This was one
year … when we, as kids, were in Carbis Bay at my grandparents’ house … I don’t remember my brother pestering me, but he must have been there … and it was almost certainly the year of 'stepping on a snake' ...
I must have been very young ... as I remember the milk being delivered in churns ... we put out whatever size we needed ... smaller than these shown below ... My grandparents' house ... that tree is still
there - well it was in 2010
… but it
must have been one year when the journey was split and we were ‘dumped’ off
in Exeter – half-way between Woking (near London Heathrow) and Carbis Bay … to journey
the rest of the way with the grand-parents!The churns were put out for
filling by the tanker - before
milk bottles were the norm ...
Cornwall would have been
behind the rest of the country
The upshot
being … there was room for more luggage – and that year … my father’s sister
and her husband (the uncle I looked after in recent years) had given me a
wind-up gramophone …
It wasn't this one ...
but it so reminds me
of mine!
… I only
remember two records … there was no volume switch … partly overcome by stuffing
socks into the hole under the needle arm – it did do some good, but not much …
it blared …
… heaven knows what my grandparents, neighbours and ancillary visitors thought … as these two records blasted their way out of the house around Carbis Bay … and they were continuously played!
Nothing like
the Laughing Policeman …
I know a fat old policeman,
he's always on our street,
a fat and jolly red faced man
he really is a treat.
He's too kind to be a policeman,
he's never known to frown,
and everybody says he's the happiest
man in town.
Chorus
(Ha ha ha ha ha,
Woo ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,
Woo ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,
Ha ha ha .)
Or The
Dambusters’ March by Eric Coates – so rousing …
Auckland Symphony Orchestra playing
The Dambusters' March
My
grandparents didn’t use the sitting room during the day – it was the kitchen, dining
room, the study and the garden that were in full use.
Old-fashioned Roses from a card
by Parastoo Ganjei
They loved
gardening … my grandmother had the front part of the garden with all the roses,
border, cottage plants … while grandpa had the back, where the vegetables were
grown … along with sweet peas clambering up the bean poles …
… lined with
fuchsia hedges – popping the ