Whatever happened ?

Whatever happened ?

 

Whatever happened to ………….

Locking door chains to prevent intruders.

Rapping schoolmates knuckles with your rulers

Polished  shoes with cardboard in the soles.

To stop the water slipping through the holes

 

Football in the street till late at night

Dog shit on the pavement that was white.

Dads keeping pigeons in the shed.

Grandad and the ferret in his bed.

 

Football cards and bazooka bubble gum

Knocking on house doors then off we’d run.

Hoola hoops and skateboards whizzing by.

Paper planes launched into the sky.

 

Bows and arrows just like Robin hood.

Dads and Grandads going to the pub.

Chip shop dinners on a Friday night.

Tellys that were only black and white.

 

Cowboy suits and guns that fired caps

Tassels on the waistcoats and the hats.

Parka coats and Dr Marten boots.

Feathered hair cuts coloured at the roots.

 

Dancing to the sound of Northern soul

Working men queuing for their dole

Punk rockers and a new wave underground

Riots in our cIties and our towns.

 

We had the day off school when we were sick.

A Lucozade or Horlicks did the trick.

And just as we were feeling on the up.

Our Mum would chop an egg up in a cup.

The scientists still can’t comprehend.

How a mug of ovum made you mend.

You ‘ll never see a GP writing up

A prescription for a boiled egg in a cup.

 

Milk floats rattling up the street.

Policemen walking  on their beat.

Rag and bone men shouting out their tune.

And every child was given a balloon.

 

A party pack of seven pints of ale.

In a tin you had to open with a nail.

Baby cham and bottles of Blue Nun.

Guaranteed your party would be fun.

 

Conkers in the playground on a string

Assemblies where everyone must sing.

A visit and a note from the nit nurse.

When given to your Mother, made her curse.

Ginny Greenteeth and the Bogey man

Were stories that were told to us by Gran.

All these things and more I sometimes miss.

When I take the time to reminisce.

.For time will never lead me there again.

To visit long gone family and friends.

To take another peek at what we did.

To happy times when I was a kid.