Category: Memories - Meandering Through Time

Great Train Journeys

17/2/2017

My family and I frequently traveled on trains, it was part of my life. The longest journey and most exciting, was to visit my grandparents in Cornwall. We always caught the Cornishman at Derby and on the whole we had the carriage, just like the one in the image, all to ourselves for most of the journey. We traveled over the the River Tamar on Brunel's bridge, looked at all the ships at Plymouth, stopped on the seaside station at Dawlish and passed through long dark tunnels on the way. What with sandwiches, chocolate, colouring books, joining the dots and a doll called Fingle Bunt. It was simply wonderful!

I know that advertisements can be misleading but this one, a vintage railway poster, is actually true to life.

However, on the 16th February in 1965, Dr Richard Beeching published his plans for what he called our 'bloated' railways.

This was Beechings second report as British Railways Board chairman, and in it he outlined the countries transport needs for the next quarter of a century. The report followed his first controversial review of the state of Britain's railways that had been published in 1963. In that report he said the railway system was uneconomic and under-used, and recommended that a quarter of the railway system should be shut down.

So was Beeching right with his idea of railway cuts 53 years ago or am I looking at train travel through rose coloured glasses?

The Gainsborough Lady

2/8/2016

As a child I used to watch a film, always historical, on a Sunday afternoon with my mother, on occasions the beautiful Gainsborough Lady would make an appearance.

The Gainsborough Lady, played by British actress Glennis Lorimer, was a lady dressed in a Georgian era period costume sitting in an ornate frame, turning and smiling. She is based on the famous portrait of Sarah Siddons by Thomas Gainsborough.

The music to this short film was written by Louis Levy and called Gainsborough Minuet.

youtu.be/62meHC0Retc

This piece was the opening logo of Gainsborough Pictures, a British film company whose studio was based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. During the middle of the 1940's the studio produced a series of 'morally ambivalent costume melodramas' such as Fanny by Gaslight, Madonna and the Seven Moons and my favourtie The Wicked Lady staring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason.

They don't make them like that anymore do they?

Lincolnshire Sun Bonnett

20/7/2016

On my way to school every morning I would pass a beautiful English country garden with is mass of lupines, foxgloves and daisies. The owner of the garden was a little old lady who I would see from time to time walking through her garden to the water pump.

This dear old lady always wore a hat just like the one above.

That image has stayed with me, it is my very own real picture of an English country garden!

Man's Best Friend

3/7/2016

This is our dog Chalkie.

She is the best little dog in the whole wide world.

She came into our lives one November evening, inside a large metal cage. She arrived with her back leg broken by her previous owners and was wearing a rather fetching luminous blue plaster cast and was a bald as a coot from the waist down. She peered through the cage with doleful eyes and looked straight at me, we knew then that she would be staying. We told her straight away that her new name was Chalkie, she was so excited on hearing this, saying that she was Rick Steins little dogs number one fan and I said how wonderful! I am too!

Now Chalkie is not really the brightest of sparks and spends most of her time a tad puzzled, wondering what’s going on. Sixty percent of her time is spent on her feet, twenty percent of her time on her back and the rest with her nose is buriedand bum is in the air! She has ears of a hawk and can be out of her basket, where she previously had been zonkedout in front of the fire, and down the bottom of the garden in two seconds flat! She greets anyone coming to thedoor with equal enthusiasm, whether it’s postman or a passing stranger but its the husband who gets her undivided attention. She barks and bounces, bounces andbarks until he comes through the door, over she goes on her back for a tummy tickle then the funniest thing happens, she goes round in circles waiting to hear her favourite words, “Ok Chalkie, go tell your mates I’m home” and she runs, hell for leather, leaving the cat flap swinging, yes she fits through our cat flap, to the bottom of the garden and pokes her nose through the fence and barks and barks and barks. She’s so cute, she telling all her friends the head of the house is home, awww! I bet she watched 101 Dalmatians!

