It is wonderful how smell as a sense is the strongest in reminding us of things. Do you all remember the Welsh Rarebit/Cheese On Toast smell from the sugar refinery that used to pervade the Valley from time to time?
I always assumed it was from the British Oil and Cake Mills over on Belvedere marshes, but I think that's gone now and, as church-lane mentioned, you still sometimes get the smell as you exit the Blackwall Tunnel. So where is the sugar refinery?
I think it was hard by the tunnel entrance on the London side.
I went there for a job. Very very smelly close up. put me off working there.
My 7 year old son was mucking about on You Tube yesterday and started laughing uncontrollably and called his younger brother over to show him something on the screen, cue double laughter.
I went over there to see what the big joke was and was shocked to see they were laughing at.....people playing Subbuteo.
To them - both digital natives - the idea of playing a football game which involved flicking players around a bit of green cloth was hilarious and scarcely comprehendible when they can play 3D video games (or whatever they are) on the TV which are so life like.
My brother and I used to play Subbuteo for.....well, for as long as we could before a fight broke out over who was cheating by doing "power flicks" or "blocking" their goal with their fingers!
I once spent the best part of a morning recording crowd noises for a big subbuteo match on a tape recoder with a big red record button, used up a whole tdk c60 , when we played the match we realised the audio goal celebrations didnt match what was happening on the field, all very disappointing.
I also remember using a cotton bud dipped in paint stripper and applied to an Arsenal player you could make a brilliant Sammy Nelson....happy days
I once spent the best part of a morning recording crowd noises for a big subbuteo match on a tape recoder with a big red record button, used up a whole tdk c60 , when we played the match we realised the audio goal celebrations didnt match what was happening on the field, all very disappointing.
I also remember using a cotton bud dipped in paint stripper and applied to an Arsenal player you could make a brilliant Sammy Nelson....happy days
Ha! That's fantastic.
Did you have the floodlights too? We did, and we also bought the grandstand, terracing and scoreboard - we loved that scoreboard!
By the time we got it all set up it was nearly bedtime!
Poxy floodlights they never worked, one that no-one believes is that I had subbuteo snooker FACT!, you had to flick the bloke against the white to hit the coloured ball in a pocket, it was impossible...bought off a stall in Deptford Market..utter rubbish
Poxy floodlights they never worked, one that no-one believes is that I had subbuteo snooker FACT!, you had to flick the bloke against the white to hit the coloured ball in a pocket, it was impossible...bought off a stall in Deptford Market..utter rubbish
Snooker? Never saw that one but the other day I did see on eBay a set of Subbuteo Cricket, I guess it must have been a pre-cursor to Test Match.
Heard on the radio that they are bringing them back with shirt sponsors logos and everything and the new players are virtually indestructible!
Yeah! I have got a mini World Cup (the one with a single angel holding up a cup that Brazil took home after winning for the third time in 1970) somewhere in the loft - LOL!!
Poxy floodlights they never worked, one that no-one believes is that I had subbuteo snooker FACT!, you had to flick the bloke against the white to hit the coloured ball in a pocket, it was impossible...bought off a stall in Deptford Market..utter rubbish
Snooker? Never saw that one but the other day I did see on eBay a set of Subbuteo Cricket, I guess it must have been a pre-cursor to Test Match.
Bloody Hell how much, I have still got one of the triangle bits in the loft, saw it when I got the Chrimbo Tree down...it was still rubbish though, preferred my boxing robots
Driving (or getting the 208 from Eltham) through the Blackwall to see my nan in Poplar during the 70s and 80s, the smell was really strong, disgusting. If the wind was in the right direction reached The Valley.
However, in later life it brought back pleasant memories and a knowledge that (from the north) you were returning home to South London.
Well I am 32, so born in 1980 - making my childhood an 80s thing.
So here goes:
Star Wars films and toys Indiana Jones movies Woolwich sponsorship on shirts Kids cartoon called Cities of Gold of something like that (dubbed foreign one) Jamie and his Magic Torch Jimbo and the Jet Set Childrens BBC in the broom cupboard presented by Philip Schofield Neighbours at 5:15 on BBC1 followed by The Flintstones. Subbuteo - always wanted a whole stadium like in the brochure but would have cost a fortune Scalextric Watching F1 with my Dad. In particular, getting up at 3am to watch the 1986 Aussie GP (along with half the nation) when Mansells tyre blew. Hot summers and cold winters - just how it should be Hymns in school assembly. One called Autumn Days in particular WWF wrestling - but with the old school like Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hitman Hart, Big Boss Man etc.
