol
...love it...I'm running with those scissors right now!!!!
thanks for the memories - excellent
Those remind me of my weekly trip to Swifty's corner shop with my ration book & tanner a week pocket money:-)
But have we exchanged tact for honesty?
Perhaps it is my imagination but way back then most people seemed to say what they
felt rather than saying to every one else behind their back.
At the end of the day it is good to know where you stand....rather than waiting until the end of the day.
Only mothers would come back at you like that! Tact wasn't one of their charms. Mine was the same (I can hear her disagreeing).
Born 1947 and Living in the country i supposed i missed out on the wild parties in the cities and the substance use, though i did come into close contact with it for a number of years had a mate who went a bit on the wild side and very much into the little tablets he dissapeared only to pop up on the tv in the 90s telling the tale of how it ruined his life after he ran away to London,Dad was always a keen cyclist so i followed him into cycle racing then discovered i could buy one with an engine by the mid/late 60s i was racing those as well but an engineering apprenticeship and college, girls, marriage kids in that order of course couldnt have done it any other way then put a stop to all that, the interests that i could afford to carry on with was playing in a Brass Band, playing in many bands now sadly gone only packing up my cornet when i moved to France when 62 walking and canoeing which i did until my knee packed up and Arthritis in my wrist and shoulder we did all the usual kids things parents never seeing us in the holidays luckily only sustaining injury after crashing on two wheels powered and none powered hurt as much whichever it was but my parents supported me in everything i did but not approving all the time, when my wife cleared off and left me with the kids only thing mum said was i knew it would end like this on your wedding day but said nothing as you wouldnt have listened, should always listen to your mum
We called that 5-stones. Perhaps like Chinese Whispers it evolved unintentionally. Jacks were easier.
A farthings worth of sweets in the station shop... I think I liked flying saucers best.
Then 7 year old me would walk home alone (having got there on the bus on my own) with no worries at all.
Now you're dragging them out. We lived just near a tube station, Northern Line. Out of view of the public in general was a 'staff door', it was never locked and most of the year even wide open. Along the same corridor one got to a power station type place for the trains. That had a huge great delivery bay that was always open.
Anyway, we worked out that if our station had the staff entrance then others must too, so just a matter of exploring. So we did and the West End had several, other places obviously too. So we did free trips 'up west' fairly often from about 10 onwards.
Bruce you have just described my childhood growing up in a small town in Aust. We were eight children in my family and lots of neighbourhood friends. I also remember as a little girl…
My friend and I standing in the river, water up to our knees catching tadpoles, until I sliped and cut my hand on a rock. Three stitches in the hand.
My brothers and I on the garage roof. Running as fast as we could then free falling into the big tree beside the garage. Until I missed the tree, three stitches under my chin.
Water fight in the garden in summer until my brother used a glass jar to fill up and threw the water in my face but he wasnt quite a full arms length away. two stitches in the eye brow.
The ice cream van. My friend and I would plead with my mum to buy us an ice cream, we would run through my back yard eating our icecreams, jump the back fence, run along a dirt track, over my friends back fence just as the icecream van was pulling up out the front of her house. Yes her Mum would then buy us an icecream.
Great memories all that entertainment for free.
:-D
Not finance Barbara but most of my friends were in the City, especially the law, insurance and so on. I was in fact at a pretty zany college studying architecture (AA Bedford Square) but I was I suppose what might be now called a young fogey. I was also in the reserve forces for a while. We used to frequent the pubs in Knightsbridge and Chelsea after or before a meal in some of those restaurants and then really quite often there was a party (?crashed) or a visit to a nightclub. There were plenty of cocktail parties and dances too.There was the Garrison but more frequently Frere Jacques in Harrington Gardens followed by very late night and quite dodgy clubs up West. The Tatty Bogle was one I remember but I was into jazz at the Marquee, Ken Collyers etc. Normally about five hours sleep and a big crash out at the weekend (when I wasn't on exercises at sea!) . One or two people took up gambling with disastrous results.
But what fun.
Chelsea and Notting Hill Gate...
David you were one of the posher boys who worked in Finance?
I was the girl from poorer side of London who moved WEST
to look inside the world of Westlife fun and to
engage myself with music.
Without lucky charms and gurus the 60's and seventies was a period of exploration.
Without the need to be underpinned by a healthy financial background.
I went from the depressing Prudential Assurance co towards all sorts of jobs which
included helping a black and white Minstral run a Tottenham Court Road night club...taking over at times to utalise the club during the day for rehersals for bands like Osabisa???
And having the time of my life filling the club to the brim on Feb 14th with Miss Valentine
by gathering the interest of local fashion and art students. My judges were Colin Blunstone, The original Editor AND FOUNDER of Time OUT, Ossie Clark and Mike Harrison from Spookie Tooth ( My fav band of the time)
I had 2/3 weeks to organise everything and enjoyed every moment....every aspect.
I managed a blues band called Skye Wine and managed to get them some work, publicity
and the reached the goal of playing at the great Marquee club in wardour street.
Whilst playing at a Margaret street night club Jmi Hendrix stepped on stage and took
over bass from Jegg.Not so exciting for most of you but thrilling for Skye Wine
and Barbara.
The magic of being young and at the special time.
Thanks for that- yes I agree that the food was often appalling. The dark lighting, empty wine bottles with guttering candles and checked tablecloths were important, together with huge quantities of wine, quite often that French blended wine in starred bottles that left you with a red Coco the Clown look.
Used to bounce that sketch around the table at meal times with everyone adding their own scenario.
Same here but the price of their freedom is broken arms, chipped teeth, various stitches (and that is just one of my lads - trophies from 8 years of living in the woods !) He goes off with a friend (or sometimes alone) on their bikes without a map cycling till they find a road then figuring out how to get back home. My daughter however is wary of doing anything risky and is scared of the dark but still regularly catches the train to Bordeaux 2.5hrs away to go partying.
All overuse phones, pc and xbox.
I would be horrified to think that my kids do things that my brothers did without me finding out about it - our parents still don't know of their escapades !
Hawkwind....one of my friends....her brother was in Hawkwind.
Bowie....I interviewed him at Ken Pitts place in W1 FOR The Chelsea News!!
We knew Hughie from Hawkwind too.
Well J did...WHEN I first met him he lived next door
to David Hockney.
Everythings Great in Notting Hill Gate.....
well it was then.
Just googled Hawkwind and it seems that Huw died in 2012 at 61.....
Nearly all the parties I went to in West London involved drugs of some sort - I felt I was the only one not on something - and it wasn't for the want of people trying to get me to take stuff. I often left parties because I didn't like the pressure of it all. I drank fairly heavily but never did anything else other than tobacco.
Trees. We played at All Saints Hall on a regular basis, Brand X showed up and asked to play a short set - changed their name to Hawkwind.
And David Bowie, with white kaftan and long curly hair played a solo acoustic set and helped the girls make sandwiches and coffee while we were playing
It all seemed so normal then.
My brother married a girl from Harrogate. It was always Harrogate from her, and Arriget from him!
But after Fulham....Notting Hill Gate....well ALL SAINTS ROAD
and just off Kensington Park Road.
What was your band called?
Mine was Skye wine.