Physically she may be half a dog but personality wise she certainly not. On walkies we call her “ten men Chalkie” because she thinks she can take on the whole of doggy world by herself. She has a ten foot retractable lead because she thinks she's in charge, she likes to bound up to other dogs, her little tail wagging, to talk doggy gossip and is sometimes miffed when there not interested in what she has to say. In her favourite places she zooms on ahead, her nose picking up all the exciting doggy smells then she zooms past in the other directions checking out all the smells she missed due to over excitement.When her little head is not darting from side to side, up and down looking for squirrels she’s marking her territory with a squirt here a squirt there. There are so many things that make us laugh about Chalkie, after a bath she will run around the house like a bullet out of a gun, she only plays with squeaky toys abandoning them once they are silenced, she chases and never catches our two cats, she loves tennis balls and has never noticed that’s all she ever gets at Christmas and birthdays.

We like seaside holidays, she hates the sea, we like to go out in the car, she doesn't like sitting in the back, shelikes to talk about bones, we don't, but in all relationships there's give and take and Chalkie is good at that!

In a previous blog I wrote about teddy bears and what they mean to us, Chalkie is a real live teddy bear, she, like them,
gives love unconditionally and is ready to go out at a moments notice. She is just as happy to sit with me by the fire of an evening while I crochet, only one thing though she doesn’t know how to wind wool, but she’s learning!

Ivanhoe by Charles Hunt

5/6/2016

Victorian artist Charles Hunt is most famous for his idealised paintings depicting the lives of country folk where he often adds a touch of humour. Hunt's works were exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1846 on wards, this particular piece is entitled Ivanhoe.

Hunt painted Ivanhoe in 1871, it is an oil on canvas and features children taking part in a reenactment of the story of Sir Walter Scott's medieval hero. Scott's most famous book is a tale of rivalry, romantic conflict, battles and tournaments, it is probably the tournament scene that Hunt depicts here. In Scott's book Ivanhoe defeats everyone who faces him and is finally set against Sir Brian de Bois Guilbert, the villain of the book.

The name of Guilbert can be seen on the chest armour of the second boy who has been knocked off his chair, whilst Ivanhoe himself straddles his quilted wooden mount and charges at his opponent at full tilt. Rowena, the fair maiden Ivanhoe is a keen on and her maidservant look on and are sheltered from the sun by a collapsed and broken umbrella, being held by a boy who feels that he has definitely been miscast! In the far left another character is being made ready for his part in the children's play. Hunt suggests that the boys have been reading Scott's book which is abandoned on the floor whilst the two boys in the right of the painting seem more interested in the real thing than their friends adaptation. Looking at other paintings by Charles Hunt this one is typical, there are no adults insight for it is the world of children and their wonderful world of make believe.

It is a certainly a lovely painting and reminds me of many happy summer afternoons in our garden watching my own children along with their friends as they performed plays for us, their version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears still makes me laugh today. I still have a copy of the wonderfully colourful illustrated homemade programme especially made the show, which I have to say is worth as much as the original of Hunts Ivanhoe.

Heirlooms and Keepsakes

3/6/2016

"I wish I had realised that family history is a perishable commodity. It disappears with time, as memories fade, and as loved ones pass on. I wish I had known that the most important aspect of family history is preserving a record of the present for the future."

A Treasured Memory

I wonder why we feel the need to keep and store objects that have come into our lives at differing times and why do we feel we have to keep what we no longer use. Usefulness is one reason, those things we keep in sheds and cupboards under the stairs just in case we need them. Memories are another, items that represent good times in our lives, these things we keep in our loft spaces. At the time they became of no real use we still cannot bear to part with them, in my case, the hat my grandmother wore to my wedding, the upside down metal frame of a small coffee table that my number one daughter used to take her first steps, old books and toys, the list goes on and my loft is full of such things. My incentive for a good clear out was to find the baby rocker and Moses basket I promised my daughter she could have. She is no longer a baby, and my grandmother has been gone for over thirty years, it is with slow realisation I have come to the point that I can now part with most of the things I have kept, and I am determined to stay cheerful and bravely make a start.

