70’s kids!
By Brian Clark!
We moved to Watson Rd, Blackpool in 1970 on my 5th birthday, 27th June. My sister Les was only a baby 18 months old when we moved to the 3 bedroom council house in 1 of South Shore’s council estate. We moved here from a flat in Lowrey Terrace, so it was luxury for my parents.
Across the road was a row of shops, all busy with the local community only using these establishments. Next to our house was a small field we called the green and virtually every house had at least 2 kids and we all grew up together.
Although we had absolutely nothing, we were rich with happiness and the entire decade of the 70’s was filled with fun & laughter, good times, bad times, naughty times and bazaar times.
When we were kids, words like smack and crack used to hurt! No druggies them days. We never followed fashion and played out till dark and came home covered in bumps, bruises and scratches. We would walk the ¾ mile to school every day. No fat mums driving fat kids to school in those days.
Watson Road Park had a playground with dangerous rides and we would fall off them regularly and land on the concrete. No soft landings then. You’d learn to ride your bike by falling off it 50 times before realizing how to steer and use your breaks.
If we gave any lip to neighbours, we would get a crack round the head and if you complained, your dad would give you another.
My mum used to wash my face before walking in somewhere by spitting in a hanky and rubbing it in my face and that was common.
If we did anything wrong, we’d get the yellow hotwheels track across our arse and that bloody hurt. Ouch! In fact my mum would hit my mates too if they were naughty. Mind you, we got up to allsorts of stuff. We played knock a door run and tormented the neighbours all night. We played releaseo, a running game where we’d hide in everyone’s gardens and the chase back to base was far more important running over the road than oncoming traffic. How no one got killed was a miracle. The rope trick was hilarious. Some would stand on 1 side of the road and some on the other pulling an imaginary rope in a tug of war style. Cars used to think we had a real rope and wheel screeched to a halt before chasing us over garden fences and into the next streets.
We even used to tie rope round the old red phone box and run off leaving the poor phone users stranded. Was funny watching the police arriving to untie them.
We used to eat these jubilee Lollies, a sort of triangle shape and 6 of us would share it, but we never caught diseases, or got ill from this.
At the far other end of Watson Road, our street, was the famous Blackpool Pleasure Beach and we would all pile down there and get up to allsorts. We would nick under the fun house turnstiles without paying and in the early 70’s the attire of the era was baggy trousers with huge flares like Birmingham Bags. In the fun house, there was a large barrel and the drunks would stand in it and walk until we dived in head first covering our heads and of course everyone would fall over us and money would spill everywhere as the local kids would collect the money and run off with it. We’d drink the left over orange drinks on the tables and didn’t care.
School days were great and school was a very happy time for me. We were always in trouble over nothing and got caned for nothing half the time. My mate spent all morning white washing a wall up a ladder as punishment and at dinner time, we came out and pelted the walls with mud. We got caned for this, but so did my mate painting the wall. It was so unfair, but hilarious looking back at how cruel school could be.
The school swimming Gala was held at the Derby Baths in North Shore and that was 5 miles away from our school. We had to make our own way, but half of the school could not afford the bus, so 500 hundred of us had to walk the 5 miles. En route we’d invade the penny arcades and look for coins in the trays and we’d jump on the back of trams holding onto the windscreen wipers getting free lifts up the promenade, anything to get up to North Shore. It was crazy looking back.
We decided to ‘wag it’ one day, that’s play truant, but we were seen at 8.45 am. By 11.30, we had not been caught, but we were cold and hungry, so I went in a café and asked the man what they did with the crusts? He said they don’t use them, so I asked if we could have them. He laughed and said ok and for your cheek I’ll toast them for you too. I ran out for my mate and the wag man had caught him. We were sent back to school and both got caned and weren’t allowed our dinner.
Parents in the 70’s would never get away with what they did now. We would sit on pub doorsteps for 2 hours whilst they drank inside. Occasionally someone would come outside with a bottle of coke and some crisps as we’d sit waiting for them. No problem in those days.
