And groups of girls rounded up every baby in the street and went for walks with them in their prams
It was the ultimate everybody got a big sister, even if she wasn't yours
Shops with every one of them smelling different.
Sawdust in the butchers to catch the blood drips. We knew damned fine what steak was and what oxtail was.
"Out and Play! ", was the command, day in day out. So we did
We got cold, wet, muddy, sunburnt, skint knees, staved fingers, knew everybody and every dog and cat around.
Went messages for neighbours and old folks and knew we'd get skelped by Mum if we took the change we were offered for going for them.
Thought it was normal to climb trees, swing poles, lamp posts, bings, coal sheds. Could fix flat tyres, make carties, use airguns, carry sheath knives, light fires, and knew not to be stupid with any of them.
Games had their seasons like the year does. Beds, bools, tennis, rounders, hide 'n' seek, truth/dare/doubledare/promise or command, red rover, balls and football.
Household chores; cut kindling (yep, kids used axes), cleaned out the fire, helped to prep and cook, scrubbed and cleaned, cut the grass and the hedges (yep, kids used big shears)
I think, truthfully, our lives were busier. tv was only available for a few hours in the day, no computers, no wii, no mobile phones. People moved around an awful lot more, we were physically much more active and we learned to use a huge variety of tools.
cheers,
Toddy