42 Pictures Which Represent Every British Person’s Childhood

2 years ago

1. Peeling PVA Glue Off Your Skin

You remember the days - you'd get excited whenever the teacher suggested a fun project which included glue, scissors and glitter.

But then you'd just paste your entire hand with the glue instead, and spend the rest of the lesson peeling it off. Those were the days.

2. Bamboozle On Teletext

If you're fortunate enough to remember not one, but both of these things, then you're already accomplished in life.

Getting a question right on this quiz was oddly satisfying.

3. Turkey Dinosaurs For Dinner

What's better than food? Dinosaur-shaped food, of course.

Finish off with beans and ketchup, and you have yourself a winning British dinner.

4. Having One Of These Stuck To Your Back

You haven't really had a proper childhood if you haven't had one of these imbed itself into your coat.

And the worst part was, nobody told you it was there.

5. Being Blessed With A Brand New TV Channel

The build up was the epic part: a step by step guide of how to get your new channel and when.

It was like The Da Vinci's Code trying to crack this one.

6. And Even Then, All You Got Was Static

If someone was to summarise a Brit's childhood experience with television, it would be this picture.

You can move the aerial all you want, but it won't work.

7. Beehive Bedlam On Sky

Was there anything better than this game on Sky? With the big chunky Sky remote making it a true gaming experience.

Your day wasn't complete if you didn't switch this on as soon as you arrived home from school.

8. Yoshi's House

Complete with fireplace and mailbox, what more could you want from a house?

The house was included in our favourite Super Mario game.

9. The GamesMaster Show

Dungeons, monsters, puzzles and perils... and the possibility of finding new cheats.

It was the first ever UK TV show to focus on computer and video games.

10. Blue Smarties

Any coloured Smartie is an absolute treat, but blue Smarties were a whole different ballgame.

Full of chemicals, it was the fast route to hyperactivity.

11. Ice Cream Flavoured Chewits

These sweets came in many flavours and colours, but the ice cream flavour is one solidly embedded in my memory (and on my taste buds).

Combine with playing out during school holidays, and life was the best.

12. Wonkey Donkey

Upending your bowl of cereal on a Saturday morning as you scream the answer at the television set...

... and the look of frustration on Ant and Dec's face when the caller said something that didn't rhyme.

13. Ant and Dec's Budget Version Of F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Would this be the episode that Dec and Cat would kiss?

C.H.U.M.S was actually better than the original.

14. The Ability To Use Videoplus+

Scanning the physical (that's right, physical) TV schedule to find the right code for the TV program you want to record.

Best attempted on a TV-Video combi.

15. Impressing Your Friends With A Penguin Joke

If you had a Penguin biscuit in your school lunchbox then life was complete.

Flipping it over and peeling back the wrapper to read the joke was a bonus to the piece of chocolate heaven.

16. The Crystal Maze

The best kind of labyrinth game-show is hosted by a creepy bald guy.

BEST-SHOW-EVER.

17. Watching The Simpsons After Tea Time

The best thing about the show was that it was on BBC Two - which meant no adverts.

The theme music was a beckoning call to all in the house.

18. MSN Messenger Chat

You'd spend a day at school with friends, and as soon as school was out you'd run home... to sit in front of your computer and chat with the same friends all night.

You'd also have a heart attack when your crush's name would pop up as 'online' in the corner.

19. Jim Davidson's Big Break

It was a prime time TV show which featured games and top snooker players - what more could you want?

Bonuses included bow ties and permed hair-dos.

20. GLADIATORS..... READY!

If Wolf wasn't your favourite Gladiator then did you even pay attention to this show?

Watching someone argue with the referee is always fun, but watching someone do it whilst wearing a tight leotard is even better.

21. Anthea Turner And Her Tracy Island

As if Anthea's hair and fashion sense wasn't enough, her working model of the island from Thunderbirds was a television treat.

Thunderbirds are go!

22. Getting Stuck In The Mud During A School Trip Out

And somehow, the weight of the wellies you were told to wear made it worse.

And at that age, it felt like quicksand.

