We all have these photos … throwback photos!
It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.
Every Thursday we will throw a few photos of ‘way back when’ on our blog. Why on a Thursday? Because it’s just a day away from the weekend … and we love weekends!
You are welcome to join in or just enjoy the photos (#TB Thursday).
Childhood memories – 1970s
“Some days I wish I could go back to my childhood. Not to change anything, but to feel a few things twice.” Unknown
Us – more than 45 years ago
While flipping through stacks of photos, we found a few photos of us as little kids. We had a good laugh at Berto who didn’t want to smile in photos, while I smiled from ear to ear – in more than 45 years it hasn’t changed at all! In today’s throwback, we share some of these photos. We’re not sure when it was taken, but it’s probably in the mid 1970s.
Berto:
Berto is the youngest in his family and has two older sisters. He was a mischievous boy with blond hair who constantly kept his parents on their toes.
Berto and his mum
He grew up in small towns in Namaqualand and loved to play outside in nature. He would much rather ride his bike, swim and climb mountains than do his schoolwork.
Not happy to pose for a photo, because he wanted to play
Although Berto didn’t like schoolwork very much, he loved school. And the reason for this was because he could participate in various sports activities. He was a very good athlete and loved athletics and playing rugby.
Berto with various sport trophies he won in primary school
Corna:
I have an older brother and was quite exemplary according to my mother (even my brother listened to me). That’s probably why my cousin decided it wouldn’t be a risk to make me a flower girl and my brother a page boy at their wedding.
Me and my brother at my cousin’s wedding
I was a happy kid if I could spend time outdoors. With an older brother who loved sport, it was therefore no surprise that I played netball, tennis, cricket and even rugby from an early age! Like Berto, I loved all the sports activities at school, but I also did my schoolwork diligently.
In my favourite play outfit in our garden
A special memory from my childhood is that my mother always baked the most delicious and beautiful cakes for our birthdays. Photos were then taken with the cake and I was usually in my prettiest dress for the special occasion.
On my brother’s 6th birthday
It was nice to look back on our childhood and all the wonderful memories. Between me and Berto, all we can say is:
The first 50 years of childhood are the hardest! May there always be a child in you.
- All photos were scanned
Wet and Dusty Roads 
Ah the memories huh… Isn’t it terrifying when you look at old photos and see the background (cars, clothes etc) and it looks just so damned OLD! Fun too though.
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You’re right! We especially laughed about our clothing … and on the photo with me and the cake, you can see a turntable 👀 … that’s OLD!
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Going back through old photo albums is a lot of fun. Since everything is now digital, which is incredibly convenient, actual photographs are priceless. Nice post! 🙋
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Thank you Angela. Yes, there is great nostalgia in browsing through old photos … it reminds me of when we were little too and brings back the most beautiful memories.
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For sure. When I was small I used to print photos in our home photo lab. The process was so long but it was fun🙂
I love your idea of Throwback Thursday. That’s cool
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It’s interesting to read about your photo lab at home … I can only imagine how you must have enjoyed it 🙂. I’m glad you like our Throwback Thursday posts – it’s so much fun for us to look back on memorable times!
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It was huge things. Actually my father printed photos and I always helped him. Whole night until early morning. It was so cool that I never felt asleep 😀
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Aw, those old photos are so wonderful. They spark such incredible memories.
I love seeing the old cars and clothes, too. It’s so evocative of a different time.
Thank you for sharing.
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There are so many stories locked in old photos! Life was so simple then and yet we had so much fun. Thank you for coming with us on our nostalgia trip 🌸.
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What a wonderful look back to both of your childhoods Corna. It’s lovely to reminisce occasionally and to wonder where all those years have gone!
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Yes, we’ve come a long way from the mid 1970s, right? So many things have changed over the years … yet we are still inherently the same person (and we are grateful to be where we are today – probably because of how we grew up).
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You’re right, Berto hasn’t changed a bit! I enjoyed reading about your childhoods and seeing the photos; looks like you were both happy go lucky kids. This is a great post Corna; I love old photos.
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I think all that has changed about Berto is that he has gained a few grey hair 😁. I guess being able to grow up in the countryside had its benefits. Thanks Tricia, it was so nice to share these photos!
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Nice memories and there’s the famous smile! All the photos of my childhood were black and white because that was antiquity! Our school took pictures of the children every year. My brother’s are quite funny. Before we left England, Mum used to invite some of my friends for afternoon tea on our birthdays. She made individual sponge cakes which she iced, writing the children’s names on each one. Mum loved giving parties!
