Things we used to do

[keithmac]

Many years back someone built a ramp out of an empty 205l oil drum and some plywood sheets, ended up with 3 or 4 people layed side by side on the other end as people jumped over them!.

You never see kids nowadays building jumps, might have a go at one on Sunday with my lad.

 

[Velominati]

Many years back someone built a ramp out of an empty 205l oil drum and some plywood sheets, ended up with 3 or 4 people layed side by side on the other end as people jumped over them!.

You never see kids nowadays building jumps, might have a go at one on Sunday with my lad.

We used to do that, I always made sure I was the one nearest the ramp, just in case they didn't make it. we also used to set up a race track around the housing estate, some of the track took in part of the building site, it became a bit mad at times, we all thought that we were Barry Sheene.
I know its not the done thing these days but, we didn't have helmets, body armour or knee and elbow pads, I'm sure that we were lucky not to end up with a serious head injury or broken bones, maybe us kids were a little tougher back then, nobody told us that we couldn't do these mad stunts and nobody seemed to care, its just what boys did, perhaps they still do but they take it to the skate/BMX park.
Its quite interesting really, a friend of mine has just bought his son one of these American Stunt bikes, tiny little things with a steel frame and chunky tyres, it has ape hanger bars and doesn't have any brakes, kids are supposed to stop the bike by stamping on the back wheel, its a heavy little thing but it looks like fun. I have no idea what these bikes are called but a second hand one cost my mate £300, he should have bought a Tomahawk....lol

 

[keithmac]

I had a Rota/Roto Stunt BMX, it had a weird brake cable setup so you could spin the handlebars as many times as you liked without tangling the cables.

We also used to count wheelies in "squares", the roads round here were made out of concrete pads approx 1 meter long. I normally got 6.

 

[Illaveago]

I can remember when I was young walking along to a local garage to get a gallon of parafin for the heater, it was an upright cylindrical thing and I can also remember burning my toe on it. The cats were also a bit careless brushing their tails against it and making an awful burnt smell.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I can remember when I was young walking along to a local garage to get a gallon of parafin for the heater, it was an upright cylindrical thing and I can also remember burning my toe on it. The cats were also a bit careless brushing their tails against it and making an awful burnt smell.

A long time ago I lived in a bedsit in Gosport and the only heating I had was a paraffin heater, it didn't put out much heat. I often ended up going down the pub as it was warmer in there.

 

[Drago]

Velominati mentioning building sites reminds me....

In was about 10 when a new housing estate was being built. Me and a mate used to go and watch the diggers with fascination. One of the digger drivers befriended us, and he used to let us in his cab and taught us to work the digger and used to let us dig the trenches. At lunchtime we were allowed into the builders hut and fed with beans, sausage and mash in their canteen washed down with incredibly sweet tea (probably builders take their own pack ups now).

This was a simpler time, 4 decades ago before anyone cared about heath and safety and perverts were unheard of. We had a great few weeks basically doing the digger drivers job for him and being fed every lunchtime.

No funny stuff, he was a genuinely nice guy who just seemed a very patient, genial guy with two inquisitive nuisance kids. I don't recall his name after four decades, but I am grateful to him for my first friendship with an adult.

 

[ianrauk]

I can remember when I was young walking along to a local garage to get a gallon of parafin for the heater, it was an upright cylindrical thing and I can also remember burning my toe on it. The cats were also a bit careless brushing their tails against it and making an awful burnt smell.

We used to get our parafin from the small local hardware shop. I would definitely if they would sell it to young kids like they did back then these days? Probraby not.

 

[mybike]

We used to get our parafin from the small local hardware shop. I would definitely if they would sell it to young kids like they did back then these days? Probraby not.

I used to buy meths for a cooking stove we used when a mate and I used to go out riding. For some insane reason he used to dip his fags in the meths.

 

[postman]

We used to throw old overcoats on the bed in winter to keep warm.At my 21st a mate of mine stayed over he was a little drunk.When i next saw him i nearly died a death when he mentioned the pile of old overcoats he woke up under.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I used to buy meths for a cooking stove we used when a mate and I used to go out riding. For some insane reason he used to dip his fags in the meths.

Still carry the meths stoves myself, nice to brew tea on a longer ride, or cook lunch.

 

[the_mikey]

My parents couldn't afford the Chopper so I had to settle for the Tomahawk, anyhow, this was all about the time when Evil Knievil was making headlines, it should have been obvious to our parents that us young lads would want to copy our new found hero. Armed with milk crates and scaffold boards we made some pretty amazing jumps. To cut a long story short, I did suffer a few minor injuries and pretty much destroyed my tomahawk, my more wealthier friends on their Choppers suffered many serious groin injuries due in no small part to the strategically placed gear shift. I also recall that there was a building site near our housing estate, the builders didn't worry too much about health and safety back then so we were able to access the site with no problems, the deep trenches became our Grand Canyon, we would build ramps and jump them or at least try. After completing our daredevil stunts, it was home for tea and the latest episode of Planet of the Apes or the Six Million Dollar man...god, I miss those days.

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+1, kids today will never know what fun it is to venture onto building sites and recover materials for building ramps. I had a raleigh budgie, it was surprisingly nimble on the ramps, unlike the Raleigh Strika which would just bounce horribly into the air, leaving its rider behind and it would bounce again and roll and not stop as it was just so heavy and ill conceived.

 

[Illaveago]

When I was about 7 or 8 I always had a liking for one of these which I picked up at the weekend. It is a Britain's Long Tom 155mm Howitzer. I don't know what it is about it that fascinates me, even the real one at Pen Dennis Castle in Cornwall I find fascinating.
The model is missing a few bits like the shells and cases but at least the main gun is there.

 

[Illaveago]

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before but there used to be a lot of ventriloquists about in the 60's and early 70's. I thought the best was Ray Alan with Lord Charles and Titch and Quackers, they always made me laugh.

 

[Illaveago]

I've just had an image in my head of a toy plastic boat that you could buy in the 60'. I seem to remember that you had to put a penny in a slot in the hull to act as a keel.

 

[mybike]

I've just had an image in my head of a toy plastic boat that you could buy in the 60'. I seem to remember that you had to put a penny in a slot in the hull to act as a keel.

How about those you got in cereals, where you put baking soda on the stern. Seem to remember a submarine you put in a milk bottle too.

I'd be tempted to buy those cereals now.