Times your parents bought you the wrong things...
Discussion
I got a Kenny Dalglish football signed by a load of mickey mousers, that went down well in a Manchester comprehensive school.
My mates parents obviously didn't have much money and for his birthday they got him a second hand Raleigh Chopper, the first time we went out on our bikes he pulled the brakes, the front caliper came off the spindle and straight into the spokes, throwing him over the handlebars. Fun times.
My mates parents obviously didn't have much money and for his birthday they got him a second hand Raleigh Chopper, the first time we went out on our bikes he pulled the brakes, the front caliper came off the spindle and straight into the spokes, throwing him over the handlebars. Fun times.
mickmcpaddy said:
My mates parents obviously didn't have much money and for his birthday they got him a second hand Raleigh Chopper, the first time we went out on our bikes he pulled the brakes, the front caliper came off the spindle and straight into the spokes, throwing him over the handlebars. Fun times.
My parents got me a bike from Halfords a few years ago for xmas, it was always a bit wobbly when I rode it. After I moved away they brought it down for me and my dad put it back together, first time I went out on it the handlebars came out in my hands and I fell off. Oh how they laughed. I had a sense of humor failure however.I never rode it again either and I think the management company disposed of it from the bike shed.
Blue Oval84 said:
I'll be on first name terms with the checkout staff at JD's if necessary, but no way will a child of mine ever go to school in Hi Tecs.
I got my first pair of Hi-Tecs when I was 12. I was made up as they were the first trainers I'd had that didn't come from a market stall.
I've just remembered, I must have asked for an Amiga or similar at some point, because I too was saddled with a Dragon 32k! They are worth a fortune now, I believe. Who'd have thunk it?!
I had many pairs of Hi-Tecs too. As well as a few "brands" I can't even remember!
Oh to go back to those halcyon days where nothing important mattered...
I had many pairs of Hi-Tecs too. As well as a few "brands" I can't even remember!
Oh to go back to those halcyon days where nothing important mattered...
I used to have to put up with crappy no-brand trainers at school as well, mainly because my feet grew so fast when I was a teenager and that I am one of 4 children, there would be no way to afford branded goods twice a year for 4 of us. It felt crap at the time - I had some "Airwalk" trainers that I think you bought in Tesco.
When Adidas "popper" trousers were all the rage in the late 90s, I really wanted some. My mum did not like them and thus, I was presented with a pair of standard Adidas tracksuit trousers that were on sale at Tesco i guess, and they were not the same.
To be fair, I don't think it has affected me very much, I soon realised that I didn't care much for sport and therefore trainers and tracksuit trousers were of no consequence to me in the end.
When Adidas "popper" trousers were all the rage in the late 90s, I really wanted some. My mum did not like them and thus, I was presented with a pair of standard Adidas tracksuit trousers that were on sale at Tesco i guess, and they were not the same.
To be fair, I don't think it has affected me very much, I soon realised that I didn't care much for sport and therefore trainers and tracksuit trousers were of no consequence to me in the end.
Shakermaker said:
I used to have to put up with crappy no-brand trainers at school as well, mainly because my feet grew so fast when I was a teenager and that I am one of 4 children, there would be no way to afford branded goods twice a year for 4 of us. It felt crap at the time - I had some "Airwalk" trainers that I think you bought in Tesco.
When Adidas "popper" trousers were all the rage in the late 90s, I really wanted some. My mum did not like them and thus, I was presented with a pair of standard Adidas tracksuit trousers that were on sale at Tesco i guess, and they were not the same.
To be fair, I don't think it has affected me very much, I soon realised that I didn't care much for sport and therefore trainers and tracksuit trousers were of no consequence to me in the end.
When I was young you certainly didn't need to be into sport to require the correct tracky bottoms and trainers.When Adidas "popper" trousers were all the rage in the late 90s, I really wanted some. My mum did not like them and thus, I was presented with a pair of standard Adidas tracksuit trousers that were on sale at Tesco i guess, and they were not the same.
To be fair, I don't think it has affected me very much, I soon realised that I didn't care much for sport and therefore trainers and tracksuit trousers were of no consequence to me in the end.
