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I recall a good bit about our play time. In season we would join the older children such as my brother in the local fields and build dens inside the haystacks. The teenage boys would heave the bales about and make all sorts of tunnels to explore inside the stacks and we'd climb up on to the top of them. We would have been given a really good hiding if our parents had found out what we were doing because it was so dangerous and because it was (unintentionally) damaging the farmers crop. I can remember being given my first bike when I was about 9 years old. I had wanted a Chopper like the bigger boys and one of my friends had but I received the smaller version, a Tomahawk, even if it did not have the fancy gear stick I really loved it and it became my prized possession.Sometimes my brother and his friends would take me and a couple of my friends to the local woods. We'd go on our bikes and end up maybe 3-4 miles from home. Here we would climb trees, build dens, play tag and hide and seek as well as explore the old gun emplacements and bunkers as well as pick blackberries. Living on base meant that there were always other children to play with and there was usually a play area with large grassed area to run around on with a set of swings, roundabout and slide to play on. when around 11 I remember playing in a nearby quarry collecting frog spawn, tadpoles etc and generally exploring, this was one of a few places where we would run up against other lads and had the occasional fight but skirmishes were usually avoided or relatively minor affairs. Playing out like this we'd have our play clothes. These were older shorts, trousers, shirts or jumpers that were usually not good enough for school anymore and worn with wellies, old shoes or plimsolls. The concept of trainers was yet to come. When younger balaclavas and woollen gloves were often worn by younger boys but they were considered a bit sissy as you grew older, ie at the old age of 8 or 9 up!!! LOL Then even wearing a coat was seen as being soft.
In season we would join the older children such as my brother in the local fields and build dens inside the haystacks. The teenage boys would heave the bales about and make all sorts of tunnels to explore inside the stacks and we'd climb up on to the top of them. We would have been given a really good hiding if our parents had found out what we were doing because it was so dangerous and because it was (unintentionally) damaging the farmers crop. there were times when we younger ones would crawl into the maze and the older ones would seal off the entrance. That was very frightening as we'd be trapped in the dark and not know how to get back out!
I can remember being given my first bike when I was about 9 years old. I had wanted a Chopper like the bigger boys and one of my friends had but I received the smaller version, a Tomahawk, even if it did not have the fancy gear stick I really loved it and it became my prized possession. Not everyone had a bike and those that did have them would often share whilst we played outside our homes. We very rarely went far and even within Quarters a couple of roads away to the swings seemed to be a long way until we were a little older. We used to peg playing cards and bits of cardboard onto the frames so that they made clicking sounds as the they hit the spokes. To us, this was near enough the same as having a motorbike! Imaginations would go wild about the various screws, bolts and bits of the bike having James Bond gadget second lives as we raced up and down the road. Hours were spent with friends and Dads with the bikes upside down applying oil, cleaning them and learning how to refit the chains or even fix a puncture. Out of sight of our parents we would also scramble our bikes over some rough ground making use of all the bumps and hollows as well s building our own small ramps to jump over. These were nothing compared to what you can see BMXers or Mountain bikers do nowadays but pulling skids, daring each other to jump off at higher and higher speeds etc were exciting enough pursuits for 10 year olds. Nobody had even thought of health and safety, risk assessments or cycle helmets and padding. Skateboards started to make an appearance but did not really catch on and were regarded on a par with roller-skates (strapped on to your ordinary shoes, not in-line boots).
We would sometimes end up wading in the stream but we had to take our clothes off before doing that so that our parents did not ask questions if we returned home wet. There was definitely a sense of adventure and learning to grow up. Simple things like being brave enough to drink from the same pop bottle without worrying about wiping it or the crumbs or sharing a half eaten sandwich. Simple pleasures really. Sandwiches were unlikely to be anything but bread and jam. Cuts and grazes could not be cried over and were usually seen as a mark of honour. My arms, legs and knees must have put me in the running for a knighthood! It would be a rare day that I did not have to have a bath or a strip wash before bed as I had a magnetic attraction to dirt.
