Things you did when you where younger?

[captain nemo1701]

Summer of '76, group of us kids (c8-13 years old) would take bits of old cardboard to the nearby A45 dual carriageway on the NW edge of Coventry (towards Brum) at a very busy roundabout junction (A45 ran above the roundabout).

We would stand right next to the dual carriageway (traffic doing 60mph, and the rest!) and use the cardboard sheets as pseudo sledges to zoom down the steep dried out grass embankment, making sure we stopped before flying out onto the slip road below.

Never thought it strange or dangerous (no one got injured, and nobody ever told us off).

Different times I suppose.

1970's, used to swim, picnic with the family along with lots of others here, especially the roasting summer of 1976:

Obviously, not when its in flood ! (Broken Scar, Darlington). we used to slide down the main channel into the rapids as its slimey, covered in slippery weeds. Not exactly the safest thing to do....But every summer in the 70's. Then a couple of years ago I read of a kid drowning in Darlington River Tees...here .

Also have done the sliding down grassy slopes on cardboard....different times eh?. Plus climbing 60-70ft high trees to the top...went on the canopy walkway recently at Kew and nearly s**t myself.

 

[presta]

Not exactly the safest thing to do....But every summer in the 70's. Then a couple of years ago I read of a kid drowning in Darlington River Tees...here

The stoppers at the bottom of a weir can be very dangerous, often the most benign looking ones. In the canoe club we sometimes had someone on the bank with a throw line before shooting big weirs.

 

[Toshiba Boy]

1970's, used to swim, picnic with the family along with lots of others here, especially the roasting summer of 1976:
View attachment 725092

Obviously, not when its in flood ! (Broken Scar, Darlington). we used to slide down the main channel into the rapids as its slimey, covered in slippery weeds. Not exactly the safest thing to do....But every summer in the 70's. Then a couple of years ago I read of a kid drowning in Darlington River Tees...here .

Also have done the sliding down grassy slopes on cardboard....different times eh?. Plus climbing 60-70ft high trees to the top...went on the canopy walkway recently at Kew and nearly s**t myself.

My laugh "like" was obviously re your adult reaction at Kew, so true!

Very sad about the kid in River Tees.

 

[presta]

went on the canopy walkway recently at Kew and nearly s**t myself

Have you been up the rigging on SS Great Britain? I did it a few years ago and even though I was in a climber's harness it surprised me how nervous I'd become in the 18 years since my fellwalking days when I'd last negotiated any heights. I watched the button boy climbing the mast at HMS Ganges when I was a kid, b*gger that for a lark.

 

[grldtnr]

At around 11 or 12 I had moved from Fulham out to Twickenham. Mates and I in the holidays would buy Red Rover tickets from the Fulwell Bus Depot. The cost two and six in old money. (12.5 pence) These enabled the purchaser to travel anywhere using a red London bus for 24 hours.
Duffel bags stuffed with sandwiches and orange juice kept us fed and we would travel all over London.
We visited so many places that now are the preserve of tourist and at that time they were all free.

The Science Museum, The Natural History Museum, The War Museum, were favourites. The Tower of London, where we walked past The Crown Jewels. (we may have had to pay to see them) The Monument, which we climbed to the very top, St Paul's Cathedral, The Cutty Sark, Greenwich Observatory and places I can not even recall now.

We would get on any bus and go for maybe 10 or 20 stops and get on the very first bus we saw and repeat that again, and again until we were God knows where. With the trusty London Transport bus map we always found our way back home.
East to Epping Forest, West to Windsor and Castle, South as far as Dorking or Leatherhead, North as far as the buses ran. We would start at 8 am and get back home between 6 and 8.

No phones, no worries. just out with your friends and out of touch.

Happy days.

London ,has changed so much in my lifetime, the skyscape isn't what it was, if I went to London now ,I'd be totally lost, very few of the landmarks I remember are still there.

Progress, I don't think so, glass carbuncles everywhere, the former Prince Charles was right!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I know the feeling
I worked in the centre of Liverpool for 20 years

during that time pretty much naff all changed other than the shade of green on the M&S sign!!!

10 or so years after I left that company (i.e. they kicked me out having lobbed a load of money at me) I went back to go to the passport office - literally across the road from where I used to work - and everything was different
Massive building I had never seen before
and all the almost derelict buildings had been refurbished and all the cellars had been converted to posh things


and it had gone from only a few cafe's in the business area - to being a place with posh coffee places every 10 yards along every road

even the main shopping place had changed from a single street into a whole area!!!

It is all a different place now - which is mostly a good thing - but very confusing when you used to know every alley and shortcut!

 

[cyberknight]

I know the feeling
I worked in the centre of Liverpool for 20 years

during that time pretty much naff all changed other than the shade of green on the M&S sign!!!

10 or so years after I left that company (i.e. they kicked me out having lobbed a load of money at me) I went back to go to the passport office - literally across the road from where I used to work - and everything was different
Massive building I had never seen before
and all the almost derelict buildings had been refurbished and all the cellars had been converted to posh things


and it had gone from only a few cafe's in the business area - to being a place with posh coffee places every 10 yards along every road

even the main shopping place had changed from a single street into a whole area!!!

It is all a different place now - which is mostly a good thing - but very confusing when you used to know every alley and shortcut!

I still waiting for my company to lob a load at me, they did offer but it wasnt enough

 

[Dogtrousers]

I remember walking through Kings Cross with a friend. Past the revamped Eurostar station, down streets with fancy chichi coffee bars. He was getting all misty eyed and nostalgic: "I remember when this was all prostitutes and junkies."

Ah, the good old days.

 

[grldtnr]

Ah yes ! The old Kings Cross.
Last time I was that way, it was hoardings and building sites everywhere, and no I wasn't looking for a knocking shop or illicit goods, just a train to York!

 

[raleighnut]

Still do most of what I did when younger although hill walking and camping less since my accident and I stopped riding Motorbikes in 85 apart from a few quick blatts on mates bikes nicest of which was Grahams FJ1200, that had been 'derestricted' to over 140bhp from the stock 125bhp (simple matter of cutting a restrictor out of the inlet stubs and jetting up one size) That used to belong to Chris Vincent* (sidecar racer of note) who had a bike shop in Earl Shilton but he sold it when the FZR1000 came out.

* Father of Jay Vincent

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I still waiting for my company to lob a load at me, they did offer but it wasnt enough

I didn;t get a choice - to be fair they were very good about it in most ways

I just got caught in someone else's career aims
but as i had been there for nearly 20 years (6 week off - which was a shame) I got a load of money
(which my partner at the time managed to spend!)

 

[cyberknight]

I didn;t get a choice - to be fair they were very good about it in most ways

I just got caught in someone else's career aims
but as i had been there for nearly 20 years (6 week off - which was a shame) I got a load of money
(which my partner at the time managed to spend!)

glad i didnt , with this latest operation and time off work .I had left i would probably be waiting another year at least on the nhs