This will take us back .....

[Mimi]

Saw this and thought I would share it .


This poignant poem will transport you back to a time gone by, to days treasured whilst growing up …

Treasures

Thick chunks of bread covered in dripping
Chanting in playgrounds, hopscotch and skipping.
Potties pushed under our bedsteads at night
Blankets tucked in so the bed bugs won’t bite.
Marbles in satchels, blackboards and chalk,
The teacher tells us not to run but to walk.

Socks that were darned on long winter nights,
Spiders in match boxes gave us a fright.
Cats cradles carefully crafted from string,
Dock leaves rubbed in to stop nettles harsh sting.
Elastic on mittens threaded through jackets,
Cricket and tennis with second hand rackets.

Chicken pox, mumps, head lice and measles,
Colourful paints and wonky old easels.
Birthday cards filled with a brown ten bob note,
Handkerchiefs pinned on the inside of coats.
Tadpoles in jam jars fished out of brooks,
Torches in bed so we could read books.

Spit on a tissue to wipe on our faces,
Conkers on strings and wheelbarrow races.
Gob stoppers, sherbet, a quarter of sweets,
A penny or two for our weekly treats.
A swing made of wood and a bit of old rope,
A bath once a week with carbolic soap.

Days now long gone we remember at leisure,
These are the days that we’ll treasure forever.

Jan Millward©

[Nana]

Thanks Mimi. That took me on a walk down memory lane. So many that's easily forgotten. Love the spit one😂.

[Enfys]

Oh my goodness, so many things I'd forgotten about. Great memories, thanks for sharing

[Gemini]

That's good Mimi

Only last week I was looking for a dock leaf in DDs garden to rub on GDs leg when a nettle stung her. She had no idea what I was talking about.

The joy of getting that 10 shilling note in a card!

[Daisy]

Thanks, Mimi. I bet we all read that remembering the things that applied to our childhood. But I must be getting old - when I was a child tissues weren't around, and your mother was judged by the pristine whiteness or otherwise of your hankie tucked up your sleeve.

[Oma]

Oh Carbolic soap I can still smell it now when I think about it .
We wouldn't dream of letting our kids play in streams and ponds unsupervised now would we or collect mucky water in a jam jar to many germs , thing is it did us no harm and we never had upset tummy,s , sometimes I think we doing our little people no good keeping them so clean . Days were simpler then and good we made our own entertainment and explored our little world ,😀

[Oma]

And white socks Daisy I remember Pek socks with the pattern on we had long and short ones and Mam used to scrub the soles on the wooden wash board till they were almost like new again

[Daisy]

Oma - so true. Yes, I remember white socks - but only for the summer. In the winter it was knee length grey ones, horrible and scratchy and you were forever pulling them up before a grown-up spotted them and told you off! Oh, and the liberty bodices with rubber buttons. Vest, big knickers, Liberty bodice, blouse, skirt or pinafore dress and cardigan, knee-length socks and lace up shoes all winter! Ugh!

[Gemini]

I had to wear fawn socks, to match the brown school uniform. I hated them, and longed for white socks! I did get some eventually.

[Plantaholic]

How carefree childhood was then.

[Bizzy Lizzy]

Horrified to realise I remember all these things! This poem would need a lot of explaining to the grandchildren!

[Oma]

BL mine already believe life was all black white and grey when we were young one of the boys even asked when did we invent colour 😁
I remember those long stocking in the winter Daisy and the liberty bodice our school knickers had pocket in for your hankie and we had to show the teacher every morning we had ours , Mittens on a string through your sleeves were called silly strings up hear and scarves sewn into a pixie hood then wrapped across your body and tied at the back , if your mittens got wet playing in the snow we went indoors and put socks on our hands while the mittens dried by the fire all good days , I have lovely memories of my Dad coming upstairs on a winters morning to wake me with a blanket that had been warmed by the fire he would wrap it around me to stay warm and carry me down the stairs settle me on the sofa and bring my breakfast to me 😊

[Daisy]

Oma - Oh, I remember nearly all of those. What a lovely Dad you had - that is such a loving thing to do.

As to what the grandchildren would make of these memories - they just wouldn't understand. I tried to explain to GS2 who's nearly 13 that when I was his age hardly anybody had a phone. And even when his daddy was about 7 or 8 we had to wait 3 months to get a phone installed in a new house - and we didn't have mobiles to fill the gap! I gave up trying to explain party lines to him.

I remember when I was a child and saw early silent films - victorian/Edwardian - where the frame rate was so slow that people looked as though they walked in jerks, and I really thought that was how people walked in those days!!!

[Oma]

It's funny how we think as children I remember when I first saw the esso advert ,put a tiger in your tank I really thought that little tiger was actually jumping in the petrol tank 😁

[Plantaholic]

i am loving all your memories of your childhoods, i remember most of them. sorry i am unable to add much to posts, it is very difficult with my left hand but i do read them all.