Apparently most youngsters of today are wrapped in "cotton wool".An American book is now the must have--the gist of which is "50 things a child should do before before they grow up".
Obviously ,whilst at K.B.G.S. we did`nt experience "cotton wool".My most vivid memory is of train-spotting at Utley and putting pennies on the`line before the "Thamey"

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1959-1966

Current location (optional) HAWORTH

Jumping up and down on discarded sheets of asbestos was a bit dangerous too, though we didn't know it at the time...

not to mention wandering around with weapons such as air rifles, Diana air pistols, etc leading to the son of the Mayor shooting me in the face. Has anyone got any leads on John Hammond yet? If so, please tell him all is forgiven and he can have the pellet back if he wants it.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1958-61

Current location (optional) Blue Mountains, Australia via Haworth

Hi John
I did post on here a year or more ago that John Hammond lives in the Wanaka area of the South Island in NZ. I met up with the Hammonds a few years ago down there. Cheers.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1947-51

Current location (optional) Auckland NZ

Stop worrying,Allan. In order to damage the human lung,certain conditions must be met. The people most likely to be killed by asbestos have always been those exposed to its fibres over long periods and in heavy concetrations.It is not enough just to inhale the fibres.The body's natural defences will overcome the vast majority. Asbestos fibres are so common in the air we breath that everybody injests some 14000 fibres every day.The lungs of anyone over 50 may contain some 200million.The dangers were"sexed up" by lawyers and contractors who made fortunes from home-owners,businesses,local authorities,schools,churches,charities et al.Asbestos fibres are as dangerous as Sadam's "weapons of mass destruction"!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 55-60

Current location (optional) Harrogate

"Asbestos fibres are as dangerous as Sadam's "weapons of mass destruction"!- Ommigod....does that mean I could be dead in 45 minutes????

Fascinating stuff, Alec. Chapter and verse would make me even more s##t scared.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1952-60

Current location (optional) Lincoln

No Allan, it just means that you mustn't admit that you ever had any asbestos in the past, or some nutter will bomb the s**t out of you.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) leeds

Whilst most of my stuff is now filed under WPB,Terry,if you are interested:- "Asbestos litigation;malignancy in the courts",Civil Justice Forum 40,August 2002.(2) Environmental Health Criteria,53(WHO,Geneva,1986) (3) "The health effects of chrysophile:current perspective based upon recent data" Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology,45(2006)252-64.(4) The Toxicological Response of Brazilian Chrysophile Asbestos Inhalation Toxicology 18(2006) 313-32 (5) "The Biopersistence of Canadian Chrysophile Asbestos Following Inhalation", Inhalahtion Toxicology,17 (2005) 1-14 (6) Journal of Occupational Medicine 32(1990) 1088-90, may do to be going on with. Let me know how you go on.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 55-60

Current location (optional) Harrogate

Yes, Alec, as I suspected, it's got me even more s##t scared.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1952-60

Current location (optional) Lincoln

Yes! Twenty of the 50 'Dangerous things', appeared in an(exclusive) extract from the book, in Saturday's Times, suggesting projects ranging from science experiments to outdoor adventures. The authors believed strongly that we do children harm if we never allow them to assess danger. There are things like 'Licking a 9-volt battery','Burning things with a Magnifying Glass','Exploding a Bottle in the Freezer','Climbing Trees', 'Playing with Fire',etc
One of the most 'Dangerous' things I can remember doing in my youth was to walk on ice. My memory tells me that it was on the River Aire above Stockbridge, but it's more than likely to have been the more static water of the Canal near Peck Wood. I was with other boys at the time and we were so much lighter in those days, weren't we?
It goes without saying that whenever I hear on the News about children falling through the ice whilst larking about on a pond, lake or tarn, or older people losing their lives trying to rescue a dog in the same predicament, I realise how lucky I was then,to have 'got away with it'.
And I wouldn't mind betting that in the past other Forum readers 'got away with it', too.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1945-1950

Current location (optional) Keighley

I suppose that it was dangerous ...........
After the 'Fire' we were given 1 weeks holiday. Not much to do in February so we (from memory; George and David Clarkson, Neil & Paul Cuthbert, Tony Greaves, Geoff Pickles and some others decided that we'd use our air rifles (Diana .177's)Neil & Paul's garden between Hainworth Wood Road and the old Great Northern line through Ingrow East.

After buying our ammunition at Willis Walker's we made our way up to the Cuthbert's garden where we split into 'teams' and spent may happy hours firing at each other in almost real games of 'army' or 'cowboys & indians'.

A brilliant week thanks to the fire and weather
.

No injuries but realistic when you were dodging the 'bullets'.

Makes 'paintball' look like a game for 'softies'!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1959 - 1966

Current location (optional) Embsay

I borrowed an air rifle to scare starlings in my roof. When we took down our Christmas decorations a couple of balloons found their way into the back garden. I decided to burst them firing from a bedroom window.First shot - bang on target - but the balloon didn't burst. Almost instantly I felt something hit me in the corner of my mouth. I felt and retrieved from the soft flesh around there - the slug I had fired at the balloon. It had retraced its flight from the rifle almost to the inch - and finished up only inches from my eye. Never fired another slug since.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1952-60

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1947-51

Current location (optional) Auckland NZ