I saw this on another site - a music one actually - but it was so good I had to share it, lads. Ring any bells? Resonate any resonances?! We didn’t know these were the good old days. We thought this was just how things were. A quiet room, a record spinning, time moving slower than it ever would again. Music wasn’t background noise. It was something you sat with. You stared at the walls, the ceiling, your future. Nothing needed to be shared. Nothing needed to be captured. You were present because there was nowhere else to be. Looking back, it wasn’t perfect. But it was honest. And sometimes that’s what makes something unforgettable... ...and because this is your Atari Owner forum, the passion we still hold dear today was largely nurtured because you or your mates had one of these in sat in its box in another corner of your bedroom - or waiting for Corrie/World of Sport to finish to plug in under yer parents big box telly from Granada Rentals! Comments, please - and no SELFIES!!
Andy, is that picture of your bedroom today? My favourite things from the seventies were all based around the weekend when there was no school. Swap Shop on a Saturday morning, Saint & Greavsie on the telly at lunchtime. Then in the evening it would be settling down to watch Jim'll Fix It on TV. Maybe play a couple of my Gary Glittler singles and do a bit of art out of my Rolf Harris sketch book (suitable for ages up to 10). It was a much more innocent time back then, yes indeedy.
Groomed from an early age But, at least by the masters of their game... Blue Peter badge for you.. I didn't watch a lot of TV then I, was normally down in what we called, The Cage, a wire enclosed footy pitch (Smallish, more 5 a side size.All the local lads used it for every game possible. By mid 70's I was Mr Comic Collector and really in to photography with my Zenith E. Did see Swap Shop and the usual folk on TV, but was more keen to go out, so saw TV on the days it was bad weather. Was into music, with a wide selection of styles, Reggae, Soul, disco, pop, some rock (Slade, some Sparks). Pretty much like most folk...
I remember getting a second-had Chopper knock-off back in '76 and being over the moon. I used to give my little brother piggy-back rides on it. It was a proper heat wave that year all the grass in Aycliffe was yellow and the ground was cracked. It seemed to go on forever. I know the Mr Whippy ice cream van made a fortune that year - even the adults were waiting for him. The other memory that stands out is getting a VCS 2600 for Xmas and spending all day playing space invaders.
My mate had an Italian chopper rip off, looked a bit naff. I just had a generic / mongrel 3 speed bike, but it got me to Southend from the East End of London. I almost feel like I know the year you were talking about. Think it was same year I did the ride to Southend with mates, came back scorched red, but loved the ride.
Yeah it was insanely hot for a long time that year. I also remember getting a USS Enterprise model kit later that year which I spent the Winter making. Do you remember any of the Ice Lollies they made back then. I remember one called Dracula which had a blackcurrent outer and inside was a strawberry gel which was quite runny ( just like blood ) there was also a Doctor Who lolly that was Chocolate & Mint flavoured. I can also recall one that had a perforated plastic stick and when you used a pencil to trace out the perforations it was a code you had to solve. It's crazy I can remember with minute detail things from 1976 or 1980 but I will forget things that happened an hour ago or yesterday.
Now you mention the lollies I do remember them, but only because of your prompt. I used to love the old Dracula lolly. Also from the old ice cream van, an oyster shell. The local shop had these little square peach melba desert, only small but frozen, they had the little cream swirls on top, lovely. I also was brought a NCC 1701 model, it was amazing, sadly my old man decided to build it for me..GIT.. It's that model that got me in to making models, I brought Cylon ships, Interceptor Angels, the big old Saturn V model and loads more like the Phantom RAF fighter. As for the memory, snap..Same here..
1976 was a great summer. I was only four but still remember being down in Portsmouth and how warm it was. I had a little bike at the time and the wheels were covered in ladybugs. The heat had led to an infestation. Just realised that when I go back to Porstmsouth this year, that'll be the 50th Anniversary of the sumer of '76 I'd love it to be like that weather again!
I never had a Raleigh Chopper, but did have a Budgie, the smallest version of it (Tomahawk was the model in between). Everyone seemed to have one of those at the time, then we all moved on to BMX Burners
