Those big cotton reel thingies!

[Teel]

Does anyone remember those giant cotton reel type things and lots of people seemed to have in their yards?  Obviously, looking back now they were used for some sort of cable but at the time my mind thought of them as giant cotton reels.    I don't know why we had about 3 or 4 in our yard but they were very handy to play on.  We used to try and be circus performers and walk on them as they rolled around or just perch on them and survey the world from way up high.  We also had a sausage dog called Ringo who scared me witless so they were also handy to scramble up out of the reach of his snapping little jaws.

[SandyB]

Ha ha .. yes  they  were cable  spools ...  seems  everybody  had  one  to  play on  at  some  time or  other .. .. good  for  teaching  balance  skills ..  a  good  memory brought  back  thanks ..

[Diana Rudd (Boehme)]

Oh yes we had one as well. Why on earth did we have them? Were they high enough to use as a table? I would have thought to high. Did our dads think lets get one for the kids? We must have full gardens back then what with swings,tonner-rocker tyres,tonner-rocker innertubes,Giant cotton reels anybody remember anything else?

[Barbara Eia (Brownless)]

I remember having one of those cable spools in our garden i didn't know what it was used for. Another thing everyone had was the half drums for a braai.

[Dalene Steenkamp (Coetzee)]

Cable reels and pondoks go hand in hand for me.  We had a braai pondok with 2 smaller cable reels in that were used as tables.  Then there was the pondok that served as my brothers room with a cable reel next to it  -  some of the planks of the middle part was removed to serve as a dog house.  Dad also had a tool pondok with a cable reel inside - bench grinder was fixed to it with bolts and again some of the planks were removed.  Planks were inserted like shelves on the inside and lots of other stuff was stacked on them.  Another cable reel in the front garden where my mom placed some of her outside pot plants.

The dog house one used to be our "stage".  As it was placed against the neighbours fence  -  lekker lekker  -  we could also pick their ripe figs without entering their garden when standing on it.

[Melanie Jonker]

Teel - remember when we used to remove some of the inner planks and then try and force our bodies inside and make our own cubby hole? I can also remember the pondok vividly - there was a heap of wood stacked behind it (between the pondok and the fence) and I used to be so scared of creepy crawlies that could be lurking in that wood.

[Michael Alexander]

We never had one, coz all the kids from the 60's took them, we found a massive one in the dump one day, the trick was to stand on the thing and try walk/roll it home... we kept on returning to the dumps for days on end...till one day somebody got there before us and swipped it.....

[Susan Kintscher (Lineker)]

i remember one begin in the 8th ave park, and some of the planks were removed, we use to climb in and someone would push it, great laughs.  Remember Gavin Munn wetting his pants from all the laughter.  Good old days...

[georg ruf jr.]

We never had one, coz all the kids from the 60's took them, we found a massive one in the dump one day, the trick was to stand on the thing and try walk/roll it home... we kept on returning to the dumps for days on end...till one day somebody got there before us and swipped it.....

There were plenty around in the 70s mike. Behind the power station. Don't know what that was. After hours i remember going there with Andy Morrow several times. Then there was an occasion with Steven Hucker who stried some form of "rectal inflation". Gee. how stupid. remember him bleeding.

[Michael Alexander]

You had strange friends JNr, and I was a law abiding kid and did not go into out of bounds AREAS....

[georg ruf jr.]

 :emot19: :emot19:

[Carl Wrbka]

Aaaah those cable reels. If you removed some of the inner planks you could fit inside and your buddies would roll you up and down the streets.

[georg ruf jr.]

Outch!! Sounds dangerous. As kids you just get up to a load of sh**.
:emot112:

[Michael Alexander]

I think I mentioned in here before, but my boets and a few friends were picked up by security for "borrowing" a few loafs of bread from the milk truck.... another story on it's own....

[Carl Wrbka]

Remember those coupons you would put out by your gate for milk and bread deliveries. It was easier to swipe the neighbours supply than to raid the milk truck.. hee hee

Then there was that bread that CDM made by the ton. We called it Owambo bread in those days. It was basically normal brown bread with raisons mixed into the dough. We used to hang around the bakery and nick a loaf or two when they came out the oven. For some or other reason they would always put the hot loaves of bread outside near the main delivery enterance to cool down. Bad mistake!