close this book"I thought I'd learnt everything at 15 ; "a teenager during the 1940s
View the documentBackground
View the documentEffects of War on life
View the documentSocialising
View the documentMusic
View the documentPlaying with friends
View the documentPocket Money
View the documentGoing to work
View the documentLeaving School
View the documentCommunity
View the documentPicture Theatre
View the documentDances
View the documentEnd of War
View the documentPhotography and Film
View the documentFashions
View the documentBodgies and Widgies / Milkbar Cowboys
View the documentWedding in 1945
View the documentSmoking and Drinking
View the documentLocal Maori
View the documentReligion
View the documentWar

Dances

Went to dances in Lichfield on Saturday night in latter teenage years.

"Boys would congregate at the entrance, of the doorway, and stay there. One or two would buck up enough courage to go and ask somebody to dance, and they they'd all look at him dancing, and yeah, he can dance all right, or I don't think I can do that. So they wouldn't do anything till later on, and then after a while, after supper I'd decide well, I could perhaps try this dance and I'd get going and I thought well why didn't I start earlier?

"I think we were very shy looking back in those days, you were very shy you were frightened of what the girl was gonna say: No! So you didn't like to go and ask I think you all went and just sort of did a slight bow and said May I have this dance? or something like that, and please, and before you know what had happened the girl was standing up with her arms outstretched waiting for you to take her away because she's been sitting there half the night waiting for something to happen!"

Didn't really date particular people. Met wife at a dance and got married at Matamata.