Random things i remember from my childhood

pulleys in the scullery for hanging the washing on.

tony bells mini balls.

putting pennies on the railway lines to flatten them.

getting lift owers at the game.

going round the doors collecting ginger bottles.

cashing in embassy coupons.

warrant sales.

putting a pin prick in the top of a bottle of ginger, blowing in it and pretending you were drinking from a spanish wine skin.

bashing a tin can flat on to the top of a stick to make a hatchet.

making bows/arrows/crossbows/catapults.

putting bangers in cow pats.

building our bonfires round the telegraph pole.

banging detonators with bricks.

throwing aresols into fires.

playing fitba out in the street till daft o,clock at night.

burning slogans into wood with magnifying glasses.



ah, nostalgia isn,t what it used to be.

pulleys in the scullery for hanging the washing on.

Ahhh the great smell of Dobie

tony bells mini balls.

Never knew him that well

putting pennies on the railway lines to flatten them.

6" nails purloined from the building site down the road turn into wee daggers too

getting lift owers at the game.

Gauny lift us ower mister? No problem shunny



going round the doors collecting ginger bottles.

Workie's bothy in building site (see previous)

cashing in embassy coupons.

A singull anna match (5p)

warrant sales.

Scotland/Wales (Willie Donnachie )

putting a pin prick in the top of a bottle of ginger, blowing in it and pretending you were drinking from a spanish wine skin.

Cans of the relaunched (and completely un-sellable) "Sasparilla" for sale at Janetta's chippie. (2p !)
Barr's Cydrap. (Gets you pished if you drink 127 bottles of it )

bashing a tin can flat on to the top of a stick to make a hatchet.

Awwwwwww maaaaan

making bows/arrows/crossbows/catapults.

...and bogeys

putting bangers in cow pats.

...and frogs

building our bonfires round the telegraph pole.

banging detonators with bricks.

throwing aresols into fires.

Ahhh if only it hadn't been banned. If it ever gets legalised again, the first aershol I'm gonna throw on the fire will be bewlay.

playing fitba out in the street till daft o,clock at night.

We once tried beating the lack of light by playing on whilst carrying individual torches (my suggestion)
It was chaos and I was accused of being a mentalist.
Fat Deek had a really cheap Rangers top on but his Mam had sewed a number 1 into the back of it.
I told him it looked stupid and he said "You look fuckin stupid" and booted me up the arse.
It was quite sore.
But I didn't say anything.
It was 1971.

burning slogans into wood with magnifying glasses.



ah, nostalgia isn,t what it used to be.

Fuckin rubbish innit


LordToffingham CSC

you big upstaging basturt!
canny believe i forgot bogeys. im so ashamed,

mind the firba in the street, we had a fat kid,denzo, his name when we played was Jim Holten, jim holten, jim holten. (in that order. )

I think I know that guy.

Six foot two?

Eyes of blue?

Nah nah nuh-na, na nuh-nah, nuh-naaaah?

What a pair of ole fuds.

Yep Tonibell don't remember them ones though, Mr. Whippy, 99s, Zoom Ice Lollies

Rag and Bone man on a horse and cart. Now it's Lithuanians pretending to be charities.

September: every week going down the corner shop and buying a few fireworks til Guy Fawkes Day. Then letting them off one at a time to make them last.

Tying bangers to stones, lighting them waiting til they fizz then dropping them in a bucket of water. Timing was the key

November: going through the catalogues Littlewoods Kays can't remember the other ones looking at the toys deciding what you really really wanted for Christmas ( Scalextric, Hornby Doublo) but knowing in your heart of hearts that only rich kids got those. So when you got a wind up train set you were happy.

Christmas: Going round Aunts and Uncles houses and being allowed to play cards with the adults for MONEY. It was only Newmarket of course which is basically pot luck anyway. And your dad give you 10d or so for starters.

Piles of snow in the wintertime. Great at first. Snowballs, snowmen but then it soaked through your gloves and hurt. Badly
Then snow piled up for weeks which I hated.

Wintertime: the whole family huddled round one tiny coal fire. You could never get warm. Freezing cold lino. Constantly being moaned at by your parents for leaving lights on. Have you left the landing light on etc etc

Playing football out in the street or alley til you could barely see.

Walking everywhere: to school, to the town, the woods. No supervision. Nobody was bothered,

Ah the good old days

Great Universal Stores was the other catalogue.

Used to be called "The Chorlton Book" in our house for reasons which are now obscure

Bottling tim buses at Govan Cross on OF day

Making a pile of cash by selling empty ginger bottles to the really thick, bloody-knuckled Huns that hung around Govan Cross.

Best time to maximise profits was just before you got your mate to drive past in a transit van with the legend "Fisshull Tim Suporters Bus" crudely daubed on the side in gloss paint.

You always had enough for at least three black-puddin suppers and a half-dozen cans by the third circuit.

Happy days.

completing my first xbox game.

enjoying a muller fruit corner

gosh the dvd revolution

Enjoying a Muller winner against England in 1970

Did it come from a corner?

Going to school in a dress.

Musta bin terrible for you man

I mean...

...making you go to school in a dress

A high-waisted A-line skirt and plain-fronted blouse (no smocking) woulda been a much more flattering combo for your kinda body shape.

You musta felt ridiculous

"Making a pile of cash by selling empty ginger bottles to the really thick, bloody-knuckled Huns that hung around Govan Cross.

Best
time to maximise profits was just before you got your mate to drive
past in a transit van with the legend "Fisshull Tim Suporters Bus"
crudely daubed on the side in gloss paint."