A stroll around my hometown, Aldridge (and the stories that shaped my youth) [PART 1]

Kids these days dunno what they're missin

An overall bizarre tidbit at the 8:31 mark: one of the related videos on the YouTube page includes a username called "loopzorbital", which is the name of the official old account of Orbital's forums and later, the band's YouTube account itself.

I have a question. I notice videos (preview only ones since I don’t pay there) going up on YouTube that aren’t going up here. Some I recognize as older, but others looked like they might be new. I thought this and YT were essentially the same membership content-wise. Is that accurate? Or is there exclusive content there?

Is the stuff on Paetreon different than the YouTube membership stuff ?

I lived in Aldridge through my teens (a few years earlier than you Tom) but was a shy, quiet lad back then and unfortunately didn't get up to these antics. I had completely forgotten about the Manor disco! I did go there a few times, it was terrifying and I didn't get any action myself but I did just get a flashback of seeing a girl getting fingered against a wall and pretending not to be watching.

This is my favourite format by far, Tom! Keep them coming :)

Hey tom, was wondering when you’ll post the recent videos that are up on YouTube membership ?

this was an incredible video. entertaining as all, funny, historical, nostalgic. A few follow ups would do well. I loved it Tom!

You have an excellent ability to tell stories, Tom. I could picture all these scenarios vividly in my head and I was hooked for the whole video. I would love to see more of this type of thing!

I paid $4 to hear about shitting in a public library 😂😂😂😂

What a video! However, I did have a good chuckle at you mentioning that you spoke about it on the Joe Marler podcast. I think you’re getting your big guys mixed up!

I think it’s cool to try and see the 60s prefab concrete blocks and the old churches and Manor House’s not necessarily as ones good and ones bad, but rather they are all part of the rich tapestry of our world and our history that make life interesting

Now, this was absolutely wonderful to watch. I loved hearing your stories and all the things you had to share. I moved from western to northern Germany in 2016, this video reminds me of the day my best local friend showed me his hometown, where I live very close to now and I remember it to be one of the most delightful and somewhat cozy meetups we ever had from my perspective. It's so interesting to listen to those old stories and see these places in which they all took part. I absolutely love this kind of video and am very excited for Part 2! Thank you a lot, Tom!

A sort of retrospective of your life could be you walking from near Oxford to Aldridge

Our "Spot" was the lofted attic storage behind the girl's gymnasium. You had to climb a rickety wooden ladder to get up there, but once you did and climbed over all the boxes and sporting equipment there was a super comfortable couch back there.

Very interesting stories Tom! I always enjoy hearing these kinds of stories because I feel like I was at the tail end of the generation of kids who ventured out and did stuff like this. I was born in 1999 and was among a group of nerdy teenagers who mostly stayed in playing on the computer. We watched salad fingers, and pranked people in our class with meatspin.com and various other depraved content, but my brother was a bit more like yourself and went down to the local park at 15 and got drunk with his friends. I remember one time they got in trouble for scribbling cocks on a historic steam train which happened to be in the park - it all washed off in the end though! I think as a result of YouTube coming on the scene in 2005 and everything that followed, I just never felt the need to venture out and make my own fun as a teenager, which is a bit of a shame with hindsight. After I had a bit of independence I more than made up for it on many a drunken night at university though :)

I just love how similar childhood and teenage years can be, across all countries. Had a similar youth, with lots of people and the usual meeting spots. Brought back some memories. Feel the same about the new gens. Was smiling from ear to ear, when I saw 4 guys with their mopeds just hanging outside a grocery store. Just like we did back then. Beers, chicks, weed, mopeds and fun. Those were the days mate. cheers Tom! :)

Amazing video, Tom, loved it. We share the same age, so listening to your stories, brings back a lot of memories. The last dance experience are very relatable, from the songs to the stiffy stance. Makes me both happy to think back to those times, but at the same time sad that my children will not be able to have those experiences. Guess it just means we’re getting old; surely they’ll have their own relatable memories in 30 years from now. Anyway, cheers for making this vid mate, look forward to part 2.

Great vid Tom! Curious to know how the quitting booze/smart phones is going?

Thanks for this insight into your youth, Tom. I grew up in a dairy town called Maleny in the mountains of Queensland, Australia that looks uncannily like the English countryside. I spent my youth running around with my mates getting stoned in different spots in the bush and nooks and crannies of the township and beyond, each with different names; picking psychedelic mushrooms in the paddocks, having parties in this old abandoned shed in the middle of the forest that we decked out with couches we walked in on our heads - some of the best and most fondest memories of my youth, those times were. It's just great knowing that's happening everywhere around the world. Great vid. Cheers.

Hi Tom, sorry to bother you again! I now have both the lower YouTube tier and my usual Patreon sub right now, but I noticed this video is only on Patreon. To watch these kinds of videos on YouTube in the future, will I need the higher tier? Just trying to figure out which membership to keep. Thanks!

