Those were the days ..........

I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s. So the saying goes, “those were the days”.

We would walk to school and home again each day, except if it was raining and then we would reluctantly catch a bus. So what, lots of kids still walk to school but we lived about 3 ½ -4 kilometres from it and thought nothing of walking the distance and further. We would walk to the local swimming pool, a mere 4 kilometres and then back home again.

School lunches were packed by Mum and if you were very lucky on Mondays the school sold pies. For recess (little lunch/morning tea) you got a bottle of milk provided by the school. The milk was delivered by the milko each morning and left outside under the trees. If you had been very good at school and extra lucky you were given a skewer and had the privilege of stabbing each bottle to pierce the foil lid and stick in a straw.

Milk was delivered to everyone's home in the early hours of the morning and came in glass bottles. Some people were really lucky and got their bread delivered also. On Fridays sometimes the vegie man came around in his cart and sold fresh vegetables and fruit; those that your parents didn't grow.

When I was young there were no inside toilets - the toilet was situated down the end of the yard, well away from the house. The toilet was emptied by carters who come once a week to empty it for you. No such thing as sewers.....lol.

We walked to the movies, every town had a movie house. On Saturdays in the wintertime off we would walk to the local cinema about 4 kilometres. Sadly, it close down when I was about 8 and we had to catch a bus to the next one although occasionally we’d walk the 10 kilometres or so. Still, wintertime saw us all lined up for the Saturday afternoon movie. Being daring and brave we would get a 'pass out' at interval and go home. Then the following week we would come back for the show after interval using our pass out that we had kept from the week before. There were always two movies, one before and the other after interval. There was the Movietone news of the world and a cartoon, and sometimes an episode of a serial. Sometimes we would sit upstairs dropping lollies on people’s heads, and yes, we did roll Jaffas down the aisle.

At home each night after tea the family would gather around the radio, no tiny transistor, this was a magnificent piece of furniture. We would listen to the latest episode of "Superman", "Yes, What?" remember the character Greenbottle? Or "McCakie Mansion" and "The Green Door". It was so exciting listening to those tall tales. How they fuelled our imagination. During the day Mum would listen to the “soapies” - When a Girl Marries”, or “Blue Hills” and many others. Television did not arrive until I was about 8 and then it was black and white and about 40cm wide and everything locally produced.

My middle sister had an old Vauxhall car, built in 1937. We painted it the same colour as our house with paint that Dad had left over. It was a great car. When she was a bit older she bought a VW and boy did we have fun in that car too. Those were the days of no seat belts and many friends. We use to pile about 9 of us into the VW. Those of us that were lucky got to sit in the front. Usually only 3, the rest jammed into the back, including the package space, sometimes we even had a dog shoved in too. OK, looking back I know it was really silly and we were very lucky that my sister was a good driver and never had an accident but I can still recall the fun of it all.

Do you remember, those of you who are my vintage or older, how you could go for a walk at night in absolute safety? My sisters and I would wander the streets after tea; I was probably only about 6 when I can first remember doing this and my sisters 13 and 16. Yet we were as safe as if we were locked up tight in a castle. My parents had no concerns for our safety because there really was no danger. If you went out through the day or night, you could leave your windows open. Often the house was unlocked. No one would every think of breaking in. Those walks at night were fun and often we would pick flowers from the gardens we passed to bring home for Mum. Every one would do the same thing and hardly anyone was offended by it.

We had crackers on Cracker night. Actually we had them for a few weeks right up till the big night. Tuppeny bungers guaranteed to blow a can sky-high! Yes, we did blow up letter boxes with them. And rockets that we thought went to the moon. Remember throw downs? Little squares filled with tiny pebbles that you threw to the ground, they landed with a bang and threw the pebbles outward (often into the legs of the person you were aiming at). And what about Tom Thumbs? Little tiny bungers that you bought on a string, all laced together. You would unlace one or light the whole lot together.

For weeks leading up to the big night, the local kids would gather bits of wood to make a bonfire. Then on the big night we would all get together, light the bonfire and let off all our crackers, including the special ones our parents had managed to hide and keep secret from us. Crackers with magical names like Fiery Dragons, Catharine Wheels, Jumping Jacks. Sky Rockets, Flower Pots, Roman Candles and of course Sparklers.

STAY TUNED TO BE CONTINUED..................