A trip down memory lane

[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?

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Where are all the nostalgic tragics?

[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.

[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

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

[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!

[staffslad]

Re: A trip down memory lane

We didn't play in the street as we were right on the edge of a very large forest with streams and ponds, so we would explore that and if we wanted to play football we would find a clearing and have a kickabout.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

We didn't play in the street as we were right on the edge of a very large forest with streams and ponds, so we would explore that and if we wanted to play football we would find a clearing and have a kickabout.

Sounds like fun. In our day the secret to a healthy upbringing was plenty of fresh air and exercise. We had to make our own fun. We were resouceful and innovative. Todays kids are spoon fed their entertainment. Usually of the hi tech variety. Ok todays gen may be smarter than us but they are missing out on the fun of really growing up that we tasted. Todays kids spend far too little time inside with their computer games and the like. My son was the same. Dont know how many times I would say to him " mate go outside and get some exercise". In the end I would have to drag him (not physically) outside to have a hit of street cricket. Very soon a couple of local boys would wanna join us.

[Mulletino]

Re: A trip down memory lane

The woods next to my parents' place was where I played a lot, also the common through the path i previously mentioned. We'd play war with our toy guns or fly kites and go exploring in the woods the other side of it or ride our bikes down the lanes picking blackberries. Another local wood we used to play in backed onto a graveyard where we'd often explore and tell each other ghost stories.

My mate (rest his soul) moved to many houses as his mum was a nurse and worked in many hospital, but one of the houses they stayed in backed onto a massive field with a stream down it and woodland far off the back. We'd spend hours playing in that stream and exploring the woods, coming home freezing cold and wet to remove our soggy boots and get warm indoors.

You went out to play and came home for tea, absolute "in the now/moment" freedom that kids nowadays will never know thanks to Mobile Phones where they're constantly missing out on what is around them due to interacting with people they hardly know elsewhere.

Good times, lost in the name of "progress".

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Sounds like my upbringing before it was spoiled by boarding school.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Sounds like my upbringing before it was spoiled by boarding school.

Mulletino was that in England or Australia.

We'd spend hours playing in that stream and exploring the woods, coming home freezing cold and wet to remove our soggy boots and get warm indoors.
What fun you and your mates must have had to be living near such a natural environment.

[Mulletino]

Re: A trip down memory lane

That was in Essex in England mate, didn't move to Australia till my thirties.

Yeah they were special times, we were mad on Horror Cards (like scary top trumps) and i remember us making our own ones one day after coming in from the cold.
I found them 20 years later in a Yahtzee box I had and gave them to my mate at his wedding, he couldn't believe i still had them. He was supposed to keep them for 20 years then give them back, but he died a few years after.
His mum asked if she could bury some of the ones i remembered as his favourites with him as they'd meant so much to him seeing them again, I agreed. The rest I got back, some were all smudged from her tears, i'll never thrown them away.

[tex]

Re: A trip down memory lane

We lived on what was known as a play street, it was illegal to drive down it unless for access, this was ofcourse to ensure the safety of any kids playing outside. We would play in the street all the time, usually footy but also cricket and games like tag or statues.

[Richard1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

I've not heard of that many play streets over here, they are popular in American cites from what I've heard.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

That was in Essex in England mate, didn't move to Australia till my thirties.

Yeah they were special times, we were mad on Horror Cards (like scary top trumps) and i remember us making our own ones one day after coming in from the cold.
I found them 20 years later in a Yahtzee box I had and gave them to my mate at his wedding, he couldn't believe i still had them. He was supposed to keep them for 20 years then give them back, but he died a few years after.
His mum asked if she could bury some of the ones i remembered as his favourites with him as they'd meant so much to him seeing them again, I agreed. The rest I got back, some were all smudged from her tears, i'll never thrown them away.

That is very sad. Your mate died young did he?
I looked up those horror cards.. Waddingtons were a UK toy maker of the time. We never had horror cards but I was a mad collector of footy cards at boarding school. I had every St George Dragon for at least a decade plus every other player who had made the Australian Kangaroos. I expect you had every England soccer football player.