Innocent passtimes

[fluffymoat4]

During a school holiday my father was off work for one week and he spent a lot of that time in our parlour (front BEST room). We just assumed he was carrying out decorating or mending jobs and we respected his order to "Keep Out!" One day he lined all six of us up outside the parlour door. He blindfolded my eldest sister first and told the rest of us to "be patient, it'll be your turn next for the 'COUNTRYSIDE' visit". We all stood there thinking he'd 'lost the plot'. But, when my eldest sister emerged a few minutes later she was "full of it" but "sworn to secrecy". Off she went to help mum in the kitchen. My other elder sister went in next and also came out of the room in the same state and joined mum and sis in the kitchen. I was next. In I went with my blindfold on. I was taken down a countryside path, I could feel branches brushing against my face. I then had to cross a rickety bridge (over a stream) and I could hear water flowing. I was then led through a meadow filled with flowers and I was coaxed into a sitting position so I could actually feel the daisies. I then had to remove my shoes and socks so I could cross a 'shallow stream'. Suddenly the weather began to turn and I could feel a 'breeze' against my face. Another time the 'sun' burned down quite hotly on me. As my "journey" through the countryside came to an end I was led out of the parlour and into the hall. I could only look at the rest of my siblings and think "what magic you are about to encounter!" As I joined my sisters I remembered thinking "Why can't dad be THAT much FUN - ALL of the time?"

If you had seen our parlour after the event you'd have wondered how on earth we'd been sucked in! A few planks across some dining chairs, a bowl of water, a well placed hairdryer etc. He truly had woven his magic! Thanks Dad. xx

[fluffymoat4]

We didn't have a back garden when I was young just a back YARD complete with an outside loo! The surrounding brick wall was very tall and topped with large coping stones. One day my siblings and me decided to climb onto the kitchen window ledge and then jump across to the top of the wall and TOUCH a coping stone as proof we had "done the leap." All was not going well as not one of us could reach and touch the coping stone. We were about to give up when my eldest sister had one more try. She jumped and touched the coping stone but, before we could cheer her success, the coping stone slid off the wall and landed on her. It caused her to fall to the ground onto her back and it landed on her legs. She was screaming in agony and all the kids began screaming too. I just walked up and lifted the coping stone off her and then went to get a neighbour. My sister was taken to hospital and found to have severe bruising to her knees - she has since had major problems with her knees. The odd thing was that my father and uncle tried to put back the coping stone and could NOT lift it!!? Adrenaline is an odd thing?

[Lisa]

Hi Tommy, I told you you were a smart one.......

clancy said:

hi Mo ;D when i was about 9 years old somehow my brother John had a hammer and a nail and climbed up onto the kitchen sink and began to hammer the nail into a gas line luckily i could smell gas escaping from a led gas line so i took my brother outside found some soap by the sink which was soft on one side from being in the water and i forced it on the gas leak and was lucky to stop the leak ;D then i found my mother and the rest is history every one couldn't believe that i could think of such a thing seeing as i never was told or saw someone do that kind of thing before until my mom and dad passed on thats all i ever heard was how could Tommy think of doing that with the soap ( god knows) i don't tommy oxo

[fluffymoat4]

Tommy, so you began life sawing through furniture, then missing out on becoming a budding musician and then finding your calling as a natural "gas repairman"!!

I had to laugh at the gas pipe incident as it evoked another memory I had long since forgotten. There was a gas leak in our house once and dad was tearing around trying to find where it was coming from (he smeared washing up liquid along the pipes knowing that when it "bubbled" that's where the leak was). As he was doing this my uncle visited us, he'd been to the pub and smelled worse than the gas!! Anyway, he offered to find the leak for dad - by using a box of matches?!!!!!

Speaking of gas pipes, Tommy. I was cleaning the gas fire in the lounge of our first house one day when it suddenly fell off the wall into my arms!! I struggled to pull the phone across the room with my foot and was able to ring my youngest brother. Luckily my parents had a spare key and he was able to let himself into our house. I have never felt so frightened in my life. I knew that if the wall mounted gas fire fell to the floor then the gas pipe would have fractured and the gas would have poured out. Oddly enough I wasn't bothered about myself but was concerned about my dog, cat and two canaries. All's well that ends well though.

[Belinda]

Hi lisa,you brought back so many memories of my childhood,youre so right,we were poor but happy. belinda

[Belinda]

i dont know how the message above got there,im sure i was on another page. lol

[tony38337]

Hi Mo,

Your little gas pipe story rattled a memory, when I lived in Stockport with my ex wife we had a little terraced house in an old area, one evening on returning from a ratting expedition down the banks of the Mersey my ex wife was quite uptight on seeing a mouse in the kitchen, I loaded the shotgun and coaxed the little bugger out and fired the gun point blank at the floor where the mouse was supposed to be, he was wiser than I gave him credit for, all there was at my feet was a hole in the lino. Oh we had stopped at the Robin Hood on the way home, that might have impaired my aim or Judgement uh?

