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

[MyCheeryPearlTraybake]

Going to the corner shop for some custard creams

More: in assembly hearing the first piano notes to At the Name of Jesus and everyone singing enthusiastically! Christmas school parties. Sitting on the hall floor at school, a tv on a high stand being pushed in for you to watch a black and white film as a treat.

You were very lucky, then :) - To a girl who lived so far from the sea , Southsea was lovely. Even now, I only need to drive to the coast to feel happy and relaxed again.

I raise you the video man..came round with a load of videos in his car boot for us to borrow..

All those old school Christmas carols with their obsessive references to 'virgins' wombs'. Very odd thing for 7 year old kids to be singing about, with hindsight.

"Getting parafin for the heaters from the van when it came round in the evening. No central heating at home, relied on two paraffin stoves & the coal fire."

No paraffin van where I lived. Age 12 I used to take an old petrol can down to the hardware shop and buy the paraffin there - "Esso Blue" or "Pink Paraffin", both of which used to advertise on ITV.

Once I started at senior school (so from 11 onwards), as my parents worked and would be home at 5.30pm, my first task when getting home was to light the coal fire in the living room and light the paraffin stove in the dining room. Chopping the kindling with an axe, holding a newspaper across the front of the fire to get it going was something all us kids could do - amazing that we've all survived!

Flake 99

Can i just ask why you commented this? My parents are far from the only ones who didn't suncream their kids in that era and I feel like you comparing my parents to your ex DH is you trying to make the point that you think my parents were neglectful.

If so, how did you hope your comment would make me feel?

The nit nurse
Pink and blue NSH glasses with plaster on the side
‘Sons and Daughters ’ the Aussie soap
Morning prayers and fingers on lips
nativity plays with sheets, tea towels tinsel and a tiny tears doll.
the excitement of knowing there was Quality street in the house from mid December
Staying up to watch Dallas at 8.10 on a Wednesday and cringing at any sexy bits.
Ditto Dynasty on a Friday.

Nobody in my world was creamed up either - in the 70/80s we all burned like you did and them had to wear a t- shirt for a couple days hoping your siblings wouldn’t squeeze your shoulders for fun!
All good character building stuff and totally
normal back then x

Buying single fags off the ice cream
man at school - For 10p- mid 80s ???
What was all that about lol!!!

Raiding my mum's coin jar for 10p to go and buy an ice pole from the corner shop with my friend from down the street.
Toasties and Antiques Roadshow whilst lying on the floor after a bath, drying my hair in front of the fire on a Sunday night.
A panda pop and bag of crisps at the pub.
The Spice Girls.
Going into the city as a teenager with my friend, getting the bus, something to eat and a new top and still having change from £10! Spending the whole Saturday doing laps of the shopping centre and trying on the bridesmaid dresses in BHS!
Getting the new Harry Potter book in the summer holidays and staying up until the early hours reading it.
My mum doing the 'big food shop' whilst I was at school on a Friday - she'd always buy me a donut to come home to after the week at school.

Yellow banana flavoured medicine

Hot summers in the early 70s and using a stick to pop tarmac bubbles…it was that hot 🥵 🌞

Catching ‘tiddlers’ in a little ‘net on a stick’ in the river, putting them in a glass jar and giving them names. We released them back before we went home.

Ugly plastic sandals!

Child of the 70’s/80’s. Was totally covered in sun cream but only up to about factor 15. You couldn’t get anything stronger where we lived. I remember the excitement when mum found factor 25 in boots. I still burnt. I need factor 50.

In NI us children would go into the corner shop and ask for "two loose"

Think that was specifically a thread worm treatment - also came in a shocking 'strawberry' flavour - never could stomach anything banana or strawberry flavoured since.

We used to call them 'spats' they were cool in an ironic way for late teens in early 80s London - think I wore them with a grim navy pleated nylon skirt to complete the fashion catastophe. There was also a prettier ballet flat mesh plastic version - your feet got filthy.

Then there were flat 'granny sandals' that were fashionable for one summer - these were official very old lady sandals with a cross over twist front - our school banned them!

No...I think it was an antibiotic.

Edited to add...just had a google and apparently it was amoxicillin

I was hooked on Sons and Daughters 😁

Also Prisoner Cell Block H (I was adult by these times though).

Sweet cigarettes,
Trains full of smokers, in fact smoking was everywhere,
The introduction and navigation of decimalisation,
No such thing as McDonalds (in the UK),
Babies left in prams outside shops.

Not from the ice cream van but there was a paper shop near my school that sold single cigarettes for ten pence .

We had an Ice cream van park in the school yard every lunch time for the whole lunch hour so kids could get ice cream ,lollies, pop ,crisps etc
Imagine that these days mumsnet would explode!

Rainy caravan holidays.

My mum would leave baby in cot (under 1 year) having afternoon nap to take older kids to Dr in town - leave the back door unlocked and mention to neighbour to have a listen in after an hour...

Christ I remember the puking up from white lightening down the park!

Jelly shoes
Bike rides with no helmet (oops)
Playing in our local beck with friends
Annual trip to Whitby
Water fights
Birthday parties at the village hall
Findus crispy pancakes