for all those born before 1986 ;o)

steviedee · February 3, 2006

For Everyone Born Before 1986<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's 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 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels. 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, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with 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 this.

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 DVDs, no Internet chat rooms. We had friends - we went outside and found them.

We played elastics and rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt! We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.

We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents. We played chap-the-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.

We walked to friends' 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 and problem solvers and inventors, ever. 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.

And you're one of them. Congratulations!

Pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.

For those of you who aren't old enough, thought you might like to read about us.

This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile on your face:

The majority of students in universities today were born in 1986........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 Cherry 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, RedHand Gang or the Famous Five.

They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why Don't You.

They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.

Now let's check if we're getting old...

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 things you have experienced together.

thats it now i'm gonna get some work done - yeah i know but theres always a first time []

backtomyroots · February 3, 2006

Very good find. Nothing could be more true []. Times sure have changed and yep brought a smile to my face !

Stefan(2) · February 3, 2006

Frightning! , i am laughing, but feeling old(er) and am only 26

but.. it was yesterday or something like that when there was no DVD ! []

-****- lol

Stefan

richytanimal · February 3, 2006

That makes me feel older but wiser![]

OCD · February 3, 2006

I turn 30 in a month... not sure if this helped any[]

steviedee · February 4, 2006

tellme about i'm 27 but i feel old reading it, but its good to remember the "good old days"

XanderP · February 4, 2006

Stevie, I think you need another hobby/job you clearly have to much time on your hands, if you want you can re-organise my dirty underwear[]?[].

Everyone enjoy lead poisoning[], I was born in 92 (Yep I'm a yung'n')

steviedee · February 4, 2006

nah, i get paid to do a job which is pretty quiet whats better than that ? []

fatboyslim · February 4, 2006

Oh man thanks for that!!

How old do I feel now!! (only 37 on SUNDAY)

I can remember telling my kids that I'd seen Star Wars and they called me a liar because...

'It's only just been released in America at cinemas, and you've never been there so how could you of already seen it?'

mud4fun · February 6, 2006

goddammit, I'm only 38 in April and I already do all 1-7......[:$]

Gruntfuggly · February 6, 2006

I used to love building go-karts. Can't imagine kids doing that now...

I think there are a few other activities you could add:

- We had to type computer games in by hand before we couldplay them - and consequently they all played differently!

- Anybody else ever go scrumping?

- We knew it was time to go to bed because they played the national anthem on TV and then it went blank.

- You could actually buy sweets with a half-pence coin

- We used to 'tape' the top 40 off the radio...

- Everybody had a Raleigh Arena - the only affordable racing bike...

- Until we all got Grifters - the heaviest bike ever...

MikeT · February 6, 2006

Stevie, I think you need another hobby/job you clearly have to much time on your hands, if you want you can re-organise my dirty underwear[]?[].
Everyone enjoy lead poisoning[], I was born in 92 (Yep I'm a yung'n')

Wow XanderP, i was born in 90 and thought i was one of the youngest here!

LOL

Mike

theshopkeeper · February 7, 2006

I used to love building go-karts. - Everybody had a Raleigh Arena - the only affordable racing bike... - Until we all got Grifters - the heaviest bike ever...

I had a fleet of go-karts - including one with a double seat, drinking water tank, radio speakers (with discreet padded area to hold a small radio) and opening boot. It was a bit heavy to push...

Not sure everyone had the Arena - I was fobbed off with the "Winner" - possibly the heaviest racing bike ever!

Tipsy · February 7, 2006

Not sure everyone had the Arena - I was fobbed off with the "Winner" - possibly the heaviest racing bike ever!

I had the Raleigh Olympus!

XanderP · February 7, 2006

Everyone enjoy lead poisoning[], I was born in 92 (Yep I'm a yung'n')

Wow XanderP, i was born in 90 and thought i was one of the youngest here!

LOL

Mike

I think I'm the youngest here, there are a few people about your age and a few a little bit younger.

Scorchio · February 7, 2006

Love the first part [] Since my son was born last year I've realised how much more stuff there is to keep babies clean safe warm and disease free than there was when I was a baby. I'm amazed I'm still alive!!!!!

battleaxe · February 8, 2006

oh boy

reading this has made me feel like my own grandmother!!!

my next birthday in october will make me 38. grew up singing to sweet, david essex and T -REX.

If it was dry we were always outside playing tracking in the dark in summer holidays hiding in the trees.

the closest thing we got to a computer was a calulator- you were REALLY posh if it did cosigns and tangents!!

getting home from school just in time to watch dangermouse, and HOW! then watching top of the pops 7pm on a THURSDAY with mike read or the "Hairy Cornflake" Dave Lee Travis.

running round pretending to be the six million dollar man, or bionic woman, flapping around on the living-room carpet like the man from atlantis. And Who did shoot JR??

