A trip down memory lane

[zabadak]

Re: A trip down memory lane

We couldn't play in our road but we did have nearby fields! Hitting the ball into the stream was an immediate six!

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

C,mon staffs.. you must have played street cricket.

[Mulletino]

Re: A trip down memory lane

We lived in a dead end so street sports were always an option, Cricket, tennis, Football, all good in the street, with everyone parking their car (singular) in the driveway or garage.
The same street nowadays however is full of cars parked along it, where the families have more than one car or use their garage for storage, being as all the driveways down the street are shared by two bungalows they can't really park in them if they have "reclaimed" the part in their gardens. Some of the houses even have converted their front gardens into concreted parking, not like when I was a kid where you played in the front gardens too. Shame really, but I guess now that both parents have to work it's created this situation.

The Ghost Train GF story reminded me of when, years ago, my dad was working late in his garage which adjoined a footpath next to woodland, there were trees all the way up their driveway along it. He could hear a courting couple walking along the path and the guy was trying to scare his girlfriend but sounded like he was actually scaring himself more. So my dad came out the garage, stood next to a tree and as they got level with it made a Zombie noise, the guy ran up the pathway as fast as he could, leaving the poor girl just standing there! Not sure if they went on any more dates after that or not! XD

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Who didnt play street cricket in while growing up. Cricket is Australia's national sport and is ingrained in every Aussie kid. With green space a premium, specially in inner city Sydney in the 50,60,70s cricket was played on the streets, back streets, laneways in fact anywhere that had an area long enuff to cater for the popular sport. I lived in an outer Sydney suburb. Most back streets were still unpaved and made for a great place to play an impromtu game of cricket. All that was needed was someone to purloin a neibors garbage bin to use as a wicket. If no one had an actual cricket bat we would use an old piece of flooring wood and an old tennis ball. The object was fun and a chance to give mum a break from us pesky kids for a coupla hours until dinner. Street cricket was a chance for us working class kids to emmulate our heroes, Lillee, Thomson, Bradman, Greg Chappell. I passed on the tradition to my son during his growing up years. We were lucky to have built in a cul de sac. So most days when i returned from work myself, my boys and a couple of neigborhood kids would revive this popular past time. Generally these days there is more open space for cricket games so the old street cricket game has passed into sporting history along with all those cricketing greats.



A cricket game in my street in the 90s.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Where are all the nostalgic tragics?

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Too true, Donald. I went on a day-trip to the seaside with a girlfriend in the early/mid 1980s, though I'm blowed if I can remember where we went. Anyway, there was a fair there, probably semi-permanent by how it was set up and they had a haunted house that you walked through. It was really dark inside with occasional blood-curdling screams played through a speaker system, plus weird moans and groans. Every so often a door would slide open to one side or the other and a light would flash on to illuminate a scary mannequin, such as a skeleton, hanging man, guy holding a bloody axe etc. Hahaha my gf was so scared by the time we had walked all the way through.

...and she was all over you after that. Right? Come to think of it.. our famous Luna Park had a haunted house exhibition back in the 80s. Spook Town I think they called it. I t was much like you described. I recall there was sign out front that said dont go inside alone. This presented a good chance for a girl to ask you to accompany her in there. Those moans and groans you heard staffs.. sure those were spookies?

[staffslad]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Staffs the Ghost Train was a great ride to take a girl on..specially one who scared easily. Before long she would be holding you so the boogey men did not get her.

Too true, Donald. I went on a day-trip to the seaside with a girlfriend in the early/mid 1980s, though I'm blowed if I can remember where we went. Anyway, there was a fair there, probably semi-permanent by how it was set up and they had a haunted house that you walked through. It was really dark inside with occasional blood-curdling screams played through a speaker system, plus weird moans and groans. Every so often a door would slide open to one side or the other and a light would flash on to illuminate a scary mannequin, such as a skeleton, hanging man, guy holding a bloody axe etc. Hahaha my gf was so scared by the time we had walked all the way through.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

I think I must have played doctors and nurses with my cousin, who was a year younger than me. In fact, I am sure she had one of those nurse's uniforms that little girls used to wear in the 60s/70s.

My first kiss? Hmmmm...I think it was with a girl I sat by at infants school, so probably at age 8 or so. She grew up into a lovely woman and dated my next-door neighbour's brother for a while, but I don't know what became of her.

My first dog was called Bobby. I have no idea what breed he was--probably a pedigree Heinz--but I was only 4 or 5 at the time he died I remember hardly anything about him other than he was very friendly and getting lots of licks from him.

There was no fun fair anywhere near us, so I only got to go to one at the seaside on our annual holiday or very occasionally one would set up on our local park for a couple of days. I used to enjoy the ghost train and bumper-cars the most. I can remember winning a couple of goldfish at a stall and we had them for many years in one of those small circular tanks. Remember the stall with the game where you had to hook a duck? On the bottom of the duck was a number and that number denoted your prize.