Day One

The entrance to our loft, like those you find in some houses, is a small door on the top floor of our house. Its a bit like the loft space in C S Lewis's book The Magicians Nephew where Digory and Polly explore the attic that connects their houses. Fortunately, there is no chance of me opening the wrong door and finding assorted guinea pigs or my very own wicked Uncle Andrew. If I had of course, I'd be in some strange woodland jumping in and out of puddles being chased by some angry woman in a chariot and not sitting among dust, cobwebs and a very well thumbed Cricketer's Almanck.

So into the darkness I proceeded, torch in hand, expecting to find all sorts of goodies that might be worth millions. Sadly, I surfaced hours later without so much as a sniff of an antique or a fifteenth century skeleton that would send the worlds media into a frenzy! However I did not emerge empty handed, here is a list of what I found and I must say I am amazed.

Maternity wear, late 1980's early 1990's. Can you believe that I actually kept them? All you 80's mum's will know what I mean. Those awful farmer Giles smocks with bows, bat winged tops and multi-coloured dungarees with adjustable waists. My goodness, I must have looked like I'd been graffitied!
HP fax machine...no cables...in the loft due to someone spilling a bottle of perfume over it! No, I don't know why or how! Monstrous 1980's computer screen.....no cables, found along side a wafer thin plasma screen tv, which we must have deemed to small to watch blockbuster movies in style.
Assorted primary school, GCSE and A Level work...dusty. I obviously didn't have the heart to dispose of it all when I watched all three daughters work so hard.
Toy dog with battery pack attached by a wire. 1960's...there was no such thing as wireless in those days, kept because my Dad brought it back from an unaccompanied tour of duty in the Middle East. Bless him.
One CDi gun for cowboy computer game unopened and unused (confiscated as violent item). No need to explain my reasoning for that.

Magic trick box, also confiscated due to eldest daughters squabbling and shouting they would turn each other into toads and the fact that the finger trapping device was a lethal weapon.

Day Two

With the support of the dog I approached the second day in the loft with enthusiasm. The dog, just like me the day before discovered no bones and cleared off at the sound of a tin Happy Dog Chicken in Gravy being opened. Alone in the loft I felt quite chuffed that I had made more headway than I thought and squinting my eyes could actually see part of the brick chimney breast at the other end of the roof space, as it turned out said chimney was hidden behind two huge piles of jigsaws, yes I know, who keeps jigsaws? After much moving of stair gates, old suitcases, a flat teddy and a box of homemade faded paper chains I found what I was in the loft for the baby rocker. This baby rocker was a godsend, it enabled us to rock our daughters to sleep and change channels at the same time. Putting the rocker to one side I spent another half an hour in the loft and found the following.

Mahogany rocking chair, which according to my mother, I had said "Gran, when you are dead can I have this rocking chair" Was obviously a horrid child and inattentive parent. See above mentioned baby rocker!
Half finished macrame owl....obviously the novelty had worn off pretty quickly.
Amstrad laptop c 1990...must be worth something?
Squash rackets...novelty wore off quicker than the macrame owl.
Four large boxes of baby and toddler clothes 99.9% girls .1% boys
Wedding Dress....... still very pretty but slightly yellow and a tad dated. I'd never get into it now!
Two christening robes c 1930 hand made by my great grandmothers. The best find of all.

I am pleased to say that all of the items from day one are now at our local tip, apart from the school work and the items
from day two have been replaced in the loft. Do I hear you cry they are no use? Of course they are.

Let me explain, the rocking chair will fit nicely in a corner when I get my new extension, the macrame owl I hope to finish on the nights after I've beaten my husband at squash. My daughters may like to pick some bits and pieces from the clothes boxes, the christening robes and wedding dress are heirlooms, I cannot get rid of those can I?

