What do you miss from your childhood?

Abbafan1972

Jellynailer said:

The newsagents in my street;  and the corner shop round the corner (although not its owner who used to put his hand up my skirt ) = early1950s;  saturday morning children's cinema; playing hopscotch on the pavement so adults walked in the road rather than mess up our chalk markings.

You saying about the newsagents - used to love a 10p mix up of sweets - great when we had the half pence piece as well. 

Eco_Miser

What do I miss? Smog, smoking chimneys, clouds of industrial pollution in various colours, busy industry in 3 of the 4 cardinal directions, steam trains on ungated level crossings, a scarcity of trees and grass, an insufficiently protected clay pit, victorian schools, corporal punishment, long terraced streets, air-raid shelters nearly blocking the back alleys, pre-fabs where the bombs had landed. Would I like any of that back? No thanks. Well, maybe some of the busy industry, updated to modern standards.

Yes, I walked alone to and from school from age 5 (1955), crossing an A road on the way, then from age 11 took a trolley-bus to the more distant grammar school, or walked and saved the bus fare, especially coming home.

I can't remember most of the sweets mentioned up-thread, but there are now specialist 'heritage' sweet shops cashing in on nostalgia, so you can probably get them, but not at the prices you remember.

Savvy_Sue

When the boys were young, I badly missed crunching leaves underfoot in autumn. There was none of the satisfaction I used to enjoy, and I couldn't work out why.

Then we moved from a small town to a big city,  and suddenly, there it was again!

We'd had the wrong kind of leaves. Now we were back with the plane trees from my London childhood. 

Been crunching again today! Loving it.

Albermarle

What do I miss? Smog, smoking chimneys, clouds of industrial pollution in various colours, busy industry in 3 of the 4 cardinal directions, steam trains on ungated level crossings, a scarcity of trees and grass, an insufficiently protected clay pit, victorian schools, corporal punishment, long terraced streets, air-raid shelters nearly blocking the back alleys, pre-fabs where the bombs had landed. Would I like any of that back? No thanks. Well, maybe some of the busy industry, updated to modern standards

No rose tinted glasses here 

However you missed out, outside toilets and no bathrooms.
Although I revisited that scenario as a student !

Eco_Miser

Albermarle said:

What do I miss? Smog, smoking chimneys, clouds of industrial pollution in various colours, busy industry in 3 of the 4 cardinal directions, steam trains on ungated level crossings, a scarcity of trees and grass, an insufficiently protected clay pit, victorian schools, corporal punishment, long terraced streets, air-raid shelters nearly blocking the back alleys, pre-fabs where the bombs had landed. Would I like any of that back? No thanks. Well, maybe some of the busy industry, updated to modern standards

No rose tinted glasses here 

However you missed out, outside toilets and no bathrooms.
Although I revisited that scenario as a student !

I was never sure whether the rose tint was from the haematite crusher or the brickworks.

I just forgot the outside toilets, with the tiny paraffin heater in winter to keep the cistern from freezing.

The older housing pre-dated the installation of sewers, so had earth closets.

I must have been lucky, all my residences have had bathrooms, of sorts.

silverwhistle

Energy....

DasTechniker

Coming home from school on a winters afternoon and a simple tea of toast and cheese toasted on a wire fork in front of the back room fire. My eyes are filling up now.