Staffs the Ghost Train was a great ride to take a girl on..specially one who scared easily. Before long she would be holding you so the boogey men did not get her.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Here I am explaining The Rotor in detail and you have your own in Blackpool tex.

[staffslad]

Re: A trip down memory lane

I think I must have played doctors and nurses with my cousin, who was a year younger than me. In fact, I am sure she had one of those nurse's uniforms that little girls used to wear in the 60s/70s.

My first kiss? Hmmmm...I think it was with a girl I sat by at infants school, so probably at age 8 or so. She grew up into a lovely woman and dated my next-door neighbour's brother for a while, but I don't know what became of her.

My first dog was called Bobby. I have no idea what breed he was--probably a pedigree Heinz--but I was only 4 or 5 at the time he died I remember hardly anything about him other than he was very friendly and getting lots of licks from him.

There was no fun fair anywhere near us, so I only got to go to one at the seaside on our annual holiday or very occasionally one would set up on our local park for a couple of days. I used to enjoy the ghost train and bumper-cars the most. I can remember winning a couple of goldfish at a stall and we had them for many years in one of those small circular tanks. Remember the stall with the game where you had to hook a duck? On the bottom of the duck was a number and that number denoted your prize.

[tex]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Sydney is lucky t o have her own permanent fun fair.. Luna Park based on the famous
Coney island in America. This has just about everything for the thrill seeker and nostalgic tragic. There are some unique and amazing rides such as The Rotor (see below). It is a large, upright barrel which when rotated at 33 revolutions per minute. creates a centrifugal effect equivalent to almost 3 g. Once the barrel has attained full speed, the floor is retracted, leaving the riders stuck to the wall of the drum. At the end of the ride cycle, the drum slows down and gravity takes over. The riders slide down the wall slowly. Most Rotors were constructed with an observation deck. From my experience The Rotor is a little scary. Dont open your eyes when in motion. If you have a girl with you hold her hand. Sure to get you a big wet kiss afterward.

Yes, they had one in the "funhouse" at Blackpool, a paper bag was always a handy thing to have

[tex]

Re: A trip down memory lane

A typical travelling funfair would not normally have the big white knuckle rides usually associated with theme parks, usually the waltzer would be as extreme as it got. Also dodgems, the whip, big wheel, and carousel, and then you would have the "Roll up,Rollup win a prize every time" type atractions i.e darts,hoops,hook a duck and rifle shooting.
Always best visited at night when everything was illuminated, i loved it all. Here is one of the trucks that would pull all this gear up and down the country..

[Richard1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Travelling funfairs.......
With the plethora of theme parks we seem to have these days i was wondering if they were responsible for the decline in travelling funfairs that used to be so common up until about the 1980s. I used to love the atmosphere of these fairs, Silcocks was the most prevalent but there were many others that would travel from town to town,they would pitch on pieces of wasteland and usually were around for about a week or so. Hotdogs/candy floss and toffee apples filled the air and all you could hear was the girls screaming over a soundtrack of Buddy holly and Bill haley. Theme parks dont create the same atmosphere,are usually at least thirty miles away and are very expensive .
The film That'll be the day which starred David essex and Ringo was great in spite of the bad acting...catch it if you can!

My home town still has one every year as part of the carnival. I only occasionally went as my parents reckoned it was too expensive & would normally save up for a day in Blackpool instead.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Sydney is lucky t o have her own permanent fun fair.. Luna Park based on the famous
Coney island in America. This has just about everything for the thrill seeker and nostalgic tragic. There are some unique and amazing rides such as The Rotor (see below). It is a large, upright barrel which when rotated at 33 revolutions per minute. creates a centrifugal effect equivalent to almost 3 g. Once the barrel has attained full speed, the floor is retracted, leaving the riders stuck to the wall of the drum. At the end of the ride cycle, the drum slows down and gravity takes over. The riders slide down the wall slowly. Most Rotors were constructed with an observation deck. From my experience The Rotor is a little scary. Dont open your eyes when in motion. If you have a girl with you hold her hand. Sure to get you a big wet kiss afterward.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

That is a good subject tex. I too used to enjoy the local carnival/fun fairs as a kid. My cousins and brother and I would often go together and thrill to the varied rides and exhibitions. I could never take to the Big Dipper. How about you? I still cant ride on them and we have some pretty spectaular ones on our Gold Coast. In fact Sydney boasted the worlds largest wooden rollercoaster at one stage when we had Wonderworld. I digress. Yes at these fairs there were the shooting games, win a prize if you could land a hoop around an object, throwing games where you could dunk a clown and win a prize. Also the win a prize by placing a ball down the throat of a rotating clown. Some even had the Hall of Mirrors. You would take your girl to them and kiss her in front of all the various mirrors. Gotta say my all time fave was the Dodgem Cars. Sydney is lucky to still have our own permanent fun fair.. the world famous harborside Luna Park.. (see below) based I believe on America's Coney Island.