Reminders of your Childhood.

[Wanderboy]

Christmas holidays, I'm watching the cricket and at times I get a bit bored. 

I thought this might be a good thread for the holidays to fill in a bit of time.

What things remind you of your childhood? I'm sure there's millions of things out there that us oldies (or not so oldies) can contribute. I'll start.

Anyone remember this add?

 

 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Wanderboy

[sonar]

Holidays at Narrabeen in a large tent. Surf....fishing of the bridge.....mozzies....the smell of aeroguard.......sunburn....Heaven for kids from Western Syd....lol

 

[Wanderboy]

I liked that add Sonar. Haven't seen it for years!!

Good choice.

 

And for others, it doesn't have to be adds, just childhood reminders.

[Edinburgh]

The (former) local primary school. While I see it or even walk past it at least a couple of times a week, for some reason*  during the past week I've thought about my time there. Really happy memories.

* maybe some of the conversations with family on Boxing Day.

[Smoggy]

At christmas time my thoughts turn to my grandad, uncle and my dad sat discussing football around the table after xmas lunch. Talking about the boxing day game and if traveling away what time we would be setting off and then arguing about the best route. My grandad smoking his ciggies, my old man with his big long fat cigar he always smoked at xmas.

Before that though they would always head off to the pub xmas day morning to 'let the women get on with the cooking and work'. I soooooooo wanted to go with them but no place for kids in the pub they went to...no kid / family friendly areas then. I spent from the age of say 8 to 18 just wanting to go with them, and when i finally did it was all bit shyte lol Ended up buying most of the ******* drinks! I took my girlfriend to the xmas day pub outing one year...that didnt go down well...

They were ALWAYS back late from the pub and the old girl would ALWAYS be stressed about the lunch.

Xmas day afternoon..my grandad asleep on the sofa snoring with his cristmas cracker party hat still on. My grandmother getting shitfaced on bailey's.

New years eve was spent with mates from the 'estate' getting pissed on oversized bottles of cider.

[StringerBellend]

Celebrity women from my childhood that I may have had feelings for 

4 Debra Harry
3. Sally James (off Tizwaz)  - Smoggy is the only person here likely to know who she is 
2. Daisy Duke
1 Carrie Fischer / Princess Leia

[Smoggy]

5 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

Celebrity women from my childhood that I may have had feelings for 

4 Debra Harry
3. Sally James (off Tizwaz)  - Smoggy is the only person here likely to know who she is 
2. Daisy Duke
1 Carrie Fischer / Princess Leia

Tizwaz was before my time but i know who she is. Saturday morning TV for me didnt start until Going Live in the 80's.

Debbie Harry, Suzanna Hoffs, Belinda Carlisle and Kate Bush were all 80's stunners.

[ZachMercer]

2 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

Tizwaz was before my time but i know who she is. Saturday morning TV for me didnt start until Going Live in the 80's.

Debbie Harry, Suzanna Hoffs, Belinda Carlisle and Kate Bush were all 80's stunners.

Belinda Carlisle was super hot, but my wife always pokes fun at me for Linda Carter (the original wonderwoman) being my first love. She simply won't be convinced to role play. 

[ZachMercer]

My fondest childhood memory was as kids sliding across the vinyl backseat of my mums torana elbowing and shoving each other without seatbelts as they weren't mandatory. 

That and sunnyboys in summer. 

[sonar]

19 minutes ago, ZachMercer said:

My fondest childhood memory was as kids sliding across the vinyl backseat of my mums torana elbowing and shoving each other without seatbelts as they weren't mandatory. 

That and sunnyboys in summer. 

A Torana...man you were lucky.......

Dad drove us around in a poo brown Vauxhall station wagon.......

[Edinburgh]

One day I'm at I don't remember what and Dad rocks up to surprise me with our first car - an Austin 7.

We drove up to Katoomba on occasion. One time it overheated and we found some water to top up the radiator in a puddle in the corner of a roadside road surface repair material 'depot'.