Fortunately I never quite had to live with the complete social death of having your mum buy you a pair of either "two stripe" or "four stripe" bottoms. I did have some unbranded ones earlier in my childhood (urgh) before getting Adidas, but never the snidey knock offs.
Never got a pair of poppers either, I don't recall being all that keen on them when they were popular the first time around. They're apparently making a comeback, but I won't be joining in this time either. Regular Adidas joggers for me...
For my 11th birthday I wanted a Hornby Duchess of Hamilton locomotive. I woke up and was delighted to see the wrapped up box on the desk at the foot of my bed. There is was, the long, slim rectangular box wrapped up for my birthday. I went excitedly into their room to open it before getting ready for school. I tore off the paper and found not the red Hornby box, but a dull brown one. When I opened it, I was crushed to find it contained no the locomotive, but a miserable music stand. I slunk back to my bedroom after a murmured "thank you".
Blue Oval84 said:
When I was young you certainly didn't need to be into sport to require the correct tracky bottoms and trainers.
Fortunately I never quite had to live with the complete social death of having your mum buy you a pair of either "two stripe" or "four stripe" bottoms. I did have some unbranded ones earlier in my childhood (urgh) before getting Adidas, but never the snidey knock offs.
Never got a pair of poppers either, I don't recall being all that keen on them when they were popular the first time around. They're apparently making a comeback, but I won't be joining in this time either. Regular Adidas joggers for me...
No, definitely not, you had to have the right kit for the wrong reasons... Fortunately I never quite had to live with the complete social death of having your mum buy you a pair of either "two stripe" or "four stripe" bottoms. I did have some unbranded ones earlier in my childhood (urgh) before getting Adidas, but never the snidey knock offs.
Never got a pair of poppers either, I don't recall being all that keen on them when they were popular the first time around. They're apparently making a comeback, but I won't be joining in this time either. Regular Adidas joggers for me...
I too was spared "Tesco Two Stripe" trackies in favour of no-brand variants which were under less scrutiny altogether. But I know what you mean, aged 13/14 you had to have the right ones even though I wasn't in it for sport. I was also never a "Kappa Slapper"
Wow, new poppers? I definitely won't be buying them this time around.
One springs to mind.
My brother and I were quite keen on Tennis at the time, I think I was about 13, he was 10.
Come Christmas day we open all the small stuff, chocolate bars, linx africa etc, then we spot two tennis racket shaped presents.
My brother went first, and he unwrapped a really cool looking yellow Andre Agassi racket.
I then opened mine, which was a bright pink dunlop racket, I feigned a look of sheer joy and said thanks so much I can't wait to use it, but in reality a kid in their early teens in the 90s with a bright pink anything is leaving themselves wide open for severe bullying.
The following weeks mum kept taking us both down to the local tennis courts to play, I spent most of the time looking behind me to make sure no one from school was about or using my brothers racket "because I wanted to try it out".
My brother and I were quite keen on Tennis at the time, I think I was about 13, he was 10.
Come Christmas day we open all the small stuff, chocolate bars, linx africa etc, then we spot two tennis racket shaped presents.
My brother went first, and he unwrapped a really cool looking yellow Andre Agassi racket.
I then opened mine, which was a bright pink dunlop racket, I feigned a look of sheer joy and said thanks so much I can't wait to use it, but in reality a kid in their early teens in the 90s with a bright pink anything is leaving themselves wide open for severe bullying.
The following weeks mum kept taking us both down to the local tennis courts to play, I spent most of the time looking behind me to make sure no one from school was about or using my brothers racket "because I wanted to try it out".
I remember being disappointed I had plimsolls in place of trainers (as the school uniform list said plimsolls) when other kids had trainers but it was never a big issue for me.
To be fair I was a proper geek anyway so wasn't bothered by clothes or brands (and I'm still not) social suicide among my friends would have been the wrong edition of a games workshop rulebook. Which brings me back to crap gifts. Mum once got me for Christmas a set of some fantasy lead miniatures, pretty cool huh? except this was when I was in my 30's, probably not played or painted any soldiers for 15-20 years by that point.
I think they still think I'm 14.
