Win a Roberts radio and a copy of The Double Dangerous Book for Boys *NOW CLOSED*

I live in a village, which has a lovely wood. I remember fondly our exciting games of hide and seek in all the trees.

I think I got more of my beloved grand fathers time and attention than my 2 female cousins! (I was brought up mainly by my grandparents)

I was always a bit of a tomboy, and remember asking for (and getting) a set of woodworking tools for my 10th birthday. (I had the hammer for many years into adulthood, used it for putting up pictures)

My cousins had dolls and outfits for them, when I did have a dolls pram, I used to force the cat into it!

So, the activity I remember most fondly was spending time with my grampy, in his shed, messing around with tools and bits of wood!

I can still bring to mind the smell of that shed! and remember clearly some of the things in there.

I loved my Barbie doll and would spend many hours making clothes for her using scraps of material left over from Mums dress making.

I had twin dolls, Janet and Jean, and I looked after them as though they were real babies. My biggest thrill was taking them walks in my twin pram. My other favourite pastime was '2 balls' which involved throwing 2 balls to various rhymes in a juggling fashion against the house brick wall.

My brothers and myself used bricks, chicken mesh (from our garden) and coal (from by the railway) to make a fire. In an old saucepan, we melted down old lead soldiers and poured it into arrow head shaped moulds made from clay, (dug from field). Willow stems were used for the arrow shafts and bows made from yew or rose wood, string was liberated from father's garden shed. Don't recall we got as far as using the bows and arrows, but enjoyed making them!

I loved Knitting Nancy, a doll shaped cotton reel with pins in the top to wind wool round and create a long tube of knitting to make into things, also known as French Knitting I think. I am sure this is what started my interests in Crafts.

I fondly remember going across the fields on a crisp morning picking mushrooms with my father and brother and the taking them home for a fantastic breakfast cooked by my mother. Nothing these days tastes as good

I loved my etch a sketch and my tress doll. I would sit for hours combing her long hair and it became longer when you pulled it out! Happy times then and lovely memories.

I used to love building Airfix model kits, sometimes with my dad and sometimes with my Uncle Bert. One Christmas we worked on a model of a Chinese Junk.

Paper dolls and designing clothes for them. I should have become a fashionable lady but somehow it didn't happen!

I loved playing cards with my nan ( she did say I cheated. No surely not! )
I also had a big brown bear with short curly fur. I loved him so much and would go to sleep holding his nose, well it just grew longer and longer.

Climbing trees, helping milk cows and motor all steering the tractor siting on my Dad's lap. I truly thought I was driving it.

Myself and a few mates used to enjoy 'tracking', where one sets off and leaves clues, usually arrows scribed on the ground with a stick, great fun.

I'm another one who loved playing Chinese Checkers, with my grandad.

Another game that my grandad devised for us - when we went out in his car, we would lie down on the back seat and have to guess where we were in relation to getting home, by what we could see e.g. trees. The first one (there were 3 of us) who recognised that we were close to home, would sit up and be declared the winner.

(By way of explanation, we lived with my grandparents until I was about 9 years old, after my excuse for a father scarpered).

Going off with friends on my bike with a picnic

My favourite activity was to play the piano. I had lessons from when I was 6.
After a stressful day at school I liked to sit and play and it helped me unwind.
We sound quite a posh family reading the above, but actually we lived in a tiny rented house with no bathroom. My Dad played the piano for Strip clubs in London, hence we had a piano at home and he was keen for me to play (only not for the lovely ladies) and found the money for my lessons.

Playing rounders at school, hide and seek in the garden,climbing trees and building dens,sledging down the golf course slopes.Fond memories of a happy childhood with freedom to roam.A wonderful time.

Taddying! Collecting tadpoles in the swampy fields near my primary school. A small bucketful of frog spawn would come home with me to be put into an old washing up bowl and watched as the tiny creatures grew tails and legs. It doesn't sound a very pc activity now and sadly the fields became a housing estate by the time I went to secondary school.

Monopoly every time.

Elastic Twist.. if you had no partner you could tie it to a lampost or something similar.

Also Tin Can where you place a tin in the middle of some spare land(or dead end street in those days, no cars)

Someone would come and kick the tin and you all had to hide, one person would be the finder.If you managed to kick the tin without being seen or caught, it was your turn to place the can and count.

'Elastics' with my girlfriends in the playground at school.

My dad used to take me and my sister on long walks every Sunday , my mum was so busy as my gran and two cousins lived with us so this was our special dad time. He was so knowledgable about nature pointing out all the different trees and berries; h
This love of nature has stayed with me and there’s nothing I love more than a nature walk especially in autumn ?

Playing cribbage and canasta with my granddad and “helping” him in the garden and greenhouse taking fuschia cuttings

Etch a Sketch! Had hours of fun playing with this - happy memories

Playing monopoly with my dad and sisters. I always won!