The 'A time before the internet' thread

NGale

Kids don't know how good they have it, they have the internet everywhere with a wealth of information. In my time entertainment included climbing trees, cycle rides and cutting the dogs hair (yes I actually did that!)

However following on from the best TV theme thread I feel this should be the entertainment before the internet thread

for me TV consisted of:

Top Cat
Danger Mouse
Batfink
Count Duckula
The Family Ness
Round the Twist
He-Man
Bananaman
Button Moon
Bagpuss (who when I found out was in fact pink and white and not grey and white, traumatised me somewhat )
Thunder Cats
Alias The Jester

jonny_trousers

Porn mags - kids have it too easy these days.

EKE_38BPM

We obviously watched the same programmes as kids.
I shall now be saying "My wings are like a shield of steel" to myself all day.

For me it was bike rides, fixing bikes (that weren't broken and needed proper fixing after my attempts), football in the park (jumpers for goalposts) etc. Playing computer games was for bad weather or by special arrangement e.g. I'll come round to yours on Tuesday to play IK+", not as the 'default setting'.
Oh, and music. Lots of listening to music.

Mrs EKE is a primary school teacher and said that conkers has been banned as its too dangerous?! If conkers is too dangerous for kids then there is no chance that tree climbing will be allowed. And if the kids are wrapped in cotton wool and never exposed to (a little bit of )danger, they seem to shy away from 'dangerous' activities.

She (Mrs EKE) is saddened that after the summer holidays she asked the kids what they did and most said "played X-Box and watched DVDs". FOR SIX WEEKS!!!!!

EKE_38BPM

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

Porn mags - kids have it too easy these days.

+1!

rjsterry

You're not that old NGale, you've not listed Mr Benn or Bod for example. Or Ivor the Engine, Trumpton, Camberwick Green,... I could go on.

Anyone else remember Agaton Sax?

NGale

EKE_38BPM wrote:

We obviously watched the same programmes as kids.
I shall now be saying "My wings are like a shield of steel" to myself all day.

For me it was bike rides, fixing bikes (that weren't broken and needed proper fixing after my attempts), football in the park (jumpers for goalposts) etc. Playing computer games was for bad weather or by special arrangement e.g. I'll come round to yours on Tuesday to play IK+", not as the 'default setting'.
Oh, and music. Lots of listening to music.

Mrs EKE is a primary school teacher and said that conkers has been banned as its too dangerous?! If conkers is too dangerous for kids then there is no chance that tree climbing will be allowed. And if the kids are wrapped in cotton wool and never exposed to (a little bit of )danger, they seem to shy away from 'dangerous' activities.

She (Mrs EKE) is saddened that after the summer holidays she asked the kids what they did and most said "played X-Box and watched DVDs". FOR SIX WEEKS!!!!!

I can gladly say that the kids in my cadet unit spent the summer either, kayaking, windsurfing in Scotland, Powerboating, learning Marine Engineering, rock climbing, on field weekends, sailing and one completed his DofE bronze award.

THATS what kids should be doing!

rick_chasey

Can't remember a time before the internet

Well I can, but barely. Barely.

gbsahne001

as a kid I spent all Summer working on a farm.

Before I could reach the tractor's pedals then I guess football, making secret camps in the wood and sleeping there unsupervised; can't see that happening now.

EKE_38BPM

Rick Chasey wrote:

Can't remember a time before the internet

Well I can, but barely. Barely.

Can remember the first time I used the internet. Circa 1993.
Can remember trying to find stuff before Google.
Can remember when loads of websites changed from a primarily white background to a black background as a protest at advertising being served on the web (it slowed it down and 'sullied the purity' of the web.) Circa 1995.

bails87

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Mrs EKE is a primary school teacher and said that conkers has been banned as its too dangerous?!

http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/september.htm

The Health and Safety Executive wrote:

Realistically the risk from playing conkers is incredibly low and just not worth bothering about. If kids deliberately hit each other over the head with conkers, that’s a discipline issue, not health and safety.

rick_chasey

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Can't remember a time before the internet

Well I can, but barely. Barely.

Can remember the first time I used the internet. Circa 1993.
Can remember trying to find stuff before Google.
Can remember when loads of websites changed from a primarily white background to a black background as a protest at advertising being served on the web (it slowed it down and 'sullied the purity' of the web.) Circa 1995.

Pfft, you're old.

I remember using Dos to boot up transport tycoon, but I was probably only about 6 or 7.

EKE_38BPM

bails87 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Mrs EKE is a primary school teacher and said that conkers has been banned as its too dangerous?!

http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/september.htm

The Health and Safety Executive wrote:

Realistically the risk from playing conkers is incredibly low and just not worth bothering about. If kids deliberately hit each other over the head with conkers, that’s a discipline issue, not health and safety.

It may be a myth according to the HSE, but its reality at her school.

NGale

EKE_38BPM wrote:

bails87 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Mrs EKE is a primary school teacher and said that conkers has been banned as its too dangerous?!

http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/september.htm

The Health and Safety Executive wrote:

Realistically the risk from playing conkers is incredibly low and just not worth bothering about. If kids deliberately hit each other over the head with conkers, that’s a discipline issue, not health and safety.

