What's something that absolutely screams ‘British childhood’ to you?’

Oh I'd forgotten the hymns. I'm sure pretty much everyone on here had the same hymn book at primary. I can still sing several now as can DH 😂 and do the movements when needed (You can build a wall around you is standout)

Reading my older sister's copy of J17 hidden in a copy of the Beano so my mum didn't realise 🤣

I bloody loved the adventures of vicky magazine!! I too only got the 1st 2 magazines my mum probably just forgot to subscribe or they stopped making it or something

Grange Hill, Blue Peter, Byker Grove. Bagpuss, Clangers, Willo the Wisp. Chorlton & the Wheelies.
Going to the beach in all weathers (grew up by the sea).
Sitting in the car eating picnic lunch with different colour tupperware plates and mugs (usually in the rain). Tea from a thermos.
Not going abroad on holiday as it was too expensive.
Going to the chip shop for a portion of chips for lunch with two friends, and paying 18p a portion. Sitting on the patio with soda stream drinks and eating the chips.
Country dancing at school.
'Salad' included salad cream, grated cheese, corned beef, hardboiled eggs.
Church on Sundays. Christian 'bible week' camping holidays in the summer.
Scones with cream and jam.
Enid Blyton, Arthur Ransome, Elinor Brent-Dyer books.

Not getting party bags at children's parties.

We were given a slice of birthday cake to take home.

I made my mum rose petals perfume, she said it was so nice she put it in her bath! I was soo chuffed (i was 6)
Years later she laughed and admitted she had chucked it down the loo, I wasn't pleased

@Darkmudder I remember the PE in vest and pants, following instructions from a posh BBC voice on a cassette player, saying things like “waddle like the Ugly Duckling”. As for stepping in food: I don’t remember that, the dinner ladies were very thorough with sweeping up, it was fascinating to watch them. We had to wear shoes (without socks) to walk to and from classroom, but did the PE barefoot. When we were learning about time, we used sand timers to time ourselves getting dressed. Only two boys managed to do it in less than a minute.

Putting our chairs up on the table at the end of the day. “We do not slam our chairs up: take them down again. (Bang bang bang) And no, we do not slam them back down again.”

If we were good, classroom games, such as guessing who was speaking in a funny voice. The teacher often said “no cheating” or “can you see?” as she blindfolded the guesser with her scarf.

“Through the dragons eye” on a big tv on wheels at school.

As a pp said “the queens nose” and “the borrowers” on a Sunday. I’d read the books and it made me feel very superior 😂.

”Eclipse” clothing with the guy smoking a spliff logo.

The “sun moon and stars” craze with yellow sun moon and stars on a navy background- I had the bedding and curtains!

Mr blobby!

Girls world, “quints” dolls, cabbage patch kids, lolo balls, Mr Frosty, marbles, seggggga with sonic.

The simpsons, shell suits, teenage ninja mutant turtles.

Not sure if anyone else will remember this one - the “Vicky” magazine?
It came with a doll (I think the first one was on safari?) and it was the adventure of Vicky each week.
I LOVED that doll but my dad was made redundant after I had the first couple of magazines, we were skint for the next two years so I couldn’t keep getting the magazine. I remember being absolutely devastated but never saying a word.

McDonald “little mermaid” happy meals and “tiny tetris” kinder eggs 🙂.

70s hymns at assembly - Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, Onward Christian Soldiers, All Things Bright and Beautiful etc, all being sung loudly while the music teacher banged the melody out on some ancient piano.

Elastics - game where two people have a loop of elastic around ankles and one person in middle of them does some sort of skipping/jumping footwork.

Jacks - metal cross things and a bouncing ball

Mastermind game

Consequences game

Hating having indoor PE in school hall after lunch and treading on random peas and other food debris in your bare feet

Music and movement in your vest and pants

Church

Church social club - after mass on a Sunday

Cycling everywhere - lived on my bike - covered miles. My kids didnt do this as too much traffic and too dangerous

Jumble sales

Eating out was soup and a roll at the cafe on the top floor of Debenhams.

Only 3 flavours and brands of crisps. Salt n Shake

Crazes in the playground - French elastic, bulldog, skipping with long ropes, jacks, yo-yos, those finger size bomblets with a cap in to bang on impact, clackers, marbles. Massive fun!

Drawing on the pavement with chalk.
Sitting on the beach eating egg mayonnaise sandwiches with bits of sand in them.
Squirting water at walls with an old washing up bottle.
Taking turns with a big skipping rope.
Going up the shop for a mix up 🍬

The freezing cold water you had to walk through first at the swimming baths to get to the main pool

Chalking a hop scotch court on the pavement & a gang of us playing. No one got moaned at for making a noise or defacing the pavement with a game of hop scotch.
Visiting grandparents, cousins, family friends on a Sunday afternoon for tea

Everyone smoked openly in my school incl the headmaster.
Someone mentioned 'Call My Bluff' upthread. It was repeated last autumn and a lot of the guests in the 1970s were smoking. My sons were shocked and stupefied and I had to remind them, 'erm. we have naked dating shows in 2024.'

Oh yeah , and the dinner ladies openly smoking in the playground!!
Teachers on day trips to France 🇫🇷 filling up on fags, cheap red plonk and chocolate- at the ‘Hypermarche’

Quiz shows like

Punchlines
Winner Takes All

Domestic suburban sitcoms

We must have had really good attention spans back then. Even my attention span now is pretty bad thanks to SM 😖

Flower Fairies
Those characters that were half one animal and half another, like an elephant come kangaroo.
Looking for the rounders bat that had blades of grass pushed inside.
Terry Wogan
School staff rooms were the smoke poured out whenever a kid knocked on the door.

The van roof has had us crying lol!!
soooo jealous !
I mean obvs we got up on my dads roof rack to play but never while moving - that’s awesome!!!!!

Flash, flash I love you but we only have 14 hours to save the universe!!!

GORDON'S ALIVE!

Sorry 🤣

On the subject of driving my dad used to let me and my cousins get up on the roof of his van and cling on as he speeded round country lanes. And made a 'chariot' for my dog to pull us around said country lanes (TBF she was a collie with a lot of energy and loved it). And I was allowed out all day on a moped with my air rifle from age 9.

Honestly some things my parents did, I'm surprised I'm still breathing 🤣

Someone upthread just mentioned Flash Gordon and me and DH been singing it in ‘our best voices’

And doing ‘ming the merciless’ impressions.

terrified me at the time along with incredible hulk !!

Actually you said with friends , I meant more on family car journeys lol x

Did you take Turns in the middle
leaning forward , or
on the parcel shelf - that was my fave !

Primary schools having an actual maypole in the hall cupboard that you would dance around making patterns with the ribbons in the summer term.