Bonfire night was a community affair as the entire street would be out and about in an era where everyone left the doors open and neighbours would just walk in and out. Also the Queens Silver Jubilee party in June 1977 was a massive event as 200 neighbours knuckled down to organize a huge street party. We had jumble sales, sporting events and allsorts to raise money for our street party held on the green outside our house. This brought the entire community very much closer to each other and everyone knew everyone and life was just great.
My mum had wild parties when my dad was working away and we all used to sing and dance and enjoy laughing and partying on the green till very late in the summer nights. In fact my mum still loves a sing song now and so do I. we still sing together now sometimes.
Our family from other towns across Britain would use our house as a hotel, but we loved them staying and we had to share beds as they’d all stay a few nights at our house.
My dad would take us to the match watching Blackpool and in those days, crowds of 15,000 to 25,000 was common as we would pack the ground out watching great football whilst sat on the wall at the front with huge crowds stood behind us with the smell of hot Bovril, pipe smoke and beer wafting through the terraces.
We’d play football 7 days a week, every opportunity we had, we’d play either football, or energetic games and friends were made there for life. We still reminisce all the time about these happy days.
Brian Clark;
30th April 2008!
********************************
Originally posted by Blackpoolmadbrilliant with the exception of the queens party, that's a south of the border thing.🙂
70’s kids!
By Brian Clark!
We moved to Watson Rd, Blackpool in 1970 on my 5th birthday, 27th June. My sister Les was only a baby 18 months old when we moved to the 3 bedroom council house in 1 of South Shore’s council estate. We moved here from a flat in Lowrey Terrace, so it was luxury for my parents.
Across the road was a row of shops, all busy ...[text shortened]... time about these happy days.
Brian Clark;
30th April 2008!
********************************
Originally posted by BlackpoolmadMy mother and father split up when i was a "babe in arms" in the early 60's .
70’s kids!
By Brian Clark!
We moved to Watson Rd, Blackpool in 1970 on my 5th birthday, 27th June. My sister Les was only a baby 18 months old when we moved to the 3 bedroom council house in 1 of South Shore’s council estate. We moved here from a flat in Lowrey Terrace, so it was luxury for my parents.
Across the road was a row of shops, all busy ...[text shortened]... time about these happy days.
Brian Clark;
30th April 2008!
********************************
When i was about 9 or 10 yrs old my estranged old man would come home from sea (after fifteen days fishing in the north sea ) take me and my brother out , sit us on the stairway in his local pub , give us a bottle of coke and a packet of crisps while he supped his ale and then drop us back home to are mum .
That was a "norm" for a lot of Grimsby kids in the 70's .
Not complaining though 🙂
Originally posted by phil3000Yeah! My dad used to come collect us on a Saturday morning.
My mother and father split up when i was a "babe in arms" in the early 60's .
When i was about 9 or 10 yrs old my estranged old man would come home from sea (after fifteen days fishing in the north sea ) take me and my brother out , sit us on the stairway in his local pub , give us a bottle of coke and a packet of crisps while he supped his ale and then dr ...[text shortened]... um .
That was a "norm" for a lot of Grimsby kids in the 70's .
Not complaining though 🙂
I remember one day when we got home, and my mum asked,"How was the zoo, Mike?"
I said, "It was great mum, an' one of Dad's horses came in 14-1!" 😀
-m.
Who can we blame? If we can agree it's marketing execs I'm on board for a good ol' mob burning at the stake...
We rode our bikes to school on one of the busiest streets in our town since we were about 10. Nowadays it would be more than frowned upon.
Also, My 3 year old had a play date with her best buddy a few months ago. They were naughty, so I gave both a smack on the bum. His mother looked shocked at first and then said (paraphrasing) that she now knows she can leave the boy alone with our family for a day.
Originally posted by BlackpoolmadOh, so that's why people started doing crack and smack in the 80's.
We were always in trouble over nothing and got caned for nothing half the time [and] if we gave any lip to neighbours,
we would get a crack round the head and if you complained, your dad would give you another.