SUMMERTIME TOYS IN THE 60'S

These outdoor toys were the kind of thing you'd treat yourself to during the 7 weekies rather than add to your Christmas list.

The top Air Base ad is from 1969 and is for 2 styles of aircraft - a glider and a propeller based plane.

I can remember these. They were sold in newsagents as well as toy shops and came in long paper packets. You just assembled them yourself with the plane parts interlocking together. They worked really well too.
However, because they were made out of balsa wood, and what with boys being boys, they didn't have a very long life. The good thing was though, that once one was smashed, you'd just go buy another one because they were pretty cheap.

The Jetex ad is from 1966 and is for 2 different products - the Jet Car and the Hydroplane.

These were proper toys (not like the previous disposable type) with solid bodies and motors.

I didn't have these particular models but I have a hazy memory of other boys mucking about with fast modern vehicles, so they may very well have been these Jetex ones.

Perfect summer fun for primary aged kids.

THE SCHOOL FORTUNE TELLER

You'll all remember these paper fortune tellers from your school days. Place your index fingers and thumbs underneath the 4 segments then flip back & forwards.
Here's a reminder of the sequence involved -
FT OPERATOR "Pick a colour"
CLIENT "Blue"
FT OPERATOR "B-L-U-E"
FT OPERATOR "Pick a number"
CLIENT "Three"
FT OPERATOR "1-2-3"
FT OPERATOR "Pick another number"
CLIENT "Eight"
FT OPERATOR lifts flap and reads out what is written underneath the number 8 segment.
At primary school in the 60's we usually had silly things written like "You fancy the teacher" or something. In secondary in the 70's it was the same kind of thing...only X-Rated.!!

PLANT A TREE IN 73

Just to make sure the woodwork class didn't deprive the planet of too many trees, Craigie High was one of the schools who got involved in the national tree planting campaign in 1973.
Quite a few of us mucked in, with different classes allocated their own planting space around the school. Being a brand new school CHS had rather a lot of open ground just ready and waiting to be filled. The area where my lot planted ours was on the grassy bit of the school nearest to the Kingsway circle. Looking down at it now on Google Earth, 36 years later, I'm pleased to see all the trees in that area are now fully grown.
The images above are taken from a First Day Cover and show that they issued a stamp to mark the occasion.

BLACK STREET PLAY PARK - 1980'S

Looking like a NASA site rather than a Dundee Council area, this play park featuring a Space Shuttle chute & climbing frame was located in Black Street, just off Lochee Road. Also in the shot, taken in the early 80's, are swings and sandpit with digger.
Again, like the Craigie one, it is a thing of the past. I had a look on Google Earth for it but the whole area is now sitting empty.
Unless it IS a secret NASA site and has been airbrushed out..!!

CRAIGIE'S PLAY PARK IN THE 60'S

This was the play park we went to as kids in the 60's. It was in Kemnay Gardens opposite Crathie Place. It was a regular stop-off for us on our way to and from Balerno Primary School. We actually just referred to the whole area as "The Swings" but it also had a chute, 2 sets of swings, 2 roundabouts, a climbing frame and these monkey bars, above.
I had an accident on these very monkey bars around 1966. You know those somersaults kids do where you'd climb to the very top, lie on your belly grabbing the outer frame and birl around until you end up dangling - a move I'd done dozens of times before - well on this one occasion, I lost my grip, fell flat on my face and burst my nose! I ended up being taken home by the Parkie, surrounded by about 20 kids and my shirt covered in blood. I was rushed up to DRI for a check-up but there was nothing broken. Came back with a topper of a swollen nose and a couple of keekers. That'll teach me to show aff! Did get a few days off school mind you.
The Parkie's door in the photo was designed like a stable door, an upper half and a lower half. He would usually have the upper half open and lean on the closed lower half to keep an eye on things.
The shelter in the picture we'd use when it rained and played 2 touch, headers, truth-dare and so on.
The above image was taken in the 80's, and by the 90's, using the current method of creative thinking, turned the whole area into a car park.
Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG

THE TONIBELL MINIBALL

A novelty ice cream idea that was a big hit with youngsters in the 60's and 70's was the Tonibell Miniball - a plastic ball filled with ice cream. To tuck into the contents you removed the lid, and when the ice cream was all gone you just snapped the lid back on, then you could have a game of football, tennis and so on, with it. They were sold in various colours and they came with a flat wooden spoon.
This advert is dated June 1968 but I can recall when I was at Craigie High school in 1970-74, the 70's ones had either a gobstopper or bubblegum inside as an added extra feature. Needless to say we had many games of football in the playground with them too.
I've no idea when they stopped selling them, I don't have any memory of having ever seen them after my school days, but they were popular in their day, and one of the rare occasions when kids didn't get in trouble for playing with their food!

THE DUFFLE COAT - EARLY 60'S

Before the more popular quilted Anorak's and Parka's arrived in the mid 60's, the winter coat most often worn by kids in Dundee was the Duffle coat.

I certainly had a navy blue one with tartan lining.

According to this 1962 Milletts advert however, the navy blue Duffle with tartan lining was the cheapest of the range..!!

Oh well, at least I thought they looked better than the more expensive green and grey ones.

