1950's Childhood.

I've just looked up about Lobby Lud, and it was £5 - and you had to be able to show him your copy of the News Chronicle to claim your reward/

Many of my 50s memories centre round the beach, as we lived near the sea and spent all our hols at my gran's near Exmouth.

I remember the donkey rides and the roundabout on the beach. And also the chidren's activities that were sponsored by the comics Robin/Swift/Eagle/Girl. They each roped off sections of beach and had games and songs and sandcastle competitions. I imagine such activities would now be difficult to arrange because of all the safeguarding procedures and parental permissions etc. But back then, Mum and Dad were more than happy to shovel us into the enclosure and stroll off to read and sunbathe.

And I remember Lobby Ludd - the News Chronicle promised ?£50 if you spotted this character wandering the prom - you had to go up to him and say "You are Lobby Lud and I claim my £50." Presumably you had to buy the News Chronicle in order to know what Lobby Ludd looked like. We never did win £50, but my Dad was always on the lookout.

Oh yes, equally awful.
Although I suppose the ruched ones didn't sag so much!

I have an old knitting pattern for one of those swimsuits (should put that on the 'hoarding' thread )

Knitted swimming costumes that sagged down to your knees when they got wet, so you walked like a penguin. And do you remember those "ruched" swimming costumes?

Apparently it boomed when coming back and decelerating as well - I always thought it was on acceleration, so perhaps one going out and one coming back!

Perhaps it was twice a day whitewave, and I didn't notice the first one (noisy children!)

I remember that sound too - a huge bang.

I also lived near a factory where they tested aircraft engines and the screeching sound was unbelievable.

My memories of the breaking sound barrier are from the 50s, when I was at grammar school at Ecclesfield, near Sheffield, so yes, they did do it over land quite a lot.

Yes! We were also in Devon but I thought it was at 3.30

It was a double boom boom if I remember correctly

Oh Yes!! We lived in Devon at the time (it must have been the 70s then) and it was as regular as clockwork every evening at 10pm. They were not supposed to break the sound barrier when travelling near land - but they always did!
Then we moved near to Heathrow and the sound of Concorde taking off was just deafening.

Anybody remember the deafening BOOM! whenever a plane broke the sound barrier?

My mother used to say "It's them Russians - they've got a weather machine!" Perhaps the sputniks were their weather machine!!

Whenever there was a spell of prolonged bad weather, people would blame the sputniks, believing they caused havoc with the weather.

Annual Brownie outing to Culzean Castle where we played hide and seek among the rhododendrons.
Trips with granny and aunt up the Firth of Clyde to Rothesay, Arran or Big Cumbrae; days out in Largs; aunt teaching me to ride a bike before I got one for 9th birthday.

There was a boating lake and a model railway at Alton Towers - and those lovely gardens and pagoda.

Collecting and swapping PG tips cards (have I said that already?)
Playing with mercury on the bench in the science lab

Did any southerners go to dreamland at Margate? That was the old one, not the more "exciting" revamped one. It was a great day out together with a donkey ride on the beach.
On an earlier post I mentioned collecting silver paper which we used to smooth out with our nails. That was at primary school, so more late 40s I suppose.
At some point we also collected labels from triangular cheeses. My brother collected cigarette cards.
Primary school teachers smoking a pipe in the classroom (male ones)!
And ditto throwing a heavy blackboard duster at inattentive children!!

Yes; I went there back then. All I can remember about it were lots of flowers and a pagoda.

We used to go to Alton Towers on Sunday School trips (before it was a theme park!)

Sunday school trips - if you had attended regularly - sandwiches, buns in a bag and usually eaten in a church hall somewhere because it was raining and blowing a gale but great fun. Going there on a bus!

Country dancing, and dancing around the maypole on May Day with flowers in the girls' hair. Banging into the boys to put them off.

Liberty Bodices with rubber buttons
Eating the burnt crust from the bread
Running through autumn leaves

First flight to Egypt to join father who was posted there
Sand and camels
Bombs dropping in Port Said
Long sea trip to Malaya
Sun and sea and wonderful new adventures
Lots of new schools
Lots of new friends

I remember going out to tea as a child and it always being assumed that you would drink tea. I also hated being offered ham sandwiches because I didn't like any fat at all and my mother said it was too rude to open the sandwich, look and remove!

I loved dripping on toast- my favourite tea. I haven't had it since.

I do remember dripping on toast I really loved that for supper lol if you even showed me some dripping I would throw up I'm sure of that.lol