My favourite was condensed milk. Dip your finger in that and enjoy!!!
A 1950s Childhood
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
I’m a bit younger than you guys and was born in 56 but we moved to Brisbane Australia so most of my childhood memories are going to the bush in shorts.
When we returned to the U.K. in 69 , my Dad bought a house with central heating and a fitted kitchen.
I have vague memories of Granny’s house having a tub on the wall near the pigeon house.
We used to have pigeon pie without a thought to where the pigeon came from.
When we returned to the U.K. in 69 , my Dad bought a house with central heating and a fitted kitchen.
I have vague memories of Granny’s house having a tub on the wall near the pigeon house.
We used to have pigeon pie without a thought to where the pigeon came from.
Empty vessels .. and all that
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, those were't days
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Bensham33 wrote: ↑12 Nov 2020, 16:16One of my happiest memories was toasting bread on our coal fire using a toasting fork and having loads of dripping with it.
Remember that fondly. The bread was all made in small local bakeries.
The coal arrived on the back of a horse and cart and Tom the coalman had to make sure he didn't throw in half a bag of dust or he would know about it. Picking the last bag off the cart he would shout something to the horse who then moved the cart to the next house ready for when Tom came out.
Don't worry, be happy
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
We used to stick the tiles back on the fireplace with that..
Mel
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Toast was made in front of the fire in the black leaded range in our house but sometimes only after us kids had nipped up to the gas depot to pinch bits of coal to make it possible. That brass toasting fork has followed me everywhere and presently has pride of place hanging off our oak mantle and yes we do still use it now and again to toast crumpets on the multi burner.
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Gibbs dentifrice was the name of the tooth powder in the round tin.oldbluefox wrote: ↑12 Nov 2020, 16:07I wonder whose idea it was to put the loo at the bottom of the garden? When I was little I was afraid of the dark so I used to run like bl***y hell. Of course once there there was no light so it was a bit of a black hole with the door shut, just the spiders for company. As I got older it was my job to rip up newspaper and put string through. I thought we'd made it when we had proper loo paper.
The book talks about cold bedrooms, getting out of bed onto the cold lino in bare feet and looking out through frost patterns on the window. Anybody remember Gibbs toothpaste in a round tin like a shoe polish tin and all the family rubbed their toothbrushes in it. I think it was pink. True communal living.
John
Trainee Pensioner since 2000
Trainee Pensioner since 2000
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
We moved into the family home when I was 3 in 1950 - my mother is still there - she will be 98 in January and it has changed significantly over the years. Our next door neighbour was a rag and bone man - he had a houseful of kids and we’d all be out playing in the street and up the mountain - jam sandwiches and a bottle of water would keep us going. Mr Jones (well we do live in Wales!!!) only had one leg and my father who was a carpenter used to make his crutch for him - made to measure so to speak. Mr Jones had a horse (called Queenie) and cart and played the accordion - gosh so many memories
Janis
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
I've never been on the inside Screwy...Oops! Spoke to soon, there's a policeman at our front door
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Anyone remember the heavy velvet table cloth the granny used to have over the table and made a great tent?
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
When we were kids, the first thing we would love to do when visiting Granny was to go up the mountain Jan.Jan Rosser wrote: ↑12 Nov 2020, 18:02We moved into the family home when I was 3 in 1950 - my mother is still there - she will be 98 in January and it has changed significantly over the years. Our next door neighbour was a rag and bone man - he had a houseful of kids and we’d all be out playing in the street and up the mountain - jam sandwiches and a bottle of water would keep us going. Mr Jones (well we do live in Wales!!!) only had one leg and my father who was a carpenter used to make his crutch for him - made to measure so to speak. Mr Jones had a horse (called Queenie) and cart and played the accordion - gosh so many memories
She was in Porth.
Loved it.
Loo up the garden and feather beds.
Plus, we were allowed to choose our cereal.
Luxury
Empty vessels .. and all that
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Love your Welsh connection Barney We certainly had a carefree time and looking back we probably did some things we wouldn’t have allowed our kids to do although I never thought we were in danger - the older ones kept an eye on the younger kids. In my childhood the mines were still working and the river was black with coal dust so when we’d been in the water we were filthy coming home so had to go in the bath in front of the firebarney wrote: ↑12 Nov 2020, 19:07When we were kids, the first thing we would love to do when visiting Granny was to go up the mountain Jan.Jan Rosser wrote: ↑12 Nov 2020, 18:02We moved into the family home when I was 3 in 1950 - my mother is still there - she will be 98 in January and it has changed significantly over the years. Our next door neighbour was a rag and bone man - he had a houseful of kids and we’d all be out playing in the street and up the mountain - jam sandwiches and a bottle of water would keep us going. Mr Jones (well we do live in Wales!!!) only had one leg and my father who was a carpenter used to make his crutch for him - made to measure so to speak. Mr Jones had a horse (called Queenie) and cart and played the accordion - gosh so many memories
She was in Porth.
