Memories of childhood.

Corvo · 09-11-2015 10:29AM

I have some great memories, thankfully. I forget sometimes that I had a great childhood. Even at times when something happened that I didn't like, I look back now and laugh.

- Going to a huge lake with my father. We didn't have a car so we would cycle and tie our rods along the bike. We would bring sandwiches and fly fish for the evening.

- Arriving down one Christmas morning and discovering a letter attached to a telescope from "Santa" with "No Nintendo 64's left, sorry"

- My father was a fisherman by trade (since left it due to some of the dangers) and we had to bring a trawler from Wexford to Dublin to be painted. Remember the boat being a bit rocky on the journey and my father saying "don't worry son, this is how you get your sea legs"...haven't been sick on a boat since (and anyone that goes to matches in England via Stena Line knows thats a minor miracle)

- My mother telling me "I'm just going to the shop to get bread" and I would wait up all night for her not realising she went to her friends house every Thursday night for a chat and some wine

- Watching my parents cook and taking that into my adult years

- Being excited when I was very young for a next door neighbours birthday party and waking up with chicken pox. My mother making up for it by spoiling me for the day

Great times.

MilesMorales1 · 09-11-2015 11:00AM

Arriving down one Christmas morning and discovering a letter attached to a telescope from "Santa" with "No Nintendo 64's left, sorry"

That made me laugh.

donegaLroad · 09-11-2015 12:04PM

we could pick up the BBCs and UTV in the 70's plus Ch4 in the 80's... I used to pretend to be sick so I could stay at home and watch Programmes for Schools and Colleges on BBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3QlOZBgEjM

RhubarbCrumble · 09-11-2015 12:05PM

Getting 50p from my aunt after Irish dancing and with that 50p being able to buy a bottle of Shannon minerals (lime juice & soda was my favourite) for 20p, packet of 10p Taytos, 10p bar (stinger, klipso, smiley etc) 5p pink panther bar and 5 penny sweets/chewing gums.

Hammer89 · 09-11-2015 02:44PM

Corvo wrote: »

- Going to a huge lake with my father. We didn't have a car so we would cycle and tie our rods along the bike. We would bring sandwiches and fly fish for the evening.

Your mum and future wife are lucky, lucky girls.

Corvo · 09-11-2015 02:52PM

Hammer89 wrote: »

Your mum and future wife are lucky, lucky girls.

That means a lot coming from a man with the username Hammer! :pac:

Hammer89 · 09-11-2015 02:57PM

In my case it's rock hammer, that tiny yoke Andy Dufrane used to tunnel out of prison.

Corvo · 09-11-2015 03:03PM

Hammer89 wrote: »

In my case it's rock hammer, that tiny yoke Andy Dufrane used to tunnel out of prison.

Worn down to the nub!

Duggy747 · 09-11-2015 03:22PM

I remember I accidentally came home from playschool with a single jigsaw piece, it must've fell into my bag or something. I was paranoid that the cops were coming and were going to haul my arse to prison, like some special unit were investigating this missing piece :pac:

Also, another time going to playschool on my bike when a collie came and bit me on my arse. That Lassie was a vicious bastard who bit too many people on the path to the point he had to be put down.

There was also the time in Junior Infants when someone puked into my glasses case. The teacher half washed it and gave it back. A few years ago I found it in a drawer with the puke stains still on it

Other than some things like that that I don't think much about my childhood.

mud · 09-11-2015 03:48PM

I remember wondering why so many people went to 'gunpoint' seeing as so many people seemed to get hurt or in trouble while they were there.

Playing Centipede on the Atari 2600 and breaking a million points and being really disappointed that the F.B.I. didn't turn up offering me a job.

Having to get under a table with my Ma and sister during a thunder and lightning storm. Da wasn't home and Ma was terrified!

Whitewinged · 09-11-2015 03:48PM

My mother and older brother collecting me from school. I was about 4 or 5 so not sure if it was playschool or not. On the walk home they kept going on about how I had left my room in such a mess and that when I got home that I was going to have to clean it.

