Playtime and Weaponry

A sandpit in the garden was a real treat. My father is very practical and made me many toys and play areas. This is probably the first (and he still has the hammer!)







With no TV to distract us, and no worries about child molesters, we were free to roam about the countryside from an early age. The best play involved making dens or shelters in the woods, which meant a lot of muddy digging and the collection of large quantities of corrugated iron and timber. Another favourite was swinging on a rope suspended from a tree, over a perilous drop with barbed wire at the bottom. We always carried knives - graduating from penknives to sheath knives, and every stick that came into our hands had to be sharpened. Guns featured prominently in outdoor play and we all had arsenals of plastic and metal replicas that fired caps or just went click. The same weapons were used whether we played cowboys, gangsters or soldiers.

When it rained, I read avidly. Enid Blyton soon gave way to Biggles, Willard Price and The Hardy Boys. Paul reminded me of the "Look and Learn" weekly. When I was smaller I played with Britain's farm and zoo animals, and later I had an impressive train set that took up much of the bedroom (Hornby vs. Tri-ang was a heated debate). I had a Meccano construction set but I probably had more fun with Beta-Builder, the failed competitor to Lego at the time. But as I mentioned earlier my real love was Airfix kits. There was even an Airfix Magazine for boys as obsessed as I was. Every toy shop stocked a good range and most kids had a go, although some were more gluey fingered than others. I think the main difference between my childhood and that of my own children was that very little was organised for us, we had to make our own play, use our own imaginations and make do with what we had. Happy times though.