tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post7533574522596224820..comments2024-02-11T19:28:27.997+11:00Comments on Personal Reflections: Sunday Essay - a ride from schoolJim Belshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-31474564261435341762013-05-20T05:12:48.211+10:002013-05-20T05:12:48.211+10:00No upset Jim - or at least, not of your causing. A...No upset Jim - or at least, not of your causing. And I forgot to say that I found your own reminiscences very entertaining.<br /><br />kvdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-4198859084605562442013-05-19T18:41:50.424+10:002013-05-19T18:41:50.424+10:00i'm sorry if I upset you, kvd. No, tennis ball...i'm sorry if I upset you, kvd. No, tennis balls are fine. And no, I didn't have a sheltered childhood; but later some of the descriptions is Stalky & Co are a bit too close from comfort. Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-5599235868891920242013-05-19T17:24:26.921+10:002013-05-19T17:24:26.921+10:00Most kids' games were violent. Where was the f...Most kids' games were violent. Where was the fun in anything less? And if you blush at the sting of a 10 year old's arm throwing a tennis ball, then you had a sheltered childhood, or have simply forgotten.<br /><br />Anyway the 'description' you link to was nothing like brandings as played. Quite simply, if you got hit you got the ball. And if you threw and missed, whoever retrieved it got to select from what's now termed a 'target rich environment' - but without the drones and the innocent bystanders.<br /><br />Denis' stories are great. Not were.<br /><br />kvdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-13681612309045052742013-05-19T16:47:39.038+10:002013-05-19T16:47:39.038+10:00This. by the way, is the link to brandings - http:...This. by the way, is the link to brandings - http://www.odps.org/glossword/index.php?a=term&d=2&t=168Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-28749473328140498822013-05-19T16:44:08.376+10:002013-05-19T16:44:08.376+10:00Billy carts, yes, kvd, brandings no. I had to sear...Billy carts, yes, kvd, brandings no. I had to search to find a description. That strikes me as a bit too close to the bone. Have you ever read the bullying techniques described in Stalky & Co? Now that's really nasty.<br /><br />I didn't know about your wife. While I am aware Denis's condition and feel that Tracy is absolutely bloody marvelous, I still thought that those stories were great. Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-36403520191749648272013-05-19T16:27:23.937+10:002013-05-19T16:27:23.937+10:00Jim, I'm disappointed you didn't mention t...Jim, I'm disappointed you didn't mention that noble game 'Brandings' - played with a tennis ball and a strong arm, with preferably a schoolyard enemy in sight. Or billy carts? Maybe your youth was played out on flat ground?<br /><br />I'm finding Denis's blog now very hard to read. He's such an interesting writer, but in the background is playing out the same insidious inevitable disease which took my own wife some years ago. I feel for him, but I lived through his wife, Tracey's, experience, so I feel more for her. <br /><br />It's like a reverse high jump competition, where the bar is placed ever lower, and you are encouraged - as a carer - to treat each clear round as some sort of 'triumph'.<br /><br />Best stop.<br /><br />kvdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-71799687664654262013-05-19T10:36:24.170+10:002013-05-19T10:36:24.170+10:00Hi Rod. Sadly the age gap between us is true, alth...Hi Rod. Sadly the age gap between us is true, although I will put that aside! But your description is a nice one that adds to my picture.<br /><br />On crying, you are right. The one time I do remember rushing home crying was after a collision down at the Teachers College playing fields playing cricket. Apart from damaging my nose,I drove a teeth through my cheek. Literally! I'm still not sure how I managed that.<br /><br />I do wonder how many kids get the same experience. Not many, I think. <br /><br />I am a member of a global discussion group about the novels of a particular romance fiction writer. Across countries, the same theme comes up: the difference between than and now. Of course some is nostalgia, but the actual descriptions of activities now and then are remarkably similar.<br /><br />We tried as best we could give our girls some access to those things from the past, but it wasn't easy within the changing rules. As parents, you sometimes have to bite your tongue.<br /><br />After we came down to Sydney, my girls lost the final chance to experience some of the things I had done outside strictly controlled school excursions. I didn't properly realise that likely effect at the time.<br /><br />The rise of extreme sports is an interesting response example. Statistically, I think that these involve greater risks than other activities now banned or controlled. Then the kids go overseas and do things like tubing on the Mekong. That's hardly risk free! <br /><br />With exceptions, I suspect that the things that we did gave us a greater chance to understand risk. <br /><br /> <br /><br /> Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-36950442425917986662013-05-19T09:50:50.720+10:002013-05-19T09:50:50.720+10:00Although I'm quite a bit younger than you Jim ...Although I'm quite a bit younger than you Jim there is still a lot of what you describe that I too remember from my childhood. <br /><br />The working dog as a pet living in town but with lots of kids running around to keep our dog fit. Getting clobbered and bleeding (again and again) in Red Rover Cross Over. gravel rash from playing on gravel or falling off the bike while trying to do too many or too silly tricks (we didn't have helmets back the either).<br /><br />But looking back I might have cried if my parents were around. but I never cried if I was with friends... I mean getting slightly injured while playing was rarely enough to the stop the game from being fun.<br /><br />I think that there is still a small number of children that do get that experience. But that is a very rare thing in cities or even country towns.<br />Rodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10962789743908134314noreply@blogger.com