Click ad to enlarge

KIDS TRANSFERS IN THE 60'S

Another quirky little item I can remember from 60's childhood is transfers. I don't recall ever buying them from shops, they just seemed to be items I got "free". I got them out of comics and from the rag man who used to drive his van around Dundee's housing schemes for jumble. There were usually around 10 transfers on a sheet of paper and what you did was, cut out one of the images, wet your arm or back of hand (usually by licking), place the transfer onto the wet patch, hold into position for about a minute then peel off the back paper to reveal the image on your body like a tattoo. They were usually pictures of rockets, birds of prey, sportsmen and soldiers. The transfer above is an original unused one from the 60's which was too precious to waste my saliva on!

WAYFINDERS - 1966

I remember a lot of us wearing Wayfinders at Balerno school in the mid 60's. They appealed to primary aged kids because they were shoes with 2 novelties for the price of one. The first obvious one was the animal track soles for identifying various animal footprints. The second not so obvious novelty was a hidden working compass in the inside heel which needed the wearer to lift a wee round lid to get to it. The idea behind them was to encourage kids to have outdoor adventures, but the problem was, in order to see the animal tracks we had to stomp around in the mud which then lead to a bit of bother from parents when we came back home with messy shoes! Ok for snow unless they were bought in summer which usually meant the sole would be worn away by the time it snowed! Still good fun though.
I also seem to recall they came with a free wall chart or a booklet all about animal tracks.

1960'S SCHOOL BAGS

Every kid in the 60's when first starting primary, wore a SATCHEL (A). This was the standard school bag starter for infants. It had a small window frame where we would place our name into.
Next was the DUFFLE BAG (B). A more casual bag. This was a popular choice with us kids because as we were getting more sporty, these bags were ideal for keeping your swimming gear and sannies in. They had a drawstring design for quick access.
As we progressed, around longers wearing age, it was time to carry the HAVERSACK (C). A rougher canvas bag that most of the seniors used. It was pretty handy for fighting too I seem to remember. A wallop on the head really hurt!
By the end of the 60's a new design hit the scene, the SPORTS BAG (D). These were colourful, trendy and had zips. They became even more popular in the 70's when they designed the bag in football team colours with club badges printed on the side of them.

THE LOCHEE SWING - 1981

Here's a humorous slice of satire from the 80's.
A variety of aspirations centre around the simple concept of installing a kids swing - with a very real kinda punchline!
It's all rather self explanatory.
Click to enlarge.

THE 70'S MILK SACHET

In the 1970's, milk was available to buy in these plastic sachets shown above. A quick snip of the top corner, either using scissors or your teeth, and you had access to the contents. In addition, you could get plastic holders to place the sachets into which were designed to make it easier to pour and store at home. People used sachets a lot for their breaks at school and workplace.
I remember at Craigie High School we used to chuck them at each other in the playground. The idea was to catch the sachet without it bursting. Needless to say there were occassions when the bag did burst, resulting in sour blazers!!
Photo by The Scotsman.Tints by GG.

GUSSIE PARK CARNIVAL

I think most people will look back at visiting Gussie Park with fondness, despite its rather ramshackled appearance.

I certainly recall having fun there as a schoolboy in the 60's & 70's, usually during the easter & summer holidays.

I also remember it being a place where skirmishes took place when there were matches on up the road.!

The image of the carnival was taken in September 1965.

The Horne's advert is dated April 1986 and lists some of the attractions.

Photo by DC Thomson (with tints by GG).

60's CLACKERS

One of the most popular fads of the 60's, were Clackers. They took Dundee, and the rest of UK by storm. There was probably no street or playground where you couldn't hear the CLACK,CLACK,CLACK blasting out back then. The noise annoyed adults so much that they invented a story about them being dangerous and banned them.
Here, below, is some outlawed footage of the treacherous toy in action!!

SCHOOL BELTS IN THE 60'S

2 belts from Dundee's school days in the sixties that may make you cringe!
The TEACHER'S used the leather strap as punishment. A wallop on the hands for being a menace in class usually.
The PUPIL'S used the elasticated Snake belt to keep the troosers up. The belt would usually slip up around your belly dragging your shirt out with it!

GIRLS PLAYING ELASTICS - 1960's

Around the playgrounds and streets of Dundee in the 60's, one of the games girls used to play was ELASTICS.
They would tie dozens of elastic bands together to form a large loop and then they were ready.
2 girls stood opposite each other with the elastic loop around their ankles and a 3rd girl would jump in & out of them, as they did with skipping. There were different moves & different degrees of difficulty - twisting them, hopping in between etc.
After the first ankle level was complete, the elastics would be moved up to knee height, then the waist.
Can't recall now if there were rhymes that went with it too.
Anyway, here below is film of Dundee lassies showing how it's done...although demonstrating that you could also tie the elastics around a lamp-post to play the game.

CAP ROCKET

The cap rocket was another popular fad in the school playgrounds around Dundee in the 60's.

Made of a plastic body & metal top, an explosive cap was held in place under the spring catch at the tip - the rocket would then be chucked up into the air and because of its heavy top meant that it always landed on it's tip, so making it go bang when it hit the ground! 

Simple, but fun for kids of primary age.
The example above is one I still have!