You didnt need mobile phones... you just learned to shout really load, or do the Tarzan call like johnny weismuller or ron ely

Oh God...Am I really THAT Old????

Tipsy · February 8, 2006

Oh God...Am I really THAT Old????

Yep[]

ChrisB · February 10, 2006

Brings back the memories for me too - I'm now officially limbering up for my "turning 40 crisis" in 2 years.

I'd say people who have never had to experience Belinda Carlisle, Rick Astley or Bananarama don't know how lucky they are though, but maybe thats just me..... []

All I would say though is that every generation tends to think they had it better / tougher / were more radical than their parents generation - its what being young is all about. Sure maybe todays kids have some things easier than kids from Generation X (people born in the 60's / 70's), but there are other things that will be tougher for them, which I wouldn't fancy dealing with. I am glad I grew up in the era I did - I think kids / younger people today don't get to enjoy just being kids for long enough. Thanks to the global media and advertising they just get exposed to too much serious stuff too soon imho, when they should just enjoy being kids for longer.... plenty of time to worry about careers, getting on the housing ladder, becoming a dutiful consumer and all the serious stuff once you get to your late teens!!!!!!

Anyone remember those packets of Angel Dust you used to get (and no its not a drug!!!!!), or the fact that white choccy mice and Prawn Cocktail crisps actually used to taste better (no doubt due to some carcenagenic E-number additive)?

Pass the cola flavoured Spangles will you...... I need to rot a few more teeth over here []

Chris

fatboyslim · February 10, 2006

Can you remember sweet cigarettes?? They're called candy sticks now!!

And sweet tobacco came in a red plastic pouch made from coconut I think it was called Spanish Armada??

Gruntfuggly · February 10, 2006

Angel Dust

Do you mean Space Dust? The stuff that had That's Life up in arms because it might cause cancer? Great fun - I used to sprinkle it on my lunch at school...

ChrisB · February 11, 2006

Yeah, Space Dust.... (must be the senility setting in early). Used to pop and fizz on your tongue.

Didn't Barrats make those sweet cigarettes? Anyone remember the little tins of Creamola Foam you used to be able to get as well - used to add it to water to make a frothy "fruit" drink. Talking of drinks, I remember the anticipation of our family aquiring its first Sodastream back in the 70's..... its amazing I still have all of my own teeth come to think of it.

Still thats probably due to the mass experiment carried out in many areas way back where they added Fluoride to the water as a matter of course. Also I have avaugue memory of being taken to the dentist as a kid in the 70's and having this Fluoride gell stuff put on my teeth in what seemed like rugby players gumshields. It was left on for 15 minutes or so and then the gumshield things taken off - anyone else remember that or was I just the victim of some early experimental dental research [^o)]

Chris

P.S. Oh an I also had an unexplainable addiction to Henz chicken and mushroom "toast toppers". Strange because the stuff came in tiny tins and looked like puke, even after you had spread it on your toast and toasted it. Tasted great though []

Gruntfuggly · February 11, 2006

The stuff you had done to your teeth - was it called 'Fisher Sealing' or something like that? I assume that was what it was called, because as a kid I thought it was called Fisher Sealink...

Sodastream - what a con that was - tasted awful too! We had a cheap and nasty copy called a Merrymix!

Toast Toppers... mmmmmm

Texans, Mojos, Spangles, Pacers....

Backlash · February 11, 2006

Can you remember sweet cigarettes?? They're called candy sticks now!!

Yeh, they used to sell them here in Australia, and they were called FAGS.

From memory they were a 6cm long white stick of candy that tasted a bit like a musk stick, had one end coloured red, and came in a small cardboard box of about 10 or 12.

In this politically correct society that we now live in, there is now so much wrong with that name.

WillyChang · February 11, 2006

... they were called FAGS.

... In this politically correct society that we now live in, there is now so much wrong with that name.

Yea, never did get into the habit of sucking on a fag, but they sell them as "FADS" in the milkbars now.

http://cardhouse.com/a/candy/foreign/f60.htm

(hehe, MILKBAR - now that's a rare sight these days!!)

Sign In

for all those born before 1986 ;o)

Recommended Posts

steviedee

backtomyroots

Stefan(2)

richytanimal

OCD

steviedee

XanderP

steviedee

fatboyslim

mud4fun

Gruntfuggly

MikeT

theshopkeeper

Tipsy

XanderP

Scorchio

battleaxe

Tipsy

ChrisB

fatboyslim

Gruntfuggly

ChrisB

Gruntfuggly

Backlash

WillyChang

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Recently Browsing 0 members

Who's Online 28 Members, 0 Anonymous, 67 Guests (See full list)

Member Statistics

Recent Status Updates

Browse

Activity