looker-on
aka Thomas the Kraut
So have I and I even forgot that we were both members of Buzz. But I was having SeniorsOnly in mind.
TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
- Thread starter Richie
- Start date
looker-on
aka Thomas the Kraut
I went to a secondary modern school for ten years. It was a newly-built two-storey school with attached gym - a luxury 16 years after my home town had been flattened by allied bombings and it was just a stone's throw away from where we lived. So it just took a gentle walk to get there , not infrequently making a stop at a baker's for some cake . It was beautifully located next to a park (a fact that is now reflected in the name of the school) where we hung out after school. A few meters away from the school was my tennis club which I joined aged 14. In the ninth form the older pupils aged 15 had to go to a new school which also was a secondary and was a bit farer away.
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Of course mate. Overall I enjoyed my time there. I am still registered and staff, so may return some day.
How was the communist doctrine in the East German school system Thomas?
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What kind of mischief did you get up to while growing.
Back in the sixties I and a couple of mates would sneak into our old hometown picture theatre thru a loose side wooden board. We managed to get away with it for some time until the manager finally twigged and threatened to ban us and if we did it again to tell our parents or the police. I do not recall the title of my first movie but most theatres back then showed old American serials and Disney cartoons. At intermission young ladies in colorful dresses (see pic) would bring round trays of goodies such as ice cream in tubs or confectionery treats such as Jaffas or Fantales and soft drinks.
Back in the sixties I and a couple of mates would sneak into our old hometown picture theatre thru a loose side wooden board. We managed to get away with it for some time until the manager finally twigged and threatened to ban us and if we did it again to tell our parents or the police. I do not recall the title of my first movie but most theatres back then showed old American serials and Disney cartoons. At intermission young ladies in colorful dresses (see pic) would bring round trays of goodies such as ice cream in tubs or confectionery treats such as Jaffas or Fantales and soft drinks.
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looker-on
aka Thomas the Kraut
giving up
Unlike in the UK system (happy to read your account of the Aussie one) our crucial year was not the age of 15 but 14 when it was decided who could start a 2 or 3 year advanced level programme the preparation for which either began two years earlier at a Grammar school or after what's called the GCSE at the age of 16. At 14 my average grade was 1.7 (between A and B or 70-80%) which was not enough to be sent to Grammar school at 14. You needed 80+ %. Out of 90 pupils of each year only six were allowed to attend our only Grammar school in a town with 100,000 inhabitants. Our mother didn't mind because, frankly, she wanted us to do an apprenticeship since we got a wage that was desperately needed. So we joined a special programme combining apprenticeship and A-Level education while taking a year longer. We finished school at 19 then.
What strikes me when I read your accounts is that physical punishment was quite common where you lived while people would very likely have thought that that was typical of more repressive regimes but it wasn't.
That's what it looks like today. Just a section.
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looker-on
aka Thomas the Kraut
Could you afford to buy those?
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Remember I was in a boarding school totally controlled by the secretive Mason movement, which was revealed to us inmates that it was also a brutal and uncaring movement. Much like some Catholic Church run institutions in parts of the Christian world.
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Contact Chief on PM Thomas.
Richie: Ok Jess tell us something about you growing up in Cornwall.
Jessica: Our childhood was pretty average really. Money was tight so we spent lots of time on the beach. I remember trying to eat sweets but my (milk) teeth were loose so that was painful
Jessica: We used to collect the seashells and take them home and once I found a funny shaped seashell and put it on my bedroom windowsill, a few hours later I saw it had moved, apparently some pink creature was attached to it and gave me the fright of my life!
Richie: My brother and I rode on a billy cart dad built us out of old fruit boxes and pram wheels.
Jessica: My brother made a go-cart, it was pretty good, we used to play on it for hours until I got my fingers trapped underneath it, my own fault for dangling my hand over the side
beach. I remember trying to eat sweets but my (milk) teeth were loose so that was painful
Richie: In the video, almost certain that the small blond boy next to the dark tall boy are myself and my older brother.
Jessica: Good job you had your big brother with you, would've been so lonely and sad without him. I remember starting a new school and my two older siblings were in the juniors so had a different playground to me as I was in the infants, they had each other and I had no one, I could see them together from my playground.
Richie: I spent the first decade of my life growing up in outer Sydney where my parents had purchased land. We lived in a garage while our house was being built. I had a happy early childhood until my teacher father died suddenly then my world turned upside down.
Jessica: I have a memory of living in a cold house as a child, we used to have a coal fire in the living room but no heating in the bedrooms. We had a dining room and a tiny kitchen. It must've been Bonfire night one evening as I remember being scared of the sparkler fireworks that my dad had bought for us. Can't remember where the house was but probably been demolished by now.
