Childhood disappointments

When we first had a record player Father brought home records for each of us. Mine was "She loves you" - but sung by Pinky and Perky!

When I was about 7, I was very disappointed that my paternal grandmother didn’t have eyes like a hawk! That’s what my Mum had told me.

We went to a neighbours house one Christmas/ Boxing Day evening, I must have been about 10.

I was so excited as the grown ups would be having some Sanatogen Tonic Wine and I was going to be allowed a taste.

What a disappointment! It was awful. I had imagined it would be a really upmarket ‘pop’, but no. How could they drink this stuff?

I became aware that my parents had supper every evening at about 9pm. I felt I was missing out on this grown-up event and one evening came up with some excuse to venture into the sittingroom at supper-time. How disappointed I was to discover them drinking a cup of tea and eating a Rich Tea biscuit.

When I was seven I went to London for the first time. I was disappointed by almost everything. Buckingham palace didn’t look a bit like the fairy palaces of my imagination and my picture books. 10 Downing Street (you could walk along it then) didn’t look grand at all, and didn’t even have a front garden. Worst of all was Piccadilly Circus. Where were the dancing horses and the clowns?

When I returned home I went to tea with a friend, and her mother teasingly asked me if I’d enjoyed the clowns in Piccadilly Circus. I laughed with her and pretended that I was far too sophisticated to have expected that, even though in fact I had done.

As a wartime child bananas were something of a myth and I was told “just wait until you taste a banana”, meaning I imagined something like pineapple or peach. The real thing was a floury, tasteless disappointment which I have never quite recovered from!

I was about 9. It was nearing Christmas and my Aunt in Scotland had sent my Xmas present which was under the tree. It was obviously a large book and, as I was a great reader, I was very excited.

Turned out to be a Helen Shapiro Annual. I had never heard of her and was very disappointed.

Me & my brother had been begging mum to buy some Findus crispy pancakes (as seen on TV), & Dad decided they sounded nice too.
Eventually she bought & cooked them OK, even bought Coke to go with them which was another first, but we were all so disappointed. They sounded so appetising, & they really weren't.

I was seven and waiting outside the church hall so that I could join the Brownies. The girls who were already enrolled brownies suddenly began saying 'Brown Owl's coming. ' I looked along the pavement in expectation of seeing a life size owl. Imagine my disappointment when all I saw was a woman, wearing a navy blue uniform.

Not me but my son when he was about 7. I was surprised when he was suddenly desperate to go to church (we’re not a religious family) He was so disappointed when he couldn’t see the bells ringing in the roof!

I was disappointed seeing a dead mole at how small it was, the illustrations in my Wind of the Willows led me to believe at least a 10 year old child size.

How many ears has Dr Spock got? 3 the right ear the left ear and the final front ear

When I was about 7 or 8, I was obsessed with Arthurian legends. A sign appeared on the village hall, advertising a visit regarding The Silver Sword of Truth.

I was utterly convinced it was about Arthur and his sword, so I counted down the days, raided my piggy bank for the shilling fee and went.

It was about Jesus. I was so sad.

For my 10th birthday I wanted a bike, more than 'wanted', I was desperate for a 'Pink Witch' bike, which were the rage at the time. I was duly given an obviously very much used black bike, I still remember the disappointment.

valdavi

Me & my brother had been begging mum to buy some Findus crispy pancakes (as seen on TV), & Dad decided they sounded nice too.
Eventually she bought & cooked them OK, even bought Coke to go with them which was another first, but we were all so disappointed. They sounded so appetising, & they really weren't.

When I was aged 9, I remember that one of my Christmas presents was a childrens book 'The Bobbsey Twins'; obviously an American book, I'd never heard of the Bobbsey Twins either before or since - I'm now approaching my 70th birthday,

This is an adult disappointment, carried over from my childhood. We had a coal fire in our house but my mother would never buy firelighters, as she didn’t see the need. I was mystified by these curious boxes.

Fast forward to my early 20’s and my dh and I moved to a house with an open fire. Gleefully, I went to Woolworths and bought a box of firelighters. I rushed home to lay the fire, ripping open the thrilling box…only to find a very disappointing block of a smelly white substance that had to be broken up and placed between the kindling.

I really don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t that! 😂😂

I remember being very disappointed when we travelled across London to see the Cutty Sark. I was expecting to see all the beautiful sails, and instead it just had bare masts. It was another 40 years before I saw the start of the Tall Ships Race with lots of beautiful square riggers.

Never getting the pony I so desperately wanted. Every birthday and every xmas, the first thing I did was look out of my bedroom window in the hope that I'd see a pony in the garden, but I never did. I even found out, years later, that my dad had arranged to buy my favourite pony at our local stables, but my mum went behind his back and cancelled it because she said I didn't deserve it. I never ever forgave her for that.

One Christmas, when I was about 7, South Pacific was on the TV and as you all know it features the song "there ain't nothing like a dame". Dame was of course an unknown American expression to me as a 7 year old English child, so a few days later I asked my older brother what it meant. My brother had no idea I'd watched South Pacific and so my question was out of context, if you see what I mean. He must've thought I said "date" not "dame" and he told me it was a sort of fruit, so for some years I believed that's what the song was about. I thought it must be a really delicious fruit for all those sailors to get so enthused about.

Deedaa
My father was on the Cutty Sark when it was towed from Greenhithe to Greenwich.
He was one of those who removed those sails and a lot of the rigging.

I was in a small plane flying over the equator when I was 5 years old. An adult explained that the equator was an imaginary line which went around the world.
I gazed out the window to see the imaginary lion 🦁 but was doomed to disappointment.

I was about 11 and pixie boots were my dream , black ankle length with a small cute heel . I pestered my mum for a pair for weeks . She agreed to come into the shops and we went into a shoe shop . My excitement grew but soon disappointment kicked in , I was made to try on a flat brown pair with fur around the top like old lady boots and mum bought them . I had to swallow my sadness and pretend they were OK. I never ever wore them . Since then I've never worn brown fur top ankle boots and I'm 75 .

Primrose53

I was about 9. It was nearing Christmas and my Aunt in Scotland had sent my Xmas present which was under the tree. It was obviously a large book and, as I was a great reader, I was very excited.

Turned out to be a Helen Shapiro Annual. I had never heard of her and was very disappointed.

We went to see Helen Shapiro years after she first became famous. She was singing jazz in nightclub in Devon. She still had a fabulous voice, more suited to jazz than pop.

I always wondered how my mother managed to see out of the eyes in the back of her head when she had such thick hair!

Bohemian I too was disappointed with my much longed for bike.
My best friend had a beautiful turquoise sparkly one and I begged my parents for a bike for my birthday, which I duly got.
It was an ex postman’s bike which my lovely grandad painted bright blue (not pretty turquoise). It was ugly and I cried when I saw it.