It may be a myth according to the HSE, but its reality at her school.

That's because her school has taken H&S out of context. Therefore the senior management at her school need a slap and a reality check.

bails87

NGale wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

bails87 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Mrs EKE is a primary school teacher and said that conkers has been banned as its too dangerous?!

http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/september.htm

The Health and Safety Executive wrote:

Realistically the risk from playing conkers is incredibly low and just not worth bothering about. If kids deliberately hit each other over the head with conkers, that’s a discipline issue, not health and safety.

It may be a myth according to the HSE, but its reality at her school.

That's because her school has taken H&S out of context. Therefore the senior management at her school need a slap and a reality check.

Yes, that was my point, I wasn't calling her or you a liar, I was saying it was a silly ban with no support from the very people who are responsible for H&S.

Cleat Eastwood

we used to play british bulldog and allarly oh (sp?) and tick/tag (depending on where you come from) and we used to build dens, whatever happened to den building?

Oh and I went to college and we had probably the first access to the internets and th emain search engine of theday Alta Vista wouldnt let you search for scunthorpe because of the 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th letters.

rick_chasey

Bulldog got banned at school when I was there.

EKE_38BPM

I'll bring it to her attention, but I can't really imagine the kids playing conkers anyway. Where would they get them from?!

Its an inner city school in a very deprived area. More kids than usual wearing new trainers at the start of the new school year (looted?), kids bringing knives to school (yes, primary school) etc. The game doing the rounds in the playground at the moment is Poledancing! I don't think conkers can compete.

rjsterry

They do have horse chestnut trees, even in deprived inner city areas. It could be a new scheme: "I used to be in a gang, until conkers saved my life."

Poledancing!

What, even the boys?!

EKE_38BPM

rjsterry wrote:

They do have horse chestnut trees, even in deprived inner city areas. It could be a new scheme: "I used to be in a gang, until conkers saved my life."

Poledancing!

What, even the boys?!

I've never seen the game (I don't hang around primary school playgrounds), but I heard Mrs EKE and her colleagues talking about it. I wonder what the rules are?

veronese68

My sister lives in Italy and other parents at her son's school campeigned for trees in the grounds to be cut down after a boy broke his arm falling out of one of them.
Thakfully, other parents campaigned against them being cut down. the trees survived, although the ban on climbing them was enforced more rigorously.

rjsterry

Sounds like a few parents need to take a leaf out of Ma MacAskill's book (Danny's mum). Up with this sort of nonsense she would not put!

bails87

rjsterry wrote:

Sounds like a few parents need to take a leaf out of Ma MacAskill's book (Danny's mum). Up with this sort of nonsense she would not put!

That fishing net in his garden was amazing!

CrackFox

Childhood was about jumping off stuff, setting fire to stuff, rolling down stuff, stealing sweets, breaking bones, doing dares, getting chased by older kids, mooning golfers and derailing noddy trains.

Best thing on TV was Battle of the Planets.

First computer was a BBC micro. I lost a whole summer when Elite came out.

Halycon days.

londonlivvy

Well Rich Chasey will no doubt shudder at this but my first proper-ish job (ie not in a pub) had (in 1993)

1) a post book where I had to list all the post we'd received and put a tick in the column when I'd given it to the relevant person (and note down all the post that was being sent out too).

2) a Typing pool. The supervisor was rubbish so the letters would come back with typos and then I'd have to mark it out with a pencil and it'd be sent back (through internal mail) for another bash at it. When it was (finally) finished, I then had to get it signed, then photocopy it x times for all those who were cc'd on the message, and put it all in the post book.

3) pneumatic tube message pods for very urgent messages. Sadly I was never allowed to use it.

So whilst I sometimes get all nostalgic for the days of playing in the woods with my sisters, I also remember that technology is pretty damn useful.

roger_merriman

another one who predates the internet or at least the home use of it rather.

I never did watch much tv even as a child not helped by my self being the last drop off, so I missed most of kids tv.

so I did other things

sufferingpete

When i was a kid we didn't have TV or the internet.

Fireblade96

What is this internet of which you speak ?

I've just written a program in COBOL to submit this message, using a card punch, and given it to my mainframe operator. Tomorrow morning I'll get a run report to let me know if it worked.

walkingbootweather

Before the Internet we used to have the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Got rid of these when I got married - wife knows everything you see

gbsahne001

Forgot about jumping off things; my brother and I used to dare each other who could jump from the highest point within the hay barn. We'd also build hideouts within the barns, so that we could hide from our sister.

One time we dared each other to walk across what we saw as a lunar landscape; turns out it was hardened cow slurry and the crust broke as we were some way out.

I went up to my neck in it and I think my brother was up to his waist.

MonkeyMonster

Fireblade96 wrote:

What is this internet of which you speak ?

I've just written a program in COBOL to submit this message, using a card punch, and given it to my mainframe operator. Tomorrow morning I'll get a run report to let me know if it worked.

Heh, tenner on a syntax error and you might need an editing suite... or holepunch.

jzed

ZX Spectrum - an hour sat listening to a tape high pitched squealing only for it to feck up at the last 30 seconds. Then sit for another hour - all for Chucky Egg.

Quickly lost interest and spent time exploring on the MTB.