To wish Mrs Kershaw was still around?

Nelliemoser, that is so sweet!

Oh crikey. I was a rather lonely only child, but didn't even have any imaginary friends . Although I did have a book of horses that I'd drawn and had to decide which one I'd be riding that day. And there was the elephant that lived in the brewhouse [but I didn't class him as a friend]. He was probably too big to leave the brewhouse and therefore couldn't accompany me anywhere.

My younger sister had a dressing gown tassel, which she called her Manatty!!! She would have long conversations with it, moving it around all the while. This was when she was about 3/4 years old. She's quite normal now.

DD had "friends" called her Dublim's. (It was the early 80s, the troubles in Northern Ireland and I think she had heard mention of Dublin on the news.)

The Dublim's were blamed by her for a lot of her mischief as they "made her do it," which I think she knew as a joke.
Then later in a very telling moment she announced that "Her Dublim's didn't come any more as she was quite good now."

As it was, she was not a naughty child at all, just normal 3/4yr old mischief.

Blooming heck Absent that IS my 5 year old granddaughter. She insists that she is a horse (despite her older more sensible sister telling her "no you are a girl and that's it") [spoilsport emoticon]. She hasn't gone so far as to only eat raw vegetables (yet??) but does nay quite a bit!

A friend of mine had a daughter who didn't have an imaginary friend but who insisted that she herself was a horse. She "galloped" everywhere and neighed a lot (and nayed a lot) and would eat only raw vegetables. I'm pretty sure that she slept in a conventional bed and have no idea how she coped at school. She eventually – a couple of years – grew out of it. Very disturbing.

Mine were called Goddie and Mannie which may, or may not, have represented an early attempt to get to grips with metaphysics. I remember,aged about six, standing outside Buckingham Palace to see Charles and Anne, but refusing to look because I had "seen" Goddie in the crowd, wearing a red hat. Clearly she must have been a woman and a socialist.

How absolutely weird Sook I just looked up this thread as missed reading the last few comments. My dearest Mrs Kershaw's husband was called Bill !

Can't possible have been the same one though as Mrs Kershaw and her husband lived (or perhaps still do) in the North East.

Absent your wonderful imaginings amaze me.

My DH had an imaginary friend called Bill. Bill had his own place at the dining table and accompanied him everywhere. DH was a sickly child who spent a considerable time in hospital so I think Bill must have been a great comfort to him.

Let's hope absent - he's possibly with DDs Snoopy cuddly who stayed on the cross-channel ferry 30-odd years ago and went on long voyages to exotic islands, unfortunately he never sent any postcards.

moomin I expect he sailed off to sunnier climes and at this very moment is relaxing in a hammock with a glass of rum while listening to eight gramophone records – in sequence, not all at the same time, of course – and reading the plays of Shakespeare.

My imaginary friend was Mabel who had to be included in all my activities in my pre-school years!

absent I had a sailor doll called Heave-ho (as in yo-oh I suppose) who disappeared from my bedroom when I came home from school when I was around 5 I think. My mum had put him in the dustbin, whereupon I rooted him out. He did eventually go missing . . . . for ever . . . .

gillybob I was distraught when Alphonse was interred in the dustbin, a deeply traumatising experience.

Aaaaaah poor little Alphonse What a horrible end he seems to have met. How could you leave him to rot in the cold, damp garage Absent ?

Yes, looking forward to hearing " Absent's dream" even if it does involve "you know who"

My grandchildren definitely have a better social life than me too harrigran in fact not so long ago my 5 year old GD said "I told mummy that you would look after us next weekend grandma because you are never busy are you?"

Hunt I am sure your daughter will remember Lady. I can remember my Mrs Kershaw like I chatted to her only yesterday. Come to think of it...........?

my dolls were called Jennifer ,Maisie, Peekaboo and Waify. Our cats were Illy and Spiggy!Where did these names come from. My daughters imaginary friend was called Lady, I must ask her if she remembers.

No I don't think GD is lonely, she has a sister and quite a busy social life. She is at pre-school on a morning and with a childminder on an afternoon. She goes to soft play areas with other children and petting farms in groups, not to mention at least two birthday parties a week. To be honest the kids have a better social life than I do.

gillybob Alphonse had a white china head and a rag body. He died of mildew having been left in the garage over a very wet winter.

I was quite a lonely child as my only sister was five years older than me and we didn't have toddler groups and sleepovers when I was little. I suspect that Charlotte and Fairy just slipped away when I went to school and made some real friends.

P.s. I had a ridiculous dream about you-know-who's funeral. I won't relate it here but I'll tell you on Saturday if you want to know.

Oh how sweet harrigran . I wonder is she lonely? Does she have any brothers or sisters? I ask because I think I was quite a lonely child ( my sister was born when I was 5) and I didn't have any real people friends if you know what I mean.

My youngest GD has an imaginary friend called Milly and she is always telling me what they have been up to, she even involves Milly's Mum and talks to her on my mobile

Do you ever wonder where these names came from? My Mrs Kershaw? My mum and grandma assure me that they had never encountered another person of that name. Absents Charlotte and Fairy, Annos Gretchen, Flickertys Boys (???) and bless her Nanaej who happily chattered to a bath ( really strange child).

FRIEND not 'fried' (though she might have been roasted).

My imaginary fried was called Gretchen and lived in the oven of my granny's old black kitchen range. Make of that what you will...

Like you FlicketyB I was brought up around girls and boys terrified me right up until I was about 17 when they began to hold a definite attraction .

My imaginary friend was probably my only friend for a long time, apart from my grandad who played along with the whole Mrs Kershaw thing and used to include her in everything. My mum told me that "she" came to my sisters christening and I kicked up a fuss when some people tried to sit on her knee in the pew!

All my imaginary friends were boys, not surprising as during the war until 1948 our household consisted variously of me, my mother and sister and for most of the time my Grandmother and aunt. Boys had novelty value. I gather when I was about 3 I walked up to one in the street and poked him, presumably to see if he was real.

You were definitely blessed with a larger than average imagination Absent some of those dreams you have are quite astonishing !

I can picture Alphonse, was he a black doll by any chance?