Getting up to mischief as a lad!!

[Allen]

Way back as a lad in the 50s I was always on the lookout for something to keep me entertained,no matter if it got me into trouble as long as it was fun and of course cost me nowt!.One of my favourite pastimes was playing in the lifts and outwitting the caretaker at Bradfield Road flats,I used to go up and down over and over again driving the poor bloke out of his head!.Every now and then he caught me giving me a clip round the ear and promising all kinds of dreadful torture,I would give him my faithful promise not to do it again!.But as soon as he was out of sight off I would go again until I got fed up and would wander off on the lookout for something else to get me into trouble,our old boy spent that much time collecting me from Hammerton Road nick that he was invited to the annual dinner dance,thats what he told my mother anyway!.Thinking back if I had a child like I was in those days I think I would strangle him for sure!.:hihi:

Back in the 50's I lived on regent court flats.

Those lifts had an outer door opened with a handle and then a sliding gate.

If you opened the gate from the inside when between floors the lift stopped and you could discover a small ledge by sticking your arm through the small gap between the lift and the lift shaft.

It was the ideal hiding place for hiding my cigarettes that I daren't let dad know I was smoking at such a young age.

It's taken 60 years, but I now have a suspect for the thieving tow rag that kept nicking them.

[Kidorry]

We used to ring the bell for the lift in the Wicker for the Victoria station,when we were at the top, then dash down the steps as it was coming up.The lift attendant was not amused.

[soft ayperth]

Another bit of bother I got myself into was in the Hillsborough Park area committing one of my favourite pastimes scrumping,as you make your way from the paddling boat lake towards Penistone Road on your right are a row of back gardens!.In one was a magnificent apple tree which received a lot of attention from the scruffy little nerks in the area myself among them!.On the day I paid a visit the very nasty short tempered gentleman living there outwitted me and stood at the bottom of the tree whilst I was aloft helping myself to his fruit!.He shouted up at me describing what he was going to do to me on my descent,I didn,t fancy this much so I told him to "Bugger off I,m not coming down!".We had a standoff for quite a long while when he said "Right I,m calling the police!",and stormed off into the house,I was down the tree like a shot and over the wall,Sebastion Coe couldn,t have caught me!.Phew another close call escaped to be a nuisance to somebody else!.

 

Scrumping. Where Stradbroke School sits (I remember it being built in 1953), there used to be an apple orchard. We used to go in there. Also, in the back gardens of houses in Handsworth that bordered Smelter Wood. I'm sure those apples were either crabapples or hadn't ripened, because they were as sour as hell and we all used to get stomach cramps after eating them. But we carried on doing it. And enjoyed the chases when angry homeowners would see us.