This was great, Tom. I was born in '86 and grew up in Shirley nearby. Although our stories were differentl. It was all so faniliar. Can't wait for part 2

More of this, i love it!!:)

Loved this one, Tom and.. well... y'all were a lot like us! Around the same era but all the way down in central Texas. It's fascinating to hear these stories and see where they took place. It's like a time machine fueled by the way your words paint perfect, vivid pictures of how it was back then. Definitely await the next ramble down memory lane with you. On our side of the pond, we also had "The Spot" but ours was a natural limestone cave in the cliffside that looked out over an arm of Lake Travis. Somebody was going to build a house along the road, poured "The Slab" (also a legendary place if you talked to the right teenager blasting Cypress Hill from his Honda Civic) but realized the footing below was too hollow to support a house. They filled it in with concrete a decade later and built a really great house with a hell of a view. Wonder if the owners have any idea what The Spot was used for so long ago. It sucks teenagers aren't teenagers anymore and little girls are more worried about their skincare routine than knowing not to flirt with the guy that may or may not have shat in the library.

This one was a treat, Tom. I'm also quite fond of my hometown, which funnily enough, is named Crofton. It's a little town in Maryland. Cheers from the US. Keep up the adventures!

great stuff Tom

Never thought I'd hear you mention David Firth in a video! Haha. Great video as always Tom!

Shaun Bratt, what a guy. I went to primary school with him. We used to muck about over manor farm when we were young teens, get chased by farmers on the fields who we were adamant had a gun. Climb the infamous “abc” tree. When times were simpler man.

Great video 👍🏻

Brilliant video Tom ..that giant snowball blocking the road 🤣🤣🤣

Very interested mate. I’m gunna venture to my home town tomorrow. Inspired. I’m 35 and you have just whipped up some intense nostalgia.

Thanks Tom. My stomping ground too - but I was a bit older and a lot more boring!

This was so relatable 😂 grew up in a similar large village in Northumberland with nothing to do but cause harassment and annoyance to everyone for our own entertainment, the local library also being a favourite target 😂

I may have missed this so apologies if thats the case but if someone could clue me in that'd be fab. Is there any difference to being a subscriber here on patreon compared with being a YouTube member? I'm just aware that being a YouTube member costs a couple of quid more so am wary that it might be getting extra content we might not see here. Cheers!

An interesting video there, mate. Only spoiled slightly by the fact that you didn't trespass anywhere. ;)

Epic. What a lovely surprise. Very relatable, and actually made me feel kinda sad for my 2- and 5-year old kids. Not sure how I get them into a space/place where they could experience the sort of freedom and maturing that we had as kids (I’m an 1983 kid). That aside, it reminds me of a time when I was younger when my mate Tim (cough.. cough…) would head over to the park next door and find dog poo. Pick it up with a stick. And woe betide any poor camper in the camping part of the park that left their tent open…

Where did you live near Oxford, Tom?

We had a very similar childhood Tom. I grew up in Aldridge in the 90's, moving there when I was around 3 years old at the back end of the 80s. Lived on the Glades near Lazy Hill. Spent many an autumn climbing the conker trees on the croft, shaking the shit out of the branches to get all the conkers down. Summers were spent over cricket pitch, the golf course and the fields around hobshole lane building dens in the bushes, and climbing trees of course. The first time I got drunk was on the mound in the corner of the cricket pitch, and got drunk many more times on the croft. Another highlight was cycling up the ramp of the precinct car park and back down again. My first kiss was on those stairs in the middle of the precinct! Manor House disco was a Wednesday night back in my day, and regular youth club on a Monday and Thursday. They even used to let the kids smoke in a room upstairs, imagine that! Great times and amazing place to grow up!

I grew up on the isle of Skye I was born in 90 we lived a a 4 bedroom house with Gran n grandad a big house and mum n dad I had views of the ocean and islands and mountains from my bedroom window where we grow up is always special

Great video Tom! I completely echo your thoughts about how sad it is to see all these great outdoor spaces empty with no people let alone teenagers being teenagers, it’s a real example of the current generation being constantly sheltered in their own homes and not out in a real world. I can’t wait for part 2 😁

Nice to have those memories. I have some, but I never cared much about the place I lived, I just don't have that gene I suppose. :) The moment I was allowed to I escaped to Amsterdam and just watched people and life (back then it was nicer as well). Travelling, living in other spots on the globe, that was always my thing. My sister still lives there and I just can't understand living in the same place for so long.

I love these kinds of videos from you Tom! Apart from crazy adventures it's very nice to have a better outlook on your "good ol' days". It serves as a bit of an inspiration to try things and just have some fun. Have stories to tell, you know. Can't wait to watch this!

This is going to be a fun one if I've learned anything at all from hearing your antics in the past

Evening sorted 🤘🏻

Thanks tom