Merlin the Magician
At the Start
THE GOOD OLDE DAYS THEY CALLED THEM.....
Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favourite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. !
'Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.
But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it :
Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore jeans , set foot on a golf course, had holidays abroad or had a credit card.
My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow).
I remember we had a television which was really a piece of polished furniture, the screen seemed about 6” square (that is 150mm in new money).
It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people...
I never had a telephone in my room.The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home... But milk was.
All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. He had to get up at 6AM every morning.
Film stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing. My first burger was a “Wimpy”, however, you had to sit down on a chair, at a table. Then a waitress asked you politely, ”what would you like”. Your food was brought to you on a plate and you were also provided with a “knife and fork”. But the strange thing is……you paid for it after you had eaten it!!!!
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?
How many do you remember?
Headlight dip switches on the floor.
Ignition switches were on the dashboard and there was a magazine shelf underneath.
Using hand signals for cars without indicators.You had to pull the “choke” out to start the engine MOT’s hadn’t been invented.One license covered everything on wheels.
Bicycle clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Older Than Dirt Quiz :
Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about. Ratings at the bottom.
1.Sweet cigarettes
2.Coffee bars with juke boxes
3.Home milk delivery in glass bottles
4. Party lines on the telephone
5.Newsreels before the main feature film
6.TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels [if you were fortunate])
7.Peashooters
8. Andy Pandy
9. 78 RPM records
10.Hi-fi's
11. Tin Baths
12. Blue flashbulbs
13. Cork popguns
14. Wolsley, Riley, Austin , Morris, Triumph and Vanden Plas Motor Cars
15. Sweets actually filled the wrappers
16. Washing machines with wringers
If you remembered 0-3 = You're still young
If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 11-15 =You're older than dirt!
I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best parts of my life.
Don't forget to pass this along!!
Especially to all your really OLD friends....
Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favourite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. !
'Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.
But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it :
Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore jeans , set foot on a golf course, had holidays abroad or had a credit card.
My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow).
I remember we had a television which was really a piece of polished furniture, the screen seemed about 6” square (that is 150mm in new money).
It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people...
I never had a telephone in my room.The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home... But milk was.
All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. He had to get up at 6AM every morning.
Film stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing. My first burger was a “Wimpy”, however, you had to sit down on a chair, at a table. Then a waitress asked you politely, ”what would you like”. Your food was brought to you on a plate and you were also provided with a “knife and fork”. But the strange thing is……you paid for it after you had eaten it!!!!
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?
How many do you remember?
Headlight dip switches on the floor.
Ignition switches were on the dashboard and there was a magazine shelf underneath.
Using hand signals for cars without indicators.You had to pull the “choke” out to start the engine MOT’s hadn’t been invented.One license covered everything on wheels.
Bicycle clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Older Than Dirt Quiz :
Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about. Ratings at the bottom.
1.Sweet cigarettes
2.Coffee bars with juke boxes
3.Home milk delivery in glass bottles
4. Party lines on the telephone
5.Newsreels before the main feature film
6.TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels [if you were fortunate])
7.Peashooters
8. Andy Pandy
9. 78 RPM records
10.Hi-fi's
11. Tin Baths
12. Blue flashbulbs
13. Cork popguns
14. Wolsley, Riley, Austin , Morris, Triumph and Vanden Plas Motor Cars
15. Sweets actually filled the wrappers
16. Washing machines with wringers
If you remembered 0-3 = You're still young
If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 11-15 =You're older than dirt!
I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best parts of my life.
Don't forget to pass this along!!
Especially to all your really OLD friends....
I got 5....