In those days, there was an annual vintage cars drive from Sydney (?) Up to Katoomba (?) And we would watch them drive by as they went through Emu Plains. The Austin 7 didn't look much different from many of them, except that they looked in better condition.

Next was a Ford Prefect. Then an Austin Cambridge - a semi automatic with a gearshift on the steering column!

All multiple second hand of course. 

[Wanderboy]

3 hours ago, sonar said:

A Torana...man you were lucky.......

Dad drove us around in a poo brown Vauxhall station wagon.......

My old man had two Vauxhalls. I was so embarrassed as a kid. All my mates were like "What the **** is that ****-box?"

 

Anyway, the first one was some old blue thing that looked like an FJ Holden. That died an early death when I was young - maybe about 6 or 7 I was.

The 2nd one looked like some old Valiant or something. It think it was called a "Cresta".

Bench seat front and back. I used to sit in the middle of the front bench, leaning forward with my head on the dash board. Mum used to hold my young sister in her arms beside me, and my three other brothers fought like tooth and nail in the back. Not one of us with a seat belt on. Safety first, eh?? Air-con was those little triangle windows in the front of the front doors. I could never get the ******* angle right, and it was steamy hot air anyway,

Anyway, after the Cresta went to car heaven, I managed to convince my old man to go French and get a Peugeot 504, because one of my mates dad's had one and I told him they were good.

**** me dead, it was pure luxury after being a passenger in a rusted bucket of bolts on wheels for the previous 15 years.

[Smoggy]

You guys were lucky, until around 1982 we had a Hillman Imp, it had the engine at the back and you put your bags and stuff in the the boot at the front.  

 

We would set off on our summer holls in Devon at 5am in the morning and arrive tired and all annoyed with each other at around 11pm. This as usually after 2 or 3 motorway overheating episodes. 

I can actually only just remember this was we got rid of the Hillman Imp when I just turned 5. My earliest memories in the back of this car.

[Wanderboy]

Wow, your parents must have been rich to own luxury like that!!

[Smoggy]

5 minutes ago, Wanderboy said:

Wow, your parents must have been rich to own luxury like that!!

Not many people on the 'estate' actually had a car even in the early 80's lol Many steel workers would use bikes to get to their shifts or walk, we were ahead of the times 

[StringerBellend]

18 hours ago, Smoggy said:

You guys were lucky, until around 1982 we had a Hillman Imp, it had the engine at the back and you put your bags and stuff in the the boot at the front.  

 

We would set off on our summer holls in Devon at 5am in the morning and arrive tired and all annoyed with each other at around 11pm. This as usually after 2 or 3 motorway overheating episodes. 

I can actually only just remember this was we got rid of the Hillman Imp when I just turned 5. My earliest memories in the back of this car.

I think my grandad had a Hillman Avenger or a Hunter  at somepoint although I don’t remember it much

[Edinburgh]

Following on from my earlier post on the cars we had during my childhood, here is an Austin 7.

https://www.google.com/search?q=austin+7&oq=austin+7&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l3.57888j0j8&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=gosWLiq438pg1M:

Ours, though, looked more like one abandoned in a field.

Note the "rod" above the number plate. That's the crank handle to start the engine.

[marron]

I think this was the car we had when I was really little, the datsun sunny, although then we upgraded to a Telstar. 

[StringerBellend]

Game 

13 minutes ago, marron said:

I think this was the car we had when I was really little, the datsun sunny, although then we upgraded to a Telstar. 

I had my first car accident in a Datsun 1200 it was the sporty coupe model although the steering wheel resembled that of a bus 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by StringerBellend

[marron]

For a brief time I lived in the House of Datsun*

*the house number was 180B

[Carns]

My first car was a bright green Datsun 1200 ute which had a rust hole in the floor about 15cm long, could be started with a fork and caught on fire because it had an aftermarket carbie without an air filter (so excess fuel spewed out the top).

I currently have a Datsun 1200 coupe (owned for 9 years or so) which is my weekend/fun car which is much better than my original 1200 ute (upgraded motor/brakes/suspension etc. and a solid body!). Yes, it's a Datto, but ****, it's fun.