23. Getting Your Football Stuck Under A Car

And tentatively sticking your leg underneath to try and free it without feeling like you're committing a crime if you touch the car.

Still, it was always an improvement to accidentally kicking it over the fence into someone else's garden.

24. The Masterpiece That Was Robot Wars

The best battle you could find on TV was a fight made of pure steel.

And being genuinely scared of house robots such as Razor the puncture machine.

25. Classic Top Of The Pops

With streaming services these days and the existence of Spotify, it feels weird to remember a time when we waited avidly for our favourite pop star to appear on this TV show.

The best episodes were the Christmas specials.

26. Feeling Like The Ultimate Rebel With Candy Cigarettes

After a long, hard day at school, the only thing that could help you de-stress was smoking on one of these.

And trying your best to suck them like a cigarette but giving in and biting into the candy goodness.

27. Stacking Your Chairs On The Table At The End Of The Day

I can't even remember why this was a thing - I'm pretty sure the teacher said it was to help the cleaners by clearing the floor of furniture.

Either way, it was asking for trouble - usually in the form of badly-stacked chairs falling on to people.

28. The Demon Headmaster

You thought your own real-life teachers were bad enough, but this guy was in a horror-league of his own.

Don't look directly into his eyes, kids.

29. Putting A Bucket On Your Head To Recreate Knightmare

This children's adventure gameshow was an absolute treat - complete with cool armour.

The Helmet of Justice was a mask of honour.

30. Getting A Football Kicked At You From Behind

Physical Education and playing outdoors was a dangerous game - you could end up getting smacked in various places on the body by a particularly painful inflatable ball.

Worst places include directly in the face, and the butt.

31. The Best P.E Apparatus The School Could Buy

Feeling like a true hero and rebel if you managed to climb to the top of one of these things.

And then realising you have vertigo and being too terrified to climb back down.

32. Being Supplied The Thinnest Mats To Break Your Fall

Yep, this thing was the only padding between you and the hard wooden floor.

And for some reason, it was generally accepted that that was okay.

33. Swapping Shiny Football Stickers

Having a pile always at the ready in the pocket of your blazer or school pants.

Then running home to add them to your sticker book.

34. Making Weapons From Multilink Cubes

Originally intended as a learning resource, these were instead used as a competition for who could create the longest sword when the teacher wasn't looking.

The worst part was picking them all back up off the floor afterwards.

35. Staying Up Late To Watch Eurotrash

Channel 4's answer to educating people about European culture - in a purely ridiculous way.

And feeling like the number one rebel when you stayed up past your bedtime to watch it.

36. Making A Fortune-Teller From Paper

Choose a colour, number and lift a flap, and there you have it - your entire future, 100% true and definitely not written by your classmate with a biro moments before.

And feeling supremely superior if you knew how to make one of these.

37. Playing MASH On A Scrap Of Paper

As if the previous item wasn't enough, with MASH you could get a more in depth look into your future life.

Results included who you were going to marry, where you were going to live and what job you were going to have.

38. The Amazing Snack That Was Iced Gems

No school lunchbox was complete without a pack of these - and made you feel weirdly selfish about offering them out to your friends (you only got about 4 in a pack, after all).

Combine with a tube of blue smarties and a Penguin biscuit for best results.

39. Playing With Polystyrene Gliders

These cute little planes were able to be assembled in less than a minute - but resulted in hours of fun.

Maybe even days, depending on what else you had going on.

40. Making The Most Important Decision Of Your Life When Choosing A Pencil Case

Standing for hours in WH Smith trying to select the perfect pencil case (which your classmates are probably going to end up writing all over anyway).

And then moving on to the equally important decision of which bag to put your pencil case in. One strap or two? Zips or drawstring? Named brand or not?

41. Realising The True Potential Of 50 Pence Pieces

After watching this TV program, you thought there was magic in every coin.

It was a time when rubbing the Queen's face was a normal thing to do.

42. The Legend That Was The Projector

You knew it was going to be an awesome lesson when your teacher wheeled in one of these and dimmed the lights.

It was even better when you were asked to come to the front and write on the projection paper with a squeaky felt-tipped pen.Thanks for joining me on this nostalgic journey!