[Closed] What do you remember from your youth that would never happen today?

Porno mags in hedges

White dog turds.

Jimny Saville with kids on his lap on prime time tv

Corporal punishment in schools. I went to a Catholic school, mate brought in 2 jonnies and got 2 whips of the cane.

Loads!
One that always amazes me is dogs.
When my parents went to work and we went to school, the dog was just let out of the house. Off you go Buster, wander the streets causing havoc, shitting everywhere and generally being a wild animal!
Later a neighbour's dog (Sandy, the squirrel killer) was nabbed by the council dog catcher and they were supposed to pay £100ish to get it back. They didn't.
There also used to be this Standard Poodle in our road. Big black thing. Used to nab unweary school kids to live up to it's nickname: Shagger.

Ah, them were the days.

Porno mags in hedges

I imagine it was probably some middle aged fella reliving his adolesence with a crafty knuckle shuffle in the woods.

I can't recall what the packets we bought actually looked like but I think you might have trouble selling these nowadays.

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Talking of going to school - we used to WALK there. About 4 miles. Any weather. Walk, I tell you!

@DezB 😯 did make me laugh though.

My old man was a teacher, used to smoke in the classroom, during lessons.

I also had the misfortune to be forced into a Catholic education where the teacher belted me everyday for a whole term for a host of spurious reasons, not that it affected me in anyway, at least so the guards tells me.

8 Blackjacks for 1d.

Model pistols in the style of airfix. Had all the workings inside. Used to love those. I think the company was called LS. Again, I think it was hungerford that did for those.

When asked where I was going playing out, I'd tell my mum "I'm off to play in the Railway" - a 15-20ft strip of rough ground that ran alongside the railway lines.

Had hours of fun in there!

We now worry about our daughter playing in the cul-de-sac...

Sitting in the middle of the backseat sort of perched between the front drivers sat and passenger seat in my parents car... no seatbelts airbags or anything...and with the dog on the back parcel shelf !

School playground ice slides in the Winter.

Metal climbing frames on tarmac playgrounds at school

Dogs! They were bloody everywhere. On our cul-de-sac, dogs only had owners in that they were their principle feeders and (most nights), that's where they slept. But largely, they just ran loose and kinda belonged to everyone. 🙂

I tell you - that Shagger was hilarious. When he was wandering about in the road, we used to watch out the window for kids - dog would run up behind them, front paws up on their shoulders and thrust away. Man, how we laughed (as they screamed and tried to get away!!) 😆

Going in the pub at 15 and getting p1ssed.

Now the poor kids have to stand outside in the rain and snow drinking cheap cider.

Me aged 5 being allowed to disapear for hours in bunny woods in Hudds regularly.

The Cane
Wintergreen linament - wish you could still get that
Raising caps to motorist who stopped at a level crossing
Respect for teachers
Communal baths - both normal and after rugby. My son was shocked!!!
Foul food
Jockstraps
The trade in pornos - more important that the mags themselves
Garters in socks
Freedom from too much parental involvement
Air gun battles - summary execution by weak GAT pistols
Hemp climbing ropes and troll waistband harnesses
One bike for everything
Bengal matches and messing about with bangers!
My friends sister!!!!!

We used to go out on our bikes for all day epics, messing about, setting up crap jumps, going to the shops, the river, the rec, (probably about 10 miles in total in reality) but our parents never knew where we were, we just had to be back before dark, so we'd be away for 10 hrs in the summer.

Nowadays, you'd have search teams and helicopters by the 10 hour mark, with everyone suspecting you'd been abducted by paedos.

Barr's Lager and Lime Pop

Barr's Bitter Shandy

Pint Pot chews in shops you can order them online.

My brother and I always got a 'trainee smoker chololate selection box' at xmas. Chocolate pipe, lighter, fags, etc, which we would play with by pretending to smoke and then eat

Being able to buy fags and fireworks from the local shop aged 10.

Yep, walking to school alone from about the age of five. Weird!

Putting pennies on the railway line and then trying to find the flattened ones 🙂

Schools still open after 2 foot of snow.

Sorry but i'm luvin this thread.

