Things you never see anymore

[Torquay Gunner]

7 minutes ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

Might just be my son but kids dont play conkers anymore! Many brilliant break/lunch time playing conkers. 

 Agreed, spent what seemed like hours trying to knock them out of the trees! Don’t see kids out playing hopscotch either.

[jgtuk]

20 minutes ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

Might just be my son but kids dont play conkers anymore! Many brilliant break/lunch time playing conkers. 

I have two massive Horse Chestnut trees in my garden, collected buckets of conkers for the kids - not a bit of interest

[davieG]

 

My heyday.

[Guest Lako42]

New breweries 

[String fellow]

2 hours ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

Might just be my son but kids dont play conkers anymore! Many brilliant break/lunch time playing conkers. 

Also marbles - less seasonal than conkers. Then later on in the sixties, football in the playground using a tennis ball, with jumpers for goalposts.

[Blarmy]

I’m not sure if kids “play” any more in the sense that I did when I was young. I live with an 8 year old and he plays the odd board game with us but other than that it’s TV, YouTube and video games (and not even that much of that). He plays football but no other outdoor activities at all. He can’t even ride a bike and isn’t interested in learning. 

 

I used to be out playing non-stop, and if I wasn’t I was playing, drawing, building models etc.

 

All about them screens these days. I spend my spare time more productively than he does, despite having way less than him and being 50 years old. I think it’s a shame. 

[davieG]

51 minutes ago, String fellow said:

Also marbles - less seasonal than conkers. Then later on in the sixties, football in the playground using a tennis ball, with jumpers for goalposts.

Flicking cards to knock down cards against the wall, can't remember if it had a name

 

North American version - Topsies, Knock-downs, and Bounce-backs | by Tom Otvos | Medium

 

https://kevanbundell.co.uk/blog/2014/10/21/flick-cards/ 

Two boys (only boys) would stand some eight feet or so from a playground wall, each armed with a handful of cards. A card was held between two fingers and then launched towards the wall, by each player in turn, by means of a quick flick of the wrist. There were two versions of the game. The object of one was to get your card to land on another already lying on the ground. The first player to achieve this won all the cards previously thrown. In the other – known as ‘Death’ – the aim was to knock down two or more cards that had been lent against the wall. The player that toppled the last card was the winner and, again, took all the cards already thrown.

[Torquay Gunner]

31 minutes ago, davieG said:

Flicking cards to knock down cards against the wall, can't remember if it had a name

 

North American version - Topsies, Knock-downs, and Bounce-backs | by Tom Otvos | Medium

 

https://kevanbundell.co.uk/blog/2014/10/21/flick-cards/ 

Two boys (only boys) would stand some eight feet or so from a playground wall, each armed with a handful of cards. A card was held between two fingers and then launched towards the wall, by each player in turn, by means of a quick flick of the wrist. There were two versions of the game. The object of one was to get your card to land on another already lying on the ground. The first player to achieve this won all the cards previously thrown. In the other – known as ‘Death’ – the aim was to knock down two or more cards that had been lent against the wall. The player that toppled the last card was the winner and, again, took all the cards already thrown.

Yes remember flicking cards. I also played throwing football coins against a wall and the winner was the boy that threw the coin closest to that wall and he would walk away with all of the coins thrown.  I cannot remember where those coins came from!

[foxile5]

1 hour ago, Blarmy said:

I’m not sure if kids “play” any more in the sense that I did when I was young. I live with an 8 year old and he plays the odd board game with us but other than that it’s TV, YouTube and video games (and not even that much of that). He plays football but no other outdoor activities at all. He can’t even ride a bike and isn’t interested in learning. 

 

I used to be out playing non-stop, and if I wasn’t I was playing, drawing, building models etc.

 

All about them screens these days. I spend my spare time more productively than he does, despite having way less than him and being 50 years old. I think it’s a shame. 

It is also weird how the improved safety of society through constant monitoring and surveillance has closely overseen a drop in children playing outside. When I were a 'snapper it was expected that, during the summer holidays, I'd be outside all day every day returning only to eat in the evening. There were no surveillance measures for my safety then. With every square inch of society monitored children don't leave the nest.

 

Odd. 

[davieG]

Just now, foxile5 said:

It is also weird how the improved safety of society through constant monitoring and surveillance has closely overseen a drop in children playing outside. When I were a 'snapper it was expected that, during the summer holidays, I'd be outside all day every day returning only to eat in the evening. There were no surveillance measures for my safety then. With every square inch of society monitored children don't leave the nest.

 

Odd. 

Cars/Traffic are a big cause. I think also people are much more aware of molestation through the numerous media channels although I'm not convinced it's worse than it used to be.

[foxile5]

5 minutes ago, davieG said:

Cars/Traffic are a big cause.

You're definitely right here. It's quite common for a family of 4 with two 18+ children to have 4 to 5 cars. Every family was a 1 car at best family when I was growing up.

[oxford blue]

6 hours ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

Might just be my son but kids dont play conkers anymore! Many brilliant break/lunch time playing conkers. 

Doesn't 'health & safety' dictate playing conkers is  too dangerous to personal safety and must be banned? Just think of all the injuries we have suffered through playing - well, actually none...

[SemperEadem]

Any youth subcultures. All young people aged 16-24 pretty much dress the same now.

[Soar Fox]

The pop man

[Parafox]

1 hour ago, Steve_Walsh5 said:

The pop man

Corona was the pop on the wagon that came round our area.

 

That's why I got really concerned in January 2020. It might have lain dormant for 50 years.

[Daggers]

Iain Dormant sounds like a singer in an 80s New Romantic band.

[RoboFox]

18 hours ago, SemperEadem said:

Any youth subcultures. All young people aged 16-24 pretty much dress the same now.

I see quite a few teenagers from alternative scene around TBF.

 

And they still dress pretty much the same as they did 20+ years ago. 

[ajthefox]

21 hours ago, oxford blue said:

Doesn't 'health & safety' dictate playing conkers is  too dangerous to personal safety and must be banned? Just think of all the injuries we have suffered through playing - well, actually none...

No-one is banning conkers. 

 

Made up culture war press. 

[Eurofox]

Youth clubs 

[Foxdiamond]

5 minutes ago, Eurofox said:

Youth clubs 

 

5 minutes ago, Eurofox said:

Youth clubs 

A shame too

[Chiltern Fox]

23 hours ago, Steve_Walsh5 said:

The pop man

I remember davenports and Jones in Loughborough. 

 

[jgtuk]

1 hour ago, Chiltern Fox said:

I remember davenports and Jones in Loughborough. 

 

And Alpine?

[davieG]

 

I believe the company is still around apparently on Oakland Road.

 

It used to be on Queens Rd when I went to Avenue Road Junior School.

There was a lad in my class who told me his Dad was the manager there, he took me there one lunchtime and we strolled in and went to this office where he sat in the office chair like he owned the place on the way out he said help yourself to a drink and he got a bottle opener out that he'd taken from the office, we sat outside on some crates and drank the pop.

 

Later on in the year I found out he had made it all up and his Dad didn't even work there.

 

 

[Parafox]

3 hours ago, Eurofox said:

Youth clubs 

Google "youth clubs Leicester" and you'll find there are several. 

 

Also many youth "groups" are associated and run by religious groups such as Boy's Brigade (Baptist church) and Boy Scouts who, mainly, are C of E.

[Harboro]

5 hours ago, ajthefox said:

No-one is banning conkers. 

 

Made up culture war press. 

We had a school sanctioned conked tournament in primary school, but they were actually banned in high school