Our home-made rollercoasters

@LivEchoNews Who needed a rollercoaster when an old steering cart, aimed down any steep hill, was just as thrilling?

- Ken Rogers

I WAS chatting to a friend this week when he casually mentioned that he was taking his wife and two youngsters to Disneyland California. I never asked the cost, but he happily volunteered it... upwards of £8,000.

He saw the surprise on my face, bordering on total shock, and said: "Of course, we've pre-booked all the rides, which means we won't have to stand for hours in those endless queues."

Phew! What a relief. I smiled and tried to tell myself how stupid it was to have imagined for one second that he might have been taking the 'Mickey'. I was immediately reflecting that, for many of us, our version of Disneyland revolved around those traditional street games that we played when we were kids. We made our own amusements.

Who needed a rollercoaster when you build your own steering cart? Skipping in teams was great fun, and how thrilling it was to swing, almost horizontally, on an old gas lamp.

Trips 'abroad' meant a sail to the Isle of Man from the Pier Head, or an exciting cross-border adventure to Wales.