I was dreading getting home and when we got there I aimlessly walked up the stairs only to find my room was spotless and they'd got me a new doll as a surprise.

Also remember going to the beach alot as a kid in the summer with my mam, brother, cousins and granny. Playing in the sand dunes and sea, making sure not to get sand on your sandwiches or food, looking for shells etc. We would spend the whole day there.

OldNotWIse · 09-11-2015 04:04PM

Punished me for doing something I shouldn't rather than jumping on the defensive and assuming it was the fault of the teacher/other child/neighbor/rest of world etc. Mad stuff altogether

09-11-2015 04:09PM

I remember someone giving me a five shilling note when I made my communion, I was fascinated because it was orange and I though I must be rich I had never held paper money before this. I remember getting in to bed with my parents must have been about 3 or 4, then not being happy because it was too warm waking up and demanding they take my back to my bed and both of them getting annoyed with me.

OldNotWIse · 09-11-2015 04:10PM

I remember getting the day off school when it snowed, and being able to eat our jam sandwiches at 10am instead of waiting til lunch time. Playing outside in the snow and we'd no gloves so every few minutes you'd get Dad to rub your hands really hard between his hands to warm them up and get the blood going again.

Also does anyone remember the little cartons of milk in school? And the manky strawberry flavoured one? They'd usually be lukewarm by lunchtime too. Health and Safety would implode if that happened now lol

ChippingSodbury · 09-11-2015 04:10PM

NickDunne wrote: »

One of these??

I saw one of them on the side of the road the other day, the nostalgia was palpable!!!

HA! I can still remember burning myself with a hot knife while trying to melt the outside of one of those to fix the hole after taking a thorn out!!!

farmchoice · 09-11-2015 04:27PM

osarusan wrote: »

Turning turf in the summer, fishing at the cliffs in Kilkee and driving round to neighbours afterwards if we'd caught a lot, hitting tree trunks with a hurley so they'd look like bullet holes in my imaginary war, the cat coming in my bedroom window at night with a present of a mouse, such excitement at Christmas.

One night I woke up maybe an hour or two after going to bed. I was about 7 or 8 I'd say. I went to the kitchen, and my parents were there. They'd pulled up their two armchairs in front of the range, and were just sitting side by side, talking. While they talked, my father was sharpening all the colouring pencils from my pencil case. It's always stayed with me.

this is a lovely thread and i can relate to so many posts but the above image is really really beautiful it has almost reduced me to tears.

eviltimeban · 09-11-2015 04:34PM

This was an old post from Boards, which is worth reposting:

"Cast your mind back... way back...

I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park, The shop down the road,
Hopscotch, Donkey, skipping, handstands, stuck in the mud, football with
an old can, Dandy, Beano, Twinkle and Roly Poly, Hula Hoops, Jumping the
stream, building a swing from a tyre and a piece of rope tied to a tree,
If you live in Dublin the lampost), building tree-houses, climbing up
onto roofs. Tennis on the street, the smell of the sun and fresh cut
grass.

Hubba Bubba bubble gum and 2p Flogs, macaroon bars and woppas, 3p
Refreshers and wham bars, superhero chewing gum, golf ball chewing gums
and liquorice whips, desperate dan and roy of the rovers, sherbit dips
and Mr. freezes, marathon bars and everlasting gobstoppers. An ice
cream cone on a warm summer night from the van that plays a tune
chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe neopolitan

Wait ... Watching Saturday Morning cartoons ... short commercials,
Battle of the Planets, Road Runner, He-Man, Swapshop, and Why Don't
You?, Transformers, How do you do?, Bosco(SANDY), Forty-coats, the
Littlest Hobo and Lassie, Chucklevision, The Muppet Show, MacGyver,
Scarecrow and Mrs King, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to
Heaven, or staying up for Knight Rider and Magnum PI.

When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like
going somewhere. A million midget bites, sticky fingers and mud all over
you, knee-pads on your jeans, Cops and Robbers, Rounders, tip the Can,
Queenie-I-O, climbing trees, spin the bottle, building igloos out of
snow banks, walking to school, no matter what the weather, running till
you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt,
Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights, Spinning around, getting dizzy and
falling down was cause for giggles, Being tired from playing... Remember
that?

