SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Thanks Ian, That would fit the age / etc. of the lad i knew but lost contact in the middle 60s, so maybe this is more help to Mick.

Yes. Thanks for researching. I'm still rooting through old photos.

I wonder what youngsters of today would do if you gave them a football that they had to inflate with a bicycle pump and putting the rubber innertube inside a leather panelled ball, having got the ball hard enough then making sure the tube was sealed, pushing it inside the ball making sure the metal lacer did not puncture the innertube, then lace up the ball still being careful not to catch the tube as you laced, finally knotting the leather lace and tucking the knot inside the ball (i am exausted just thinking how many times i did this) then out on the pitch and if it was raining the leather ball soon weighed what seem like a ton.
At school we played mostly on East End Park pitches which were full size and taking corners as a kid was an impossibility to get it into the goalmouth..

Hi Jack,

Also, in those days, the footballs were made of leather and were very heavy to start with. If you played on a wet day, or on a wet pitch, it just got heavier and heavier. If you headed it hard you could get a headache, notwithstanding the possibility of cutting your head on the lace or the stitching.

It was the same with rugby balls - in those days they were of similar construction to footballs, and also got heavier, making it harder to pass and kick. Prior to the early 1960's, goal kickers kicked conversions, and penalty kicks, at goal, with a straight run up to the ball and kicking 'straight on' with the toes, whereas these days players use the side of their foot and kick sideways on, in a 'round the corner' fashion. Nowadays, I find it fascinating at the goal kicking rituals and poses of some of the players which, at times, look farcical or comical, before their final run up to the ball (I think that it was Jonny Wilkinson who started it all).

Ian

Hello Ian,
Your mention of the rugby boots they had solid toes so that the kicker ran straight up to the ball and toe ended it hopefully over the posts

Myr Mother bought me a pair of fotball boots when i began playing at the age of eleven and they had sorts of side padding on the ankles and two further leather straps crossing over the tops. they have weighed a ton. we used to wear two pair of socks and thick shinpads down them. it is a wonder we could run about.

Of course these days all boots are like slippers and i do find it amusung when watching a game on T.V. and the players are wearingyellow, red bright green and various colours, anything but the the old traditional brown or black.


As for tins of "Dubbin" i would think that's never used these day.

Dont forget volvojack once you had breakfast you were supposed to go out and not come back to your room until teatime whatever the weather happy days.

[quote="tilly"]Dont forget volvojack once you had breakfast you were supposed to go out and not come back to your room until teatime whatever the weather happy days.

So true tilly,
Not only did you ave to take suitable clothing for any changes in the weather but if you wanted the Toilet it was the stupid old fashioned way of going in to a Pub /Cafe and buy something first.

When were were in our teens we just used to run into Boarding House on the Promenade, up the stairs, never lookng left or right then into the Loo, out again swiftly as the Public toilets were not only few and far between but always in an awful sttate.

The good old days not always good i would go back to them in a flash.They made me who i am we had almost nothing but has the saying goes what you never had you dont miss.You have to be of a certain age to understand what i mean, any one from a working class background and my age will know.Hope every one reading this are not crying there eyes out.He He.

The good thing now adays is by going on Google or Youtube you can get more or less any old movie free. all the Laurel and Hardy, Bowery Boys or Abbot and Costello are there plus they have their "Out takes" showing when they forgot their lines etc. which of course we never even knew about or saw in the old days.
Today have been watching o my computor Goldie Hawn,Dudley Moor and Chevy Chase in a very funny film " Foul Play but my daughter can connect all this to her T.V. andwatch on a much larger screen.n

tilly wrote:The good old days not always good i would go back to them in a flash.They made me who i am we had almost nothing but has the saying goes what you never had you dont miss.You have to be of a certain age to understand what i mean, any one from a working class background and my age will know.Hope every one reading this are not crying there eyes out.He He.

When I was being brought up in the late 1940s to early 1950s in east Leeds you could always be sure that your neighbours could be trusted (at least where I lived). The outside door was never locked until last thing at night and during the day people would simply knock on the door and shout "it's just me" as they walked in or they would later say that they popped in earlier but no one was in. Milk in bottles could safely be left out until brought in (sadly often going off before it all got used!). Mum baked bread and left it on the outside to cool down and it was never pinched. We had a few hens that provided some fresh eggs and the hens often roamed all over the neighbours gardens but nobody ever minded. The taste of freshly laid light boiled eggs was far superior than shop bought ones (as also was the taste of freshly dug potatoes and podded peas but of course their season was very short). Things though move on as they should.