Fuzz

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids
in the 60's, 70's, and 80's probably shouldn't have survived......

Our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which
was promptly chewed and licked.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or
cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.

When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent
'clackers' on our wheels.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding
in the passenger seat was a treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle - tasted the
same.

We ate dripping sandwiches, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop
with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always
outside playing.

We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no one
actually died from this.

We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top
speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the
problem.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were
back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us all day and no one minded.

We did not have Playstations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99
channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones,
no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. We had friends - we went
outside and found them.

We played elastics and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really
hurt.

We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no
lawsuits. They were accidents. We learnt not to do the same thing again.

We had fights, punched each other hard and got black and blue - we learned
to get over it.

We walked to friend's homes.

We made up games with sticks and tennis ***** and ate live stuff, and
although we were told it would happen, we did not have very many eyes out,
nor did the live stuff live inside us forever.

We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.

Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and 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.

It is we who have had the luck to grow up as real
kids, before lawyers and government started to regulated our lives, and what ! ..... for our own good ??

Andy

ian_sadler

Sounds about right to me

Sue

Oh and don't forget the houses that we lived in with carpets not cleaned with "Dysons" and no mattress covers to protect us from all those horrible bed bugs....and strangely enough we didnt all suffer from allergies and hayfever and asthma!
We had Grannies to talk to instead of Child-Line,and didn't know our "rights"..only what was expected of us...
Mind you..on the down side..I was force fed something brown slimy and disgusting called "Virol"...I still to this day dont know what it was for!

Fuzz

Yesteryears vitamin supplement Sue

Andy

Fuzz

Just asked the old dear....
A mixture of Cod liver oil and malt extract she thinks.

jasey

And if we did get ill or have an accident we would go to hospital and get better - not get put on a waiting list !

Sue

Geez...that explains why it was so disgusting....
Never tasted anything like it,can remember the aftertaste to this day!
I used to have my hair screwed up into "rags" and treated with something called "Toddylocks" too!!! They really pulled...think it was to try to get my defiantly straight hair to look like Shirley Temples!..unfortunately they used to come out at odd intervals so I looked like a cross between Bob Marley and David Beckham!

steve G MAN

what a great post mate ive printed it of

mwp

nice one, very good andy

i especially laughed and got dewy eyed at the don't see much of the "cape" riding these days ... coats don't really have hoods anymore.

- mark.

unclebuck

Nice one We were luckier than we knew. Just took it for granted.

And we *walked* to school in all weathers.

If it rained we got wet.

If (when) you got bullied you stood up for yourself.

If you got caught breaking the rules at school you were prepared for the consequences.

Oh dear, couldn't allow that now with all those hoards of pervs and child rapers wnandering the streets

UB

BOB.T

That's how I remember it and I'm only 26, it's soo different for todays kids, you have to kinda feel sorry for them

Huxley

Nice one Andy, the youth of today The *******[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]



But hey we had fun in those days I remember things like

Clacker ***** don't slip ouch bruised nuckles

Grifter with a rubber thing on the handle bar to save your nuts after you have just ploughed into that big oak tree and Chopper bikes that used to slip in second gear and nut you


Going Scrumping then the farmers dog taking a chunk out of your ***

Nock down ginger

Climbing to the top of the tallest tree you could find only to panic how the **** do I get Down

Pinching Cat's eyes (road marker studs to posh people) witout getting run over

Conkers with batterd nuckles

Hopschotch "Did I say that"

Rope swings from trees going out over a big drop

Walking to the fun fair on your own then coming back through the common!!

Space dust

Peter powell Stunt kite "good job I spelt that one right!!!!"

Curley wurley's

Mamood Steam engines lots of burnt fingers with the fuel blocks and meths

TCR type scalextric

Tonka toys

Did we complain about it in them days no we just got on with life

And the best one, finding out what happens when you mix ICI weed killer (type witheld) and Icing sugar in equal quantities

I could go on !!