To be fair I was a proper geek anyway so wasn't bothered by clothes or brands (and I'm still not) social suicide among my friends would have been the wrong edition of a games workshop rulebook. Which brings me back to crap gifts. Mum once got me for Christmas a set of some fantasy lead miniatures, pretty cool huh? except this was when I was in my 30's, probably not played or painted any soldiers for 15-20 years by that point.
I think they still think I'm 14.
The talk of Linglong trainers has just brought a horrifyingly wonderful memory to the fore...
I'd always had awful trainers; Hi-Tec, Quasar and other awful tat but I never recalled it being much of an issue. My parents weren't rich by any means but my brother and I never went without and they really did the best they could. At the time, my current pair of awful trainers were really worn out and I had a friend's birthday party to go to in the afternoon at a local swimming pool. This friend's parents were pretty wealthy so they'd hired the whole pool and arranged for all the inflatable wonderfulness to be in the pool for the party.
Anyway, my mum took me into town in the morning to replace the tatty trainers and in the little sports shop in town I saw this amazing pair of blue and white Air Max 90s. I immediately lusted after them, despite their £70 (probably) price and the fact my mum was eyeing up a £25 of Hi-Tecs. Mum clearly saw the want and desperation in my eyes and to my immense surprise, she said I could have them but I'd have to really look after them and they'd have to last a long, long time. So there I was; 10-years old with a brand spanking new pair of Air Max 90s.
I decided that to show off the most, they had to be gleaming when I went to the party, so they remained in their box until about 2 minutes before I was taken down to the pool. They were a big hit. I was king of the shoe. We all got changed and I carefully placed my amazing Nikes in the locker and even more carefully put my clothes on top before closing the locker, giving the key to my friend's dad and then jumping around in the pool for a couple of hours, trying to drown my little friends. The nightmare started after we got out of the pool and went back to our lockers...
...to discover that some of them had been broken into. Whilst my clothes remained in place, my trainers had been stolen. I was utterly heartbroken. I cried. I didn't know how I was going to explain this to my mum. It was the first time I can recall feeling anger, disappointment and upset all at the same time. Even back then I knew my mum had over-stretched to buy these for me and now some little skank had thieved them. Total injustice.
I got dropped off at home by my friend's dad, who explained what happened to my mum, as I stood there bleary-eyed and still sobbing. Despite mum saying it was ok and couldn't be helped, I went straight to bed, still really upset. The next day, after I'd thrown away the immaculate Nike shoe box, there was a knock at the door. It was my friend and his dad. His dad handed me a shoe box. Inside the box was a brand new pair of blue and white Air Max 90s. He'd gone out first thing and bought me a replacement pair because he felt terrible that it'd happened during his son's birthday party. I remember them being a size smaller than my original pair (I assume due to guessing size) but they felt even better than the original pair!
I kept those trainers immaculate and they lasted a good long while.
About 25 or so years later, I was out on my motorbike, returning home as it'd just start to rain in a somewhat biblical fashion and encountered a couple with a flat tyre on the B645. An elderly couple were having little fun trying to change their wheel. Although I really wanted to get home, I thought I'd do the decent thing and ask if they needed help. Turned out to be my friend's parents. Needless to say, I was happy to finally be able to repay the kindness.
Ok, so it's more to do with terrible trainers and amazing presents but thought I'd post it here anyway, for the cathartic experience
I'd always had awful trainers; Hi-Tec, Quasar and other awful tat but I never recalled it being much of an issue. My parents weren't rich by any means but my brother and I never went without and they really did the best they could. At the time, my current pair of awful trainers were really worn out and I had a friend's birthday party to go to in the afternoon at a local swimming pool. This friend's parents were pretty wealthy so they'd hired the whole pool and arranged for all the inflatable wonderfulness to be in the pool for the party.
Anyway, my mum took me into town in the morning to replace the tatty trainers and in the little sports shop in town I saw this amazing pair of blue and white Air Max 90s. I immediately lusted after them, despite their £70 (probably) price and the fact my mum was eyeing up a £25 of Hi-Tecs. Mum clearly saw the want and desperation in my eyes and to my immense surprise, she said I could have them but I'd have to really look after them and they'd have to last a long, long time. So there I was; 10-years old with a brand spanking new pair of Air Max 90s.
