- When I was at school in the 1970's, gym was the disliked alternative to outdoor sports when it was raining hard.
Gym consisted of climbing ropes, bars, vaulting horse, press ups. On better days we played basketball.
On even worse days with only light rain we we went for a cross country run.
After school I played a bit of badminton, tennis and regularly squash. No gym.
In fact I don't recall commercial gyms being available until quite recently. Every town has one or two, despite the local public sports and swimming centres.
Yesterday I noticed two large adjacent shops, one a carpet showroom and the other a fireplace showroom had both shut. And the replacements... a gym and coffee shop.
- Parents were traditional, anachronistic even. Housework, maintenance, and gardening. They belonged to the church rambling club. Wanted us to be university educated.
Never encouraged or discouraged sports, a shame as I was a damn good tennis player






