Anyway, off I go down Memory Lane again...
The first house I actually remember living in, was on Birchwood Drive in Utley, a village just outside Keighley. This was in Yorkshire in the North of England. This move must have been quite a wrench for Mum and Dad as before this they lived in Derby (in the Midlands) near all the family. They lived first in the basement of a house in Green Lane, Derby (owned by Dad's Mum) and then on Wimbledon Road in Mackworth Estate in Derby. I think I lived there for about a year - we then moved on to Keighley when I was two or three.
Funnily enough my husband lived on Mackworth Estate at that time - just around the corner. Kevin's Mum was a great friend of my Aunty Mary who ;lived next door. We didn't meet until we were both at Sheffield University some 15 years later!
So what do I remember of those early years?
Sitting on a rolled up rug while Mum did the ironing. All our toys were in a big tea chest with wallpaper on the sides. It was wonderful to tip it out and find what had fallen to the bottom! Mum used to say we should go out to play and get some fresh air - I would sit on the front step reading!
My sister and I had pet rabbits in the shed - but mine was attacked by something - no more rabbit. Liz's grew to a ripe old age and was huge. It was called Brownie although it was grey (because it had brown eyes). My sister went on to keep white mice - which had babies regularly and she would sell them back to the pet shop.
My brother's pet was a toad under a large slab in the garden. He would regularly go and peep at it! But I think disaster happened one day when he let the slab down too heavily!
My next pet was a budgerigar. I remember it laying eggs. We put these in a dish next to the cage until a visiting small child thought they were sweets and ate them. I remember when eventually this bird died. We arranged a burial, processing across the road to some waste ground. Dad went first carrying the spade, then Liz, then me, then Andrew with the bird in a Persil box with its tail sticking out.
We also had a goldfish in a round bowl. Another memory is when a neighbourhood cat had got in and was stirring the goldfish bowl with its paw...
(When I had my children, I persuaded them that the best pet is a pet rock...)
I can't remember when we first got a fridge - the bottles of milk used to be put in a bowl of cold water outside with a tea towel over them. We didn't have a television or car until I was 11 or so. The Joneses were the first family to have a television in the street. Mrs Jones used to let the three families of children in the Drive go and watch Children's Hour most days.
Your childhood memories are so idyllic. It is peaceful to read about them. Thanks for that. xo
ReplyDeleteWhat a joyful memory image youve created for me. Youve made me remember some of my childhood too. We had a dog, not much of a garden as mum wasnt into gardening, we had a swing for the 3 of us, and lived in the Concrete Cow town and had a giant concrete giraffe to play on in the park opposite our house!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely memories about the early years! My children’s also had an assortment of pets. I never knew what my daughter might bring home. It made life interesting! Your flower gardens are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLovely. And super funny to me that “Jones’s” were the first to have TV.
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