dragged reluctantly around the shops and street markets by your mum, you became a more willing shopper and even started to take notice of what the shops and stalls were selling. Girls stopped doing handstands up against the wall and wanted rid of their little girlie ribbons. They began to take an interest in teenage fashions and reading mum’s magazines. Boys cringed at any public show of affectionfrom their parents; quickly moving their head away at the first sight of their mum’s lips approaching their cheek for a goodbye kiss.
Two young boys play football in the middle of a central London street in 1951. Note that there is no traffic or parked cars around.
You would start using trendy teenage words like ‘cool’, ‘cat’, and ‘square’. Instead of hanging-out with your mates on someone’s doorstep, you and your friends would be more likely to gather in the local coffee-bar and listen to the latest records on the jukebox, sharing one bottle of Coca-Cola between five! You might go to the local church youth club to play table tennis and listen to records. You would even find yourself listening with more interest to the doorstep banter between grown-ups. It was a confusing time when you were sort of playing at being a teenager.
It was a time for trying new grown-up things. Sadly, it was often at the tender age of just ten or eleven that many kids were tempted to try their first puff on a cigarette. A lot were sick and never touched a fag again, but for many it was their first step to a lifetime of smoking. Smoking was advertised as a cool and sophisticated thing to do. There was never any mention of it being unhealthy!
Whereas you used just to shovel food into your mouth to fill your empty stomach and boost your energy levels, you began to develop a taste for food and even enjoy the experience of eating your favourite dishes. There were few takeaway food shops back then but there were plenty of places in the high streets and marketplaces where you could savour your best-loved local dishes. From traditional Lancashire hotpot to Welsh cawl, to Londoners’ pie and mash with liquor, tripe and onions, and jellied eels – we all had our personal favourite.
Boys frequently took more interest in supporting their local football team and going to the matches with their dad. All of a sudden, you found that you were growing up and fast approaching your teenage years, and the onset of all those hormonal issues.
Four
G AMES , H OBBIES AND P ASTIMES
Kids of every generation suffer boredom if they are not kept occupied. In the 1950s, although all the best fun was reserved for outside the house, there was a host of tried and tested pastimes to keep you busy at home in the evenings.
Everyone had his or her own favourite indoor hobby, and many children got drawn into collecting something or other. Stamp collecting was very popular and was usually a shared interest between friends, who would swap stamps between each other to make up sets or get rid of ones they already had. There was always the thrill of seeing an unusual stamp and the anticipation that it could be valuable. Someone always seemed to know someone else’s dad that had a Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue to check if a stamp was rare or not. Most kids were very aware of what their stamp collection was worth, usually only a few shillings. Often the stamp-collecting book was worth more thanthe collection it held, but collecting was addictive and interesting, and once you started you were hooked. Children often learned more about the geography of the world from stamp collecting than they did through schoolwork.
With limited access to telephones, picture postcards were still regularly sent though the post to pass messages between friends and family. Postcard collecting was a cost-free hobby that many children took up. From Matchbox and Dinky Toys to marbles, there were loads of things to collect and swap with your mates.
Most children had a secret box of treasures in
Two young boys play football in the middle of a central London street in 1951. Note that there is no traffic or parked cars around.
You would start using trendy teenage words like ‘cool’, ‘cat’, and ‘square’. Instead of hanging-out with your mates on someone’s doorstep, you and your friends would be more likely to gather in the local coffee-bar and listen to the latest records on the jukebox, sharing one bottle of Coca-Cola between five! You might go to the local church youth club to play table tennis and listen to records. You would even find yourself listening with more interest to the doorstep banter between grown-ups. It was a confusing time when you were sort of playing at being a teenager.
It was a time for trying new grown-up things. Sadly, it was often at the tender age of just ten or eleven that many kids were tempted to try their first puff on a cigarette. A lot were sick and never touched a fag again, but for many it was their first step to a lifetime of smoking. Smoking was advertised as a cool and sophisticated thing to do. There was never any mention of it being unhealthy!
Whereas you used just to shovel food into your mouth to fill your empty stomach and boost your energy levels, you began to develop a taste for food and even enjoy the experience of eating your favourite dishes. There were few takeaway food shops back then but there were plenty of places in the high streets and marketplaces where you could savour your best-loved local dishes. From traditional Lancashire hotpot to Welsh cawl, to Londoners’ pie and mash with liquor, tripe and onions, and jellied eels – we all had our personal favourite.
Boys frequently took more interest in supporting their local football team and going to the matches with their dad. All of a sudden, you found that you were growing up and fast approaching your teenage years, and the onset of all those hormonal issues.
Four
G AMES , H OBBIES AND P ASTIMES
Kids of every generation suffer boredom if they are not kept occupied. In the 1950s, although all the best fun was reserved for outside the house, there was a host of tried and tested pastimes to keep you busy at home in the evenings.
Everyone had his or her own favourite indoor hobby, and many children got drawn into collecting something or other. Stamp collecting was very popular and was usually a shared interest between friends, who would swap stamps between each other to make up sets or get rid of ones they already had. There was always the thrill of seeing an unusual stamp and the anticipation that it could be valuable. Someone always seemed to know someone else’s dad that had a Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue to check if a stamp was rare or not. Most kids were very aware of what their stamp collection was worth, usually only a few shillings. Often the stamp-collecting book was worth more thanthe collection it held, but collecting was addictive and interesting, and once you started you were hooked. Children often learned more about the geography of the world from stamp collecting than they did through schoolwork.
With limited access to telephones, picture postcards were still regularly sent though the post to pass messages between friends and family. Postcard collecting was a cost-free hobby that many children took up. From Matchbox and Dinky Toys to marbles, there were loads of things to collect and swap with your mates.
Most children had a secret box of treasures in
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