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Thread: Folley of youth

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    Default Folley of youth

    Out on Sunday for our day out we saw on the side of the Freeway a car on fire.
    Emergency services were there and the traffic slowed to one lane in order to pass.
    Seeing it brought back to me a memory of my youth, not a pleasant one at that and one I rarely speak of and am not proud of.
    But it happened.

    As young lads we all played with Fireworks around the time of November 5th.
    Building a bonfire, making a Guy and burning him on the fire while we let off the fireworks.
    All good fun including the lead up with our 'Penny for the guy' efforts out on the streets.

    Playing with Penny Bangers was a favorite with many of the boys, let them off in all manner of places often frightening the life out of the elderly.

    I was no different and as part of a group of four lads, second year at the local Secondary technical School, always had fun doing the wrong thing.
    Drop a Penny Banger down a drain to increase the noise of the bang was one of our kicks.

    Alan was one of our group but at times a bit odd, always had a lighter in his pocket so when you had a Penny fag from the corner shop he would have the light for it.

    But he could be evil with it at times, think nothing of putting a Penny Banger into the letter box of some houses, how he never started a major fire is a mystery.

    We traveled to school on the bus, three of us on the same one, the other came a different way.
    From the bus we then had about a three minute walk to school.

    Alan as I said was a bit odd.
    You may recall that on the old buses, the London ones were the Route masters, there was on the platform a box for the old tickets.
    For Alan this was a challenge, drop a Penny banger in there as he got off and run for his life.
    Abandon ship is one thing abandon a bus on fire is another.
    The tickets all caught fire and the box was blown open with the burning tickets going every where. The two of us made a run for it as well, did not want to be part of it.

    But worse, far worse was to come.

    On the road not far from the school just around the corner on the way from the bus stop was a small car, a Morris if I recall correctly. For some reason Alan always tried to write his name on the car if there was some dust on it.
    But one morning the owner came out and told him in no uncertain terms not to do that again.

    Alan told us he would get his own back on the man and would blow up his car.
    We laughed at that suggestion saying where will you get a bomb then?

    After school the following day we set out for the bus but Alan stopped by the car, opened his school bag and produced his 'bomb'. A bunch of a dozen or so Penny Bangers tied together.
    We looked in amazement, you must be joking I said that is stupid.

    I turned and began to walk away, just around the corner I looked back to see Robin and Bill, snotty nose, Williams following me, they did not like the idea.

    Was there a fuel leak, were there petrol fumes coming from a poorly fitted filling cap, or did the heat from the fireworks do some other damage. I will never know.

    We were about half way to the bus stop when we heard the explosion, loud and clear.
    Keep walking I thought this is bad news.

    Next morning Alan was not at the bus stop and when we rounded the corner to the school it was all cordoned off. No surprise, the car was a burned out wreck, glass from blown out windows on the road and fence and hedge burned.
    You lads will have to take the other road the Policeman told us.
    In the school yard the talk was all about the car and the bomb, usual stories, a bomb left from the war etc.
    Morning assembly and the head master began with a lecture on the danger of fireworks, and just as he ended his talk another Policeman appeared on the stage with hm.

    'Will the three boys involved in the car fire last night come forward'
    None of us moved, he then named us and we were taken to an office where we were individually interviewed by the Police. We all told the same story and were let out with the Police saying we did the right thing by leaving when we did.

    How did they know who did it, well the owner of the car had seen Alan again standing by the car and was going to challenge him when Alan mover away.
    Alan had ended up in hospital with some minor burns but as the head master knew we went around in a group he thought we were involved. We never saw Alan again but heard he was sent to Borstal.
    I vowed never to play wit Fire Works again.



    That was until New Years eve 1979, our last in the pub, four months later we were here in Oz.
    During November I had obtained a dozen large Rockets and I intended to use them New Year Eve.
    Set them up in bottles in the cellar just under the cellar flap.
    Two minutes to midnight I opened the flap and lit the touch papers and back into the bar for the celebrations.
    The rockets went on their merry way.
    Next morning one of the locals, Brian who worked at the Shell refinery, came in and was not happy.

    'Bloody fire works last night, some idiot let off a load of rockets, as I went out of the back door to let the New Year in a spent rocket case landed just in front of me”

    'Well Brian it is new Year, have a pint and Happy New Year to you'.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    Naughty Boy John !! LOL

    Yes i am sure there were many others like that in the days, as i recall me to having done those kind of silly antics , not as bad though but Blowing up Post Boxes was the go then!

    It was the time of as i now call it Mischief and Bravado on our Young Parts, and did get us into some awful spots at times.

    I had at one time posted an incident about me and my best mate then called Georgie, and what we did to one poor Doctor, also not proud of it but it happened, and that is that, we too got caught for our dastardly deed, and landed up each receiving 8 of the best with the Cane Stick, that really taught us a lesson.