Loved it.
Loo up the garden and feather beds.
Plus, we were allowed to choose our cereal.
Luxury
Janis
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Hi David…I can’t remember velvet tablecloths but I do remember the old plastic/vinyl ones…we had one which I can’t ever remember it being removed from the dining table.
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Many years after Granny's demise I made a couple of table top card tables, they had posh brass corners and were of course topped in Granny Green
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
my granny had an outside loo too - no bathroom.
she had a chamber pot under the bed so no need to trot outside in the night
Eventually the council gave grants to add an inside bathroom so she lost a bedroom and gained a huge bathroom.
she had a chamber pot under the bed so no need to trot outside in the night
Eventually the council gave grants to add an inside bathroom so she lost a bedroom and gained a huge bathroom.
Meg
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
there was so much more freedom then.
we would go out in the morning and reappear at dinnertime.
We spent a fair bit of our summer holidays riding the Woolwich free Ferry - just a load of kids. We moved away when I was 10, so must have been far younger than children these days are out and about on their own.
Partly there was less traffic.
I'm sure stranger danger was no different - just more awareness (paranoia?) these days
we would go out in the morning and reappear at dinnertime.
We spent a fair bit of our summer holidays riding the Woolwich free Ferry - just a load of kids. We moved away when I was 10, so must have been far younger than children these days are out and about on their own.
Partly there was less traffic.
I'm sure stranger danger was no different - just more awareness (paranoia?) these days
Meg
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
We were saying the same when chatting with my brother last week Meg.
As I said, we grew up in Australia and used to go out to the bush for literally the entire day.
We'd take some water, tea , milk etc and something to throw into the pan, load up the rucksack and off we went.
In reality, we were never really more than a few miles form home, but it was genuinely the outback.
We would actually see kangaroos bouncing by and koalas up the gum trees.
Nobody ever really gave a thought to the potential danger and as long as we were back by the time Mum said we had to be, all was fine.
Can you imagine my shock when the family returned to the UK at the end of November.
The TV Castell Felice docked in Southampton in sleet. (six week voyage - heaven)
Given that I'd spent virtually my entire childhood in shorts and flip flops (thongs) I was horrified.
As I said, we grew up in Australia and used to go out to the bush for literally the entire day.
We'd take some water, tea , milk etc and something to throw into the pan, load up the rucksack and off we went.
In reality, we were never really more than a few miles form home, but it was genuinely the outback.
We would actually see kangaroos bouncing by and koalas up the gum trees.
Nobody ever really gave a thought to the potential danger and as long as we were back by the time Mum said we had to be, all was fine.
Can you imagine my shock when the family returned to the UK at the end of November.
The TV Castell Felice docked in Southampton in sleet. (six week voyage - heaven)
Given that I'd spent virtually my entire childhood in shorts and flip flops (thongs) I was horrified.
Empty vessels .. and all that
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Have just placed an order pour moi for a book about Foxy's childhood plus " One August Night " for Mobietta
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Just back from a walk and spotted two abandoned footballs - that would never have happened in late ‘50s early ‘60s. Footballs were high currency items; if it was your ball, you played in one of the teams. Also as most games finished not with a penalty shoot out but the bizarre system of ‘next goal is the winner’. So even if your team was losing 27-1 there was still a good chance of you sending your way home victorious - as you decided when to invoke this rule ( usually as your hapless centre forward bore down on an empty goal.)
There was a clear hierarchy of footballs: unbranded plastic ones which flew every which way and were affected by Beaufort scale 1 winds to an alarming degree (these cost 1/6d -the same as 2 standard plus 1 thin Cadbury’s chocolate bars.) Moving up, you got a marginally heavier unbranded plastic ball but this time with dimples - which made a pleasing mark if it hit an opponents thigh. These balls sometimes had continental style pentagonal markings printed on them but they still behaved unpredictably when kicked hard. Also at 1/11d they had competition in the pocket money stakes as and Airfix Spitfire or Hurricane came in at the same price point.
3/- (the same price as an Airfix Mosquito) got you into branded league of balls with Mettoy. Heavier than previous balls and fairly predicable in flight except for a late fade to the right from a ball which was steadily curving left- ‘did you see how I bent that? Just like Pele!’)
