Hoi Les, Clocker, Kev et al

[JPaul]

Ewe are 47 bitchez?

That'd explain why ewe have so many accounts on here, like.

[clocker]

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

My father built a rumble seat into the trunk of his Healey 3000 and I rode around in that.
Thought it was freakin cool.

Water from the garden hose was always hot if you didn't let it run for a while.

[Skweeky]

Tap water is better than bottled water. In Scotland anyway.

[chalice]

Splashing in rivers was top fun.

Polio never did Ian Dury any harm.

[Agrajag]

Splashing in rivers was top fun.

Polio never did The Late Ian Dury any harm.

/Fixed

[Agrajag]

Oh, swapped PCs btw.

Watching both games.

I hate Athletico Madrid.

[j2k4]

HOW TRUE IS THIS!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 50's, 60's and 70's !

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Nandos. Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because we were always outside playing! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels or SKY, no video/dvd films, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms, we had friends and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

Only girls had pierced ears! We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Football and rugby had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that! Getting into the team was based on merit.

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bully's always ruled the playground at school. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it.

Which one of you friggin' Brits wrote that.

It's all true, of course - the only thing I never used building a cart was a pram, and I had to twist arms to get people to play rugby 'cuz I thought it looked like fun.

There was certainly more to it, but you've captured the gist of it, I guess.

[Biggles]

I was born in the 50s and most of that is true. Climbed trees, fell out of said trees, crashed my bike and had the most amazing black eye - which was way cool (after it stopped hurting like feck). Used dried cow pats as frisbees and sheep poo as catapult pellets. My Dad and I made a bow and a set of arrows from bamboo washed ashore from some cargo ship. Dad weighted the arrow heads with molten lead. The bow was orsum and it could shoot 100 feet straight up in the air (although you had to be careful where the arrow landed obviousment)

However, mortality was higher. I can't recall people in my school with allergies and the like. I assume this was because they were all dead. There were one two fat kids who were known as Fatty (bit harsh looking back on it) and car accidents were usually pretty nasty. Far fewer cars far more deaths on account of cars being fitted with sharp objects on the bonnet, spring loaded spikes in the steering wheel - that sort of thing.

[Skweeky]

Did you have to wear short trousers even in the winter?

[Skweeky]

So Kev, we know JP is 47, Les is nearing 53... How old are you then?