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon

Football cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.

And don't forget the Marietta sandwiches we'd make by buttering a cupla
Marietta biscuits and stickin' them together. And that quare oul mixture
made in a tall glass with HB ice cream and Taylor Keith Red Lemonade.

I'm not finished just yet...

Eating raw jelly, orange squash ice pops Remember when ... There were
two types of sneakers - girls and boys and Dunlop Green Flash and the
only time you wore them at school, was for "P.E.", Gola football boots.

It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends, when nobody owned a
pure bred dog, when 25p was decent pocket money, when you'd reach into
a muddy gutter for a penny, when nearly everyone's mum was at home when
the kids got there, when it was considered a great privilege to be taken
out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents

When any parent could discipline any kid or use him to carry groceries
and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.

When being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the fate
that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically, we were in fear
for our lives but it wasn't because of muggings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our
parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! and some of us are
still afraid of them!!!

Remember when....

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo." Mistakes were
corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!" "Race issue" meant arguing
about who ran the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the
banker in "Monopoly", the game of life and connect four, atari 2600's
and commadore 64's. The worst thing you could catch from the opposite
sex was germs. It was unbelievable that Red rover wasn't an Olympic
event...

Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a biro barrel pea
shooter or an elastic band. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made
better, Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable vitamins, Ice
cream was considered a basic food group.

Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.. Abilities were discovered
because of a "double dare" Older siblings were the worst tormentors,
but also the fiercest protectors."

wilhelm roentgen · 09-11-2015 04:40PM

Sadly my siblings and I had it really tough when we were kids growing up in Northern England.

I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad and our Mother would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah."

eviltimeban · 09-11-2015 04:41PM

^ someone already got there before you (see two pages back)

OldNotWIse · 09-11-2015 04:43PM

This thread makes me long for the simplicity and peace of childhood.

Tell me how · 09-11-2015 04:57PM

Plastic Suppers.

Basically it was a Full Irish for supper (dinner was on Sundays when we were children

)

Our mother used to call it that as you might as well have been eating plastic. Got to the stage where we'd ask for a "plastic supper" if given the choice.
Even now the term would come to mind when I'd give in to the temptation.

MilesMorales1 · 09-11-2015 04:58PM

Growing up in the North West was great, shut your mouth. (Well I didn't have a great childhood, but it was a great place to be, still is)

Paddy Cow · 09-11-2015 05:00PM

Mister Vain wrote: »

Kids used to hold buttercups under each others chins. Apparently if your chin lit up then you liked butter.

Someone would shove a dandelion under someone else's nose and say "smell this" and then "now you're going to wet the bed". I was convinced I was going to wet the bed

practice · 09-11-2015 05:04PM

Fishing for mackerel from the rocks in Clogherhead, the joy of catching my first fish.
Nothing but happy childhood memories a of a wonderfull father, mother brothers and sister.

Medusa22 · 09-11-2015 05:07PM

Ah I have so many memories, mostly of spending all day outside and dreading my parents calling me in (and we were usually the first to be called in so we were embarrassed). I'd usually get 50p or a pound and I'd go to the shop and get as many penny jellies as possible, or a chomp bar, chewits, roy rover, nerds or dweebs, those 5 or 10p packs of crisps and the really cheap lemonade, I think it was 10 or 20p.

I remember my mum taking me to Mcdonalds as a treat and telling me not to tell my dad. I remember my dad taking me to the library at weekends and to the cinema and we'd bring our own sweets from home.

I remember we'd go on our ''Sunday spin'' where we'd go for a drive to the countryside and usually for a walk in the forest or for a walk on the beach, and me complaining because I hated walking

Playing in rock pools with my sister and playing golf on the beach and swimming with my grandfather.

