Do you know, I've completely forgotten how much spending money I got as a kid. I've no idea. I must have had some money because I sent off Postal orders for mail order stuff, unless of course my Mum got them for me. I just dunno.
So, maybe your powers of recall are better than mine and you can remember how much spending money you got as a kid readers?
Half a crown a week!
ReplyDeleteOne pound per week for mowing our lawns. A pound seemed to go a long way back then?
ReplyDeleteHalf a crown, that's two shillings a sixpence I think ain't it Kev? What could that get you? TV21 and a bag of sherbert?
ReplyDeleteAs for a pound a week Tony, that amounts to personal wealth! ha ha. What did you buy with your pound [note?].
I honestly don't remember what I spent it on. I didn't get comics until countdown. I may have bought Spacex toys but Mum used to get me things like that. Dad never did the actual buying, he still doesn't!
DeleteI know I bought postal orders to send of to Ellisdons joke mail order. I still have the stubs! Mums were always good at buying stuff. Mine used to get me a triple pack of walnut whips from up town on Saturday after work [she worked in Preston centre at a clothes shop]. I recall the whips being from BHS or Owen and Owen but I know that virtually the same triple pack is on sale at M&S, 'cos my Missus gets me some every Christmas now!
DeleteHi Woodsy, Always comics, as well as books and old paperback novels from a sadly long gone second hand book shop called Swap-It. I spent many a cold wet winters Saturday afternoon tucked up amongst the well worn pages of that magical old shop. I'd also save for horror and sci fi related things, although for larger toys, I'd have to patiently wait for Christmas to arrive. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed you bought paperbacks second hand as kid. That came later for me. Mu Mum got my books when I was a nipper and boy did I love books. Like a total saddo I have tried to get back every book I once owned. Not the actual one I had but a second hand [or third or fourth!] copy. Sixties and Seventies stuff like Collins, Hamlyn, Armada. I have some Kung Fu paperbacks which I love, as well as Armada ghost stories. Happy Days. Swap-It sounds like Shangri-La!
DeleteMy Mum taught me to read before I went to school. I still have the actual storybook that she used!
DeleteTwo lovely memories I have about Swap-It, are the musty welcoming smell of old books, and an ancient glowing two bar electric fire which sat near the owners chair. I think it's great that you're trying to rediscover old books from earlier years. As well as good stories, I'm sure they contain fond memories of the times when they were read.
ReplyDeleteNow there's another blast from the past Woodsy - As a kid I had the 1st Armada Ghost Book. It was one of those childhood books that has stayed in my memory. Mostly because I found the book's green cover art very unsettling. The crooked old haunted house was one thing, but I felt a particular unease towards the large terrifying face which seemed to shriek at me. I vaguely remember one story being set in a school. I'm sorry, can't recall the details, but I'm sure it frightened me at the time. I don't think much has changed - I'm still a total cowardly custard for things that go bump in the night.