Tony T

[Belinda]

Hi Tony,Talking of mice,my mam use to see this mouse(or one of many)popping up in the parlour fire place every night and she got sick of it,so one night she sat in wait,and just as it popped its head up she hit it with the poker and killed it,i still havnt forgiven her for that.xBelinda

[Belinda]

My gran had been ill for a while and my mam had got her this stuff called COMPLAN it was a powder you mixed with water,it was suppose to build you up,it looked like milk so my friends and i decided to fill a load of milk bottles with it and put it on neighbours doorsteps(it tasted vile)it was a futile effort because we never got to see if anyone was fooled.xBelinda

[lin]

HI BELINDA...MY GOODNESS, COMPLAN IS A THING OF THE PAST ISN'T IT? I HAD ALMOST FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT.

THAT IS THE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS SITE, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO WILL JOG THE OLD MEMORY

LIN

[Lisa]

Hi Belinda, I loved this one. You wicked girl !!!! I'd never have thought of that one. What a pity you couldnt see the faces of the victims as they tasted your Complan plan !!

belinda2 said:

My gran had been ill for a while and my mam had got her this stuff called COMPLAN it was a powder you mixed with water,it was suppose to build you up,it looked like milk so my friends and i decided to fill a load of milk bottles with it and put it on neighbours doorsteps(it tasted vile)it was a futile effort because we never got to see if anyone was fooled.xBelinda

[handy]

Thanks peeps for the great laugh I have just had had tears running from reading it all.
I second what has been said below

Lisa I've read and wrote some stuff about life back then But I've never seen a better ,more acurate discription of life ,about when we where kids than the one you just penned now That small paragraph sums it up beautifully That is Poertry in Motion (Johnny Tilitson)


Bodzy

Tony yes how inventive of you but how naughty he he but I like it.

Think I was pretty tame just the odd bit of black and white rabbit game but my brother Thommy was a little rascal. He was for ever pinching a horse from the Gyspsies on Clayton Vale and galloping up and down the streets the bobbies were always bringing him back home with warnings no matter how many good hidings he got he carried on as he just loved them horses. Good job mum and dad got him that apprentis jockey job back in the old days. That is a big story I may tell you one day.
Love Pat x

[tonymarley]

dear juiie
iam sending you
this card can you
come oownand see
me some time get
the 169 and i will
meet youthe
chemst i got a
dog called jasper
and theres aparil wherei
llvve where iplay football
and gareth helps me out
nothe coputer and atevs
my best mate ilke jim and
me and jim havea laff
and jim and collette
is my best mate and
peter and bob is my
best mate he talks to
me no smitfeld
all the best
tony

[Lisa]

Hi Antony, Havent heard from you on the Chatline for a while. How is the job at Lidl's and how's your dog? I loved your message and glad you have so many friends. When are you going to put your photo on so we can see what you look like?

[frances]

Can you remember the presents we got as well. Sweet Shop, Post Office, John Bull printing set even "housey housey" (or Bingo as they call it now). We used to think we were well done by with these presents. We were never asked what we wanted for Christmas you just thought yourself luck to receive anything.

[lin]

HI FRANCES..I REMEMBER IT WELL, WE ALSO USED TO GET NUTS AND ORANGES ETC PUT IN OUR XMAS STOCKING AS WELL...I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED IF KIDS TODAY GOT THEM.

[tony38337]

I also used to get chocolate smoking sets, y'know pipes, cigars, all moulded out of chocolate. At ages four to seven (which would be late 40's early 50's rationing) I can remember some very iffy chocolate that even I didn't like but yes we did love the oranges & tangerines, now you can get them all year round it takes away some of the magic of Christmas don't you think?

Tony T

[lin]

I REMEMBER CHOCOLATE CIGARETTES, PIPES ETC....I GUESS THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS HAS GONE IN LOTS OF WAYS NOW, I KNOW SOME KIDS DON'T EVEN KNOW THE MEANING OF IT AT ALL.