Living on base meant that there were always other children to play with and there was usually a play area with large grassed area to run around on with a set of swings, roundabout and slide to play on. We'd try allsorts to make the slide extra slippy by pouring water down them, applying soap or washing up liquid or simply using our pullovers to sit on. Combining any of these usually ending in disaster. Most of the slides had a hut affair at the top and as we grew more daring they became high rise climbing frames. No safety bark or bouncy surfaces. If you fell, it hurt and you would get back up and have another go. We never did manage to swing anyone over the bar on the swings but how we managed no major injuries jumping and rolling off the swings is quite amazing when looked at with an adult head.
About the level of health & safety were the public information adverts such as Charlie Says don't go with strangers or the Tufty Club where a red squirrel told you about how to cross roads until the Green Cross Code Man (Keith Prowse, later to be the man inside Darth Vader) took over.
when around 11 I remember playing in a nearby quarry collecting frog spawn, tadpoles etc and generally exploring, this was one of a few places where we would run up against other lads and had the occasional fight but skirmishes were usually avoided or relatively minor affairs.
We used to make dens in garden sheds and outhouses where we'd invite our friends and sit with drinks and snacks from Mum with our friends reading comics, commando magazine and telling jokes and tall stories. We would also build tents out of old blankets and chairs, poles and other odds and ends we could gather together. Sometimes we'd play with toy cars, action man toys or toy soldiers in the garden or out the front; all the houses had grassed fronts, some closed and others open plan. Shane and I used to enjoy making airfix aeroplanes or building things out of lego.
Playing out like this we'd have our play clothes. These were older shorts, trousers, shirts or jumpers that were usually not good enough for school anymore and worn with wellies, old shoes or plimsolls. The concept of trainers was yet to come. When younger balaclavas and woollen gloves were often worn by younger boys but they were considered a bit sissy as you grew older, ie at the old age of 8 or 9 up!!! LOL Then even wearing a coat was seen as being soft.
We never watched much TV, we were hardly ever in anyway, and until I was about 10 can't even remember having one other than sitting with my parents watching one of the American moon landings. Childrens programmes included "Jackanory" where there would be actors reading serialised stories each weekday. "Jim'll Fix It" was massively popular on a Saturday evening where kids would have there wished made true. "Crackerjac"k was very popular and like "Fix It" and "Record Breakers" with Roy Castle had a large studio audience nearly always made up of school, cub and scout groups. All in their uniforms. "Crackerjack" always started with the familiar refrain "It's Friday, it's five to five, it's Crackerjack!" Everytime Crackerjack was said everyone had to shout it back again. They had all sorts of silly games for kids to play and win prizes, silly sketches and Norman Barretts performing budgies! What entertainment! In fact it was the only programme about that was pure entertainment for children without a hidden educational message somewhere. "Blue Peter" vs "Magpie". I was not allowed to watch "Magpie" as my parents thought it was inappropriate, but I would sometimes sneak a look by turning over from "Blue Pete"r. BP was THE TV programme and always had interesting features and things to do on it but was also rather middle class in its tone. "Magpie" had features about pop groups ad more urban topics and whereas Blue peter had various collections of scrap and a totaliser for their Christmas appeals. "Magpie" was cooler as it just went for cash and the total was painted on the walls of the TV studios and its corridors. Other than childrens TV on the early evening and maybe watching wildlife or a variety type show like "Morecambe & Wise" on a weekend we never saw much TV at all. School holiday programmes were deadly dull with endless repeats of the "Lone Ranger", "Champion the Wonder Horse", "Beachcombers", "Heidi", "White Horses", "Black Beauty and the like. Later there were more exciting programmes like "Swap Shop" and "Tiswas" (my parents did not approve of us watching "Tiswas" but we did!) although they did have lots of dull longer running cartoons.
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