TO all who survived the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s! We survived being born to mothers who smoked, drank or took part in both while they carried us.

They took aspirin or aspro, ate blue cheese dressing, also sardines and pilchards from the can, they never got the chance to be tested for diabetes.

We were put in cribs/cots covered with brightly covered lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, cabinets. When we rode bikes, we had no helmets.

We made up games with sticks and balls and had pellet guns.

We would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick-up or on a tractor and trailer on a warm day would be a special treat.

We drank water from a garden hose or a fresh water spring. Not bottled water.

We would share one soft drink with brothers, sisters and friends. No-one actually died. We ate sticky cakes, white bread, pop with sugar - no-one seemed overweight, perhaps it was because we were always outside playing.

We would leave home in the morning and go to school/or play all day as long as we were back by nightfall. No-one could reach us, we did not have mobile phones but we were always ok.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scrap, only to find as we careered down the hill we had forgotten the brakes. After several collisions, we would solve the problem. We fell out of trees got cut, broke teeth and bones - no lawsuits ever followed.

We did not have Playstation, X-box, video games, 99 channels on cable, no cell phones, personal computers, internet, chat rooms. We had friends and we went outside and found them.

The local football or netball teams would have try-out sessions and not everyone made the team. Those who did not had to learn to deal with the disappointment, no shoulder to cry on.

If we broke the law (a very rare occurrence), our parents actually sided with the law. This generation has produced some of the best leaders, risk takers, problem-solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation, inventions and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility - we learnt how to deal with it. What a privilege to live through this wonderful era.

TED DAWE, Mathon.