General Chat

High, low, medium, slow, dolly, rocker, pepper....... remember skipping to that and, not last night but the night before, 24 robbers came knocking at my door, as I went out to let them in......... another skipping song. Samantha...I'd forgotten about Spangles - I don't know if they are still around. I loved tootie fruities and jelly tots, which I still buy every once in a while. I was a member of the Famous Five Club!! I read those Enid Blyton books a dozen times over. In the street we played tig where if you stood on a grate you were 'safe', in the dark we would play spotlight hide and seek with a torch and chinese skipping (or so we called it) where elastic bands were tied together to form a large hoop and one person would stand at either end with the elastic around their ankles forming a rectangle....all kinds of tricks were performed, almost like 'cats cradle' with your feet until the elastic would get stuck in the buckle of your T bar shoes!!!

Remember spangles? can you still get them?

OMG I remember those elasticated 'bubble' swimming costumes...when you took them off you had a pattern all over you left by the elastic!! Those were the days when you had to wear swimming caps to got to the baths. I had really long, thick wavy hair and by the time I had tucked it all in I had a 'coney' head! The good old days when the nit nurse would come round and check everyone's hair at school and the dental nurse would hand out pink disclosing tablets to check who'd brushed their teeth. Did anyone ever have 'Scots Emulsion'? It was some kind of cod liver oil camouflaged in white emulsion. There was also 'cod liver oil and malt' or 'toffee' as I was duped into believing.

skipping songs.....'in n out the dusty blue bells'..... another was......'eevy ivy OVER!' Remember 5 jacks? Two balls..... one a penny two a penny three a penny......drop one!.... Marbles!!!! who had a doubler?....lol I asked my old Mum about playground games not so long ago.....She was almost 90 and most of the time diddnt know her name or where she was...but she remembered the games....wish I had the forthought of writing then down. ah! well! we live n learn. I was champion hula hooper. wish I could do it now lol Plate ona stick? remember that? Remember making stilts from Lyons syrup treacle cans?..two holes to thread the string through? Hoola hoop petticoats. I rememebr making my own with wire coat hangers....lol Gerri aged 12 and 3/4s lol

What a laugh! I don't ususally feel old, but this has suceeded in it. What about Saturday morning pictures? we had a shilling, with that we managed to get the bus there and back(4d) get in (6d) and buy an ice pole (2d) The weekend just wouldn't feel right without going. The rich kids sat in the balcony that was 9d. Suex

For all of you hankering after the sweets you sucked as kids...you can still get some of them here: http://www.aquarterof.*co.uk/ (remove the *) Dee x

Hi Everyone, You all sound so young, bus to school? Never ever! The opposite sex? They were the enemy! 6d was a fortune, it bought me, my brother and my sister, a bag of chips to share - and can we have a scoop of batters (the bits that fell off the fish) please? Television had one channel, two came later and it didn't come on till after tea, then all the neighbours came in to watch! Holidays and days outings, what were they? All the things you mentioned were my children's favourites. Thanks for bringing back some memories though - John (at this moment feeling very ancient).

you have made me smile,at school doing hand stands up the wall,spending my dinner money and having to walk home,holding a bag of flying saucers with sherbet inside at hospital while they stuck a needle in my bum i was only small but i remember.collecting lady birds in a match box,going swimming getting bag of chips and crackling after.taking a neighbours grandson [baby] in the pram round the block on a sunday.Going on holiday to south shields with mum and dad going to the beach in my costume it was all elasticated like bobbles,pretending i was swimming when my hands were on the ground,ice cream man riding a bike with a big box on the front and running after him for some,what lovely memories.I often sit and think of the past what happy memories they were if only i could just go back for a while and do it all again

OMG Skipping songs can anyone remember any??? 'all in together girls, never mind the weather girls, when it's your birthday please jump in! january, feburary.......... Bev

Anybody in Yorkshire remember the halfpenny sticks of spanish with kaylie, and mixing sugar with cocoa....your finger was brown for a month!!!!!

I used to like getting a 3d bag of chips and a pickled onion to eat on the way home from the swimming baths in summer and buying a bag of hot, roasted chestnuts from a street vendor to eat on the bus home after Sunday morning walk round St James's park, where we fed the ducks. CB >|<

Sledging.....I loved sledging and when we didn't have a sledge, a sheet of plastic would do (although it hurt your bum!!) My legs were chapped, my fingers were white and numb and I probably had a candle drip off the end of my nose but my cheeks were rosy and my lungs were full of fresh air. Nowadays if it forcasts snow - I just think what a pain it will be to drive to work and I hope I don't fall over in case I break my wrist......way back yonder I would have taken a long run up to a patch of ice and even dared to bob down into a 'little man'

How I wish some things never went away, I remember my brother was brought home by the police, as they had found him hanging round with some bad uns, and the copper thought it best, as he was not known to them so he must be a good un being led astray....he had a good hiding from my mom, but never went near the bad uns again. Coppers used to give kids a clip round the ear, but the kids never told their parents, cause if they did they know that they would get more from home. Bev

Peashooters: buying peas from the pet shop, put them in your mouth and shoot, no thought of washing them first! When you were old enough you could ride a moped at 16, no helmets required, and drive a car legally as fast as it would go; no speed cameras. Fish and chips in newspaper; no worries about being poisoned by the ink. And no political correctness!

Aaaaw, sorry Karen - it was meant to make you smile and feel youthful not left looking in the mirror for grey hairs! Anyway, you're only as old as you feel (mentally!).

You mean to say you didn't save your bus fare and walk to school - could have called in the corner shop and got some gobstoppers or liquorice laces. I loved those bonfire toffee lollies in a foil tin.....lubbly. I've just remembered pear drops too - wonder if they still taste the same. One thing I didn't take to and that was those flying saucers - yuck, polystyrene with a bit of flavoured dust in the middle

What about when bus fare to school was 2p? Top trumps are back - not all the good things dissappear!! Jack x

eeeeeeeeh I could go on forever..... who remembers The Tommorow People? Mrs Sharples in Coronation Street? Sale of the Century when you thought it was marvellous to win a teak sideboard...... White socks with dirty grey lines up them from the skipping rope......shoulder pads and Dallas, Vesta Chow Mein with crispy noodles, fish and chips on a Friday, Spam Fritters & cabbage with lumpy mash at school, cola/pineapple cubes..... oh and who had one of those fake dog leads, remember, it was a stiffened lead with a collar on and you had to 'pretend' there was a dog attached.... the simple pleasures in life.

Remember watching Champion the Wonder Horse, Skippy the Kangaroo, Tom & Jerry, Mary Mungo and Midge, Wooden Tops, Magic Roundabout, Lamb Chop, Crystal Tips & Alistair (my hair always looked like Crystal's!!). The only frightening thing on telly for me was Dr Who! Those were the days when there were only 3 channels to choose from (and all the family watched the same thing!) - you had to wait for the telly programmes to start and were happy to watch the screen test card and at the end of the day you would try to watch the shrinking spot on the screen until all went blank. Taking pop bottles back to the shop and getting money back!! White mice, rainbow drops, golden humbugs, half penny sweets!!!!!!! (half pennies!) King size mars bars which you couldn't quite manage to finish without feeling sick, spanish pipes, sour pips (made your tounge sore)...... ah the memories.

And frozen Jubblies - 4 old pence each! Sue xx