Childhood in Broadwell in the 60s & 70s (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, April 24, 2014, 01:01 (3861 days ago) @ Jefff

I've just rediscovered the great "Foresters Reunited" website which was first created around the year 2000. I attended the Royal Forest Grammar School near Berry Hill, 1973 intake, as was Richard Howarth from the "FR" site. Despite sharing a dinner table and mutual mates we wern't close friends, probably as he was already "well-in" with several others from that neck of the woods, whereas I was an "outsider" - one of the "invading" minority from across the Forest; Cinderford, Littledean, and as far out as Westbury.

Anyhow, thankfully we all get older and wiser, so it was a real pleasure to find that Richard and I share a common love of the Forest and Foresters. I particular enjoyed reading this piece; despite supposedly being from "different" parts of the Forest, clearly boys in the late 60s and early 70s all did the same mad things on our bikes, except our scrambling track was at Collafield at the top of Cinderford. When considered old enough, abt 16, we'd cycle to Coleford for a day and maybe an illicit lunchtime GL shandy in a pub where we wern't known - I wonder if Richard and his mates came to Cinderford for the same, I'll ask him at the next school reunion ?

No doubt other readers were doing similar daft things wherever they lived, be it Ruardean or Lydney or.... we were SO lucky having the world's best adventure playground on our doorsteps; and parents and grownups who thought it all part of just "growing-up".

I hope you enjoy "Ol' bikes and O' Buts - 70's Child in the Forest" by Richard Haworth
http://www.helm.uk.com/pages/forestreunited/forest4/bikes_o%27buts.html