SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Had my bath, clean sheets, ready for school. Nowt on TV so what now?I got to thinking about what things from my childhood still make me laugh after all these years.About Ten years old, Circa 1973, when me and my muckers fell about laughing at the sight or a pure white cat that had been given 'Mascara' eyebrows. They made it look a bit quizzical. It made us lose bladder control.

I remember as a kid in Hunslet we were having a game of hide and seek i thought i had found the perfect place to hide.One of the houses had been knocked down there was the wall joined to the house next door with the chimney breast still there i managed to climb up this about three feet.No one could find me until i came down i was black has the ace of spades they all started to laugh not so my mum when i got home.

At the age of three in 1939 I lived at the junction of Victoria Road and Chestnut Avenue - along with playmates we used to put ha'pennies or pennies on the tram lines when a car came into view on the Victoria Road/Belle Isle service. This mischief held two delights, firstly the look of terror on the poor tram drivers' faces at the thought of nearly scooping an infant up in the "cowcatcher" - and secondly the paper thin white hot remains of the coin when the tram had passed over it !!

On the subject of Trams we used to wait at the Gipton terminus and when the Coductor went round to the front to have 10 minutes break withe Driver we used to sneak up to the rear of the Tram and open the wooden box that held used tram tickets (in place of cigarette cards) this treasure was wonderful different colours but sadly different conditions as some users had rolled them up or torn them. usually we had to exit smartly as sometimes "Gerraway you little edited for content echoed across Wkebeck Valley Road and Monkey Bridge.