Soton Seagull
Well-known member
and can identify with a whole lot of it......
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's (and I'm proud to say I'm one of them) probably shouldn't have survived, because ...
· Our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
· We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
· When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'clackers' on our wheels. (I think they were also known later as "spokey dokeys" - but some old git wrote this so I can't be sure)
· As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
· We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
· We ate chips (and batter bits) out of newspaper, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with real sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
· We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one actually died from it.
· We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
· We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
· We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. We had friends instead - we went outside and found them.
· We played elastics, marbles and street rounders (and sometimes that ball really hurt).
· We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no lawsuits. We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
· We played knock-down-ginger and were afraid of the owners catching us.
· We walked to friend's homes.
· We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
· We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
· We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.
· The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors the world has ever seen. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
So if you're one of us, congratulations!
For those of you in this age group who mistakenly like to think "surely, I'm not that old", read the following and inwardly digest (NB: this, my friends, is surprisingly frightening - though it might put a smile on your face):
The majority of students in universities today were born in 1983........They are called youth.
· They have never heard of "We are the World, We are the children" and the "Uptown Girl" they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.
· They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena or Belinda Carlisle.
· For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam.
· AIDS has existed since they were born.
· CD's have existed since they were born.
· Michael Jackson has always been white.
· To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
· They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are Films from last year.
· They can never imagine life before computers.
· They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, Red Hand Gang or the Famous Five.
· They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It, Tiswas or Why Don't You.
· They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control (that isn't attached to the TV with a long cable!!) How they would cope with dial tuning for the TV and radio, we will never know.
· And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone (well, we did all try the tin cans connected with string idea...)
Now let's check if we're actually getting old (rather than just "older")...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the first time around.
7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again all the funny stories you have experienced together.
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's (and I'm proud to say I'm one of them) probably shouldn't have survived, because ...
· Our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
· We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
· When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'clackers' on our wheels. (I think they were also known later as "spokey dokeys" - but some old git wrote this so I can't be sure)
· As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
· We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
· We ate chips (and batter bits) out of newspaper, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with real sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
· We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one actually died from it.
· We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
· We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
· We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. We had friends instead - we went outside and found them.
· We played elastics, marbles and street rounders (and sometimes that ball really hurt).
· We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no lawsuits. We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
· We played knock-down-ginger and were afraid of the owners catching us.
· We walked to friend's homes.
· We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
· We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
· We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.
· The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors the world has ever seen. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
So if you're one of us, congratulations!
For those of you in this age group who mistakenly like to think "surely, I'm not that old", read the following and inwardly digest (NB: this, my friends, is surprisingly frightening - though it might put a smile on your face):
The majority of students in universities today were born in 1983........They are called youth.
· They have never heard of "We are the World, We are the children" and the "Uptown Girl" they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.
· They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena or Belinda Carlisle.
· For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam.
· AIDS has existed since they were born.
· CD's have existed since they were born.
· Michael Jackson has always been white.
· To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
· They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are Films from last year.
· They can never imagine life before computers.
· They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, Red Hand Gang or the Famous Five.
· They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It, Tiswas or Why Don't You.
· They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control (that isn't attached to the TV with a long cable!!) How they would cope with dial tuning for the TV and radio, we will never know.
· And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone (well, we did all try the tin cans connected with string idea...)
Now let's check if we're actually getting old (rather than just "older")...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the first time around.
7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again all the funny stories you have experienced together.
Great Posting and very true.
