[Misc] Things you used to be able to do before "Health & Safety" took over
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Good sticks are hard to find, as is good knicker elastic or Hoover belts . . . .have you tried making a catapault recently?
When I was on holiday as a child from about 10 onwards (usually camping holidays) one of my main fashion accessories was a Bavarian deer foot handled hunting knife which I wore in a leather sheath attached to my belt, almost identical to the one in the pic.
It was when I was going through my Geronimo* phase, and I certainly looked the business.
*(Geronimo's visit to Bavaria is an often overlooked period in the history of his eventful life).
It was when I was going through my Geronimo* phase, and I certainly looked the business.
*(Geronimo's visit to Bavaria is an often overlooked period in the history of his eventful life).
Sending your child out with badly punctuated child safety awareness signs strapped to their backs which failed to convey a clear and precise message with regard to that child's safety, and thereby seriously compromising the safety of your little one.
The picture below is a perfect example where there are a series of inappropriate full stops. The message is further confused by being posed as a question rather than a clear instruction.
By the time Mr Motorist has managed to decipher the intended meaning of the message having had to pause at each individual full stop as that particular punctuation mark dictates, and then has taken additional time to consider the question posed by the inclusion of the question mark, little Johnny is lying unconscious by the roadside bleeding profusely from a gaping head wound amongst the mangled wreckage of his bicycle.
The picture below is a perfect example where there are a series of inappropriate full stops. The message is further confused by being posed as a question rather than a clear instruction.
By the time Mr Motorist has managed to decipher the intended meaning of the message having had to pause at each individual full stop as that particular punctuation mark dictates, and then has taken additional time to consider the question posed by the inclusion of the question mark, little Johnny is lying unconscious by the roadside bleeding profusely from a gaping head wound amongst the mangled wreckage of his bicycle.
As a young boy of 15; having a Saturday Job (for which we may need an entirely separate stream) delivering vegetables door-to-door with "the fruit and veg man", the Bedford van had sliding doors and I would delight in sitting on the floor of the cab, legs dangling out of the open door, as the van sped around the country lanes of Hertfordshire.
I used to hate opening new boxes of bananas in case they'd missed the tarantulas when packing it.
and/or having a "milk round" ridiculously early in the mornings, and happily jumping into the fully-loaded "milk float" and driving it down the roads of the housing estate in Stevenage, to catch up with the Milkman as he deposited bottles on the doorsteps ahead of me - I was 13 years old!
and then walking the streets of Stevenage with a satchel full of cash every Friday evening as I collected the milk-money from said milk-round (I was still 13 years old - and it was bloody dark at times)
Sitting on my dads lap and driving a bus around Hitchin Market square (he was a bus driver for the local bus company), probably about 10 or 11 years of age (me, not him)
Climbing the trees outside my house until I could stick my head out of the top - lunacy! I know, I've been back to have a look.
Swinging on the local swings so high that we got past parallel with the ground - lunacy! (see above)
Playing "dare" by running (closely) past the swings while they were in use
Making bows and arrows - and aiming them at each other - with shards of flints in the arrowheads
Them were the days!
I used to hate opening new boxes of bananas in case they'd missed the tarantulas when packing it.
and/or having a "milk round" ridiculously early in the mornings, and happily jumping into the fully-loaded "milk float" and driving it down the roads of the housing estate in Stevenage, to catch up with the Milkman as he deposited bottles on the doorsteps ahead of me - I was 13 years old!
and then walking the streets of Stevenage with a satchel full of cash every Friday evening as I collected the milk-money from said milk-round (I was still 13 years old - and it was bloody dark at times)
Sitting on my dads lap and driving a bus around Hitchin Market square (he was a bus driver for the local bus company), probably about 10 or 11 years of age (me, not him)
Climbing the trees outside my house until I could stick my head out of the top - lunacy! I know, I've been back to have a look.
Swinging on the local swings so high that we got past parallel with the ground - lunacy! (see above)
Playing "dare" by running (closely) past the swings while they were in use
Making bows and arrows - and aiming them at each other - with shards of flints in the arrowheads
Them were the days!
Norman Potting
Well-known member
http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/index.htm May be of interest. As someone has already mentioned ease of litigation if perhaps the true culprit?
Brightonfan1983
Well-known member
You big Jessie!
John Noakes climbs Nelson's Column, 1977 -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-40086686/john-noakes-climbs-nelson-s-column
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW3daihiY30
Jack Straw
I look nothing like him!
Fair cop guv'!
Try this one. Working at Brighton Council's Stanmer Nursery Shrub Section in the early '70s, when the roses needed spraying, you got a knapsack sprayer and put in to it a glug of chemical for greenfly, a glug of another chemical for Black Spot, another glug of something for Botrytis and another for Mildew. Nothing measured. Just glugs. You filled the sprayer up and strapped it to your shoulders, full with 4 gallons (20 litres). Wearing a pair of shorts and shoes and nothing else, off you went, pumping the mix all over the roses.
Most of the chemicals used then have since been banned, and now, in a professional capacity, you have to be certificated and wear full PPE before you even open the concentrate.
I'm still here to tell the tale, but if bits of me start falling off, I know who to blame!
