Near death experiences in play parks.

[Stat Brother]

You remember those halcyon days of summer.
Out from dawn to dusk, playing in the roads or down the park.

In these glorious days before health and safety went mad, what in your park had a death/maiming record higher than any IED.

Almost forgot a 15 feet fall onto concrete is a given.

 

[WATFORD zero]

I seem to remember falling out of trees being my speciality

 

[Everest]

Seeing how fast you could spin the roundabout before losing your grip.

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

Seeing how fast you could spin the roundabout before losing your grip.

uuughh-feel sick just thinking about it

 

[Stat Brother]

We had a slide, 12-15 feet high.
It plunged down 5-6 foot, straightened for a couple of feet, before plunging down the remaining 6 foot.

Naturally when the weather, slide conditions, and shorts material came into perfect alignment the speed gained at the top would launch you, Eddie The Eagle stlyee, off the middle straight, bypassing the 2nd drop entirely landing on the aforementioned concrete.

Happy days.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Seeing how fast you could spin the roundabout before losing your grip.

Falling off said roundabout and not being able to let go. Getting dragged around and around while all the time the gravel was embedding itself further into the skin on your knees!!

The thought of all that pain still makes me wince, and it took my Mum days to pick all the little stones out with a pair of tweezers!

 

[Mackenzie]

Does anyone remember the roundabout at Peter Pans (by the banjo groyne on the seafront)? For those who didn't ever have the pleasure of riding on this thing, it was basically a giant metal wagon wheel suspended horizontally about 3 feet off the ground on a metal spoke drilled into the concrete floor. It was practically impossible to go on this thing without losing the skin off you knees, bruising your head, twisting your ankle or any other childhood injuries you can think of. Lethal was not the word.

Bloody brilliant though

 

[skipper734]

In the 50's scrap of any kind was gold, plastics were virtually non existant in those days. The obtaining of pram wheels to manufacture your downhill racer became all consuming. Removing amounts of sugar and other ingredients from your Dad's shed to make your IED's, penny bangers just fitted down a length of television aerial and with a suitable projectile made a passable rifle.
An arrow fired by me in a bow and arrow fight up at foxes hollow once lodged in the cheek below the eye of a boy who later on would become one of Sussex's foremost athletes.
I was 65 yesterday and still have all my fingers and bits and bobs, dont ask me how but lack of health and safety never did me any harm.

 

[Deleted User X18H]

Parachuuuuuuuuteeeeee!

 

[NMH]

I shudder to remember it....
In Shoreham there was a derelict building we called 'the white house'. Being as I liked a climbing challenge as a kid, used to collect bird's eggs, and then started keeping pet homing pigeons, I was attracted to this place where birds nested at the top rafters.
Being derelict they'd taken down two floors of the building, so it was about 40 feet from a floor strewn with bricks boards and timbers to the rotted walkway parapets in the roof. With only nails and a couple of brickbats that stuck out, I scaled the sheer walls to the last reach up to the parapets, then would come down holding a pigeon or an egg or two. How I did it is baffling enough - but how I never fell is more so.

Playground times included attempts to get the swings to do a 360. They were suspended on chains, and if one of those chunks of wood hit you on the head you knew about it....especially if someone was also sitting on the thing at the time

 

[And Smith Did Score]

Seeing how fast you could spin the roundabout before losing your grip.

The roundabout was fantastic back in the day. We live on a new estate with 3 parks and I always tell my kids not to go to the one with the roundabout but the wife always says let them go! So one day when their friend visited they were went there. 15 minutes later they were back with the friends 1st adult tooth in her hand. Say no more!

 

[We're the Stripes]

Looking back on it, these things were absolute death-traps..

Although they seemed a lot bigger as a child. Remember they had one at Horsham play park (opposite where the swimming pool now is). I'd be very surprised if there are still any around nowadays.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

An arrow fired by me in a bow and arrow fight up at foxes hollow once lodged in the cheek below the eye of a boy who later on would become one of Sussex's foremost athletes.
I was 65 yesterday and still have all my fingers and bits and bobs, dont ask me how but lack of health and safety never did me any harm.

You used a BOW? Nah. The best way to propel an arrow any sort of distance and at speed was a SLING - like the one that David used to kill Goliath. I once saw a mate of mine impale an arrow in another mates's thigh about 200 yards away.

 

[skipper734]

Youngsters today don't get the practical history lessons that we had, hear a description or see a picture and the more lethal the better, were a challenge to construct. Then prove effectiveness with a pretend war with your mates. Nowdays jnr.does the same but on the internet!

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Used to do gymnastics as a young kid. Then I grew up a bit and started getting drunk.

One night I decided to combine the two skill sets and back flipped off a park bench.

Apparently alcohol effects your sense of timing and balance.

Landing on ones head at such an angle could have turned out horribly wrong. Got lucky that night(and learnt my lesson).

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Gatwick Airport went through a phase when it had a kiddies mini-playground complete with climbing frame in the departures lounge. Just what you need, your kiddie taking a tumble and breaking something just before you're about to get on a plane. Doh!

 

[the wanderbus]

We spent most of our childhood messing about in the countryside around crowborough, summer holidays could involve anything from a spot of cow riding to damming the local stream. Once a couple of us nicked a smoke bomb that had failed to ignite from the army camp, took it in the old mans shed , stuck a couple of dozen matches in the hole where the fuse used to be & lit them. By the time we found the door through the thick red smoke my dad was waiting outside to give us a thick ear.We also had red hair and skin for a few days !

 

[whitelion]

Slghtly o/t.

Used to use a skate (the four wheel variety not inline) with an book annual (as they were larger and more solid) as the seat. From the highest point in our neighbourhood we'd sit on said skate and travel to the bottom of the hill attempting but usually failing negotiating the 90 degree turn at the bottom. Happy days.

 

[sams dad]

Looking back on it, these things were absolute death-traps..

Although they seemed a lot bigger as a child. Remember they had one at Horsham play park (opposite where the swimming pool now is). I'd be very surprised if there are still any around nowadays.

There's one in the recently re-furbished children's playground in Saltdean Oval Park. I can see it from my window as I type this.

 

[Samej]

In the 50's scrap of any kind was gold, plastics were virtually non existant in those days. The obtaining of pram wheels to manufacture your downhill racer became all consuming. Removing amounts of sugar and other ingredients from your Dad's shed to make your IED's, penny bangers just fitted down a length of television aerial and with a suitable projectile made a passable rifle.
An arrow fired by me in a bow and arrow fight up at foxes hollow once lodged in the cheek below the eye of a boy who later on would become one of Sussex's foremost athletes.
I was 65 yesterday and still have all my fingers and bits and bobs, dont ask me how but lack of health and safety never did me any harm.

Thats not what your wife says