Memories of the past

I wish I could, I lived in the same street as the school I attended , to think of that house, playing in that street etc only brings back the devastation of a disaster which struck, the one place that should be filled with such happy memories became a nightmare

Aberfan?

My first thought tooGalen

I remember the polished wood floor of the assembly hall. The coat trollies that were pushed away into a cupboard in the classroom. Copying letters home from the blackboard and being allowed to draw coloured patterns around the border. All this at the school I attended from 5-7.

My childhood home was the same one I left the day I married. Mum was still there until we moved her to a RH 9 mths before she died. So those memories were kept alive on a daily basis until 2012.

I am sorry Anniebach if I brought back sad memories for you.

I was lucky to have a happy childhood.

Please no NanKate, I shouldn't have mentioned it and I am sorry, I liked your post and so understand what you mean , those little flashbacks of childhood are wonderful, I only have to see a dolls house and I am back in our home in Aberfan , my father in the attic night after night and I not allowed to go up there, he made me a dolls house for Christmas. I see a child running to her father and again woosh, I see myself racing along the pavement to greet my father when he came home from nightshift in that pit. What I cannot do is allow my thoughts to linger there, a place where one had such a happiness as a child and felt so safe was wiped out. The chapel which my g Grandfather built and was minister of for many years was a such a large part of my childhood, then it became a mortuary for the children , that school flattened and the only time I was caned there was for sliding on the school roof in the summer hols. A wonderful childhood, surrounded by a large extended family in that village and in just minutes realy it was covered by the darkest of shadows .

Again, I am sorry x

I rarely remember any good times sadly. I know there have to have been some but they're over written by other things.

That said sometimes I occasionally get flashbacks of my grandmas kitchen. Big fat sausages sizzling in a pan...fried not grilled lol. The smell of sunlight soap. A warm steamy atmosphere. My grandma in a full flowered apron and sense of safety and security.

No need to apologise Annie. You and the others in your village experienced a dreadful catastrophe.

I send you a big hug.

What a lovely picture of your Grandma you paint Vampire

I wonder how my 2 grandsons will remember me - purple nail varnish and always up for a laugh and a bit of fun. I hope I can remain like this.

The older I get the closer I seem to be to my childhood. I'm sure I've mentioned the Ted Rudge Birmingham website NanKate and the bitter sweet memories that come flooding back when I look at photos of where I used to live. I've recently bought a few books about the area written by people who were pretty much my age; again bitter sweet. I can close my eyes and be in our old living room. Also, when I lived in Cornwall theres a walk I used to do from Boscastle car park along the banks of the Valency River and up to Minster Church. I sometimes do that in my head as well. Aberfan is one of the overriding memories of my childhood as well, seeing it on the television that day . There must have been other tragedies on the news during my childhood, but that's the only one that stands out as if it were yesterday. Given that I had to go into strict mode when the grandchildren refused to get ready for school this morning probably means that they will remember me as a tartar.

I look back on my childhood sometimes remembering the big house we lived in 5 families squashed into 3 floors and a basement, I can see my Mum struggling to bring up a sack of coal from the front of the house where the coal man dumped it, she carried it a bucket full at a time and tipped it in the coal cupboard we lived on the top floor so it was a long haul just to heat the living room where we would all gather to keep warm.

I took a look at that house on Zoopla and it actually had the flat we lived in for sale so I could peek in all the rooms it was fascinating to see the room where 5 of us slept now done out as the only bedroom, the flat was on sale for over £300K a bit different to the 10shilling rent my parents used to pay and we shared a toilet with 3 other families and no bathroom... haha it does take me back to happy days in blissful ignorance of our state of poverty.

I do find sometimes a smell or a piece of music suddenly and unexpectedly transport me back to a place or person - depending on how nice or nasty that is I try to hold on to the good feeling in it.

I can take myself round the house I lived in until I was 12 and hear every door closing - they all had a different click. I can also see the man with the pointed beard and strange eyes who used to look up at me from the lino tiles as I sat on the loo! I can also hear the noise the wallpaper made as I poked my finger through it in the corner of my bedroom - my Dad had papered round the angle of the walls and it hadn't quite fitted properly (I got into deep doo-doo for that). It gave the same satisfaction as popping bubble-pack . Music very often brings back long forgotten memories - sometimes right out of the blue. Very strange.

I don't really remember my childhood with particularly happy memories, my life started at 15 when I left school and went out into the world. I often dream I am back at my childhood home but it is always empty and cold.

I remember the day the King died. I was at St Mary's convent school in Wenesbury. The nuns told us and we had special prayers in the chapel.
I remember the grotto in the school grounds with a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, and lastly the goat which tried to butt reverend Mother every time it saw her.

Thank you NanKate x

I remember being told the king had died and didn't know who the king was

Anniebach - how dreadful for you My memories of my childhood home are not good - drunken, violent, abusive father etc so I try not to go there. If I am feeling low I try to recall my Beatle mania/60s days, going to see all the groups when they came to Birmingham. I also have my picture of me sitting on stage with the Fab Four remind me that my childhood was not ALL bad.

I remember having the measles. Laying in bed trying not to move because my head hurt so much with the curtains drawn to protect my eyes from the light.

Tanith "happy days in blissful ignorance of our poverty" that is so profound. I've got goosebumps. One memory for me that makes me chuckle is - My sister and I had been ill with a virus back in the early 60's. Mum had called the doctor after a week. Grandma from Aberdeen was visiting. After doctor finished he told our mum to get us a tonic. He then went on to gather everything up. Looking for his hat, my grandma told him it was still on his head. He feigned confusion humorously. Grandma chuckled and said "seems my grandchildren are not alone in needing a tonic eh?" [Hmm]

KatyK I saw the Beatles in B'ham in the 60s with Dusty Springfield and Bobby Vee as the supporting acts. Did you go to that show too?

I remember men going up and down the aisles with batons to keep us in our seats. . Happy Days.

Kate - I saw them a few times when they came to Brum but not that one. I saw them at the Town Hall (where George, my favourite, came to talk to a few of us through a window), with Roy Orbison and others on the same bill, at the Hippodrome, at the Odeon. The photo I have is of them on the set of Thank Your Lucky Stars at the old ABC Studios in Birmingham. A few of us won a competition to behind them on the studio floor as they performed. I have bored Gransnetters with this on so many occasions, I think I will shut up now

You are not boring me Katy it's fascinating. I saw them at the Odeon now you have reminded me of the venues. I also saw Georgie Fame there. Last year we went to see GF again with his 2 sons. He was brilliant and recounted so many stories about the music of the 60s and 70s. He is definitely worth seeing. I liked Alan Price too but he seems to have retired.

What was the name of the club in Gas Street that was very popular ?

Was it the opposite lock?

Oh! I went there once, fantastic drummer

I saw that Roy Orbison and The Beatles tour at The Adelphi in Slough in the early sixties. It was Roy I really went to see. Was totally in love with him.

Alan Price is still playing, but it sounds like it's just at his local pub once a month. He's on tomorrow night, if you live anywhere near Barnes, NanKate.