WEB PAGE NO. 2872

7th January 2022 First Picture: Wimpey Bar

2nd Picture: Drinking from the tap

3rd Picture: Den building

Growing Up STEVE WRITES I grew up in Portsmouth and I walked to school and back with friends of all colours. There was no taking or picking you up in the car, you walked or rode your bike rain snow or sunshine. Our dinner time at home was always at 5pm. Eating out at a restaurant NEVER EVER happened. It just wasn’t a thing that we did. Fast food was a Wimpy hamburger, if you could find a Wimpy Bar and having a bottle of Coca-Cola was a real treat. You took your school clothes off as soon as you got home and put on your play clothes. We had to do our homework before being allowed outside to play. We always ate dinner at the table never on our laps. Our rotary dial phone sat on our ‘phone table’ in the sitting room and had a cord attached, so there was no such things as private conversations, mobile phones didn’t exist TVs didn’t have remotes, we had to actually get up to change the channel - and there were only a few to choose from! 3 actually We played Cops and Robbers, It, Red Light-Green Light, Stick in the mud, french skipping, Hide & Seek, Tag, Football, 40/40 British bulldog and rode bikes with cards in the spokes and tassels hanging from the handlebars. Girls could spend hours playing Sindy, house and dress up. Boys played Football on the street. Staying in the house was a PUNISHMENT and the only thing we knew about "bored" was --- "You better find something to do before I find it for you!" We ate what mum made for dinner or we ate nothing at all and if we didn’t eat our vegetables we had them waiting cold for us the next meal. Everyone was welcome and no one left our house hungry, We had no microwave. There was no bottled water we drank straight from the tap or from the garden hose outside. We watched cartoons on Saturday mornings, and rode our bikes for hours, ran around and went on our roller skates that attached to our shoes. We weren't AFRAID OF ANYTHING. We played till dark...sunset was our time to go home If someone had a fight, that's what it was and we were friends again a week later, if not SOONER. We watched our MOUTHS around our elders because ALL of our aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, AND our parents' best friends were all extensions of our PARENTS and you didn't want them telling your PARENTS if you misbehaved! Or they would give you something to cry about. These were the good ol' days. So many kids today will never know how it feels to be a REAL KID. I loved my childhood Building dens was a favourite pastime. The tricky bit, after finding a suitable venue for the den, was hunting around our parents sheds, garages, gardens and the local neighbourhood for items to build a den. Corrugated iron for the roof was the favourite, an old carpet for the floor, someone’s old arm chair to sit in and jam jars to put candles in to provide lighting. Some old bricks to build a fireplace and a metal grid to put our frying pan on to cook our sausages in. These were the days of adventure! Good Times ❤️ Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com