We Was Brung Up Proper

We was brung up proper.

And we never had a whole Mars bar until 1993.
Congratulations to all my friends who were born in the 1930's,40's,50's,60's and early 70's.

First we survived being born to mothers who smoked and or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos. They took asprin,ate blue cheese,raw egg products,loads of bacon and processed meat,Tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead based paints. We had no child proof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention the risks of hitch hiking.

As children we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no Pizza shops,McDonald's,KFC,Subway or Nandos. Even though the shops closed at 6:00pm and didn't open on a Sunday somehow we didn't starve to death.

We shared one soft drink with four friends from one bottle and no one actually died from this. We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner shop and buy toffees,gob stoppers, bubble gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with. We ate cup cakes,white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it but we weren't overweight because.....we were always outside PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day and we were OK!! We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill only to find out we had forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars. We did not have Play Stations,Nintendo Wii, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on Sky, no video/DVD films, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..... we had FRIENDS and we went outside and FOUND them !

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no law suits from these accidents.

Only GIRLS had pierced ears !

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt,and the worms did not live in us forever. You could only buy Easter eggs and hot cross buns at Easter time. We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays. We rode bikes or walked to a friends house and knocked on the door or rang the bell or just yelled for them.

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet because we didn't need to keep up with the Jones's.
Not everyone made the rugby/football/cricket/netball team, those that didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment..IMAGINE THAT!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT.

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and throw the blackboard rubber at us if they thought we weren't concentrating. We can string sentences together and spell and have proper conversations because of a good solid three R's education.

Our parents would tell us to ask a stranger to help us cross the road. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!! Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla' and 'Tiger'.

We had freedom,failure,success and responsibility and learnt how to deal with it all.

AND YOU ARE ONE OF THEM. CONGRATULATIONS!!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers and government regulated our lives for our own good, and while your at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents  were.

Take care now. Dave.

Another Camera for ebay

This camera is a Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic Special and they were produced from 1912 to 1926.

They were advertised as a "Soldiers Camera" during World War 1 even though it was strictly prohibited to take them to the trenches. It was the first camera to use 127 film and the back of the camera had an area called an autographic feature which allowed notes to be written onto the paper backing of the film.

This camera is unusual as it is painted in smooth black and has the autographic feature which the first models did not have.

As can be seen this camera is in nearly mint condition with everything working perfectly and even has an empty spool in the back together with the original camera case. There are no holes in the bellows and the stylus is in position on the back plate which is usually missing. The only place where the paint has slightly rubbed off is on the view finder lens surround.
The flecks of white that can be seen is paper tissue where I have wiped the paint before taking the pictures.

It is said that George Mallory was given one of these cameras on his ill fated expedition on Mt Everest and who may have been the first person to reach the summit.There are extensive efforts to find his body and perhaps the camera.

I hope it goes to a good home either a collection or a museum as it is in such good condition.

Another Camera going on Ebay

This is the next camera to be put on Ebay.This is a Rollei Magic which is in near mint condition.As can be seen the oblong lens at the top is a light meter.It is nearly 50 years old and still has a roll of film loaded.

My last camera the Rolleicord was bought by a student studying for a BA in photography at Westminster Uni London so I am very pleased it went to a good home.

It's so nice to be able to sit in the greenhouse (cratch) for a couple of hours and dream of the day I can get a narrowboat.

In the meantime I have just finished reading a book by Sir John Lister-Kaye called At The Waters Edge in which he describes his involvement and observation of wildlife in and around a Loch where he lives in Scotland. He has taken the same circular walk from his home deep in a Scottish glen each day for over 30 years and recorded his findings in a diary from which this book has evolved. It's a good read and takes one away from the daily troubles we all have.