id 1150849367Фотография
Yep. In the late 1980s, I could walk around my Nan’s council estate at almost any time without fearing anyone. Other kids would introduce themselves, ask if you wanted to play football, ride bikes or just hang around. Meeting new kids meant making new friends.
My Nan never had to worry that I’d be taking drugs, getting drunk or attacking people. There were older bullies, of course, but usually in the old-school sense — a bit of intimidation or a dig, nothing like what you fear today.
Watching films like Stand By Me or The Goonies always reminds me of my summer holidays. Groups of us would disappear for hours, have little adventures, then come home safe and do it all again the next day.
Around 1989, a black family moved opposite my Nan. She hated it because those houses had always been occupied by older, respectful neighbours. Suddenly she was being woken by loud music, shouting, arguments, people coming and going at all hours, their dog attacked hers, and the peace she had known for years disappeared literally pver night. Sadly, my Nan died not long afterwards.
Looking back, that period always feels like the beginning of a change. Childhood then felt freer, safer and far more community-minded than it does today, and there is one and one reason only for that - demographics.