Huxley

Leslie

Took me back to happy times, I still remember those bruises from the go-carts too, and getting clouted for doing something wrong. Great to be able to walk across the fields and go fishing in the River Mole by myself and not having to worry about pervs. Didn't know what that meant anyway. We just lived for the day and didn't worry too much about the future. We were expected to be polite, respect the law and be respectful to our elders. We were well able to create our own entertainment without the excuse of not having skateboard parks etc. Just used to go to the "rec" and play cricket or football, or fly model aeroplanes and above all, we were always happy.

As someone said, we were lucky to have such a childhood.

Les

BOB.T

Ahhh, Grifters

There was a big hill on our estate with a sharp bend at the bottom, I used to hurtle down it like a maniac on my BMX, then I'd really get it cranked over and shoot round the bend I got my mate to do it on his Grifter but due to it's enormous weight and limited steering lock he only made it half way round the bend whereupon he found the back of a skip He broke his leg and had to go away in an ambulance, we laughed Nobody rang claims direct

bigsinky

@bob.t

wot no speed dial 1 in them days then?

TIFF-C20WTH

TOP POST

Bought a tear to my eye thinking what my kids are going to miss out on

Tino

Sigh Good post, brought back a lot of good memories

dave cos4x4

Didn't do us any harm did it!

Kids have it way to easy these days.


Dave.

BOB.T

Speed dial, I still can't work that!

Apparition

Stop it, stop it, stop it ! You are making me pine for the good old days...... oh where did they go ? Bladdy good post Andy, We didn't even have a telly til I was 7ish...had to go down the road to Glyn Jones's house to watch theirs 'coz they were posh !

Apparition

And the fun we had on the bricky behind our houses, we'd go play there all day long on our bikes , up and down the old diggings ..... no fear of wierdos or murderers etc. Came home when it went dark.
Took the dog for long walks in the country, not a care in the world. Kids today HAVE NOT got it easy. They are prisoners of society. OOps I'll get off my soapbox now !

Soapy Sam

I used to put ha'pennies in a strong solution of Silver Nitrate - it silver plated them and you could pass them off as SHILLINGS!

Thay would get you a fourpenny bun and loads of other stuff.....

'Andful of gravel, you old fart..............

yoza

Cool thread......

We also used to get milk in a glass bottle,with an inch of cream on the top.

And made scateboards from a plank of wood 4 nails and a scate split in two. Or was that just me?

jasey

Anyone else learn to swim like I did;

PE Teacher thought it was time I could swim. Put the pool cleaning pole thingy under my chin and said "start swimming - I'll keep you up with this pole (oooh errr)". Half way across the deep-end the pole was removed and I learnt to swim - quickly !!!!

He would probably be sacked if he did that today !

paulr

The older you get the better it used to be........and in Uncle Bucks case,it must have been brilliant...

davy1

Quality Thread.

Happy Days!!!!!!
Remember me 1st bikes,Chipper,Tomahawk,Chopper,Grifter,BMX,then pearsons Tracker.
Used to spend hours over on Mitcham Golf course,on a Sunday.Allways come back with various injuries and a puncture.

Soapy Sam

...........and put fourpenny bangers (the big ones, not those silly 1d things) in the old gin bottles with the clip-on caps and leg it, trying to avoid the flying glass............

Are all scooby owners hooligan kids at heart?

jasey

Once found half a dozen .22 bullets in my grandads house - wondered what would happen if I threw them on an open fire (I was young ).

Noise was great - 1st bullet whizzing past my head got me worried - took cover .

Mum & Dad weren't impressed ! I think they might have hit me - I could probably do them for retro-post-traumatic-stress-disorder or something similar !

Fuzz

That reminds me

Cracking open a shot gun cartridge or three and emptying the little green squares onto a flat bit of wood and placing said wood on top of bofire.... ooooh what pretty colours

definatly a fire freak

light a good BBQ add various aerosol cans (full ) and retire..... quickly

then wonder how to put out nearby 20ft fir tree which is ablaze

those were the days

Andy

Nevetas

Mucking about with ammo! Arrr yes, those were the days!