Diet Santa

**The Beast** · 5th December 2005, 09:33

They stopped doing it coz some kid got run over when they ran out into the street to get the lollies.

**scumdog** · 5th December 2005, 09:43

Originally Posted by Colapop

I remember when I was a kid they used to spray us with the fire hose from the back of teh firetruck AND throw lollies at us. My old man was a volunteer fireman and the y had about 10 or so huge bags for the parade. And it wasn't just the firemen, all floats had lollies.

Yeah, I remember the old guy at Quinneys Bush at Motupiko had an old army quad that had a big (about 6" X *8") beam bolted across the back of it, must have been about 18' long.
It had about 8 lengths of rope about 15' long attached to it and the other end of the ropes had hessian sacks with aluminium plates attached under them, you sat on these sacks and got towed along on the ground behind the quad.

He use to tow us kids all over the camp-ground behind that quad at what seemed a pretty fast speed, the best part was going through the ashes of old camp-fires, made a hell of a cloud of white ash!!

OSH? we don't need no stinkin' OSH"s!!
(Apology to all streotype film Mexicans on this site)

**Colapop** · 5th December 2005, 10:01

Originally Posted by scumdog

Yeah, I remember the old guy at Quinneys Bush at Motupiko had an old army quad that had a big (about 6" X *8") beam bolted across the back of it, must have been about 18' long.
It had about 8 lengths of rope about 15' long attached to it and the other end of the ropes had hessian sacks with aluminium plates attached under them, you sat on these sacks and got towed along on the ground behind the quad.

He use to tow us kids all over the camp-ground behind that quad at what seemed a pretty fast speed, the best part was going through the ashes of old camp-fires, made a hell of a cloud of white ash!!

OSH? we don't need no stinkin' OSH"s!!
(Apology to all streotype film Mexicans on this site)

Doing 'shit' was a way of life when I was a kid - now they're not allowed to do anything but sit around getting fat. And then adults complain that our kids are getting fat. I see they're going around cutting down rope swings over swimming holes now too. Bastards! Some of my best scars come from doing shit like that!
Was a time, when we lived on the farm, I'd go out on my Kawa 90 first thing Saturday morning and not get back 'til Sunday night. Sleep in the Hay shed, have lunch with the shearing gang or build a fire and cook some eels. I learned so much.... I got the scars to prove it (and it didn't kill me)

**Wolf** · 5th December 2005, 10:53

Riding on the back of the flat-bed truck dressed only in togs with a towel across the shoulders on public roads on route to the nearest swimming hole - surrounded by adults to ensure we didn't fall off - right past the local sharks and police who just ignored it because our dad was driving sensibly (I think if he'd two-wheeled the truck round a corner with us on the back they might have had a few words...)

Building our own rickety tree huts and home-made flying foxes (a simple wooden bar to cling to is all that's required - if you let go mid flight that's your own stupid fault) and putting up the aforementioned tyre swings or just a simple rope out over the river...

The biggest threat to safety around is OSH - they're trying to turn the entire population into a bunch of overweight soft mollycoddled poofters that will never be able to cope with a true emergency. When the Invading Hordes(tm) come, the general population will be as used to hardship, pain and good old fashioned physical exercise as a fish is used to mountain biking - they'll all be stuffed good and proper and OSH will be running around trying to fine the Invading Hordes for having "naughty" sharp bits on their spears...

**Yokai** · 5th December 2005, 10:58

Originally Posted by Biff

They cut down a load of chestnut trees 1/2 mile form my kids school back in the UK - just in case some of the school kids picked up some chestnuts and attempted to play 'conkers'.

hang on - didn't they cut them down because kids were throwing things up at the trees in order to get the conkers down... These trees were close to a road, IIRC, and the council was worried about things hitting the cars or something....

Or was that a different load of chestnuts?

**Mooch** · 5th December 2005, 11:28

Originally Posted by idb

*Sigh*
Went down to the Santa parade in Invercargill today.
Pretty good it was too.
I noticed there were no freebies being flung off the floats this year, I love battling the pre-schoolers for the lollies, I usually win too...........
Anyhoo, I was chatting to a cop I know and he told me that no-one was allowed to throw lollies any more cause of the risk of injury to the bystanders.
I feel like crying.
I despair of this society sometimes, I really do...................

Maybe your business should sponsor sweeties next year then .... Time to give back to Santa.

**Lou Girardin** · 5th December 2005, 11:41

It's just a lack of courage at work. If people simply told these safety nazis to make love elsewhere there'd be no problem.

**Wolf** · 5th December 2005, 11:47

Originally Posted by Lou Girardin

It's just a lack of courage at work. If people simply told these safety nazis to make love elsewhere there'd be no problem.

Regrettably, they have the backing of the govt and the ability to do nasty things to your employer - which is likely to "filter down the ranks".

**Beemer** · 5th December 2005, 13:25

And of course it's ruined the fun for those on the floats who used to throw lollies too - half the fun was picking out the greediest fat kid and seeing how hard you could throw a boiled lolly at him! Wrapped of course, you had to think of the hygiene...

It's like kids birthday parties nowadays - they put wrapped lollies inside the balloons so if one bursts, there is a little treat to dry the kids' tears. And they all get goody bags to take home - shit, in my day you were lucky if you got a bit of cake and a party whistle!

No wonder kids today are always moaning about being bored, they're not allowed to do anything in case they hurt themselves!

**mstriumph** · 5th December 2005, 13:29

.................. and don't even think about sitting on Santa's knee anymore ...

**Yokai** · 5th December 2005, 13:44

Originally Posted by mstriumph

.................. and don't even think about sitting on Santa's knee anymore ...

Ummm - I'll be your santa - if you'll just sign this waiver.....

**Korea** · 5th December 2005, 13:46

(1)The lolly scramble at my primary school dropped them from on high by biffing them out of the helicopter! Being pelted with Mintys quickly taught the kids that hanging out under a hail of hard candies is a bloody stupid idea - Oh yes, truely we graduated from the school of hard knocks. Not really.

(2)Sitting in a trailer being towed by a 4-wheel motorbike around mate's farm - feels just like a rollercoaster if you close your eyes and lean out around the corners - until of course he cut it close at the gate and my head made contact with the fencepost at about 30kmph.
A little concussion, but 'twas all in good fun.

Anyway, the morale of the story is:
"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

I recommend that all kids should go around getting paper cuts and minor burns - it's valuable education.

**Lou Girardin** · 5th December 2005, 14:20

Originally Posted by Wolf

Regrettably, they have the backing of the govt and the ability to do nasty things to your employer - which is likely to "filter down the ranks".

Seriously, what are they going to do if you got a sack full of sweets and started throwing them to kids?
Send in a squad of cops and drag you off the float?
Prosecute?
As Nike says, "just do it"

**Colapop** · 5th December 2005, 14:23

I just don't understand what's wrong with the pc killfuntards in NZ at the moment. Festivals around the world are far more dangerous than a hokey little xmas parade with a few lollies being thrown. In Spain they do that human pyramid thing don't they - those kids are encouraged to climb up unstable packs of people called 'Castalera'. All around Asia they've got festivals where fireworks are let of pretty much anywhere they damn well please and we're being told to worry about a few lollies?
Sure they've had problems with kids chucking things at Santa in parades before and sure some kid might have got run over (but not killed) but come on what ever happened to the said kids a smack in the ear and being told to stop it? The naughty ones - not the run over one, that kids parents need a smack in the ear.
We'd be in a whole world of trouble if we didn't have playstation and tv wouldn't we? Think of the number of skinned knees and booboos there'd be - Oh the Calamity!!