Top of the footballs’ league though was the Wembley (Trophy) football. At 6/- (12 bars of CDM or an Airfix Hood, Bismarck or Wellington bomber) it was an expensive item but it was well worth it. It flew predictably and was very durable. It could withstand being kicked into thorn bushes which none of the cheaper could. The main failing was to tendency for the valve to snap ( you could hear it rattle). This could easily be swapped for another salvaged from a punctured ball ( usually a result of the other nemesis of the Trophy, the dog with big jaws!) I was always on the lookout for burst Wembley balls as you could repair them and swap them on. ( are you listening, Sir Alan?)
Of course there were leather ‘casers’ but they cost a fortune, were almost impossible to blow up- you needed a separate adapter (£) and the laces were impossible to tie satisfactorily. So they were only seen in official games.
So things have certainly changed. ‘Leather’ multi-panelled footballs are available for washers at Super Mike’s sports emporium and can be seen everywhere - but I sense their social currency is nil. Heigh ho!
There was a clear hierarchy of footballs: unbranded plastic ones which flew every which way and were affected by Beaufort scale 1 winds to an alarming degree (these cost 1/6d -the same as 2 standard plus 1 thin Cadbury’s chocolate bars.) Moving up, you got a marginally heavier unbranded plastic ball but this time with dimples - which made a pleasing mark if it hit an opponents thigh. These balls sometimes had continental style pentagonal markings printed on them but they still behaved unpredictably when kicked hard. Also at 1/11d they had competition in the pocket money stakes as and Airfix Spitfire or Hurricane came in at the same price point.
3/- (the same price as an Airfix Mosquito) got you into branded league of balls with Mettoy. Heavier than previous balls and fairly predicable in flight except for a late fade to the right from a ball which was steadily curving left- ‘did you see how I bent that? Just like Pele!’)
Top of the footballs’ league though was the Wembley (Trophy) football. At 6/- (12 bars of CDM or an Airfix Hood, Bismarck or Wellington bomber) it was an expensive item but it was well worth it. It flew predictably and was very durable. It could withstand being kicked into thorn bushes which none of the cheaper could. The main failing was to tendency for the valve to snap ( you could hear it rattle). This could easily be swapped for another salvaged from a punctured ball ( usually a result of the other nemesis of the Trophy, the dog with big jaws!) I was always on the lookout for burst Wembley balls as you could repair them and swap them on. ( are you listening, Sir Alan?)
Of course there were leather ‘casers’ but they cost a fortune, were almost impossible to blow up- you needed a separate adapter (£) and the laces were impossible to tie satisfactorily. So they were only seen in official games.
So things have certainly changed. ‘Leather’ multi-panelled footballs are available for washers at Super Mike’s sports emporium and can be seen everywhere - but I sense their social currency is nil. Heigh ho!
Last edited by Ranchi on 24 Nov 2020, 10:16, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
You had a football. You were lucky. Most of the time we used a shirt stuffed with rags and tied in roughly a round ball shape, couldn't head that, though some tried. We often used to play with just a stone. A football was a luxury we seldom enjoyed.
Those old leather balls with the laces were lethal, us kids would not head that ball under any circumstances, in case you headed the laces. Those old balls were very heavy and in the wet they got heavier and heavier. If I remember correctly we got our first plastic ball about 1963. At last we could play our football properly.
Those old leather balls with the laces were lethal, us kids would not head that ball under any circumstances, in case you headed the laces. Those old balls were very heavy and in the wet they got heavier and heavier. If I remember correctly we got our first plastic ball about 1963. At last we could play our football properly.
Last edited by Bensham33 on 24 Nov 2020, 12:38, edited 1 time in total.
Up the Palace
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
Similarly…we used to use an old ‘stuffed’ football sock for our make do footballs
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Re: A 1950s Childhood
We had the old leather football boots with the strap over the top and the wooden toecap. You sure knew about it if you got a kick from one of those. After a while the leather on the nail on studs wore away, perfect for making sparks on the pavement when you walked in crocodile line down the street to the football field, led by your teacher who had his boots on and his socks tucked into his trouser legs. The nails also made a pretty lethal weapon which would shred your opponents socks and also leave a couple of scratch lines as well.
I remember as a teenager buying my first pair of Adidas boots. They cost me £3 second hand and the fact they were three sizes too big mattered not, They were the bee's knees and being oversize ideal for scooping the ball wherever you wanted it to go. And as a bonus, being a growing lad you grew into them. Bargain!!!
I remember as a teenager buying my first pair of Adidas boots. They cost me £3 second hand and the fact they were three sizes too big mattered not, They were the bee's knees and being oversize ideal for scooping the ball wherever you wanted it to go. And as a bonus, being a growing lad you grew into them. Bargain!!!
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Topic author - Ex Team Member
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Topic author - Ex Team Member
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