Hi Rob. Yes I know what you mean. My mum was strict too...or rather I'd say, she was protective, but there came a time when she let us have our wings a bit, and at the age of 13 or 14 I was allowed to go Youth Hostelling with two mates. We hitch hiked , rucksacks on our backs, from the end of the lines on the Antrim Road all the way up the Antrim Coast Road to White Park Bay, stopping at hostels at Ballygally, Cushendun, and a few others I can't recall. It was a great holiday, and we hitch hiked back to Belfast in one piece about a week later. No phones, enough money to pay our two bob a night hostel fee, and a shilling for a sleeping sheet, and enough to feed ourselves...just. The rest was fresh air and fun. But would a parent let a 13 or 14 year old go hitch hiking for a week these days...without hearing from them every night with a phone call....or maybe five times a day by text? No chance. But I remember when I was about 10 doing a similar bike trip to you and Hugh....we went down to Holywood or somewhere and it being the long summer nights we just lost track of time and got back home too late. I wasn't grounded but I wasn't a popular boy.
On the canteen....I too would often go home for lunch, or take a sandwich, but the school dinners were very cheap, and they were filling enough that you probably wouldn't need another meal that day. I think the " dinner tickets" were about 6d in those days.