Memories of Childhood

It is funny how much we remember about things but was it really that good-I mean the times they were a-changing but I seem to recall that apart from the music and the television, the early 80s were bleak, no chance of job prospects when you left school and a complete divide between those who had money(and rubbed it in your face) the hated yuppies and those that didn't struggling to make ends meet with kids or on their own. Leaving school wasn't a good option and most Careers Officers basically said you had sod all chance of work-didn't instill a lot of confidence in you that's for sure. We all seem to glaze over about television and especially kids' tv, well yes there were some great programmes around. The late Sid Waddell, darts commentator, gave us two dramas. One was called 'Jossy's Giants' ("football's just a branch of science") about a school football or fitba team and the other was 'Sloggers', tale of young cricketers, one of which was a girl I think. You also got great cartoons like 'Around the World with Willy Fogg' and 'Mysterious Cities of Gold' which went on for an epoch it seemed, so many episodes were made(It was remade two years ago!) and presenters that were actually very good like Andy Crane, Phillip Schofield and Debbie Flint(ah those pink sweaters worn by that blonde bombshell!!) and of course the much missed saint of children's television, Bob Holness, whose untimely demise robbed us memorynauts of a true legend

I don't know if you ever saw this, but Sid Waddell also created the Flaxton Boys.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flaxto...nformation

http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/flaxton_boys.htm

No sorry doesn't ring a bell mate. Jossy's Giants (Jossy played by Jim Barclay) featured in one episode Alan Shearer and David Coleman( late genius commentator/presenter) I found this fabulous cartoon website which has just about every cartoon past and present you can think of -my next thread will have the link on it and believe me you won't believe what has been uploaded there.

i remember "king Cinder" which I think was about speedway..

I’m sure you’ll remember another programme that Sid Waddell created. It was called ‘Indoor League’ and was presented by pipe smoking Fred Trueman “aaahhl si thee” who was usually resplendent in a cardigan, and a kipper tie with a pint in one hand and the aforementioned pipe in the other.

The programme was shown originally by Yorkshire Television but I remember watching it on Granada in 1974/75 period. There was some weird sports played such as ‘shove ha penny’ as well as bar billiards, darts and arm wresting with a prize of, as Fred said it of ‘undred quid’

I watched one of the programmes just before Christmas when a young Willie Thorne (with hair) was on, and won the programme tournament. He got £15 prize money. How times have changed.,..

(29-01-2019 01:16 )andyjb Wrote:  I don't know if you ever saw this, but Sid Waddell also created the Flaxton Boys.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flaxto...nformation

http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/flaxton_boys.htm

Cheers andyjb,I remember watching repeats of The Flaxton Boys in the 90s.It was pretty good.

I just remembered this stuff that was in a tube which you squeezed onto a pipe and blew bubbles or balloons. We had some(my sister and I) when we were younger but we got ours from Selfridges(rich aunt took us there). I understand you can still get that from Hamleys. I also remember Squirmels, strange orange pipe like creatures that moved around your hand, presumably by your body heat. It looked like a fox stole if you want a comparison. Squirmels were attached to a length of fishing line , then threaded around the fingers & attached up the sleeve so when the arms were moved apart they would appear to run around your fingers.

anyone remember the Pez sweets dispensers?

Yes, I used to get loads of those, the lemon and orange flavours were my favourite. There are people who collect the dispensers and some are insane prices and worth a bit, the rarer the better.

Found this: Austrian candy executive Eduard Haas invented Pez candy in 1927. The original little candy bricks were peppermint. In fact, the word Pez is an abbreviation of the German word for peppermint.(PfeffErminZ) Pez candy was originally sold in small tins.

Playground chants. I was trying to remember some of them from years ago. I don't know if you remember these but I recall two, one was "Bumper car, bumper car, number 48, whizzed round the corrrrrrrrrrrNER, slammed on its brakes!" Another was "As I was going to the Aki, the Aki-taki fair, I met a senorita with feathers/ribbons in her hair..." and a way of chosing people for games etc which went "Ip dip, sky blue, whose IT, not you, not because you're dirty, not because you're clean, my mum says you're the fairy queen, so O.U.T. spells OUT!" I hasten to add this was mostly said by girls. and finally another girls one "Firecracker, firecracker, boom boom boom"(repeated) and then I can't remember the rest of it except at the end it went "boys go kiss, kiss, girls go WOW!" and on that they lifted their skirts and flashed the boys-highly memorable that. No idea where it came from. Does that or any of those others jog your memories?