Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

well they do say that King Henry VIII was always at heart a good catholic and the high church of England does mimic the RC church with the exception of the cult of Mary!!

Later in life I became a lay preacher with the Church of Christ a much more focused church on the real thing compared to the above two mentioned!!

I was once strolling 'long the beach here with an old friend - staunch RC and he asked me where I worshiped - I told him Church of Christ - his reply was quite amusing - "that's a strange name for a church" !!!!!

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

I used to love the old Tom Swifties.


“I’m losing my hair” Tom bawled. “And I have a split personality” said John being Frank. “It’s a dogs life” Tom barked. “Yes, we’ve only enough carpet for the landing and hall” said John with a blank stare. “I need a pencil sharpener” said Tom bluntly, “Well it’s twelve noon” John chimed in, “Time to go”

Mad ain’t they.

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

The devil made me do it,” Tom implied...Mad maybe but nonetheless a clever use of words.

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

Corner Nostalgioso – Issue 6 continued

Social Life for Teens in the 50’s –part 3 contd


Most of the time we rode around the village like a modern day ‘bikie gang’, but during the long summer breaks one or two of the more adventurous ones would spread our wings for further climes. I remember once riding to Elsmere Port with a mate to see his grandparents, a good day’s ride in those days. I also rode from back to Liverpool on several occasions, now feeling like a seasoned traveler. So suddenly there were almost no limits, we could go whereever we liked as long as we could bed down for the night in some relatives place or get back home before midnight! All of this activity was of course health enhancing too, apart from the fags on the way!

The ride to the grammar school was not restricted to the summer months. We rode all year round, particularly me to keep the pocket money rolling. Despite, rain, snow and ice the wheels kept turning. We did of course acquire cycling wet gear, consisting of plastic trousers, hat and cape. These were often only available in yellow, probably the forerunner of the florescent clothing for cyclists. Cycling home from school on a warm summer’s evening was bliss. We usually headed across country rather than used the main roads. We meandered our way through the small country lanes. Along the way we would often stop to just mess about as boys do. I remember one particular incidence, when another mate had built a six inch cannon. He had a few ball bearings and had somehow acquired a supply of gunpowder (these things seemed easier to get in those days). So he decided to test it on the way home by a river bank for safety reasons probably ( I don’t think we could have hit a pike or perch!) But work it did. I was amazed and worried, this lad had a dangerous weapon in his hands. Guy Fawkes had been killed for no less.

Par for the cycling course was racing. I don’t think a day went by without all of us challenging each other each day to a race to and from school, no wonder we have great hearts today! [to be continued]

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

We did a fair bit of cycling in our youth, the 10 mile trip out to Dublin Airport being the most popular, plenty of narrow country roads on the way, Collinstown as it was known back then, we'd take a wrapped lunch with a bottle of milk and watch the planes take off and land all day long, we got a great kick out of that.

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

Someone mentioned art school in another thread today, it sparked off a sad memory for me.
I was once dared by another pupil to sketch what I thought a naked woman looked like when I was in class at school, I was ten or eleven at the time, there I was with my imagination in full swing when the master loomed up behind me, the game was up and I was hauled to the top of the class by the ear and this 'Dirty little git" (masters words) was given six of the best. There ended my art career.
Today enthusiasm like that would be encouraged and nourished to fruition instead of being battered to death at infancy, funny how times have changed.

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

And then there were girls! – I just know you’ve all been waiting for this exciting hormone packed episode! The innocent ‘good buddy’ years passed and the ‘testosterone kick start’ began. We knew of course the girls were there, but they did their thing and we did ours! But at some mysterious point in time that wasn’t heralded by a newspaper announcement or workshop presentation, and usually in spring time, the hunt was on.

It usually started with one of us, not all at once. One guy would ‘smell the scent’ (remember Al Pacino in “ The Scent of a Women”) will we thought of it first, and the rest would follow. So soon the gang of lads had started hanging out with the gang of girls. Non-verbal messages we sent and we mysteriously all paired off. But these were never to be long term relationships. These were the practice runs for the real disasters to come later!

