Saturday, February 09, 2008

It's been a very busy week. It has also been a totally head-spinning life-changing week and I have some quite exciting news....but I'm going to be mean and not blog about it till it's all signed sealed and delivered.

Thank you for all the fascinating input on my last post, both on here and emailed to me privately. I get a great deal from reading others' opinions and feelings, so thank you for contributing.

For a number of reasons, this campaign has been brought to my attention. As you know from this blog I love reminiscing so was eager to join in, however when I clicked on the page box to enter my memory I suddenly realised I couldn't narrow it down.

What is my favourite childhood memory?

Playing games with my sisters? (predominantly involving the stairs being a mountain and us owning an (invisible) pet goat)
Playing in the park?
A specific holiday with my family?
A birthday, christmas or celebration?

What I actually went for in the end was a vivid memory which comes back to me every November....of standing around a bonfire watching the flames leap and crackle, wind whilstling around me and feeling the heat on my face, holding onto an adults hand. I relished in the fact that everyone would congregate together, huddling in the cold to watch. I loved bonfire night (still do, in fact one of my first posts on this blog was about fireworks). Clearly the pink and sparkly attraction is there, but there's also just something rather exciting about being outdoors in the cold with the warmth on your face from a roaring crackling fire.

Interestingly, every memory I treasure most has something to do with people, and hardly any were of presents or other material things. Some of the happiest moments of my life have been the simplest; laughing till my sides hurt with my sisters or a friend, snuggling up on the sofa with the fire on with A, things like that.

Anyway, more participation please; what's your favourite childhood memory? I think I'm just getting lazy and want to read everyone elses thoughts...


8 comments:

misdee said...

so many memories.

one that i recall a lot is a childhood one. Where i lived, had a lot of children similar ages to my brother and sisters. In the summer, every summer, all the kids would meet up and have huge rounder matches on the school fields. The kids all went to different schools, a large mixture of religions as well. But every summer was the same. We would all meet outside our house (as it was opposite the field), someone would have the bat, and then we would have to hunt for a ball. There wasnt ever any adults keeping an eye on us, just kids having fun. and not getting into trouble lol.

We all stopped meeting up once we hit the higher end of school. Funny how people just grow apart.

Kayz said...

One that makes me wish I was five / six again.... my dad was a coal miner and worked really long shifts to keep the family going ( seven kids, one income... Irish Catholics you see!) and no matter what the weather or how tired he was if I asked he would take me out on his bike... a big black old thing probably made of cast iron it felt so heavy to me!!

He had a red velvet cushion he would put on the cross bar for me to sit on, and would cycle round our village for ages telling me stories from down the pit.

That was MY time with my dad and is such a treasured memory.

As you know Em he left this world just over two years ago, for what I hope is a peaceful place for him and that is one memory that keeps him alive in my heart and mind.

Muchly love to you and so pleased to hear your news this morning about the....nah I won't spoil your announcement, suffice to say I am chuffed to bits for you!
Fi
xx

Anonymous said...

I think my favorite childhood moment was going to the Del Mar GP race for prototypes (IMSA Camel GT championship, similar to the old FIA Group C), back in maybe 1986. It was better than the Indy 500 because it was a road course, so the cars were slowed down, but still racing. Great stuff for a preteen like me who obsessed with IMSA, NASCAR and Indy cars.

Anonymous said...

Hey! Peasant-girls-who-live-on-a-mountain-with-goat rocked! That's definitely in my top 5.

Too hard to narrow down with our family I think, but being in Stoupa that first year and making the morning pilgrimage through the olive trees to the little bakery for pastries and bread with mum or dad is probably mine.

I have so many to do with that place though. Bring on summer! x

Anonymous said...

I remember going blackberry picking with my brother in a field where we lived in Cumbria aged about 6 and my brother was 4 - a time when you could let your children out of your sight with their older friends and know they would be safe - a time when you could leave your back door open and neighbours would pop in and out - unlike today!
My favourite Christmas time was when my dad saved to buy me a television - a black and white one! I'd wanted one for my bedroom but I knew we didn't have much money. My brothers excitement on Christmas morning when he got up before me told me I'd got what I wanted - they'd scrimped and saved to get me what I wanted and I never forgot it. My dad worked in the pit's and overtime was scarce during the miners strike. How times have changed!

Anonymous said...

Funny - I can't choose a childhood memory as my favourite - things weren't that great then. One of my favourite memories is realising that I was really and truly in love for the first time - putting all other relationships in the shade - over dinner in Rye. Anyway very cheesey but lovely none the less. And yes - here we are 20 years and four kids later. Brilliant!
Lindy x

Anonymous said...

to be honest i dont know what my fabourite childhood memory is, i agree bonfire night is really amazing - i go to brockham every year (and i always have) and i love seeing my cousins and doing the torch procession. we always go back to my grans after for food games etc (i do remeber abbi coming one year and falling in a pond....) good times
much loce
jennie higgins

Anonymous said...

Watching the snow fall on Christmas Eve. Big fat snowflakes which lay quite thickly all over Christmas and when it stopped we made a really long slide and spent days whizzing down it :-)