CFF

The Children's Film Foundation. They've been showing some films on the London channel that I remember seeing at Saturday morning pictures, great memories.

Watching them you see such a broad cross section of social class representation, the gang consisting of little cockney Johnny and posh little madam Ginny, great stuff and a reminder of how far back the Tories (yep, Victorian Values etc) have brought us.

I'll never understand how anyone who claims to have a conscience could ever vote for them. Mind you...the choice....

We have Freeview, would love to see the old films, loved it and laughed when seeing so many scruffy urchins, supposedly cockney children talk like the Queen. Remember going on holiday courtesy of The Childrens Country Holiday Fund ( still going today) coming back to London after two weeks with Vicar and family in Portsmouth. They were very refined..my friends mocked me for talking Posh!

I remember being chastised by Vicar for calling his daughter ' A bleeding liar' he said I Should have said she told a Fib! No she ain't I said...she's a bleeding Liar!

Just watching a CFF film called "What Next" and I have also just binged on Benidorm. The link being a very young Peter Benson in the CFF film, 1974. The same high pitched voice even when so young.

As the Dali Lama once said, they aint acting, they're being themselves.

Jan the old one wrote:

We have Freeview, would love to see the old films, loved it and laughed when seeing so many scruffy urchins, supposedly cockney children talk like the Queen. Remember going on holiday courtesy of The Childrens Country Holiday Fund ( still going today) coming back to London after two weeks with Vicar and family in Portsmouth. They were very refined..my friends mocked me for talking Posh!
I remember being chastised by Vicar for calling his daughter ' A bleeding liar' he said I Should have said she told a Fib! No she ain't I said...she's a bleeding Liar!

I've always had this thing about inner city kids and the ridiculously cheap practise of camping. Every child should go camping once or twice in their childhood. For £50 you could have enough gear to take 2 kids for summers to come. No excuse for kids not to have a break away from the concrete.

Agree..we were very lucky to have my best and dearest friend owns 17 acres of land in paddock wood. My children and hers spent years every school holiday and weekend there. No television..no gadgets...drinking water had to be fetched fromtwo miles along the road in massive drums.. water for washing up was taken from pond and boiled in old copper.

Lighting came from old generator...there was two huts built with breeze blocks and corregated iron, we painted them regularly...more paint went on the kids when they were small..

We gathered the fallen branches from the little woods s,sat around blazing fire at night...drank cider made by Uncle George ..so vile you could use it for nail varnish remover! There were two orchards about a hundred trees..in all...the horses provided manure which was collected and put into galvanised water tank..water added..stirred...toxic soup.

There were tents there kids loved them m but preferred sleeping in old army bunks in shed when they got older...

The space..the freedom...the memories sustain my soul today..one day I will write it down..but words would not do it justice. My friend who died would be delighted to see the children ,her grandchildren,great grandchildren still there today...picking bluebells,running riot..making lots of noise. The generator still provides light...and the feeling at night when it was turned off, and there would be the gentle downward throb ...all was well with the World..and to go outside at night and see the navy blue sky with stars unaffected by light pollution...

We moan aBout kids today..in the concrete jungle what can they do to use the energy? At least us london children born before war ended had so much freedom..bombed houses..gardens we could pick flowers..train that was tilted after track was bombed..our train! The ruins near London Bridge we called Fairyland...the surprise find of showgirls paste red hearts meant for boobs! Took them home because they were so pretty...had some explaining to Mum about them! Couldn't say we had been in bombed pub near Weston street!
We have such fantastic immune systems...the amount of asbestos we jumped on! Lol

Great post Jan! lovely reading, you should write it down!

I could relate to everything but the generator, such great times are had in the country. Remember the Please Sir! film when they go on school journey, you could taste the (well acted) freedom they were feeling.
I remember being told of foot long Dragon flies and thinking it was a tall tale. Mrs b and I went camping this year in Flimwell near Goudhurst. I never realised how beautiful Dragon flies could be, don't know about a foot but they were biggies alright!

You're right though, even in London we had more freedom didn't we? Adventure playgrounds and sore thumbs (book title there).

We had two separate brick built toilets Roy built...a concrete base inside with toilet seat attached...effluent went straight into large drums. Containing Elsan...When full they were tipped into a large very deep pit we all helped dig. After couple of years we would dig another one....many years in fact! Lol the nettles and grass grew very lush there!
We got used to spiders performing feats on the webs...or watching beetles scuttle along the concrete floor...none of the kids had a fit seeing them..unless when their hands grasped lavatory roll and Sam Spider jumped out!

Jan the old one wrote:

We had two separate brick built toilets Roy built...a concrete base inside with toilet seat attached...effluent went straight into large drums. Containing Elsan...When full they were tipped into a large very deep pit we all helped dig. After couple of years we would dig another one....many years in fact! Lol the nettles and grass grew very lush there!
We got used to spiders performing feats on the webs...or watching beetles scuttle along the concrete floor...none of the kids had a fit seeing them..unless when their hands grasped lavatory roll and Sam Spider jumped out!

Didn't both your girls wind up living rural lives?

Son in Hertfordshire..loves it....Daughter in Gravesend..moving to isle sheppy soon...daughter and me in Derbyshire...Derbyshire is beautiful, garden is big, tall trees at end...fields beyond fence..Hear farmer on tractor...smell muck spreading ( after the land lavsin kent...perfume to my nostrils!) chickens cluckingfrom next door...but I miss my london so much! Stupid really as people I love most are no longer there.. my youngest brother moved from wickham lane to Scarborough...my big sister died in Hastings November. My older brother moved to Tasmania with his wife...they joined my nieces there.
My husband died fourteen years ago..my step children are in New Zealand and Australia...yet I long for London!

I went to Sheppy for the first time last year, I liked it., I was surprised how much. Nah I think I'm done with London (and it with me!) now. Maybe I would miss it if I left, doubt it though! Everyone hates eachother it seems, yet when you go to the country or seaside everyone's wishing everyone else a good day! I know where I would rather be, even if it is false.