LUFCTALK

rigger wrote: We used to call the original Thunder and Lightning or Knock And Run

We used to call it "Tap Latch".

Knock Down Ginger! YES!

I got caught doing it to the local Chinese takeaway.... we did it once on the way home and then went back to do it again.... We were hiding in an alley way and one of the guys came so close to us, I thought we'd get caught....

Thing is we had to go past the shop again to get home.... I thought walking nonchalantly past would be less suspicious than running past it.... BIG mistake!

They took me into the kitchen at the back and slapped me pretty hard in the face!

I was only 11 or 12!

johnh wrote:Remember knocking on doors and running away? Knock down ginger it used to be called. Known as Parcel Force now.

Climbing trees, really tall ones with pockets full of nails and a hammer stuffed down the back of you're trousers or struggling to carrying scrap wood up as well. Then sitting fearlessly on something that defied gravity that makes me shudder now.

Davycc wrote:Climbing trees, really tall ones with pockets full of nails and a hammer stuffed down the back of you're trousers or struggling to carrying scrap wood up as well. Then sitting fearlessly on something that defied gravity that makes me shudder now.

That reminds me of our local park in Liverpool. In the woods there was this big willow tree with branches that hung almost to the floor. Next to the willow tree there was another big tree. We used to climb this other tree then launch ourselves off a branch, about 20ft from the ground, grab a willow tree branch and slide down to the ground. Missed my grab once and went down on my back. Winded, and actually put me out of action for two or three minutes.

There was a stupidly tall, stupidly spindly tree on our local common.
Used to climb as close to the top as we dared and then just sat there, swaying in the wind.

Utterly irresponsible behaviour, looking back, but so great at the time

There was also a much lower tree that had a kind of natural "sofa" in the middle of it, about twelve feet from the ground, that was absolutely perfect for four children to sit in.

Me, Rachel Underwood, Mark Hinson and Julie Kennedy fitted perfectly in that tree.
We sat there for hours watching shooting stars .. and other things

I must say i'm not proud of it now but when i was young i used to go Nesting. We used to cover miles and explore area's that most people would never go. I remember once we entered this wood miles from home, i'm sure we were not meant to be there, as it looked like a breeding place for game birds. Anyway it was a weird place with loads of dead Magpies just hung all around the place, to this day i'm not sure why they were there? To top it off, we got spooked and started running away down this path only for my mate to get his leg trapped in a snare. I presume it was meant for a Fox so we just undid it and carried on legging it.

All great fun except for the collecting Eggs bit. I would skip that bit if i could go back.

Viduka Hits The Mark wrote:I must say i'm not proud of it now but when i was young i used to go Nesting. We used to cover miles and explore area's that most people would never go. I remember once we entered this wood miles from home, i'm sure we were not meant to be there, as it looked like a breeding place for game birds. Anyway it was a weird place with loads of dead Magpies just hung all around the place, to this day i'm not sure why they were there? To top it off, we got spooked and started running away down this path only for my mate to get his leg trapped in a snare. I presume it was meant for a Fox so we just undid it and carried on legging it.

All great fun except for the collecting Eggs bit. I would skip that bit if i could go back.

I think most of us used to collect birds eggs. We had a rule, we only took an egg if there were more than two in the nest. I once climbed a very high tree to get at a tree sparrow nest. My mate, at the bottom of the tree, asked me to get an egg for him. The modus operandi was to put the eggs in your mouth to leave hands free for climbing. I got halfway down when the branch I put my foot on broke. I only fell about a foot and my foot hit another branch, saving me from falling. Unfortunately, the jarring caused my teeth to clamp together, breaking both eggs and I swallowed the lot, shells and all!
Karma.

Certainly did the cricket thing as it was my father's preferred sport. We were fortunate that we could access the massive playing field of a school across the street and put the stumps in.

Only after England's World Cup win did I take a real interest in football, but I was 12.

If I won the lottery I'd love to buy up all the mint boxed Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox models from my childhood on e-bay.

Meccano and especially Lego provided hours of fun.

But definite favourite was my Fleischmann model railway; my father travelled for his work quite often - relatively rare in the 1960's - and someone in Sweden must have told him about how good it was. I was frequently frustrated by the availability of it in the UK, and the tumbling £ just made it SO expensive. Latterly I achieved some catharsis once I discovered e-bay and could buy what I wanted; and also become something of a specialist seller in the UK for Fleischmann.

Up till i was 16 it was Football and cricket followed by more football and cricket, even indoors we played football and cricket (although not with a proper ball or we would have damaged everything in the house).