- Images of "Tick-tock Time", "Wielie Walie", "Rupert", "Liewe Heksie", "The Gummi Bears", "Pumpkin Patch", "Minna Moo" and "Bennie Boekwurm" still Float through your mind.
- Melrose cheese wedges, Simba Chips and Super-Moo's were your 'cool' staple diet at school. You also got sick of peanut butter and syrup sarmies.
- Your idea of fun was to slide down the banks on boxes, form little gangs, hold charm/marble competitions and play rounders/stingers in the street. Ever see kids doing this these days??
- You thought you were cool or a rebel if your pierced your ear.
- Your idea of good food included Wimpy Burgers, Milo, Nesquick, Smurfers, Tinkies, Tempos, Smarties, Marmite, Fray Bentos, Black Cat and Pronutro.
- Your favourite music station was Capitol-604, with the "Little Irish Devil"or 5FM and its "Coca-Cola Top 40" (still in existence today).
- Your favourite TV show as a teen was Pop Shop.
- You had to beg your parents to let you stay up to watch "Dallas", WKRP", Magnum PI" "Family Ties", "Three's Company" and "Who's the Boss" at 8:30pm.
- You thought that "Apartheid" was in existence to protect us.
- You didn't understand why sanctions were initiated against South Africa.
- You still own a pair of cut-off knitted gloves, reminiscent of the breakdance period.
- You used words like "shot bru" (thanks, man), "kiff" (good), "lekker" (even better), "safe" (cool), "my China" (my
- friend), "don't tune me grief" (don't mess with me), "smaak" (like), "piepie-joller" (pre-teen), "poof" (gay), "yuppie" (a wealthy
- know-all), "wet" (nerd), "naff" (effeminate), "pillik" (asshole), wicked" (amazing), "dude"('cool' guy),
- "parrah" (fight), "dweeb" (stupid fool), "klap" (punch), "dop"(drink), "graze" (food), "chow" (food), "dos" (sleep) and "my pozzie" (my place).
- You associate a "B-52" with a pop group, and NOT a hairstyle, drink or bomb.
- You remember when the Rand was 5¢ stronger than the GB£, 15¢ stronger than the US$ and nearly twice as strong as the Canadian and Australian Dollar.
- You remember the gold price being in excess of US$800.
- You know how to do the "Moonwalk", how to "Breakdance" or how to "Rock the Baby" and "Do the Eiffel Tower" with a Yo-Yo.
- You owned either a Rubik's Cube, BMX, Donky Kong Game, luminous socks, Kung-fu shoes, Atari, walkman, Ken doll,
- Matchbox cars (esp. "Hot Wheels"), Cabbage-Patch Kids, or any He-man toy.
- You smeared "Coppertone" or "Tropitone" on just your nose, but the best method of tanning involved "Johnson's baby oil"!
- You looked cool if you sat in the sun all day and burnt yourself to a red crisp. After all, getting some sun was healthy for you.
- Beaches and picnics were the order of the day, as were braais (barbecues) next to the pool.
- You knew all of your neighbours and their kids.
- You went to the movies to watch "Star Wars", "Saturday Night Fever", "Grease", "The God's Must Be Crazy", "ET",
- "Annie", "Rocky III", "Superman", "Flashdance", "Beverly Hills Cop", "Ghostbusters", "Top Gun", "Dirty Dancing", "The Naked Gun" and "TheGoonies".
- You could hire videos, but could not purchase them by South African laws.
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- You visited the drive-in with Mom and Dad, wearing just your jammies and stokies!
- You remember how large chocolate bars actually WERE, when gobstoppers still used to be called nigger balls and
- hullaballoo chewing gum with collectible pictures in the wrapping.
- You remember what R5 could buy you, viz. (i) the bus into town, (ii) a movie, (iii) a Coke and popcorn, (iv) a pie,
- gravy, chips and milkshake at the "Clover Bar" and (v) the bus home.
- You were allowed time-off from school to watch Lady Diana marry Prince Charles.
- You frequented the corner-shop because they had 'cool' games like "Pac Man", "Donkey Kong", "Dig Dug", "Space
- Invaders", "Asteroids", "Lady Bug", "Moon Patrol" and "Defender".
- You felt proud when it was known that South Africa was the only country to manufacture Fanta Grape and Fanta Tropical.
- You attended the Coca-Cola/Fanta Yo-Yo competitions with a view to winning a "Chopper bike", "BMX" or Coca-Cola sweatshirt.
- You associate "Band-Aid" with a group of British musicians who raised money for African countries, and not with a plaster.
- You were part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja* turtle craze (*later changed to "Hero").
- You remember Enid Blyton books being banned because Noddy slept with Big Ears, and this was considered too risqué!
- Haley's Comet fascinated you.
- You remember "Love Is" stickers being the craze.
- You voted or lived through the Referendum to end "Apartheid".
- You sat in front of the TV as Nelson Mandela was released from prison, thinking "what next".
- You remember how cool it was to wear cut-off sweatshirts, luminous plastic bangles and Chinese attire.
- You have images of Zola Budd mistakenly tripping Mary Decker in the 1500m at the Los Angeles Olympic Games [Zola Budd
- competed for Great Britain].
- You can only name the US presidents from Ronald Reagan onwards.
- You remember the only major international products available for South African consumption before 1989 being Coke and KFC.
- The only tekkies (sneakers) available before 1989 were "Bata" plain white tennis shoes which could be miraculously cleaned with "shoe whitening".
- You remember the milk-man arriving at 4am, and didn't flutter an eye-lid if the dogs barked.
- Every household in your neighbourhood had a swimming pool built in their back-yard.
- Open-discos ruled.
- The cops/ambulance actually arrived within 3 minutes of being called. Nowadays, a pizza arrives thrice as quick.
- You remember the pandemonium that resulted when "Scope" magazine removed the 'stars' to expose the naked female breast...
- Your favourite magazines or comics were "Family, Radio and TV", "Richie Rich", "Beano", "Reader's Digest" or "National Geographic".
- Theme Parks were a dream, or reserved for places like Disneyworld.
- "Instinct", "Gotcha", "Billabong", "Island Style" and "Quicksilver" surf-gear dominated your wardrobe during your High School years.
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