Sledging in Sheffield when you were young

[25195348]

Was I the only one who forgot there was a bandstand there? When there'd been heavy snow it used to pile up against the top edge bringing it level with the slope & making it invisible from the top of the hill. Me & my two brothers had a good solid home-made wooden sledge with metal runners & were doing a fair lick when all of a sudden the ground disappeared from below us! There must have been a good 6ft drop at the other side of the bandstand. Needless to say we thought it were great fun - were we really fearless or just plain stupid?

 

I have to agree there were no boys, all men

[gumeracha]

Winter of 1947- Start off at Prince of Wales Methodist church,then sledge all the way down the middle of pow until you reached Pipwoth Rd school. Traffic was never a problem, vehicles couldn't match your speed. Another great ride was to start at the top of Fretson Road then go all the to bottom, straight across Motehall Rd onto the field then go down the Camel's hump. It was a bloody long walk back to do it all again. Only once tried the shelter tin down the Camel's hump, but a few days later the coppers came and took the tins away saying the some kids had been badly injured by tin which overturned. That winter went on forever, well so it seemed, but you forget the "hotaches", chillblanes and freezing wet feet when snow went down your wellingtons. All this was done wearing short trousers.

[25195348]

Winter of 1947- Start off at Prince of Wales Methodist church,then sledge all the way down the middle of pow until you reached Pipwoth Rd school. Traffic was never a problem, vehicles couldn't match your speed. Another great ride was to start at the top of Fretson Road then go all the to bottom, straight across Motehall Rd onto the field then go down the Camel's hump. It was a bloody long walk back to do it all again. Only once tried the shelter tin down the Camel's hump, but a few days later the coppers came and took the tins away saying the some kids had been badly injured by tin which overturned. That winter went on forever, well so it seemed, but you forget the "hotaches", chillblanes and freezing wet feet when snow went down your wellingtons. All this was done wearing short trousers.

 

The 1947 winter keeps coming up,I should imagine Prince of Wales road would be fantastic,that is one long road,I mentioned the short trousers as well, I think we were made of sturdy stuff in them days,you mention chillblanes I had a hole in right small toe because of that for a long time,you dont here of chillblanes these days,I think I read somewhere it was caused by a bad diet

[flightliner]

Firth park lad, we did it from the top of tideswell rd right down to the bottom which was a long long ride, no cars and no rd salt to melt the ice- it was really good.

Also in longley park from the top of the steep bank down to the open air baths. One year the lads had an ice slide by the side of the baths. I went down it on my own two feet and some idiot came up behind me on a sledge knocking me off my feet backwards:gag:.I woke up in the northern general having an x=-ray.

It must have knocked some sense into me cos later that year I came top of my class:loopy:

[Mr Pops]

Longley park ........

[25195348]

Firth park lad, we did it from the top of tideswell rd right down to the bottom which was a long long ride, no cars and no rd salt to melt the ice- it was really good.

Also in longley park from the top of the steep bank down to the open air baths. One year the lads had an ice slide by the side of the baths. I went down it on my own two feet and some idiot came up behind me on a sledge knocking me off my feet backwards:gag:.I woke up in the northern general having an x=-ray.

It must have knocked some sense into me cos later that year I came top of my class:loopy:

 

I do my shopping in Firth park,I remember sledging down that steep path in the park Itself where you can see the allotments,my eldest son and some of is pals went to the open air pool several times,I hope the X Ray did not come up with too many broken bones,I like the Flightliner name,the reason being I worked for Frieghtliner

[flightliner]

I do my shopping in Firth park,I remember sledging down that steep path in the park Itself where you can see the allotments,my eldest son and some of is pals went to the open air pool several times,I hope the X Ray did not come up with too many broken bones,I like the Flightliner name,the reason being I worked for Frieghtliner

 

Thats very kind of you to say so 25195348.No broken bones but I can still feel a tiny bump on the back of my head, incidentally, in my later working life I became a college lecturer:cool: so it must have done some good -- or maybe not:huh:, without the bump I may have got there earlier:hihi:!

[25195348]

Thats very kind of you to say so 25195348.No broken bones but I can still feel a tiny bump on the back of my head, incidentally, in my later working life I became a college lecturer:cool: so it must have done some good -- or maybe not:huh:, without the bump I may have got there earlier:hihi:!

 

You might say it was a lucky bump

[gumeracha]

G'Day 251953348, thank you for the comment re chilblains. Never knew it was a dietary problem, we always blamed it on the cold. Haven't given the ailment a thought in the past 40+ years in Aus, for us a daytime minimum temperature in the height of winter of 10C/50F is cold enough to get a write up in the local press.

[25195348]

G'Day 251953348, thank you for the comment re chilblains. Never knew it was a dietary problem, we always blamed it on the cold. Haven't given the ailment a thought in the past 40+ years in Aus, for us a daytime minimum temperature in the height of winter of 10C/50F is cold enough to get a write up in the local press.

 

I think I got it wrong about the bad diet, I looked it up and it was suggested it as a mild form of frostbite