snippet 14

We used to walk a mile to catch the school bus and in winter time used to take our whoes off so we could walk thru all the puddles breaking up the ice, and then thru the cow pats to warm our feet again then back to a puddle to get them clean.

I meant shoes. Our parents were farmers and no doubt anyone would have guessed and us kids had so much fun and learnt so much on that farm and at school remember having to go and stand with our faces in the corner at school if we spelt a word wrong or made mistakes, got the duster or chalk throwen at us.

When my parents first came to NZ in 1959 my Dad was amazed that he was to call his boss by his christian name. I was friendly with the daughter of the boss and still keep in touch. My parents rented an old house at the bottom of One Tree Hill. The house was full of woodworm and my Mum hated it. Us kids used to sit on the loo poking pins down the borer holes

was thinking about TV programmes from way back, what did you watch,, remembering Dr Kildare, Bonanza, Rawhide, Marcus Welby MD to name a few of the ones I liked.

First programme I ever viewed on our own t v was Ed the Talking Horse! 40 years ago. We paid 100 hundred pounds for the TV. Sat in front of the set waiting for TV to come on at 2 p.m.

thing I loved most was listening to the radio every Sunday morning to kids request sessions..and the storiesssss.. like, The Lonely Prince.. Frith & the Snow Goose..

had the radio on listening to Diana and the golden apples, Flick the fire engine, what about ...Whoa betide ye Molly Woppy if you 'ere return again

Who remembers THE PHANTOM DRUMMER a very scary radio serial 60 odd years ago. I had to go to bed when this came on, But would sneak out to the sitting room door to listen.. Then have nightmares..

EVERY Sunday with all of the trimmings. All cooked on/in the coal range. I can still remember the aroma which would meet us when we got home from church/sunday school (on the days we went of course) The kettle was permanently on the top ready for a cuppa. I remember too Dad always threw his socks and beret on the rack above the range so they would be warm in the mornings.

I remember being invited to my first Kindy due after arriving in NZ in 1980. Bring a plate. Yeah right. I brought two plates for my daughter and me, what an embarressement, no one had told me I should have filled it with food

Hopalong Cassidys horse was called Topper.. we had no movies when I was a kid , well no movie theatre as such but every now and again we'd get to see a cowboys and itchybums movie at the local hall.. the best ones were the Ma and Pa Kettle ones though.. how I'd love to see one of those again.. although I suspect we'd find them pretty silly nowadays..lol

Remember when we went to the movies and had to stand for the National Anthem, when did that stop. Also shorts before the main feature.

Remember when movies on Sunday had to be preceeded by half an hour of religion? I only know that because our church youth group had to go and sing to a less than appreciative audience lol. I think the first movie I saw was Debbie Reynolds in Tammy. Well it was one of the first.

any one from ponsonby hi all wow all those memories. i'm 64 born 1942. Went to curran street school. Anyone go there? Does anyone remember Rocky Star and the Blue Streak on a tuesday night about 7pm. The blue streak was a rocket ship.Oh those Adam Bruce ice creams at the Brit(britania) theatre in pons.

I remember the Queen's visit in 1953. It was our first year in NZ so we were surprised at how FEW people turned out to see her lol, and they were all standing on the Queen's side of the street. My sister and I stood on the Duke's side and got a special wave and that never happened in London! We also went to Athletic Park with all the schoolchildren lined up to see her as she drove around the ground. Then of course while she was here we had the Tangiwai disaster. It was our first NZ Christmas and my father was on duty at the Railway Station when they brought the bodies back by train to Wellington.

was thinking about some of the games we played in the home. We had: pick up sticks, knucklebones, cards, monopoly, snakes & ladders, ludo, housie, carpet bowls, table tennis (played on our Kauri kitchen table). & they were all games you played with your brother or sister or whoever else happened to be handy. What other games were there?

we played ping pong and crib I was the queen of knuckle bones. caught five over fifty times in a row.. Could bend my hand right up to make a flat surface for them to sit on

worked weekends to save for a cruise on the old wanganella to the islands (I was 17) got 4pound for two weekends working at Kimberley Hospital. From memory the 10 day cruise cost 117 pounds and went to Samoa, New Caledonia and Fiji. Remember buying some duty free chanelle no5 perfume in New Caledonia and a transistor radio duty free for 5 pounds in Fiji.

we used to spend hours playing something called (or we called it) 4 square. Anyone remember that one. Dad painted the four squares & a serving square in the back yard. He also painted a hop scotch & we used an old tobacco tin filled with dirt & slammed shut by the hammer. I can remember the tin, it was purpley red on one half & the other half was kinda silver with lines thru' it.

I think we played more outside too and used our imagination. I had an old double school desk with the inkwells outside under the pepper tree and played "schools" a lot with girls from next door. Dress ups. Cowboys and Indians. Bulrush. Tag. Statues. Piggy in the middle" That game where you turned your back and gave a command like "all those with blue take 2 steps" and everyone sneaked forward to try to touch you before you turned back around.Also had a swing in a tree as well as a big tyre swing and a 44 gal drum I used to Walk on and roll on around the lawn. Stilts too - they were fun things to amuse.

I remember Mum making butter with two butter pats, I have no idea where she got the milk from mind you. She also use to make lovely home made icecream (long before icecream makers were ever invented), she'd beat it in the old Kenwood Chef.