I decided that to show off the most, they had to be gleaming when I went to the party, so they remained in their box until about 2 minutes before I was taken down to the pool. They were a big hit. I was king of the shoe. We all got changed and I carefully placed my amazing Nikes in the locker and even more carefully put my clothes on top before closing the locker, giving the key to my friend's dad and then jumping around in the pool for a couple of hours, trying to drown my little friends. The nightmare started after we got out of the pool and went back to our lockers...
...to discover that some of them had been broken into. Whilst my clothes remained in place, my trainers had been stolen. I was utterly heartbroken. I cried. I didn't know how I was going to explain this to my mum. It was the first time I can recall feeling anger, disappointment and upset all at the same time. Even back then I knew my mum had over-stretched to buy these for me and now some little skank had thieved them. Total injustice.
I got dropped off at home by my friend's dad, who explained what happened to my mum, as I stood there bleary-eyed and still sobbing. Despite mum saying it was ok and couldn't be helped, I went straight to bed, still really upset. The next day, after I'd thrown away the immaculate Nike shoe box, there was a knock at the door. It was my friend and his dad. His dad handed me a shoe box. Inside the box was a brand new pair of blue and white Air Max 90s. He'd gone out first thing and bought me a replacement pair because he felt terrible that it'd happened during his son's birthday party. I remember them being a size smaller than my original pair (I assume due to guessing size) but they felt even better than the original pair!
I kept those trainers immaculate and they lasted a good long while.
About 25 or so years later, I was out on my motorbike, returning home as it'd just start to rain in a somewhat biblical fashion and encountered a couple with a flat tyre on the B645. An elderly couple were having little fun trying to change their wheel. Although I really wanted to get home, I thought I'd do the decent thing and ask if they needed help. Turned out to be my friend's parents. Needless to say, I was happy to finally be able to repay the kindness.
Ok, so it's more to do with terrible trainers and amazing presents but thought I'd post it here anyway, for the cathartic experience
toon10 said:
When I was 15, I was having one of those discussions about toys I always wanted and never got as a kid. Mr Frosty came up and eventually I made the ill advised comment that as a kid, I never had a train set.
Fast forward to Xmas and there it is, a Hornby electric train set. I was stunned. My mates turned up with their new Rayleigh racing bikes and Hi-Tec trainers to see what I got and here's me with a kids train set. My mother has always missed the mark when it comes to gifts but this was a step beyond normal
My Mum bought me a Hornby trainset for Christmas last year. I'm 32.Fast forward to Xmas and there it is, a Hornby electric train set. I was stunned. My mates turned up with their new Rayleigh racing bikes and Hi-Tec trainers to see what I got and here's me with a kids train set. My mother has always missed the mark when it comes to gifts but this was a step beyond normal
To be fair though, It's fantastic.
that was lovely to read Rawwr said:
The next day, after I'd thrown away the immaculate Nike shoe box, there was a knock at the door. It was my friend and his dad. His dad handed me a shoe box. Inside the box was a brand new pair of blue and white Air Max 90s. He'd gone out first thing and bought me a replacement pair because he felt terrible that it'd happened during his son's birthday party. I remember them being a size smaller than my original pair (I assume due to guessing size) but they felt even better than the original pair!
I kept those trainers immaculate and they lasted a good long while.
That's awesome! I kept those trainers immaculate and they lasted a good long while.
All this talk of having the right trainers, but what about the school bag?
All my mates, all of them, every last man had a bag from a sports shop. First Sport in those days was the shop i think. Nike. Addidas. Head. Esselle. Whatever.
I had some no brand thing from a luggage shop. A luggage shop! It had sturdy handles. It could fit a lever arch file inside. It would never get nicked.
All my mates, all of them, every last man had a bag from a sports shop. First Sport in those days was the shop i think. Nike. Addidas. Head. Esselle. Whatever.
I had some no brand thing from a luggage shop. A luggage shop! It had sturdy handles. It could fit a lever arch file inside. It would never get nicked.
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