Lankyseagull
One Step Beyond
Packing supermarket groceries in cardboard boxes that the shop stock came in - always chose the biggest available so that they could be made into something at home afterwards.
Playing in amongst all sorts of machinery & barns on the farm I grew up on. Thinking back, some of the things I used to get up to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! Great fun though to invite a friend round, then make them grab an electric fence!
Playing in amongst all sorts of machinery & barns on the farm I grew up on. Thinking back, some of the things I used to get up to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! Great fun though to invite a friend round, then make them grab an electric fence!
Nigella's Cream Pie
Fingerlickin good
Both from Bolton, so not surprising
When I was a child of about 10 we had a soft top Renault 4. With obvious consideration to my and my sister's Health & Safety my father attached a bar which traversed across the opening of the roof from side to side.
The bar enabled my sister and me to then safely stand on the back seat of the car as we sped along on our journey with our heads and shoulders emerging out of the roof's opening, steadying ourselves by gripping the aforesaid safety bar.
I've just this second recalled that immediately in front of the bar and parallel to it my father had also installed a transparent, orange plastic wind deflector / fairing type attachment. I'm unsure if this was done with any consideration for our safety or was merely to make our experience more comfortable. Perhaps the reasons were more aesthetic as I must admit it did look rather swish, giving the effect of a tinted motorbike windshield.
One day my enjoyment of this particular contraption was marred by an unfortunate incident which all the incorporated safety features failed to prevent. As we drove home from one particular day out with our heads exposed to the elements I foolishly donned my white sailor cap with the transluscent inky blue sun visor. The inevitable happened and my sailor cap was blown from atop my head never to be seen again.
I knew that for my carelessness I could expect a beating from my father on our arrival home so the rest of the journey was spent in fear and trepidation. On our arrival home instead of entering the house I sought refuge in the house of an irish girl who lived down the road who was about the same age as me. I've no idea how or why but we ended up in her bedroom whereupon she gave me my first unclothed, non-penetrative sexual experience which was prematurely curtailed by a knock on the fortunately locked bedroom door. From the other side her mother called out informing us that my father was downstairs come to collect me.
What happened after that is erased from my memory so I have no idea what fate befell me, if any, but the memory of that young, lustful, naked, Irish girl and the events which led me to her remain forever ingrained in my memory.
I apologise for going off track but once I'd started my memory continued to wander.
The bar enabled my sister and me to then safely stand on the back seat of the car as we sped along on our journey with our heads and shoulders emerging out of the roof's opening, steadying ourselves by gripping the aforesaid safety bar.
I've just this second recalled that immediately in front of the bar and parallel to it my father had also installed a transparent, orange plastic wind deflector / fairing type attachment. I'm unsure if this was done with any consideration for our safety or was merely to make our experience more comfortable. Perhaps the reasons were more aesthetic as I must admit it did look rather swish, giving the effect of a tinted motorbike windshield.
One day my enjoyment of this particular contraption was marred by an unfortunate incident which all the incorporated safety features failed to prevent. As we drove home from one particular day out with our heads exposed to the elements I foolishly donned my white sailor cap with the transluscent inky blue sun visor. The inevitable happened and my sailor cap was blown from atop my head never to be seen again.
I knew that for my carelessness I could expect a beating from my father on our arrival home so the rest of the journey was spent in fear and trepidation. On our arrival home instead of entering the house I sought refuge in the house of an irish girl who lived down the road who was about the same age as me. I've no idea how or why but we ended up in her bedroom whereupon she gave me my first unclothed, non-penetrative sexual experience which was prematurely curtailed by a knock on the fortunately locked bedroom door. From the other side her mother called out informing us that my father was downstairs come to collect me.
What happened after that is erased from my memory so I have no idea what fate befell me, if any, but the memory of that young, lustful, naked, Irish girl and the events which led me to her remain forever ingrained in my memory.
I apologise for going off track but once I'd started my memory continued to wander.
portlock seagull
Well-known member
- Jul 28, 2003
- 17,776
In the old days, if you did something like getting your head knocked off after sticking it out the window of a train, you also got a hiding when you got home for being so stupid.
Kids today simply do not know they’re born.
Kids today simply do not know they’re born.
Brightonfan1983
Well-known member
Sounds like you might set off those bomb-chemical-sniffer-scanner things airports use now...
On joining my first ship in the RN,she was in a minor re-fit. I remember walking along the main drag( passageway) as the dockyard workers stripped lagging off the overhead pipes. The lagging was asbestos. It looked like flakes of snow as it fell. No one was wearing any breathing apparatus or protective clothing.
My next door neighbour has just had his old asbestos shed roof removed, it cost him £500 , and no one who was unprotected was allowed within about 20 foot of it.
My next door neighbour has just had his old asbestos shed roof removed, it cost him £500 , and no one who was unprotected was allowed within about 20 foot of it.
AmexRuislip
Retired Spy 🕵️♂️
Slug pellets, now they're banned by DEFRA.
https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/metaldehyde-slug-pellets-banned
https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/metaldehyde-slug-pellets-banned
Only the metaldehyde ones. Likewise the old school rose blight spray (fantastic smell!). Creosote, too (fantastic smell!). .
Luckily I have a good supply of them all in my shed.
