What were you impressed with as a child that your DGC would laugh it now ?

Two weeks in a caravan, on a site with three swings and a slide as entertainment.
In the rain.

I loved reading my granny's Womans Weekly!
When we went to her house she always had Corona cherryade and a box of dairylea triangles. Heaven 😋

I lived in Liverpool and as a kid a trip to the beach was a ferry to New Brighton or a train to West Kirby or Southport All of which had promenades
A forest was Delamere or Formby
When I was about ten my auntie, who lived in Plymouth, moved to a house big enough to put us up for a holiday. It seems incredibly naive now but I stood on a beach with a forest behind and could not believe what I was looking at.

My grannie got a tv so we could watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. We, family and neighbours all gathered in her sitting room, sitting on chair arms, the floor etc once the 2 chairs and sofa were filled with people.
The tv was so posh, it had doors that you opened when switched it on

SunnySusie

We adored shop bought cakes which were only allowed as a very special treat on the grounds of cost. My absolute favourite was Kunzle Showboats. Does anyone else remember them? They were individual cakes with a chocolate outer shell and sponge in the middle. We were allowed them on camping holidays, along with something called Cremola Foam, which was a powder mixed into water to make a fizzy drink.

Are you in Scotland, Susie? I’m Glaswegian and I have such fond memories of both these brands; nobody else seems to remember Kunzle Showboats, they were the epitome of sophisticated luxury!

Probably around 1962 - my Dad brought home a jar of peanut butter. The rest is history- can’t live without it!

Casdon

I was in the Brownies, and Brown Owl gave us all a shell for Christmas which we were to put in a glass. Over the next few days the glue softened, the shell opened, and a paper flower floated up. I thought it was the best thing ever. I doubt a child now would even give it a glance.

It sounds wonderful. Like the pen my teacher showed me with a little boat bobbin up and down inside it.

Strange how nothing is of value and everything is instant.

I was in the Brownies, and Brown Owl gave us all a shell for Christmas which we were to put in a glass. Over the next few days the glue softened, the shell opened, and a paper flower floated up. I thought it was the best thing ever. I doubt a child now would even give it a glance.

watermeadow

My father’s camera. He took countless pictures in black and white then developed and printed them in his darkroom. The process was like magic.
When my children were young films and processing them were expensive and most of my efforts were poor.
My grandchildren know only the miracle of endless excellent photographs taken by their phones and instantly shared.

My dad did the same - and later taught me how to develop photos. It was like magic watching the images appear.

We were not that well off but my dad liked to keep ahead of new ideas.

In 1966 when I was ten he bought my sister and I electric blankets. What unimaginable luxury! I was always cold and later found it was due to my having Reynaud’s Syndrome. To be warm in bed was heaven.

Having a colour tv (rented), then, quite a good while later, our own telephone. Both were quite a novelty when we first got them 😂.

I remember visiting a friend's Auntie's house in the early seventies.I was very impressed by the sight of two automatic washing machines side by side in the kitchen.I did puzzle why they needed two.I'd never heard of a tumble dryer.We only had a twin tub at home so I thought they must be incredibly rich.

I lived near London as a child. I was told that the Science Museum had a door which opened by itself when you walked towards it. I didn’t believe it and when we went I was scared to go through it - at first.

We adored shop bought cakes which were only allowed as a very special treat on the grounds of cost. My absolute favourite was Kunzle Showboats. Does anyone else remember them? They were individual cakes with a chocolate outer shell and sponge in the middle. We were allowed them on camping holidays, along with something called Cremola Foam, which was a powder mixed into water to make a fizzy drink.

My mother had a battery operated carving knife.

My Dad was a real petrol-head, he was an apprentice at David Brown (which built Aston Martin cars) before the war and I remember all his cars, the first was a Humber but i have only a vague memory of it. Then he got a Wolseley 444 which was black and shiny with leather seats. He also had a Land Rover Series 2 for driving through the desert to work on the oil rigs. We lived in Kuwait.

My father’s camera. He took countless pictures in black and white then developed and printed them in his darkroom. The process was like magic.
When my children were young films and processing them were expensive and most of my efforts were poor.
My grandchildren know only the miracle of endless excellent photographs taken by their phones and instantly shared.

Powdered ‘lemonade’ and orangeaid that came in a little tin.
It was Eiffel Tower brand, you took a teaspoonful of the powder and added it to a glass of water. It fizzed a bit, like alka-seltzer, but apart from that it was pretty much just citric acid and yellow food colouring.

Tights!
Childhood in winter was knee-length socks that stayed up if you were lucky, no long trousers for boys at primary school and no trousers at all for girls.

My Dad using a blow lamp.
Wearing wigs in my teens.
Going to Sunday school.

A walk talkie doll was very impressive to me and one with washable hair!

Later DH renting a TV with Ceefax.
And the first Sinclair Spectrum computer.

Being sent to the corner shop by my mum to buy a penny Oxo cube
Party line telephones-sharing with next door
Being hit in junior school with a ruler for not being able to thread a needle with my right hand (I'm left handed!)

Going to the chippy for a penny bag of "scratchings." These were the bits of batter that had fallen of the fish, etc.. Imagine my disappointment when new owners took over and didn't know what I was talking about!
Also little sachets of Spree drink which you diluted with water. After school we would buy them and drink them "neat."

I was 10 when I got my first fountain pen along with all my classmates at primary school. It was an Osmiroid. I loved that pen!

My big brother was in the merchant navy when I was about 6 years old. He brought back from his travels a stereo record play. The speakers were the lid that split in two. He had each of them on a long wire on opposite sides of the room. It had the stacking record spindle where the records dropped down to the turntable. He had the Elvis single Teddy Bear and played it at 78rpm and told me it was the Chipmonks singing. Prior to that I had only ever seen a wind up Gramophone