The sound of my childhood.

Mares eat oats and lambs eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. A kid’ll eat ivy too. Wouldn’t you?

I can remember my older brother singing this to our Mum when she complained that the Beatles songs were nonsensical!

Yellow Rose of Texas,
Black Hills of Dakota,
Shall We Dance,
I could have Danced All Night,

Run,Rabbit,Run and Show Me The Way To Go Home sung by my Dad

The dreaded "Sing Something Simple" on a Sunday evening.
The carpenters "Close to you" - I can remember mum jokingly singing along with snippets of it, and looking at my dad.

Uncle Mac on Saturday mornings with Children’s favourites. Two way family favourites on Sundays. Sing songs on the way home from cricket matches my Dad played in with the local RAFA club. No one owned a car so everyone travelled to the cricket matches on coaches. As time moved on people acquired TVs and cars. They then started driving themselves home in time to see the TV shows like Sunday Night at the London Paladium. Such is progress.

Being a forces family, two way family favourites was practically a religion. It was followed by the Billy Cotton Bandshow which didn't interest me in the slightest.

My parents' record collection consisted of Glen Miller, The Andrews Sisters, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald et al.

California Dreamin' - Mamas and Papas. Still gives me chills now. The summer of love and the hippies had such an influence on how I grew up. Equality and world peace. We're so far away from it now.

Mum (mummy then) singing Somewhere over the Rainbow trying to sound like Judy Garland, and The Black Hills of Dakota.

Workers Playtime! My dad was always singing. Remember going to aunts, and grandparents, organ being played, uncle singing and playing mouth organ. Yellow Rose of Texas was a favourite!

Some enchanted evening ( I still love that song)
Magic Moments
She wears red feathers
Love and Marriage
The rock island line
The runaway train
This old house
You’re a pink toothbrush
Records of bits of opera ( constantly played)
Ditto Gilbert and Sullivan particularly The Mikado.

‘Mares eat oats
And does eat oats
Little lambs eat ivy
Kidle eat ivy too
Wouldn’t you? ?

My Dad singing us children to sleep with "Just a Song at Twilight". Me singing my grandchildren to sleep, they always ask for the "Twilight Song", my Dad would be thrilled

My dad used to take my sister and I out on a Sunday to visit various aunts and uncles. In the car he would sing what we called “ Tunday Tongs” and I remember him singing something about “Dashing away with the smoothing iron” also “Old Man River” was a favourite. We thought he had a wonderful voice it was only years later that we realised that he really couldn’t sing a note.

My parents were big on parties so it was:
Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, Billy Eckstine, Al martino, Nat King Cole etc.
It was my job to keep the wind up record player going and change the records.

"We'll meet again" is very apt now.

Two Way Family Favourites at Sunday lunchtime.

My mum singing "Somewhere over the rainbow" (can't stand it now!), "Maresy doats" (or however you spell it!) and "I'll be your sweetheart" (as a lullaby).