Dropoff - good one, I forgot that!![

Going on holiday to Devon in the boot of my dads Marina estate- me, my sister, the dog and a big calor gas cannister as we had to stop it rolling around.

Being forced to play rugby outside, every week, in any weather. And I do mean ANY weather. Snowing? Get out there and play rugby? Horizontal hailstones? Get out there you big jessy!!! Gale force winds. Out you go! And stop moaning

[i]cbmotorsport - we just had to be back before dark, so we'd be away for 10 hrs in the summer.[/i]

Indeed. My mum made the statement the other week "I never saw you from when you were 12 onwards" . She didn't either. We'd just head out on our bikes in the morning, and get back for tea, scoff it down, then go straight out again until it went dark! When I think of the miles we covered. I lived in Warrington and we'd ride to Manchester Airport to watch the planes landing, or out to Delamere forest, and think nothing of it

Nowadays, somebody would probably have social services round

10m high diving platforms at the local swimming baths

First Scout summer camp I went on (30 years ago - I'm 41 now) we piled all the tents/pots and pans/sleeping bags into the back of a removal van, and then we all climbed in on top.
I can remember sitting there, watching the world go by out the back of the truck (tailgate folded up, but roller-shutter left open) as we went down the motorway!

A lot of my other thoughts have already been mentioned -
Spending all day 'over the woods' and only having to be home when it got dark.
Carrying around a ridiculous 'Rambo' knife to chop up twigs in the woods.

Having to do PE in just your pants if you forgot your kit. That would never happen now.

The whole cub scout football team in one estate car

Spending all day (literally dawn to dusk) building a bike track in a piece of scrub woodland outside the village, we'd take all sorts of tools and kit, saws tc, aged about 10 or 11, spent an entire summer in there one year, nobody batted an eyelid or checked up on us once.

Having air gun (bb and pellet) fights with my cousin, he had a pump action shoutgun style bb rifle, I had a pistol, used to shoot the shit out of each other with steel bb's.

Skating on the Leeds Liverpool Canal.
Getting the Cane at school.
Being absolutely made up with a set of Every Ready bike lights for christmas .
Playing Football in the road.

My primary school teacher used to throw the window open, sit back with her feet up on the table and have a cigarette whilst teaching us.

cbmotorsport - Member
Having to do PE in just your pants if you forgot your kit. That would never happen now.

Forget trunks - swim naked. True!!!!!!

10p space raiders

[i]My brother and I always got a 'trainee smoker chololate selection box' at xmas. Chocolate pipe, lighter, fags, etc, which we would play with by pretending to smoke and then eat[/i]

Can you still get those liquorice pipes? They were massive. Mum used to put them in the cupboard after shopping at Keymarkets and we'd all bundle in "Ha! I've got the pipe!" 🙂

Being allowed to climb up a rope attached to the school hall roof, in pe lessons.

mrmonkfinger - Member

Being allowed to climb up a rope attached to the school hall roof, in pe lessons.

Yeah, and playing British Bulldog in PE, that's now banned apparently.

Pirates - a game played in old fashioned gym. Basically tig with all the kit - ropes, bars, horses, trampolines, wall bars etc. Total madness but brilliant fun. Guaranteed to have some mishaps, so only once a term at Xmas before the end to term party!! Happy days

Me wearing a school uniform, going to school and not getting arrested for it.

playground ice slides -- steepness and length graded by primary year, longest one for P7s.

short trousers at primary school

taking dog for a walk (shit) in local park - and that's it - no cleaning up.. 🙁

easy availability of huge Bowie style knives

making huge bows and arrows (chop wood, garden canes)

as above, total freedom in summer, parents would have no idea where we were, would bike into countryside by Inverness / Elgin, get home for tea, head out til it got dark (so, in summer, c. 10.45pm)

various pupils (secondary!) and teachers getting a rather friendly and no-one really this was particularly bad.

being advised on school ski trip by biology teacher (who was great...) that Coke was rotten to teeth, better off with local wine..

Had to swim naked if you forgot your trunks , but also you could go swimming in the school pool at lunchtimes and there would be teachers swimming naked with 11-16 year old boys in there as well . It was a boys only school .

Murderball on concrete

Parents leaving us young kids in the car alone while they went to partys occasionally brining out coke and crisps

there would be teachers swimming naked with 11-16 year old boys in there as well .