    I was at that time (when i posted that i was bragging and to take it off) wont mention name, but sadly not with us any longer, so i will respect his wishes and keep it quiet!
    Cheers

    Oh Happy Days!!1
    Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website

    R697530

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    #1 I remember the happy days when bangers were little sticks of dynamite. penny little demons and tuppenny cannons. A little demon could blow a kid's hand clean off. Tales of tying bangers to cats tails I heard about but never saw. We'd put bangers in tin cans that would increase the effect. My favourite prank was putting the devil up a drain pipe. 'Devil-up-a-Drainpipe' stuff paper up the bottom of the pipe, set fire to it and run! Those were the 'carefree' but austere days of the 1940s and 1950s of street games, no TV or social media, the days before we wrapped our kids in cotton wool, but don't forget the hundreds of unsupervised kids killed on the roads (500+ every year in 1960s) and the hundreds of eye injuries from catapults, bows and arrows and pellet guns. I think nowadays I'd rather supervise my children than have them drown in the canal.

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Copley View Post
    #1 I remember the happy days when bangers were little sticks of dynamite. penny little demons and tuppenny cannons. A little demon could blow a kid's hand clean off. Tales of tying bangers to cats tails I heard about but never saw. We'd put bangers in tin cans that would increase the effect. My favourite prank was putting the devil up a drain pipe. 'Devil-up-a-Drainpipe' stuff paper up the bottom of the pipe, set fire to it and run! Those were the 'carefree' but austere days of the 1940s and 1950s of street games, no TV or social media, the days before we wrapped our kids in cotton wool, but don't forget the hundreds of unsupervised kids killed on the roads (500+ every year in 1960s) and the hundreds of eye injuries from catapults, bows and arrows and pellet guns. I think nowadays I'd rather supervise my children than have them drown in the canal.
    hi peter copely
    happy days, you lived a sheltered life,
    tom

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    Question: Do the kids still make a "guy" and scrounge for money like we did as a kids? If so, is it in the same numbers? Do they still have bonfires in the backyards with the guy and fireworks? Does the council but up a big fire on a vacant lot like they did years ago. Do the kids still do the mischievous things with fireworks like we all did in the 1950s? And do they roast potatoes on a stick in the back yard fire?

    Curious, Rodney

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    Quote Originally Posted by Doc Vernon View Post
    Naughty Boy John !! LOL

    Yes i am sure there were many others like that in the days, as i recall me to having done those kind of silly antics , not as bad though but Blowing up Post Boxes was the go then!

    It was the time of as i now call it Mischief and Bravado on our Young Parts, and did get us into some awful spots at times.

    I had at one time posted an incident about me and my best mate then called Georgie, and what we did to one poor Doctor, also not proud of it but it happened, and that is that, we too got caught for our dastardly deed, and landed up each receiving 8 of the best with the Cane Stick, that really taught us a lesson.

    I was at that time (when i posted that i was bragging and to take it off) wont mention name, but sadly not with us any longer, so i will respect his wishes and keep it quiet!
    Cheers

    Oh Happy Days!!1
    hi vernon
    the trouble in those early days was that everybody knew each other together with families etc, it was even worse when the local bobby chased you, because he would give up after ten mins and just shout your name out and tell you he would be going around to your house later on.
    tom

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    My sins as a young boy are too numerous to mention.Talking of fire crackers.I once set off a rocket. It went right through the window of the house opposite.Set the curtains on fire.Think I received a smack on the head from everyone in the street.Won't mention what my dad did.Another time I put a cricket ball right through the Church's stain glass window.There was an extra collection to get if fixed.The priest told them who did it.Got lots of elbows from the congregation when the church was letting out.If you are ever in Durham, go to saint Godricks church.You will see a blue patch in the bottom of the main stain glass window.I still have the bruises from that one.

  9. #8
    Keith at Tregenna's Avatar
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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    #8: Few.

    Would have altered much from Penny for the Guy?

    More like a fiver or a tenner today.

    LOL. K.

    https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/...uy-1961-online

    .
    Last edited by Keith at Tregenna; 22nd January 2021 at 10:02 PM.

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis McGuckin View Post
    My sins as a young boy are too numerous to mention.Talking of fire crackers.I once set off a rocket. It went right through the window of the house opposite.Set the curtains on fire.Think I received a smack on the head from everyone in the street.Won't mention what my dad did.Another time I put a cricket ball right through the Church's stain glass window.There was an extra collection to get if fixed.The priest told them who did it.Got lots of elbows from the congregation when the church was letting out.If you are ever in Durham, go to saint Godricks church.You will see a blue patch in the bottom of the main stain glass window.I still have the bruises from that one.
    Now I know why you went to Canada, think I now that church, spent time in that neck of the woods as a kid.
    Next time i am back I will give your address to the priest. LOL
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Folley of youth

    Anything that will get you back to church John. LOL

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