[frankwalsh]

Hi all, just love Christmas always have, my dad always used to make it so special.I think the difference today is nothing is special , everybody has so much, when you have nowt little things mean so much more.It's not the kids fault that they are spoilt rotten all year, and then Christmas just be comes another exscuse to splurge,I remember the first time I Saw a Tangerine,I thought it was a ball. Easter, and Whit week it would be new clothes if you were lucky. We have 13 grandkids, and I cant believe the amount of money that is spent on them. My Mother used to say, I can hear her now all you kids ever say ,is can I have, and I want, it used to fall on deaf ears, most of the time, she just did not have the money to spare, better sign off starting to sound thingyensian. We always have a Crib and a tree, which the grandkids help to set up, gives us a chance to talk about the real meaning of Christmas. Regards, Frank Walsh.

[frankwalsh]

Fairdinkum, I dont believe they could find something wrong with Di..ensian, Charles must be turning in his grave.F. W.

[lin]

frankwalsh said:

Hi all, just love Christmas always have, my dad always used to make it so special.I think the difference today is nothing is special , everybody has so much, when you have nowt little things mean so much more.It's not the kids fault that they are spoilt rotten all year, and then Christmas just be comes another exscuse to splurge,I remember the first time I Saw a Tangerine,I thought it was a ball. Easter, and Whit week it would be new clothes if you were lucky. We have 13 grandkids, and I cant believe the amount of money that is spent on them. My Mother used to say, I can hear her now all you kids ever say ,is can I have, and I want, it used to fall on deaf ears, most of the time, she just did not have the money to spare, better sign off starting to sound thingyensian. We always have a Crib and a tree, which the grandkids help to set up, gives us a chance to talk about the real meaning of Christmas. Regards, Frank Walsh.

HI FRANK...YOU'RE RIGHT THERE, KIDS GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT NOW, AND I DON'T THINK THEY APPRECIATE IT EITHER, IT'S JUST THE NORM FOR THEM...SO CHRISTMAS TO THEM IS NOTHING SPECIAL OTHER THAN MORE NEW GIFTS. IT'S NICE TO KNOW YOU ARE STILL KEEPING THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS ALIVE WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS

[Lisa]

Hi Tony, Nice to see you getting back to normal. How are the knees? I remember the chocolate smoking sets wrapped in silver paper and you had to make them last a long time. Does anyone remember the horrible chocolate laxatives in tiny oblong blocks? I remember finding some at home in a cupboard and ate two (one was enough to send you scurrying to the loo!!) It taught me a lesson I wouldnt forget. Anyone remember them?

tony38337 said:

I also used to get chocolate smoking sets, y'know pipes, cigars, all moulded out of chocolate. At ages four to seven (which would be late 40's early 50's rationing) I can remember some very iffy chocolate that even I didn't like but yes we did love the oranges & tangerines, now you can get them all year round it takes away some of the magic of Christmas don't you think?

Tony T

[tony38337]

Hi Lisa,

I am getting reasonably mobile, still got no knee (Not sure when they will put that back) but with the brace I am getting a little strength back in the leg and although I can't walk as normal I can get about satisfactorily, for longer jaunts I have a little electric scooter in the boot so things are not too bad. We had a ball at the Bikers weekend at Skegness but on the up side to that someone whom we met told me of a thing called Bee Propolis. This persons Father had a similar problem to me and his wife heard about Bee Propolis and gave it to him and hey presto the infection was sorted. Apparently it is good for preventing cell division in viruses & bacteria and is particularly good for penicillin resistant strains, so fingers crossed.

Tony T.

[Lisa]

Hi Tony, I've heard of Propolis and have used it myself. If you can find a bee-keeper who sells honey LOCALLY then you can ask them for fresh Propolis. It is quite difficult to extract so it has to be a well-established bee-keeper. I'm all in favour of trying things the Natural way before going down the allopathic route. We have such a lot to learn from nature and maybe our grandparents werent so wrong afterall with all their remedies. For example, I discovered quite by accident that CAPSICUM is great for arthritic joints. I had very painful Tennis Elbow (sometimes brought on my too much acid in coffee etc) and in desperation sponged some Drops of Life (Frank Roberts Herbalists) onto the elbow and within two weeks the pain had gone. Its worth giving your Propolis a try, as it can only do good, it cant harm you. Honey is wonderful cure-all and a great pick-me-up, its even known to cure leg ulcers when everything else fails. For the best honey try Manuka (expensive) or any good quality honey from privately-owned Health Food Stores. Let me know how you get on with it Tony. If you cant find any locally, look on the Internet.

tony38337 said:

Hi Lisa,

I am getting reasonably mobile, still got no knee (Not sure when they will put that back) but with the brace I am getting a little strength back in the leg and although I can't walk as normal I can get about satisfactorily, for longer jaunts I have a little electric scooter in the boot so things are not too bad. We had a ball at the Bikers weekend at Skegness but on the up side to that someone whom we met told me of a thing called Bee Propolis. This persons Father had a similar problem to me and his wife heard about Bee Propolis and gave it to him and hey presto the infection was sorted. Apparently it is good for preventing cell division in viruses & bacteria and is particularly good for penicillin resistant strains, so fingers crossed.

