SUMMERS PAST

Some of us wait anxiously for long hot summer days filled with fun, laughter, and grandchildren. It is definitely true that the older you get the quicker the time goes and six weeks of summer is over in a blink of the eye. I cannot recall a time ever where the six weeks have been sunny every day but my memory fails to remember a wet day inside when growing up. The garden was my playground and being an only child, living with grandparents I could turn it into whatever my play theme was, this would vary from bike ramps and jumps, a dolls hospital, a camp made of whatever blankets I could find, rollerskating down the path and wanting a concrete path put all around the garden to make this easier and for bike riding. I could not understand why my grandfather didn’t do this for me! lol. The dreams of a child are so simple in their eyes.

The summer holidays as a child which felt like they went on endlessly and then the excitement during the last couple of weeks of getting new books and pencils that I could not wait to write in, the first page was so neat and colorful. I loved writing stories in the new book, not realising I had the traits of an author even then as I was addicted to stationery!

New uniform but the new bag was the best bit, one year I got a brown satchel which was the in thing that year but it was all shiny new, I wanted it faded, soft and tatty. I left it in the garden overnight but it just got damp and patchy so scratching it with a compass was next but no matter what I did it just never looked old and beautiful in my eyes. I was pleased when the next type of bag became popular so I could get rid of the satchel.

In the summers of 1968 and 1969, we traveled to Jersey, once by boat in a cabin and once in a plane, what excitement that was, new clothes were packed, even getting up early was fun. My grandparents had visited there every year so knew the hotel owners as great friends so their child became my friend so I had access to the kitchen and their family rooms in the hotel, so much fun was had during these holidays.  St. Helier was a lovely place, some things stand out in my memory such as The Mermaid pub, lots of windy roads down to some beaches, grandad drove the hire car so carefully. A pottery works, where I got an eggcup with my name on it and a name for my bedroom door.  I went back to Jersey a few years ago but there was nothing there that I remembered, pubs had closed, new hotels on the seafront, I found it all very sad as it had never occurred to me that it wouldn’t all be the same.

I find the memories of childhood come back so easily but I have trouble remembering what I went in a room for, some words when writing, or even what I did last week!

Whether it is spring summer autumn or winter make your memories to cherish when older or even write them down for future generations.

Happy summer x