I remember that I'd sit on my potty in my Grandparents' living room and I'd watch the tv and I'd sit there for ages :pac: Ah nothing like going for a shyte and watching the tv :P

I also remember the time that my dad was supposed to be watching me but obviously got distracted and I fell into a lake, I think I was about 3. He fished me out right away but I got a bit of a fright, I'd say he got a worse one though

The Sun King · 09-11-2015 05:41PM

Had a big aquarium type thing with loads of goldfish when we lived in England.

Used to love and collect My little pony toys when I was a very young fella. The stepdad put a stop to that when he arrived on the scene.

I was the first Brony, I guess.

eviltimeban · 09-11-2015 06:03PM

The excitement of a power cut - candles lighting around the house, and you'd get up and sit in the kitchen while a light was connected to a car battery. Eventually you'd have to go back to bed but it was fun being up.

Christmas day just being the best day ever - the presents, the food, fire lighting, Christmas movies on, family all together, eating Christmas dinner for about 5 days afterwards. No stress about buying presents or who goes to what house or "can we afford X"? (this was the case up to early adulthood)

Sunday nights sitting around the fire watching things like Poirot or Smith & Jones.

A friend once went to the shop to get penny sweets for a party - with a pound note. His voice almost cracked when he asked for "a hundred penny sweets".

ArnoldJRimmer · 09-11-2015 06:48PM

lovely thread, and bringing back memories I hadn't thought of in many years

- Used to love the A-team, I'd climb up on the arm of the couch st the start of the intro and then jump off when the music kicked in.
- At times when myself and my sisters were upset about something and throwing a tantrum, my Dad used to just turn around and make funny faces until the tears turned to laughter.
- Family gatherings in my granny's house where we used to play Famous Five with my cousins. As the youngest, I was usually Timmy the Dog
- Summer evening's where we used to just play on the road of the estate or in the surrounding fields. Disappear for what seemed like hours on end, and then going back out after tea

HalloweenJack · 09-11-2015 11:41PM

Playing football in the green or on the street. Curbs too.

The bonfire at Halloween was great, they were definitely bigger in my day (early 90s).

2TV, Dave Fanning's music show on Network 2. We didn't have MTV so that was the closest thing.

The Den, one particular memory is that my brother was obsessed with the Den and would go nuts when it finished every afternoon. So coming up to the summer, we'd record the last day of it and he'd just rewatch that same show all summer long. There's several shows where I practically knew the whole script word for word, including the Kenan & Kel episode where Kenan's family were moving to Montana.

Used to spend a few weeks every summer with my grandparents down in Charleville to give my ma a break during the holidays. Used to love the trip down, we'd load up the backseat of my granda's car with our quilts and it'd be the comfiest car ride ever. Not a worry about seatbelts back then. Also loved it cause my granda had been driving the same route from Dublin to Cork since the 60s and didn't care for "new roads" so we'd always get to see loads of the country, which was far more interesting than a place like Bray.

Those really sugary jam sandwiches and free milk in primary school.

At times, we had a pretty difficult family situation and as a kid some crap happened to me but I'm glad that the nice memories are the ones that stick out. I know I was lucky to have them.

OldNotWIse · 10-11-2015 11:26AM

I remember at the beach my Dad would cup his hands together and let me stand on them and jump over his shoulder into the water.

I remember walking along the pier with him one day and someone had caught a shrimp and just discarded it on the pier as it was too small to be of any worth. My Dad helped me rescue him and put him back in. Probably where my love for animals comes from!

I also remember him allowing me to have a "glass" (in hindsight, a very small amount) of white wine if they had wine with dinner, from about the age of 7, obviously thinking that if it wasn't something taboo and forbidden, that there would be no appeal to sneaking drink when I was older

Being carried up the stairs to bed was far better than having to make the journey yourself, and his bedtime stories were the best, with cliffhangers and continuing on the following day. Thinking about it now, he probably didn't know where the story was going yet himself!

I remember going on a big dragon slide in Dun Laoghaire one day and I was petrified. He promised that if I went, he would come down behind me. I was so angry when I got halfway down and realised he was still at the top. I'm sure there was some kind of "you have to fly by yourself now" message in there lol. Felt much better and more independent when I got over my anger.

Memories of childhood.

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