It was a boys only school .

Ah,that's ok then 🙂

Putting pennies on the railway line and then trying to find the flattened ones

I initially misread that as "Putting penises on the railway line" - made me wince 😯

[i]Yeah, and playing British Bulldog in PE, that's now banned apparently.[/i]

We allow our rugby kids to play it 🙂 Don't often make them do it in their pants though!

Analogue porn
Violence
Throwing your rubbish on to the street
Guns/Catapults/traps/Flick Knives/Butterfly Knives/Assorted weaponry.
Violence
Smoky rooms
Casual attitude to noncery
Being told to 'hit him back'

Being battered my psychotic nuns at the age of 5 and being told I would burn in hell for eternity for something as sinful as not having a pencil.

Ritual humiliation by teachers.

Being beaten by teachers.

Setting their desks up so they fell off the dais as soon as they put their books/bags on it.

Drawing pins on chairs.

Board dusters flying around at head height.

As mentioned before.....one bike for everything.

Being out all the time and not wanting to come in.....ever....except to feed.

More sweets than you could eat for 6d

My Great Uncle randomly giving me half a crown or ten bob when my folks weren't watching.

Catching newts in ponds

Those tacky 'lucky bags' where all the sweets tasted of cardboard.

Cranks with cotter pins - hated them!

Bird nesting....usually pigeons

Driving a tractor with a full load of grain down the main road at the age of 14

Trusting coppers

Black widow catapults, air rifles, and knives were just the standard stuff that everyone just had.

Nowadays you'd be on the receiving end of a Met Armed Response Unit

Copying tapes.

Making a mixtape.

Recording from the radio.

oh come on...try harder

Stink bombs in the little glass bottle that stank
itching powder that really itched

PE in pants? Yep
Games outside in all weathers? Yep ( our field was on a hill, we would lie flat on the ground when the teacher went looking
Playing outside all day and night? Yep, the summer of 2003 I think I sept and eat at home, other than that I was out on my bike

I'm only in my twenties 🙂

mrmonkfinger - Member
Being allowed to climb up a rope attached to the school hall roof, in pe lessons.
Yeah, and playing British Bulldog in PE, that's now banned apparently.

teamhurtmore - Member
Pirates - a game played in old fashioned gym. Basically tig with all the kit - ropes, bars, horses, trampolines, wall bars etc. Total madness but brilliant fun. Guaranteed to have some mishaps, so only once a term at Xmas before the end to term party!! Happy days

BigButSlimmerBloke - Member
playground ice slides -- steepness and length graded by primary year, longest one for P7s.

All of the above! Bulldog, Pirates and ice slides. All brilliant!

Black widow catapults, air rifles, and knives were just the standard stuff that everyone just had.

and that was just the teachers.....

Being taught home to make a home made explosives in chemistry and successfully testing them on the school playing fields....

We made a very good rocket launcher that could fire a tennis ball at about 100m/sec. Tennis balls only lasted 2-3 launches before exiting as shrapnel....

TV that stopped transmitting at lunch and midnight

rickets

A rag and bone man coming round the streets in a horse drawn cart. This was mid 1960s.

Guddling trout - ctaching trout by hand in the local river which involved wading through the shallows and feeling under rocks for the fish sheltering underneath. Once you had done it a few times you got to know which rocks were worth trying as the fish tended to use the same ones as only a few had suitable gaps underneath.

Galvinised steel dustbins and dustmen who actually walked up the path to the back of the house and carried the bin to the truck on their shoulder.

A coal bunker.

My dad was talking about his childhood in the 30s the other night. He reckons it wasn't much different from the Victorian age. A toilet on the common staircase shared with two other houses. No plastics so anything you bought like sugar came in a paper poke. Larger goods were in hessian sacks. At the start of the 30s nobody in the street had a radio. Nobody in the street owned a car. The nearby canal had horse drawn barges.

Pirates - a game played in old fashioned gym. Basically tig with all the kit - ropes, bars, horses, trampolines, wall bars etc. Total madness but brilliant fun. Guaranteed to have some mishaps, so only once a term at Xmas before the end to term party!! Happy days

Oh MAN that brings back some memories! Our junior school was brand new in the mid-70s and had all sorts of posh gym equipment that folded out from the walls in the hall, I remember playing that!