But it was a new challenge, we had to learn how to speak a bit differently and not to swear so much and dress up a bit smarter some times. One of the favourite meeting places in those day of a formal and social nature was the Scout Club of course, which ran ‘rock and roll’ nights every Friday or Saturday night. My younger sister and I practiced our rock and roll steps until we could twist and swing with the best of them and then let loose on the club floor. All the girls invariable sat on one side of the room and the lads the other. Yes it really did happen like that not just in the American movies! So Fridays/Saturdays, were a time to dress up, put on the brylcream and aftershave, winklepicker shoes, blue jeans and strut your thung.

Peacocks in a barn house! But it was all good innocent fun, and no one seemed to get pregnant in those days, well at least no females. Apart from dancing, there were romantic country walks along canal banks and across farmers’ fields, with heavy petting under the oak trees, but still no pregnancies!! We were either slow learners in those days or more controlled! But this process did change the course of things. The courting rituals of course took us away from the lads get togethers and when we did get together it was more about discussing our recent conquests and bragging about the impossible!

School life was of course another avenue for romance, and all schools had become co-ed, which made it much easier, but more distracting too! There were several instances of the more ‘seriously romantic’ couples thwarted by the parents, eloping together for several weeks until tracked down and returned home. Most of us just looked on in amazement, this was seriously dangerous behaviour. How could a young lad be so bemused!

I’m sure many of the romances stood the test of time, and I know of one young couple who met at school, eventually married and I now correspond with regular in another state in Australia (no names no pack drills). We all had the same chances but some of us didn’t take them!! On average most of us would have had up to six ‘romances’ over a two year period. My six varied from meeting a girl at church, to neighbourhood friends and school. One of my school girlfriends lived a few towns away, so that entailed me cycling in all kind of weathers to meet.

Most of our time was spent walking along the canal walkways, which in those days seemed to be very quiet for most of the time, ideal for serious courting couples. Several years later after I had left home this particular girlfriend won a Rose Queen accolade. I can remember reading about it down south and thinking “wow missed a good one there!”

These early ‘romances’ were the training period for most of us, and we then turned to more serious things like motorbikes and leaving school and getting jobs. Many of my contemporaries including myself, developed careers, left home and it wasn’t until we were in our early to mid twenties that we got into romantic encounters of a different kind, and eventually got married. Living together with your girlfriend in the 50’s and 60’s was never an option; social norms did not permit this frivolous behaviour! So there you have it the rise and fall of the ‘testosterone period’.

Looking back, and with foresight, perhaps relationship workshops would have been useful so that young people could learn about the mysteries of the opposite sex. But we did it the hard way and many would say the more exciting way!

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

Well put GB, some Guys were interested in manipulating time to prolong this period, others could not wait to bugger off, with a replica of their Mothers.

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

yes some say that us guys are looking for a replica of mum and the girls of dad?

lookin back one girl could have been a relica of my ma and she would have only had to change ONE letter of her surname to be mine!!


Have you walked your life with meandering pace
Stopped and smelt the roses at each gate
Did you stop and talk, take some advice
Or was it just one frantic throw of the dice?

Did you sit and plan it carefully
Weighing up the pros and cons real neat
Or were you a ‘throw caution to the wind’
A vagabond who threw away his/her sins?

I’ll meet you perhaps at the golden gate
Where score cards are held high and hold our fates
And then we’ll realize how the turns we made
Were in selfish pursuits or others saved!

I once read that we all had second chance
Or third, or fourth, or fifth or sixth perchance
Go back they say and give it one more go
And try to lift your score yourself; no dice to throw!


© gumbud

Re: Gumbud Leisurely Scribbles (part 3)

Lovely verse Gumbud.

Back to the girls, you paint a very accurate picture of how it was back then. The girls did all stay together and used to dance with one another until the fellas showed up.
I suppose I was either lucky or maybe just lazy, judging by the long term outcome, but I saved myself a lot of grief sticking with the devil I knew best, and she with me, we started off mates and a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since but we are still mates, my sympathies to all those who ended up with the wrong one, and quite of few of them did, men and women, remember divorce is fairly new in Ireland, must be hell spending your life stuck with someone you can't get on with, or having to field your way through the opposite sex to find someone you can finally hang up your hat with.
Me granny told me she got the oddest proposal when she was a slip of a girl, the country lad got down on one knee and asked "Nellie, how would you like to be buried with my people?"