I had Subbuteo cricket. It was pretty crap but every now and then you got it right, it felt really good hitting a straight six! I remember during the 79/80 post Packer tour to Australia listening to the Test Matches on the radio and setting my Subbuteo players out in the fielding posistions corresponding to what was really happening, with paper name tags too! We got hammered 3-0 but cleverly refused to put the Ashes at stake.
Has anyone mentioned Subbuteo Rugby? I never had it my I remember the scrum machine.
I had it, but never managed to get my head around playing it properly.
Still got a load of my subbuteo stuff in the attic, teams floodlights etc. The pitch is mounted on a board under our spare bed. I sold a few teams on ebay recently, one went for over £250. They weren't even that old, I had acquired them a few years ago.
My father-in-law retreived the old Subuteo Rugby out of his loft a few years back - I'd never seen or played with one when I was a lad. Don't know what happened to it - the wife's younger brother probably has it, as he was the rugby player.
Fish and chip smell reminds me of my holidays as a kid on The Isle of Sheppey .
Reminds me of swimming at Plumstead Baths on Friday nights, followed by fish & chips in my Dad's car on the way home. Windows all steamed up. Smell of fags and chlorine. Bloody marvelous.
Comments
I went over there to see what the big joke was and was shocked to see they were laughing at.....people playing Subbuteo.
To them - both digital natives - the idea of playing a football game which involved flicking players around a bit of green cloth was hilarious and scarcely comprehendible when they can play 3D video games (or whatever they are) on the TV which are so life like.
My brother and I used to play Subbuteo for.....well, for as long as we could before a fight broke out over who was cheating by doing "power flicks" or "blocking" their goal with their fingers!
I also remember using a cotton bud dipped in paint stripper and applied to an Arsenal player you could make a brilliant Sammy Nelson....happy days
Did you have the floodlights too? We did, and we also bought the grandstand, terracing and scoreboard - we loved that scoreboard!
By the time we got it all set up it was nearly bedtime!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&clk_rvr_id=316432004681&item=160721174935
Heard on the radio that they are bringing them back with shirt sponsors logos and everything and the new players are virtually indestructible!
Bet you wish you still had it, look what its worth now!
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5749374
http://www.subbuteoandephemeraworld.co.uk/subbuteo-hw-snooker-express-player-yellow-top-1703-p.asp
http://myhybridgreenbox.blogspot.com/2010/05/subbuteo-snooker-express-edition.html
http://www.peter-upton.co.uk/cricket.htm
Driving (or getting the 208 from Eltham) through the Blackwall to see my nan in Poplar during the 70s and 80s, the smell was really strong, disgusting. If the wind was in the right direction reached The Valley.
However, in later life it brought back pleasant memories and a knowledge that (from the north) you were returning home to South London.
So here goes:
Star Wars films and toys
Indiana Jones movies
Woolwich sponsorship on shirts
Kids cartoon called Cities of Gold of something like that (dubbed foreign one)
Jamie and his Magic Torch
Jimbo and the Jet Set
Childrens BBC in the broom cupboard presented by Philip Schofield
Neighbours at 5:15 on BBC1 followed by The Flintstones.
Subbuteo - always wanted a whole stadium like in the brochure but would have cost a fortune
Scalextric
Watching F1 with my Dad. In particular, getting up at 3am to watch the 1986 Aussie GP (along with half the nation) when Mansells tyre blew.
Hot summers and cold winters - just how it should be
Hymns in school assembly. One called Autumn Days in particular
WWF wrestling - but with the old school like Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hitman Hart, Big Boss Man etc.
I remember during the 79/80 post Packer tour to Australia listening to the Test Matches on the radio and setting my Subbuteo players out in the fielding posistions corresponding to what was really happening, with paper name tags too!
We got hammered 3-0 but cleverly refused to put the Ashes at stake.
Still got a load of my subbuteo stuff in the attic, teams floodlights etc. The pitch is mounted on a board under our spare bed. I sold a few teams on ebay recently, one went for over £250. They weren't even that old, I had acquired them a few years ago.
metal ball down ramp of bowlers arm into string propelled bat i think.
batsman caught if it went into fielder's receptacle between his legs.