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

[MyCheeryPearlTraybake]

Going to the corner shop for some custard creams

Corner shop for extra long strawberry laces for 5p
ice cream van after school to get a screwball
ice cream van inside secondary school to buy a mr bubbles or cherry brandy lolly alongside a ridiculously overpriced bag of strawberry laces and McCoys crisps
sitting in the pub with your folks eating a packet of peanuts or pork scratching that you didn’t even like washed down with a flat coke or panda pop

As someone who didn’t grow up in the U.K. but read a lot old British children’s books, you all spent your childhoods camping on moors, riding ponies and capturing smugglers, didn’t you?

The sound of the ice cream van. I’m in my fifties now and still get excited when the ice cream van comes down our road.

Still playing on the beach after everyone else has packed up and then getting chips.

Playing kerbies and climbing trees.

Shivering on the beach in the pouring rain.

Ha ha... Yes to two of those! Didn't get as far as capturing smugglers, but my dad was in the police, so I expect he was on the lookout!

Sunny Delight, Turkey Twizzlers and sunburn because noone applied suncream in the 90s.

Watching a man in a broom cupboard with a badly behaved puppet.

Going to the beach in the summer and the first task is to put up a windbreak.

Watching heartbeat on a Sunday night

Or watching the pouring rain while sitting in the car near the beach, passing around limp cheese or ham sandwiches and drinking pretty grotty coffee from a thermos--while somebody says at ten minute intervals "I think it's clearing up a bit."

Sitting on a windswept beach wearing an anorak with a tartan blanket wrapped round you, huddled behind a windbreak.

For hours.

Donkey rides on the beach
2p machines
Climbing apple trees/scrumping
Party rings
Pass the parcel
Strawberry picking

10p mix, water fights with the old white fairy liquid bottles, playing out on the street....child of the late 70s early 80s

Eating sandwiches in a car at the seaside while the rain hammers down outside.

Soft drinks in plastic cups with plastic film across the top. Red or blue. Drinking them upside down by biting some of the plastic off.

Lovejoy, antiques roadshow and songs of praise on Sunday night

This was mine as well. Only tea in our case. Thermos tea has a fairly unique taste that is 100% British childhood to me.

Beano
Seaside arcades
Rock pooling
Strawberries and cream

Leaving home at 5am to be driven to Weymouth beach, getting there around 6.30am and sitting in the car waiting for rain to stop/get warm enough to go on the beach.

Having to sit on towels in car going home as the fake leather seats were so scorching.

Being smothered in Calamine lotion for days afterwards as the only sun lotion was Amber Solaire and you may as well have used lard.

(Early 1960's)

Songs of Praise or the Antiques Roadshow coming on telly and having the Sunday night blues accompanied by a last minute rush to do my homework before Monday morning!

Having a bath in the kitchen sink

Going to summer fetes at the local church or village green. Being excited about being a Brownie and then realising it was all a bit of a con to make kids do chores - earning badges for making a cup of tea, being kind to people etc - come on, did they think we were stupid!
Being allowed to play out later when summer finally got here. Buying a bag of penny sweets with the 10p you were given for going to the shop (this was the early 1980s, 10p stretched a lot further then!). Playing 40/40 in the street, wearing yellow and blue roller boots and never ever being able to stop! Reading the Beano and Dandy and then progressing to Suzy magazine. Finally reaching the dizzy heights of the teen magazines - Smash Hits, No1, Blue Jeans, Jackie, Mizz and then Just Seventeen and More!
Going out at 9am and not coming home until 5.
Being a British kid was excellent in the 1980s, I'm not sure it's so great now though.

Water fight
kerbies
two ounce of sweets from the shop
making swings in the woods

Days in the woods with just a sarnie and a bottle of squash. No adults
Sunny days on bikes and playing kirby
Penny sweets
Tanning with no lotions
Heat waves and paddling pools.

As a teen out all day with 2p for a phone call.

I'm 54