For those born before 1986!

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.

When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent spokey dokey's' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.

We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one actually died from this.

We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.

We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.

We had friends - we went outside and found them.

We played elastics and rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt!

We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.

We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.

We played chap-the-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.

We walked to friends' homes.

We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.

We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.

Yhe idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of...They actually sided with the law.

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

And if you're one of them. Congratulations!

Crunch!!!!

Q: What do you get when you cross an idiot with a driving licence, a jumped up Subaru going far too fast in a residential area with my little Polo with my lovely family inside?
A: Crunch - Yep that's what happened to Darren, Reece and Chantal yesterday up in Lowestoft. Thank God, Darren and the kids are more or less okay - apart from whiplash & Darren trying to look like a vicar in a collar (His Mum did suggest I attachch a lead to it - mnnnnn).
Unfortuanely the Polo has not come out so well. She is now spending the night up in Halesworth and looks doomed to be no more.
We now have to sort out cars, GP check ups for kids, Insurers etc etc - what fun.
But - Thank God - as my wise brother says - these, in the end, are only bits of metal which can be repaired or replaced but my treasures have come out still shining but with a few lumps and bumps.
Thanks to all for prayers and support during a couple of diffucult days.

Life in the Chunky Lane!!!!

Hello peeps - just to say still here & obviously if I don't blog often enough will get told off by Aunty Penny. Very busy at the moment with Chunky season - now working almost every weekend and have just done a few days of fairly long hours in the office as well - what fun :)
NOt sure which is the lesser of two evils - Work or the kids being off on Spring Break :) :) Not quite at the "Lord, bless this child with a brick" stage yet - but nearly. Positive parenting can be anything but positive sometimes. Love them both to bits really - will go and look at them while they are asleep just to remind me of that fact soon!
Just a little thought for the day (maybe thought for the fortnight as that seems to be the frequency of the blogs)
In Church a few weeks ago making notes (not doodles - honestly) re sermon. Mum was sitting next to me also trying to write notes but couldn't get her pen to work. I lent her my Bible to lean on and the pen started working.
How often do things start to work work when we start to lean on God's word.
Keep blogging all - it's the only way I can catch up with you all at the mo.