Being told to 'hit him back'

Yep. I was told that too. I always have been very placid and once went two weeks trying to avoid a fight, but he 'got' me as we lined up to go into class. By the time the teachers arrived I had my thumbs in his eyes and I was knocking tiles off the tiled outside wall with his head..... Nobody ever touched me after that.

Fillings with no anaesthetic at all!!

school sports - sack race in proper sacks..

do kids still get to take their toys in to play with on the last day of term?

When I was 11 me and my best mate cycled from Abercarn to Usk to stay with his gran. Took us all day and I crashed twice 😆 unbelievable to think that parents would agree to that now.

brakes - Member

do kids still get to take their toys in to play with on the last day of term?

Would be a strange day with so many X-Boxes

sex

hover boards from Back to the Future. They should - quite literally - be happening today, but someone forgot to invent them

Not sure of the name of the game but basically the scout leader (my dad, as it happens) had a length of thick rope, with a huge (heavy) knot at one end. We'd all stand in a circle around him and he would swing it round, the idea being that we jumped over it, while it would get higher and higher, Total Wipout style. But on a wooden floor.

Great fun but thinking back, how ankles/knees/faces didnt get broken, I will never know!

They should - quite literally - be happening [s]today[/s] in October next year, so there is still time.

ftfy

Brings back memories.

Leeds United won the FA Cup once when I was a kid. never happened again since, and highly unlikely to happen again under current circumstances. Certainly not this year, not after limply giving in to the mighty Rochdale

[s]Analogue[/s]Hedge porn

I used to do a 20 miles round trip (from Sutton in Ashfield to Hucknall) to race my RC car on Sundays throughout the winter. On a Grifter XL, with dynamo lights (The ones with the dynamo against the tyre) I had no spares for the bike, not even a pump. I used to pump the tyres up to 60+ psi as I worked out it was faster. I did it in rain, snow, the lot. One section was dual carriageway that split in two (Between Kirkby and Hucknall if anyone knows it) and one time in the snow I decided it was too risky on my side of the road, which was twisty, so I pushed up the 'wrong' side of the dual carriageway, as it was too slippy to ride.
These days I'd have been arrested for that, and my parents would have been put on some sort of register for child abuse!
Once I got a lift from a mate's dad and we did 125mph 4-up in his V8 Rover SD1 down that dual carriageway.
I bet there's a speed camera on it now.. ?

Kids sitting round the touchline in first division games. I can remember doing this at Portman Road and rolling the ball to George Best when he wanted to take a quick throw in.

Man U got beaten 4-1. 🙂

Hitching lifts. Used to do that all the time, all over the country and Europe.

[s]Analogue[/s]Hedge porn

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and Dundee to the Glen Doll Youth Hostel on a "borrowed" Raleigh Chopper, and a few times on my own <ahem> "racer" with 3 speed sturmey archer hub gears that I'm still convinced didn't actually do anything

[i]Stink bombs in the little glass bottle that stank [/i]

ah yes I remember buying packets of those from the joke shop in town. We'd then go and stand next to the brass band whilst they're playing christmas carols and let about three or four off at once, cross the street and stand there pissing ourselves laughing as they start coughing and have stop in the middle of a tune!

Slow worms.

tomhoward - Member
Not sure of the name of the game but basically the scout leader (my dad, as it happens) had a length of thick rope, with a huge (heavy) knot at one end. We'd all stand in a circle around him and he would swing it round, the idea being that we jumped over it, while it would get higher and higher, Total Wipout style. But on a wooden floor.

Great fun but thinking back, how ankles/knees/faces didnt get broken, I will never know!

We used to play that game at scouts - there'd be certain people the scout leader would want out, so the knot would occasionally take a sudden 6" jump in height. The 'knot' was about the size of a small football.

The challenge on scout camps seemed to be who could make the biggest fire (that we then had to run through! We toned it down a bit after melting a ghetto blaster that was left about 15 ft from the fire.....

I wonder if boys still look at the underwear section of their mum's/sister's Kays/Gratton catalogue??