Growing Up! Remember?

Growing up.

No child proof lids on medicine bottles
No helmets on bikes
Knocked myself out over handle bars on South Circular
No unnecessary health and safety rules!
No seat belts
No air bags
Rode in the back of dad’s builders van….kid on the loose!
Drank water from garden hosepipe – little bugs and all!
Playing outside all day, as long as back by tea time
Made go carts out of pram wheels and planks
Careered down down Birkbeck Hill on said home made go-cart with dudgy brake!
No Playstations, Nintendo, Xboxes and the like
No video games
No 99 channel TV
No Netflix, Disney Channel or Prime
No Boxsets
Simple black and white TV rented from Rediffusion
No bathroom – portable bath in the kitchen when needed
Outside loo – shared with a number of small creatures! Not good in the dark!
No mobile phones
No email, no SPAM (apart from the stuff you get in tins)
No text messages
No social media
Organic vegetables from the green grocer – no toxic chemicals
Penny (old money) sweets from Mrs Jenkins corner shop – especially blackjacks
No politically correct nonsense – can you buy blackjacks anymore?
Marrow bones from the butcher to make nourishing soup for the family
Pigs trotter’s with English mustard (yum)
If you wanted to use the phone walk down the road and use the phone in the red telephone box on the corner. Use real money – get some exercise!
No PC, no internet
If your mum found out that the local Bobby had given you a clip round the ear for some misdemeanour, when you got home she’d give you another one!