Some small thing you longed for as a child, but never got. 🙁

Books! My neighbour took her children to the library and I was so envious of the books they brought home. I didn't realise I could join the library until I was about eleven. It was life changing.

Be careful what you wish for!!
I desperately wanted a baby sister . I saved up milk bottle tops for months to pay the fairies for the baby😱 I was so disappointed- the fairies had gotten my order wrong - it was a very noisy, attention grabbing baby boy - the fairies never responded to my request for a refund!!!

A small fluffy toy dog I saw on one of the many, seaside shops selling similar stuff in those days.
We were on holiday in Blackpool it was hot 🌞 …and so much nicer then, but I “maintained” a massive sulk (which is far harder to do than it sounds) the length and breadth of the entire seafront - because mum and dad wouldn’t buy me one.

They didn’t seem to notice even but I “held on” until we went down to the sands with flask and sandwiches and dad “ruined” it by trying to make me laugh.
I did eventually get the toy before we went home.
Hard bodied little thing it was, and *not a patch^ on the gorgeous soft toys you get now…..but I really really wanted it 🐶.

Witzend and Dannirae I remember the Kennards Arcade, too! I loved going there and I seem to recall that they had enclosures with other animals, but I can’t remember what animals they were.

Beddington Park also offered sixpenny pony rides.

The coffee shop may have been Wilsons? There was one in Purley, too. Oh, that heavenly smell…!

I have a fringe and a wart!
I bet you're jealous now.

Please tell us why you wanted a wart!

That's made my day.

A brother or sister
When I got a bit older a fringe never allowed and a wart!!!
( don’t ask )

I wanted a big pair of Wellington boots.

I had to wear a stupid little red pair of ankle wellies, because my mum said my legs were too scraggy for big ones.

I suspect it was in case I got mud anywhere.

I just wanted a ‘ big present’ at Christmas. My parents had not much money, so I received a number of small presents, a colouring book, a jigsaw, a hair ribbon etc, all of which were lovely, but back at school when everyone else named a ‘ big present’ I had nothing like that to name. I wasn’t a child who lied.

Friends

I’ve just remembered badly wanting the Telstar record at about 14 - I dropped a mass of hints before Christmas but it never did appear. 🙁

Oh, when I first worked in care, many years ago, I met quite a lot of ladies who had worked in Lyons as waitresses.

Nippies, they told me they were called, and all of them said they'd enjoyed working there.

DanniRae

Hi Witzend ........ Were the ponies you longed to have ride on in an arcade in Croydon? I think the arcade I am thinking of was in a shop called Kennards. We used to visit Croydon every week and if I was lucky we would eat in Lyons ..... now Macdonalds.... and I would have pie and chips with gravy on it!

Yes, it was in Croydon - we lived in Purley, so a bus ride away, no car then. We had a massive leather shopping bag known as the Singapore bag, since my father had bought it there during WW2 (he was RN).

In or near that arcade I also remember there was always a very strong smell of coffee - there was evidently a shop where they roasted coffee beans.

There was a pet shop in that arcade where after much longing, and gazing into the window, I was eventually allowed to have one of the little tortoises I had never actually asked for, thinking it was futile.
Astonishing, since he cost 4/6d! The assistant just put him (Timmy) in a brown paper bag!

Ballet lessons, a Tressy (her..hair…grows!!), a pair of those glittery pink plastic high heels and a baby brother. In that order.

I got tap lessons (ballet was miles away), much more interesting toys, kept my ankles intact and just had the one big sister. I did quite well really.

A scooter. All my friends had them but I was never lucky enough to get one.

Mizuna

Not content with wanting one sister I wanted five and had names for them all! 😂

My son had the same dream Mizuna, and he named them too - Andy, Randy, Dandy, Sandy and Mandy. No idea where he got the names, but for about 5 years he pestered- we still tease him about it.

Not content with wanting one sister I wanted five and had names for them all! 😂

Not sure if this fits the topic but...I received a bicycle for my 10th birthday and since then, I have always had a bike. I have always wanted one of those little straw baskets to put on the front but have been unable to get one. Now at last I have one...bought in the childrens section of Halfords.

Well the obvious one was a pony - which I never got. Although once I had a Saturday job I was able to afford lessons.

The small thing I always wanted was book tokens. I read all the time and could rarely afford to buy books. I was given a book token once but I would have liked more instead of the rather boring presents I was sometimes given.

I always wanted a tambourine like the salvation army had. I used to follow them around, longing to join in by shaking my tambourine, but mum never bought me one.

I did have a pony (but not riding lessons), when I was about 12/13 I got fixated on riding her to Wales (about a 2 day ride), camping out overnight, I had a pony friend who wanted to come too. We were never allowed - I still think it would have been a brilliant adventure!

This thread has really prompted memories, maybe too many!
At 4 I had a lovely tricycle, build as sturdily as a bicycle. When I was too big for it it was sold for £5 to my aunt for my cousin. I assumed I would get a twowheeler bicycle but had a scooter which I loved until I outgrew it at 10. At 13 I asked again about a bicycle, too dangerous. At 7 I was very excited that I was going to be given a much older cousin’s clockwork train set and Meccano (which I had used) then someone in the family said of course neither was suitable for a girl. Then I longed for a chemistry set or microscope, got neither. I did have a puppy for a few months but ‘Peter’ turned out to be ‘Peggy’ and went to live on a farm - that may even be true as she was a lovely Welsh sheepdog and there were farms nearby. The ‘net over taffeta’ party dress somehow became a Royal Stuart tartan taffeta two piece. My long hair had to be in tangly bunches, never plaits and fringes were ‘common’ - by 15 I had a fringe and ponytail á la Bardot.
I loved reading but had few books as I might catch something from public library books, what a thrill to see and use the school library at 11.
All a long time ago and I’m sure my parents did what seemed right (to my mother usually) at the time!

A Barbie doll, I had a Sindy but my cousin had a Barbie and she seemed so much more glamorous than my Sindy.
And ballet lessons, my parents couldn’t afford them for myself and my sister.

A blond Sindy.

Candles in the shape of altar boys I used to stand for ages looking at them in the shop window.