#111

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#113

parents very strictly religious, way way more so than those of any other kids we knew. so we barely went to the cinema ever, no TV in the morning (“because it fills your head with rubbish”), no non-supermarket-brand cereal (“it’s all made by the same people anyway, that’s how they make their money”), no computer games, no computer, no Grange Hill until we were teens (something about it being violent despite it being on at half past 4 in the afternoon), no ‘fun’ desserts like Arctic Roll/Vienetta, no restaurants (because we were ‘terrible eaters’ supposedly), no hi-fi to speak of until i was i think maybe 12/13…

if you can picture Lord and Lady Whiteadder from Blackadder II then you’re halfway there.

#114

Not strictly something I could ‘have’, but my mum refused to let me join the local football club because football was for ‘common’ kids. I had to play rugby instead.

#115

My mum is a bit of a crank. Not a health nut, she’s not consistent enough. She had/has fads that she gets over very quickly. I distinctly remember the time she got rid of all the chocolate and replaced it with carob. Luckily that was over quickly.

She also went through a longer phase of buying this range of sugar-free sweets from Boots. They came in a white wrapper with a crocodile on.

Any ailment you get is blamed on the fact you eat sugar and can be cured by taking a vitamin.

(This is the same woman who happily gave me cans of red bull to take in with lunch at school when I was 13 or so.)

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#116

For a while, I had one devoutly Christian parent and one aggressively anti-Christian parent. Which made for some pretty limited leisure options.

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#117

I wasn’t allowed ketchup because my mum thought it was ‘common’

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#118

‘Common’ was a big thing in the 70s/80s but… i think it’s died out now? People probably just say ‘chavvy’ instead so i guess things haven’t moved on much. But ‘common’ had its own weird logic sometimes. Certain colours, certain fabrics, foods etc. It’s a baffling place, The Past.

#119

My mum is pretty much like the main character in keeping up appearances

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#120

I watched so much completely inappropriate stuff too when I was younger, because no-one bothered to monitor anything.

Got out loads of library books that were way too old for me when I was about 9-12 too. The mildest form of rebellion. The library was next to the supermarket, and my dad used to get some odds and ends of groceries while I was picking, and meet me outside.

#121

Except with added religious intensity

#122

My mother is like if Hyacinth Bucket was also a massive hippy.

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#123

Just out of interest: did your parents (and @ttf 's) ever try to foist upon you any of the Christian alternatives to mainstream culture? For instance, DC Talk, Delirious?, Ishmael (though that’s going back a few years)… Oh - and Veggie Tales (which I missed out on entirely).

#124

Mine aren’t Christian (always a bit reluctant to say my religious background on here is there as there aren’t many of them so it identifies me and I’m weirdly paranoid)

#125

They also wouldn’t let me be a vegetarian because they thought I’d die of protein deficiency or something.

#126

Did have to go to lots of religious summer schools and things, could tell my parents wanted me to think of that as my community but I was more interested in the ‘common’ kids

#127

Ah okay - sorry, that was a really daft assumption for me to make. And of course, there’s no need to say. Apologies!

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#128

Pot noodles

Sugary cereal

MR frosty

Screwball scramble

Any games/toys that require batteries

Branded clothing

Watching Grange Hill, think this was down to teen pregnancy story line?

Irking thing is they now buy my kids football kits, battery heavy toys, fruit loop and coco pops cereal etc etc.

#129

ah clearly not, i must’ve escaped all that. the occasional vaguely-religious themed film and tv show but nothing much else.

#130

Theo’s the name, Brio’s the game

#131

A trampoline
Broadband
MySpace

Wasn’t allowed to watch 15 rated movies til I was 14. Once had a 13 y/o friend over and we watched the 40 Year Old Virgin and my dad absolutely flipped when he found out that an underage person was watching a rated film. Went proper crazy. She was like “wtf I watch 18s all the time.” Also wasn’t allowed to drink any alcohol (my mum was going to give me some pimms when I was 12 and my dad went berserk about he was going to get arrested if she did :’) )