Jessica: Our childhood was pretty average really. Money was tight so we spent lots of time on the beach. I remember trying to eat sweets but my (milk) teeth were loose so that was painful
Jessica: We used to collect the seashells and take them home and once I found a funny shaped seashell and put it on my bedroom windowsill, a few hours later I saw it had moved, apparently some pink creature was attached to it and gave me the fright of my life!
Richie: My brother and I rode on a billy cart dad built us out of old fruit boxes and pram wheels.
Jessica: My brother made a go-cart, it was pretty good, we used to play on it for hours until I got my fingers trapped underneath it, my own fault for dangling my hand over the side
beach. I remember trying to eat sweets but my (milk) teeth were loose so that was painful
Richie: In the video, almost certain that the small blond boy next to the dark tall boy are myself and my older brother.
Jessica: Good job you had your big brother with you, would've been so lonely and sad without him. I remember starting a new school and my two older siblings were in the juniors so had a different playground to me as I was in the infants, they had each other and I had no one, I could see them together from my playground.
Richie: I spent the first decade of my life growing up in outer Sydney where my parents had purchased land. We lived in a garage while our house was being built. I had a happy early childhood until my teacher father died suddenly then my world turned upside down.
Jessica: I have a memory of living in a cold house as a child, we used to have a coal fire in the living room but no heating in the bedrooms. We had a dining room and a tiny kitchen. It must've been Bonfire night one evening as I remember being scared of the sparkler fireworks that my dad had bought for us. Can't remember where the house was but probably been demolished by now.
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looker-on
aka Thomas the Kraut
Did you recycle that?Richie: Ok Jess tell us something about you growing up in Cornwall.
Jessica: Our childhood was pretty average really. Money was tight so we spent lots of time on the beach. I remember trying to eat sweets but my (milk) teeth were loose so that was painful
Jessica: We used to collect the seashells and take them home and once I found a funny shaped seashell and put it on my bedroom windowsill, a few hours later I saw it had moved, apparently some pink creature was attached to it and gave me the fright of my life!
Richie: My brother and I rode on a billy cart dad built us out of old fruit boxes and pram wheels.
Jessica: My brother made a go-cart, it was pretty good, we used to play on it for hours until I got my fingers trapped underneath it, my own fault for dangling my hand over the side
beach. I remember trying to eat sweets but my (milk) teeth were loose so that was painful
Richie: In the video, almost certain that the small blond boy next to the dark tall boy are myself and my older brother.
Jessica: Good job you had your big brother with you, would've been so lonely and sad without him. I remember starting a new school and my two older siblings were in the juniors so had a different playground to me as I was in the infants, they had each other and I had no one, I could see them together from my playground.
Richie: I spent the first decade of my life growing up in outer Sydney where my parents had purchased land. We lived in a garage while our house was being built. I had a happy early childhood until my teacher father died suddenly then my world turned upside down.
Jessica: I have a memory of living in a cold house as a child, we used to have a coal fire in the living room but no heating in the bedrooms. We had a dining room and a tiny kitchen. It must've been Bonfire night one evening as I remember being scared of the sparkler fireworks that my dad had bought for us. Can't remember where the house was but probably been demolished by now.
Grier
Well-Known Member
I find looking at old photos tweaks my mind back to those early days.
Being the youngest and most gullible of 4 other siblings I was nominated as the family archivist with photos, shoe boxes of negatives, 8mm reels, VCR Tapes, DVDs, USBs, 2tb ssd external drive, ... even Shoe Box in the ethereal cloud.
In my own experince, many memories are mental only often with associated feelings, some visual and a few audible.
Most seem poignant life experiences, and some mundane events from overly repetitve tasks like working in a Saw Mill factory for 50 cents per hour at 15yo. $4 for an 8 hour Saturday shift.
I remember as a little boy my Mum crying when JFK was assassinated.
I remember a beautiful white Christmas and the lovely new plastic smell of Christmas presents.
Being the youngest and most gullible of 4 other siblings I was nominated as the family archivist with photos, shoe boxes of negatives, 8mm reels, VCR Tapes, DVDs, USBs, 2tb ssd external drive, ... even Shoe Box in the ethereal cloud.
In my own experince, many memories are mental only often with associated feelings, some visual and a few audible.
Most seem poignant life experiences, and some mundane events from overly repetitve tasks like working in a Saw Mill factory for 50 cents per hour at 15yo. $4 for an 8 hour Saturday shift.
I remember as a little boy my Mum crying when JFK was assassinated.
I remember a beautiful white Christmas and the lovely new plastic smell of Christmas presents.
Yep. Wanted Jessica participation while she decides whether to stay or leave. I dont blame her as she says that often she is the only one on the site. I have been trying to help the Admin boss work out a plan to bring in more members, specially from the Euro time zone.Did you recycle that?
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Grier
Well-Known Member
My cassock was black not red and my surplice was similar to that one without the laced frills.
Being a non Catholic I have no idea what you are talking about mate.