Tony T.

[tony38337]

Frank?

What you were saying about the real meaning of Christmas is so on the nail. Our only concession to decoration is a rather unusual hanging Crib (Wouldncha know it, it's American) and our KSC seasonal poster which we put up on our front window, our Christmas tree (Now seven years old) is planted in a half barrel in our front garden and its decorated by Mother Nature, she does a much better job than me. We do buy for the Grandchildren but never over the top, we don't gorge but we do have a few seasonal treats, I've never seen the sense of eating yourself silly just because it's a holy day? I doesn't sit well does it?

On the theme of Whit Week I always got new clothes & shoes and assumed that everyone did, it was a bit of a shock to learn in later life that it wasn't so. Just goes to show that what you think you see isn't necessarily the way it is.

Tony T.

[Lisa]

Hi Tony, How are you doing with those knees? Ok I hope. I agree totally with you about Christmas. Most people seem to have forgotten what its all about. It seems to be BUY, BUY, BUY, and EAT, EAT, EAT. Ever looked at the faces of people in the run up to Christmas in the High Streets? They all look miserable, stressed and overladen with presents for people they care little for or see little of. People are thrown together for a few days and are expected to show the Season of Goodwill through gritted teeth, promising never to do it again next year. The refuse bins are overflowing with uneaten food which could feed some Third World countries and children rarely write 'thank you' notes to the person who bought the present, often not even knowing who the presents are from. We then fill the Casualty Departments of hospitals with the effects of our over-indulgences and go back to work with sighs of relief that its ALL OVER UNTIL NEXT YEAR !!! Happy Christmas, dont make me laugh. I know which Christmas I would prefer and it goes back a long way to my dad's knitted socks filled with nuts, tangerines and a few sweets, with ONE main present, family all eating together for one meal on Christmas day, no wasted food, no unwelcome presents and a longing for it to come around quickly again. Grumpy Old Lady you have had your moan, now get some work done........

[tony38337]

Hi All,

Does anyone remember Oldham Road in the early 60's between Queens Road & town? There used to be a railway goods yard where a lot of produce arrived by train for Smithfield Market, Fyfes were pretty close to the gates if I remember rightly. In the evenings a police car used to park just inside the gateway, it was long before the days of "The Panda Car" and "Blues & Two's" local plodmobiles were Morris 1000's "The Blues" were alternately flashing blue spot lights, "The Two's" were electrically operated bells, I think by the standard of today's police transport it was amusing (Until you got the old Wolsley saloons, boy they went like stink!)

One evening about eight or nine of us decided to ride down Oldham Road and wake Mr. Plod up, here we are going back to the typical "Ton Up Kid" mentality of the 60's, noisy exhaust pipes and y'can't catch me ha ha ha! The idea was that when we got to the bottom of Oldham Road we would all peel off in different directions. I suppose it was the plod version of the old Irish joke How to confuse an Irishman, put two shovels in the corner and tell him to take his pick. I don't claim this activity as my idea and I'm not sure how many times it has been done if at all. We thought it was funny at the time, importantly we didn't push our luck either with the law or fate, unlike an acquaintance of mine in Southampton last year who passed his bike test about three years ago and got himself a nice little sports bike (A Rizla liveried Bandit 600) Now I am of the old school of riders that believes if one or both wheels leave the ground you have lost control of the bike. Poor old Damian found it hard to resist the wheelie and is known to perform them at the drop of a hat. This he did on Shirley High Street when overtaking a line of traffic, sadly for him there was a plodmobile in the line who took exception to this activity and booked him, silly bugger lost his licence for 18 months and got a hefty fine, for an HGV driver I guess that's an expensive wheelie.

Tony T.

[Belinda]

Hi Tony,I remember oldham road well,I was born just off queens road.your tale made me laugh,Great times,great memories. x Belinda

[tony38337]

Hi Belinda,

A lad I went to school with, John Broomhead lives on the street that runs parallel with Queens Rd. Yeah great times, I think we may have annoyed a lot of people but I don't think we were malicious.

Tony T.

[Belinda]

tony38337 said:

Hi Belinda,

A lad I went to school with, John Broomhead lives on the street that runs parallel with Queens Rd. Yeah great times, I think we may have annoyed a lot of people but I don't think we were malicious.

Tony T.

Hi Tony,No,never malicious. x Belinda