[Smoggy]

My first car - 

1.1 Ford Fiesta which was already around 15 years old when I got it in my teens. Mine had MUCH more rust around the wheel arches which I tried to fix with some rust remover, a wire brush and some hammerite paint with a big paint brush with some paint which I though 'meh its a good enough match'.Not surprisingly the rust always bubbled back up and every few weeks a new chunk would flake off. The door would give you an electric shock when opening it for some reason and the wing mirror was prone to hanging off so I taped it back on with some gaffer tape. There was always a warning light of some kind and the only reason I think it passed its test is because it was a mechanic from a dodgy back ally place who my dad knew from down the pub. He would give me my certificate to say roadworthy and as driving off from the garage area something would fall off.

But I LOVED it. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Smoggy

[Smoggy]

The thing about cars like the one above is you knew the character of the car, you knew the gear box was ****ed but you knew the trick of getting from 2nd to 3rd and bypass the problem,, you knew the brakes were ****ed and so had to use them at a certain time and in a certain way.  If anyone else tried to drive the car they would get nowhere or kill themselves, but you knew how to get around problems and get the best out of it, that is how it was with this car.

That was the fun of driving then, you just got on with it.

[Wanderboy]

I couldn't find a "Holiday" thread, so this was the next best place.

As a child, we holidayed in Huskisson for a couple of years. Many pleasant memories.

I went back there for a week, the week before last, with my two teens and 5 of their friends. I have been there a few times over the years but not for holidays. It is as beautiful as I remember it as a child, although when I was a kid, I just loved swimming and going to the local shop to buy lollies with the 5 cents dad used to give me.

Anyway, here is a pic from my holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Wanderboy

[marron]

Jervis Bay is fairly unspoiled isn't it. As a teen my  aunts owned a holiday house on the shoalhaven and we often went down there as well for the day.

Wish I could say the same about forster. Been going since I was born to stay with family and every year it's that little bit busier, that little bit more suburban. 

[Wanderboy]

3 minutes ago, marron said:

Jervis Bay is fairly unspoiled isn't it. As a teen my  aunts owned a holiday house on the shoalhaven and we often went down there as well for the day.

Wish I could say the same about forster. Been going since I was born to stay with family and every year it's that little bit busier, that little bit more suburban. 

Jervis Bay gets very busy, as do all the places up and down the coast. Huskisson main street gets crowded, which sort of adds to the vibe. Plenty of nice (trendy) restaurants there. But the beaches are relatively uncrowded, as there are so many of them.

[Smoggy]

39 minutes ago, Wanderboy said:

I couldn't find a "Holiday" thread, so this was the next best place.

As a child, we holidayed in Huskisson for a couple of years. Many pleasant memories.

I went back there for a week, the week before last, with my two teens and 5 of their friends. I have been there a few times over the years but not for holidays. It is as beautiful as I remember it as a child, although when I was a kid, I just loved swimming and going to the local shop to buy lollies with the 5 cents dad used to give me.

Anyway, here is a pic from my holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I have had a few swims at that beach....it didn't get the thumbs up from my son though as the waves weren't big enough...therefore not exciting enough 

<that's code for he just wants to see his old man get ******* smashed to bits by waves...>

Edited January 26, 2021 by Smoggy

[Wanderboy]

19 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

Yeah, I have had a few swims at that beach....it didn't get the thumbs up from my son though as the waves weren't big enough...therefore not exciting enough 

<that's code for he just wants to see his old man get ******* smashed to bits by waves...>

You're son probably has a point. Especially the bit about wanting you to get smashed to bits.

Us old bastards don't mind the calm, warm waters though. Huskisson was just gorgeous.

[marron]

Okay my childhood place would be the Charles Darwin walk in wentworth falls, used to go down there all the time as a kid. Nothing particularly spectacular, just have fond memories of being down there playing in the creek. Haven't been for a couple of years; working on giving my kids similar memories hopefully up this way.

[EmMac]

Love that beach, my kind of beach. In fact most of the calm south coasts beaches are amazing