A photo from my childhood
By 5th House
@5thHouse (1678)
Sheffield, England
October 22, 2016 2:59pm CST
Here's one of my favorite photographs of me and my sister in our garden, circa 1970. I remember the tricycle very well. These were all the rage back then and it seems strange that I'm the one riding it as Jane, who is 2 years older than me, used to monopolize it.
The swimsuits were homemade by Mum. Can you imagine that nowadays? Those were thrifty times and people weren't so fashion conscious. Children certainly weren't!
Most of the photographs we have from this time are black and white. I think colour photography must've been quite expensive. Dad took all the photos at our house and only on rare occasions. It's funny to think of that in this selfie-obsessed world we now inhabit, but photography really did used to be for special occasions back in my childhood. I suspect that my dad probably had a few pictures left over after our annual summer holiday, so he was using the film up.
Those were happy days. I still find it strange to look at photos of my young self and think of all the things that the sweet, innocent little girl didn't know about that were going to come along in her life in the years ahead, some good and some not so good!
15 people like this
14 responses
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
22 Oct 16
Oh you were such lovely kids, very true the older siblings get to dominate stuffs like toys so long as mom or dad is not around to remind us to take turns lol!
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
23 Oct 16
and sometimes it's the other way around. the older have to give in to the younger/youngest.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
23 Oct 16
@hereandthere it's the parents who teaches and enforces that lol
@5thHouse (1678)
• Sheffield, England
23 Oct 16
@hereandthere My parents weren't always that good at insisting on taking turns. They tended to just leave me and Jane to fight it out! There were many tears, but usually we played well and I kind of accepted my subservient role as the youngest!
2 people like this
@celticeagle (165620)
• Boise, Idaho
30 Oct 16
I wish I had a way to scan a lot of my old pictures THis is very cute of you and your sister. My family used to love to take generational pictures. Get several generations of family members. It is nice when looking back over pictures too cause sometimes i forget who's who and can tell by the picture. Ah, this is so and so's daughter or whatever.
Yes, those sure were happy days. A more innocent age too I think.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (165620)
• Boise, Idaho
31 Oct 16
@5thHouse .....Not the media craze there is now. I think that has taken a lot of the innocence out.
@5thHouse (1678)
• Sheffield, England
23 Oct 16
Mum made nearly all our clothes back then. She used to knit a lot of jumpers and cardigans for us too. Back then it was much cheaper to buy the wool and knit your own clothes, but it's not the case nowadays. Wool is incredibly expensive.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121482)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Oct 16
What a nice picture! I'm sure that brought back some very good memories of your childhood!
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@moffittjc (121482)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 Oct 16
@5thHouse That's nice that your mum still lives in the same house you grew up in. My grandma's house, where my dad grew up as a little boy, is still in the family although my grandma has passed away. I still enjoy going over to visit and know that I can still sleep in the very room that my dad slept in as a little boy!
@5thHouse (1678)
• Sheffield, England
23 Oct 16
Yes, happy times indeed. Mum still lives in the same house though her garden has changed a lot. No grass these days -- too much work to maintain. The garden seemed massive to us as little kids. We were lucky to have a safe space to play.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
24 Oct 16
Oh my goodness what a cute photo. Great skills with those handmade suits
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
23 Oct 16
what a happy picture. i wish we had a three-wheeled bike like that. i actually like your matching swimsuits and didn't know they can be sewn up. does your sister have red hair?
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
23 Oct 16
what a beautiful photo of your childhood .. and your mom did a great job with those bathers ..
1 person likes this
@Letranknight2015 (51899)
• Philippines
23 Oct 16
That would have been practical now a days for people to be more thrifty because it's more expensive now.
I would give in anything to learn how to make new clothes.
@5thHouse (1678)
• Sheffield, England
23 Oct 16
I think it would be lovely to be able to make my own clothes. Although my mum sewed and knitted a lot, she wasn't a great teacher (didn't have the patience) so it's not a skill she passed on to me. My youngest daughter sews and she has made some really nice things.
@ms1864 (6885)
• Bangalore, India
23 Oct 16
Such a cute picture! I don't think i ever saw a tricycle in my childhood.
Yes, the value of pictures was so much more in those times ....I don't think anyone thought of taking the picture of their meal first before eating it. 
Sometimes my generation embarases me.
Sometimes my generation embarases me.
But yes..the editing is sure is a lot of falsehood. When I see flawless pictures it sure makes me feel like i need to edit my own pictures too.@5thHouse (1678)
• Sheffield, England
23 Oct 16
Indeed. The idea of taking photographs of yourself would have seemed extremely odd and incredibly vain to my parents' generation. I love looking at old pics from the days before we had digital cameras. These days people just edit a picture they think isn't flattering or delete it all together. The only photos that we hang onto nowadays are the flattering ones and this creates a false picture of what people really looked like, I think. Much more interesting to look back on the 'warts and all' pics of yesteryear. We've had some great laughs over the years looking at pictures that were taken where someone wasn't quite ready, or was pulling a strange face. There's one old picture in our family pics of my mum taken next to a lighthouse on holiday and she always thinks it makes her look 'retarded.' It has become known as 'The Lighthouse Photo' and has become something of a legend in our family!
1 person likes this