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I think I said it before … that smile helped me a lot in my customer service days in the hospital 😄. I also have a school album with photos of me in each year (some of those photos look quite funny too)! You have such beautiful memories of your mother – I love reading about it. I think that individual sponge cakes were such a lovely idea.
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Looking back at the old photos is fun, for sure🙂
We had a good laugh last Christmas, when all family was gathered around the table and my mom produced some old albums, and we started sharing stories, emotions, and laughs.
xx
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See, that’s the great thing about flipping through old photos … the “do you remember” conversations that ensue are just so much fun! Thanks for sharing your beautiful memories too 🌸.
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A lovely dip into nostalgia. Most of my childhood photos are in black and white! Now they illustrate how old I am…
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Ha, we’ve seen quite a few black and white photos of our parents as children and young adults … I guess we just missed that era 😉. But what we didn’t escape, is the ‘funny’ clothes!
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These pictures are fantastic. It’s so fun to see you and Berto in your younger years. Why am I not surprised to hear that Berto was a mischievous boy and that you were happiest when you were spending time outdoors!? I guess some things never change!
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Thank you Linda 😊. Ha, there are just certain character traits that we carry with us throughout our lives, right? It was so nice to relive our early years of childhood through these photos – one of our best throwbacks yet!
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That is funny that Berto never smiled in the pictures- too cool for them 😊 What great memories in you childhood photos. Thanks for sharing, Maggie
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Berto smiles easily … but not when a camera is nearby 😁. Thanks Maggie, this was a good trip down memory lane.
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Mal oor daardie blommemeisietjie met die pragtig gekrulde haartjies!
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Ag, dankie Tannie Frannie. Al was ek nog so klein daar, onthou ek wat ‘n lekker dag dit was … en ek wou nie daardie aand gaan slaap nie, want ek wou hê my hare moes nog so mooi lyk die volgende dag vir kerk 😍.
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Ah Corna, where is the WordPress’ “love” button? I really enjoyed these glimpses of your childhoods and the accompanying notes. Particularly Flower Girl Corna and Trophies Berto. Smiling in photos is such a curious and personal preference that people seem to have strong opinions about. As a young man (through to today) I sometimes smile in photos but was never keen on showing my teeth. I’m not sure why this is, my teeth are perfectly fine. I just always felt it was a little grotesque and over the top perhaps. There are a few rare photos of me with my teeth showing and I feel they are very ‘honest’ moments if that makes any sense.
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It’s interesting to hear that you don’t ‘smile big’ in photos either 🙂, but I do understand the term ‘honest moments’ (that’s exactly Berto’s take on it). To me, smiling is such a natural act, while people who meet Berto for the first time think he appears quite “angry” (and he’s actually a guy with a very soft heart). I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and short stories. For some reason it was quite difficult to describe ourselves 👀 … you almost feel a bit “exposed”. But hey, in the end it was kind of fun to look back on our childhood!
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Thank you for sharing a bit about yourself and your childhood, especially about your mum making your birthday cake. Such fond memories! I enjoyed getting to know you better. So nice to see all the photos. 🍰🏡🎶💐🙋♀️
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I’m glad you enjoyed the post Morag. Photos take you back so far and make you remember things you thought you had long forgotten! We are privileged to have good memories of our childhood and cherish them close to our hearts 💌.
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Yes we really are 💜🦋
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Aww this is so lovely. I really identify with this – “Some days I wish I could go back to my childhood. Not to change anything, but to feel a few things twice”. I look back on childhood with absolute nostalgia, largely about how young my parents were (hard to believe younger than I am now!), and how much we all did together. I’d love to live one of those days again.
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You actually describe it so beautifully Hannah 💌. Of course we cherish those childhood memories, more so if you had a happy childhood … and for that we are very grateful.
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Yes!! We all have these photos.
What a lovely post, so much nostalgia and many memories that come back when you look back in time. “May there always be a child in you”, so true, let go.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the post Anita! It was wonderful to look back on our carefree childhood days! I wish I appreciated the (uncomplicated) life more when I was a kid 😉.
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Ah, such great memories! You were both such cute kids. This was a wonderful blog post that gives us a glimpse into who you are. Maybe Mike and I need to do something similar so people can get to know us better.
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Thanks Kellye! And you’re right … it’s actually a really good way to introduce yourself to your blogger friends (now that you mention it). One’s appearance changes with the years (of course), but still you remain inherently the same person as when you were a little girl or boy 😉.
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