Tuesday 4 June 2013

The smell of caps…

The smell of caps will remain with me forever. The slightly burnt paper, sulphurous odour taking me back to cowboy hats, cap bombs and six shooters. KAPOW! A boy wasn’t a boy without a roll of caps in his pocket; the rolled pink paper dotted with red-brown spots inside a soft cardboard casing. The casings were round as well, the colour of egg boxes, a penny a roll. Toy pistol caps made in China, approx 100 shots - bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

Gotcha, you’re dead Ian. You’re dead Jimmy. You’re dead Michael - bang, bang, bang.

Despite the childhood killing, and the smell of gunpowder, I’ve never wanted a real gun. Just as the bows and arrows I used to make from string and sticks never drove me to go buy a crossbow or the fact that we all carried knives in our pockets led to gang fight stabbings.

A cap gun was just fine for me. It was about the smell you see, and the bang. Not the act of firing though, that was almost incidental. Of course in these more enlightened times we don't really want our children to play with toy guns; perhaps that's what makes some of them want real ones.
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6 comments:

  1. akh5 June 2013 at 08:45

    Paul Whitehouse on FB
    That smell is totally evocative of the best childhood adventures. I absolutely loved that smell and still do. Occasionally something reminds me of it. The smell of a slightly warm, musty caravan interior has a similar effect reminding me of very very early holidays on a caravan site on the I o W.

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  2. akh5 June 2013 at 08:46

    Liz Shore on FB
    Mmmm, I can still remember the smell. I don't recall ever using a cap gun. We used to just unroll the caps and hit them with a stone - fantastic .

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  3. akh5 June 2013 at 08:46

    Emma Cholmondeley on FB
    I remember plastic rockets that you put the caps inside before launching them into the air. So much fun and a distinctive smell. Happy days. I remember that damp musty smell of caravans too Paul

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  4. akh5 June 2013 at 08:48

    ME:
    Saw some small boys playing with them in Wales. First time I have seen boys playing with caps for years. I'd even forgo sweets for a reel or two of caps.

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  5. akh5 June 2013 at 19:06

    Ian Maclachlan on FB
    Wow! Are they still on sale? The rockets we used invariably ended up stuck on the roof. If we were feeling frivolous we would skim over the whole roll with our shoes on concrete and see them go up in flames. I always remember being surprised how little they cost for so much fun. Thanks for the memories.

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  6. akh5 June 2013 at 19:06

    David Bell on FB
    I remember them and the smell.

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