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Sundae · 06-20-2010, 05:01 AM

Tora - Helter Skelters were around long before talkies.
The phrase meaning things going badly might have gained popularity from a film, but the British meaning has always been rgis type of spiral slide.

I loved helter skelters as a child. They're your first experience of the throll that adults get from rollercoasters. I have an early memory of being on holiday and going down on my Dad's lap, followed by my sister going down on Mum's lap. Mum had to slow them down because Laura was frightened. I was encouraging my Dad to go faster! faster! I would have been 4 at the most, as my brother was not yet born.

You go down on a mat btw, not just sitting on the slide. It's not smooth either, like one in a playground. It had treads on it, like a wooden escalator. I assume this speeds you up. And you used to pay by mat, hence our doubling up.

Helter skelters aren't just for kids either. Certainly when I was younger a lot of adults went on. This might have changed now that fairground/ theme park rides have moved on.

There was one in Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach that went down into a huge wooden underground bowl. We stood for what seemed like hours just watching the riders spill out into it. We didn't have the money to go on it ourselves, but I remember just watching seemed eventful enough.

06-20-2010, 05:01 AM	#4
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Tora - Helter Skelters were around long before talkies. The phrase meaning things going badly might have gained popularity from a film, but the British meaning has always been rgis type of spiral slide. I loved helter skelters as a child. They're your first experience of the throll that adults get from rollercoasters. I have an early memory of being on holiday and going down on my Dad's lap, followed by my sister going down on Mum's lap. Mum had to slow them down because Laura was frightened. I was encouraging my Dad to go faster! faster! I would have been 4 at the most, as my brother was not yet born. You go down on a mat btw, not just sitting on the slide. It's not smooth either, like one in a playground. It had treads on it, like a wooden escalator. I assume this speeds you up. And you used to pay by mat, hence our doubling up. Helter skelters aren't just for kids either. Certainly when I was younger a lot of adults went on. This might have changed now that fairground/ theme park rides have moved on. There was one in Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach that went down into a huge wooden underground bowl. We stood for what seemed like hours just watching the riders spill out into it. We didn't have the money to go on it ourselves, but I remember just watching seemed eventful enough.