For those of us born before 1986

This has been posted before, but i though I'd bring it back from the dead. If you don't feel free to call me a dullard.


According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were
kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived,
because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which
was promptly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles,
or latches on doors or cabinets, and it was fine to play with pans.

When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent
'spokey dokey's' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat
belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the
same. We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with sugar in
it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and
no-one actually died from this.

We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed
down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the
problem.

We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we
were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.

We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99
channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile
phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.

We had friends - we went outside and found them. We played elastics and
rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt!

We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law
suits.
We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.

We played chap-the-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners
catching us.
We walked to friends' homes. We also, believe it or not, WALKED to
school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which
was just round the corner. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.

We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood. The idea of
a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of.. They actually sided
with the law. This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and
problem solvers and inventors, ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to
deal with it all.
And you're one of them. Congratulations!

Pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow as real kids,
before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.
For those of you who aren't old enough, thought you might like to read about
us.

This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile
on your face: The majority of students in universities today were born in
1986........They are called youth.

They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the
Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.
They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry or Belinda
Carlisle.

For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam. AIDS has
existed since they were born. CDs have existed since they were born. Michael
Jackson has always been white. To them John Travolta has always been round in
shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are films from last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.

They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the
Famous Five. They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why
Don't You. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. And
they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.

Now let's check if we're getting old...
> 1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
> 2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night
> out.
> 3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
> 4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably
> with computers.
> 5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
> 6. You remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the first time around.
> 7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good Old days,
repeating again all the funny things you have experienced together.
> Yes, you're getting old!!

 

You dullard.

 

Go touch some sheep

 

Another classic sign of being born 30 years ago is that you've read this twenty-odd times.

 

8. You need to sleep more, usually in the afternoon! Whats a night out?

Missed on you young pup

 

I'll have you know that being from Manchester, I didn't bother with the nappy I just shat on the floor before going out to relieve old women of their Gyros.

 

What changed?

 

Anyway you Manc knob, you've got Coldstream Company on 31st. So make sure you're in good order.

 

Hahaha Coldstream company. You're lucky to be graced with my presence, what with you being second to one and all.

 

I agree with the first point, and resemble the second!

Far more importantly, The Gunners are coming; so please ensure that you are not in food related footwear!*




* See other thread for details!

 

do i sense the smell of the infamous crocs rearing their unwanted head in this ageist thread... You! Yes you! You know who you are...

 

They sold Gyros in Manchester? Well nobody told me!!!

 

Seen.

 

Bloody beat me to it Sluggy! I want to know where so i can try it!

MB

 

Now let's check if we're getting old...
> 1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
Yes.
> 3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
Well she wasn't a friend and I didn't bother going to her wedding but yes, it's starting to happen.
> 4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably
> with computers.
And utterly appalled.
> 5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
When I see my Grandmother with a mobile phone I shake my head.
> 6. You remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the first time around.
I knew who he was but I've only seen him a bit on that Fort Boyard show.
> 7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good Old days.
For some reason they just want to talk about how it was worth waking up to watch television in the morning when we were children - which is actually quite true.


I was born in 1986 (most people born then have now actually left University!) and this was pretty much how I spent my childhood, as I was raised by my Grandparents. My Grandfather practically encouraged me to misbehave.

I had a black and white TV in my bedroom but I never watched it. I prefer to leave the house without a mobile phone and when I do, I tend to keep it off today. I never pretended to be the A-Team because it was more fun to pretend you were killing German people. I even had an old-school Action Man (everyone was terribly jealous)!

I'm willing to admit though that I was so old-fashioned (are those cords?) and up my own arse ("urm, no Miss, Scotland and England are seperate countries") as a child that I wasn't terribly popular.