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Allowing a little room for the warm glow of nostalgia, I don't remember life on my council estate this way. It was the '60s, so perhaps the mould and rot had not yet formed, but I recall a pleasant place with easy access to a public library and to shops, plentiful green spaces including a decent woods or forest with many trees to climb, well kept lawns and hedges, and an easy walk to school. Ice cream vans, coal men, window washers and even the occasional rag and bone man added to what was a pretty colourful world.
But, yes, there was a smattering of drunks and yobs and layabouts, which did not bode well long term.
Community spirit, left the door open etc. one of my mates robbed our rent money he knew where it was stashed, he's gone now bless him, wasn't popular at the time
Another past time, repairing the motor on the road not sure how old I'm here maybe 19/20 ish
jacked up chevette with Alloys
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I grew up on a Council Estate 70s 80's. Ely, Pentwyn, Llanedeyrn. Can't remember much about Ely, Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn were shitholes. Especially Pentwyn (Bryn Celyn) I remember hiding from the rent man, robbing the pop wagon, swimming down Rumney river and attempting to climb up on the Gypsy horses. I think back at some of the risks we took. Crazy stuff. Glad of it though, it built character and a way of working things out or 'finding a way' cos everyone was skint
Calling 0898-12-11-71 Cardiff City clubcall at 9.45 pm to find out the final score midweek
I have read through the whole of this thread. (3 pages at the moment)
Though there are some pleasant memories, most of it is about how awful life used to be compared to now, with a pride in having survived it. "Character building" - maybe.
I wouldn't want to go back to those times.
Our 1st gaff was a couple of rooms in my mums sisters house and i do remember it, the house had a cellar in kincraig street off City Road, my parents got a council house at Curtis road in Ely then, have a decent memory of this place especially the outside shitter I could go across the field to St Francis infants, we went posh then with the house in Rumney, my mum and Dad had a choice of the house in Rumney or a new house in St. Mellons, they took the Rumney house as it was bigger and had a decent garden, they did eventually buy it, it's Rumney I sort of cut my spurs getting to a teenager and all the things you aren't supposed to do!!!, it was weird going to the Illts, you had all us scum Catholics from Rumney, Trowbridge Llanrumney, Splott etc. and the posh kids who paid to go to De La Salle which was in the grounds of St. Illtyds, my Doris grew up in a council home but being in the countryside, was a million miles from our type of estates, they had the hole in the ground just before she was born, her brother and sister remembers it just imagine having to shit in a hole we laugh and lament about these times but I'm glad they are in the past. I personalised our house in Rumney by painting Slade on the front of it
I s’pose but we didn’t know they were awful, it was all we knew. I often say that I’m glad that I lived in the era I lived in. Safely
knocking about the streets, over the fields, down the lanes, over the park until all hours, playing football & cricket. Even having the odd up and dap with someone, but it was always a couple of punchs and a bit of a wrestle perhaps, nothing sinister.
Then going into your teens and beyond, there was an abundance of parks football & baseball, plenty of pubs, if you were into that. Life was fun.
Of course it’s more comfortable now and rightly so but are todays kids mixing as freely as we did or are they more home/gadget based?
We had bugger all but knew no different, a lack of finance or luxury certainly didn’t curtail my fun. I don’t envy todays youngsters one bit, I think life is a bit of a slog for them and, unfortunately, for some a lonely slog.
Somewhere I still have petrol rationing coupons from that time. They were never brought into use but I kept them as a souvenir. There was a kind of rationing though in the area where we lived at the time (Ilford, Essex) whereby you could only get petrol by going to your local petrol station where you were known as a "regular" because others elsewhere would not serve you; and, when you could get petrol, you were limited to 3 gallons! Imagine the rumpus if that happened today!