A Childhood Friend

3/5/2016

Last week, whilst engaging in a spot of cleaning, I picked up my dear old teddy bear and gave him a huge cuddle, I felt sorry for the poor fellow sitting with his two friends on a chair in my bedroom. The other two, a koala bear with no paws and a brown elephant who wears a hat (incidentally the hat was the first one I brought for my eldest daughter) keep my teddy company in the many many long hours, days, and weeks that I pay him no attention.

Bit like a sad scene from Toy Story isn't it?

It came as a nice surprise when I across an article whilst skimming through the online news this morning that is entitled
A point of view: The Grown-ups with Teddy Bears.

The article talks about different men and their teddy bears. One man in particular was Sir Robert Clark, who was part of Churchill's Special Operations Executive and a holder of Distinguished Service Cross. This hero was accompanied on missions by his very own hero, made of less stronger stuff but a hero just the same, his teddy bear, who went under the name of Falla. Falla did such heroic things as parachute into enemy territory and was even a prisoner of war. My poor teddy who is getting on a bit has done no such thing. But do I love him any the less? Certainly not!

My rather moth eaten teddy has been with me since the day I was born (quite a long time ago) and was my companion on all my travels, he was my bed fellow until my husband turned up and this was when he quietly found himself a comfy chair in our bedroom. This is why I love him so, not once did he moan or complain at being ousted, he never said a word about no longer being my confidant and never grumbles about his aches and pains. His stuffing has fallen out of one leg, he has one eye and a terrible hair cut the result of encouraging my daft idea of becoming a hairdresser. And that’s the things about teddies isn’t it? They give you love, never judge or complain, and just like the author of the article states

"A teddy bear represents the happy security of a childhood friend who never changes or lets you down."

The Projectionist's Nightmare by Brian Patten

3/5/2016

This is the projectionist’s nightmare:
A bird finds it’s way into the cinema,
finds the beam, flies down it,
smashes into a scene depicting a garden,
a sunset, and two people being nice to each other.
Real blood, real intestines, slither down
the likeness of a tree.
‘This is no good,’ screams the audience,
‘This is not what we came to see.’

Pencil drawings by Amy Dover

I read this poem as part of an English lesson when I was about thirteen, and have never forgotten it.

Quite a simple poem in a way, the death of a poor lost bird whose gory death shocks the cinema audience but in reality its talking about escapism and reality.

We all escape don't we?

We lose ourselves in another world, albeit a film, reading a book, daydreaming, even the social network takes us away from our day to day lives, and why not it makes us feel good. The problem is these things are not real or lasting. Don't we all hate coming to an end of a good book where we are so absorbed in its story that real life sometimes doesn't square up. Shopping is another form of escapism, but coming home with a new dress only to realise after all you don't look quite as nice in as you first thought, the initial thrill of seeing it and dreaming of wearing in the perfect location has worn off.

It is not quite the shock the audience got whilst they were partaking in a spot of escapism but its the same thing, the spell
is broken their dreams are lost along with the life of the bird.

I never really did understand why the poems title is the Projectionists Nightmare ? Maybe it is just the mess he has to clear up,
or maybe his dreams were shattered along with his audience.

Oh! That Terrible Hair Cut

12/6/2014

Today I found a photograph of myself on my wedding day and I thought how pretty my hair looked, then I thought of all the other disastrous haircuts I've had over the years. Some of them were pretty awful.

My hair is very fine but I have a lot of it, you should see me when there's a lot of static! I wash and blow dry my hair every morning, it is the only way I can keep it in check! You see my hair has a mind of its own, its naturally wavy and does exactly what it likes.

Now my present colour is blonde, which it was naturally until I was about ten, when it gradually became a unexciting mousy colour so, to counteract this I have highlights put in. The new colour takes a good couple of years off me, and I am sure that my wrinkles disappear for a time too. My hair is shoulder length with a few layers on top and I have these put in for one reason, if brushed correctly I look an inch taller and if you are a squirt like me then that’s very important.

