Childhood

[acholooz]

I grew up in a small town in rural Gloucestershire in the 1960s & 70s. I loved junior school. It seems like a different age now. We seemed to get more snow in the winter, we would all trudge to school in our wellies & duffle coats. There was no school run. There were no 2 car families and all of the fathers (who were the drivers) were at work. A few of my school friends started taking package holidays in spain towards the end of my time at junior school, but on the whole holidays still meant the seaside somewhere on the english coast. We used to play in the hay bales in the fields, they were smaller, rectangular cuboids then, not the huge cylinders you see today, and we would make dens out of them, a bit like igloos. I suppose it was quite dangerous, and wouldn't be allowed these days, but I'm glad we could do it.

Secondary school was less happy. I was quite seriously bullied. I was very innocent, by todays standards, as an 11 year old. I new nothing at all about sex until we were tought the fundamentals in biology. We were not told anything about oral, masterbation. contraception or homosexuality at this time, just the biological facts & mechanics of human reproduction.

When I was 12 I was teased by some of the other boys asking me if I new what wanking was. It was just a mysterious word which I had heard in sung chants at football matches to me. So I guessed it was the same as sexual intercourse. Anyway they put me right on that one & I went home and tried it out in the bathroom. I came first time, my first ejaculation, and didn't know what it was. I was quite frightened, but didn't dare talk to anyone about it. It was quite a while before I realised it was semen, and not some sort of discharge, but I kept doing it anyway. It used to make me feel really guilty, and I hated the thought of my parents or brother finding out I was doing it because they would know what a dirty person I was. (So at least some things are better these days, I hope few boys are as unprepared for the realities of teenaged life as I was.)

[antm55]

I had a cool childhood, grew up with 5 brothers and 3 sisters (my parents had 9 kids, herd every joke). Used to play out all the time, watch TV. Started school fine, had 2 really good friends (both boys) got to year 6, people started the whole "are you gay" I didnt even know what gay really was so i just told them to zip itm, though they went on but it didnt bother me. Moved to secondary school and made a load of girl friends (notice the gap lol) secondary school was fine for the most part. Never got beaten up or anything.

In ways my childhood was pretty "standard", my parents are still together.