My hair kicks outward at the bottom too, stop sniggering, I know what your thinking.

This isn't me

When I was small I had my hair in the usual little girl hair cut, long with a fringe, it was like that for a very long time, I remember very clearly the pale green and gold tin in which I kept all my slides and pretty ribbons. Then one day, out of the blue I had it all cut off because my mother said I had too! She said that my cousin had her hair cut short and she looked cute, did that mean I didn’t? Anyway, off to the hairdressers I went and ended up with what was basically a short back and sides. Just like this one!

This isn't me either

Just imagine an eleven year old girl, with a slightly mousy hair colour, in a yellow blouse, grey cardigan and yellow and grey school tie WITH A HAIR CUT LIKE THAT !!! I thought I looked silly, I did look silly!

There not a lot to be said about it so I’ll leave it there except to say my mother must have thought the same and I was allowed to grow it long once again. For a short while I reverted back to my original little girl hair do, only the fringe had gone and I no longer looked like Peter Pan but more like Cousin It from the Adam Family, and because of this I was unaware of the world around me
including the new hair style that was all the rage.

This new style was called the Feather Cut and if cut wrongly looked more like a Mullet ( I do believe I may have had one of those too, but least said soonest mended.) The 1970’s Glamrock group Sweet is a good example of this hair cut, here they are below. My hair at the age of ten or eleven was much the same the blonde chap, and before you ask I didn't have the outfit! This style I quite liked and kept it like this for over a year, but I soon got bored of getting up early to get straighten it so I could look great for school, and once again I reverted back to long hair with a fringe.

This old faithful hair cut of mine lasted through school, all though college and into the work place. I found then, that having money I could go to a ‘proper’ hair salon instead of having my mum's friend cut it or having to go to the woman who does nothing but blue rinses! Now, not only did I have money of my own, but the choice of hair cuts had improved dramatically with the arrival of two new television programmes featuring two beautiful women with WOW hair cuts. These were Joanna Lumley as Purdey in the New Avengers and Farrah Fawcett Majors as Jill Monroe in Charlie’s Angels.

Now I did consider the Purdey cut because I thought I might meet someone like Mike Gambit, but someone said that that this new cut looked as if it was styled on, and was the same shape as, the Dr Who baddie in the episode The Brain of Morbius. For those who are not old enough to remember this brain existed in a jar of green slime. As you can imagine that put me off, and anyway as mentioned earlier my hair does exactly what it likes, so the Purdey hair cut was really out of the question but Farrah's fitted the bill just nicely.

The Farrah cut was the one I chose and I loved it! I had it styled and highlighted for the first time and the bonus was my hair did exactly what it was told and people actually said it suited me. What were they thinking before?

Sadly, this isn't me

Ironically, it was the hair cut like Farrah's I had when I met my husband and the day we married (see the first image.) He had rather a decent hair cut too, a short and rugged look, and what is more he looked like Lewis Collins (that dishy actor from the television show The Professionals featured below) *swoon* and he has a pout like that too.

As you can imagine I thought we were the bees knees. I walked around swishing my hair from side to side like I was in a shampoo advert he just smiled and asked me to marry him! Oops sorry, I’m getting side tracked.

Now I am going to have to start a new paragraph here because I don’t want to taint the previous dreamy one with what
comes next, *sighs loudly*, its really bad. I went from having the most beautiful hair cut in the world to the worst hair cut in the world and I mean the worst. It started out with long very tight curls, but the more I combed it the frizzier it became and I ended up with a Deidre Barlow look. Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!

I've settled down a bit since then, and I still have my Lewis Collins. We are now in 2014 and we both have more or less the same hair cuts, not Deidre's I hasten to add. I have learnt my lesson, stick with what suits you.What suits me is a cross between my childhood haircut and Farrah's waves of my late teens, and do you know what, my hair and I get along rather nicely.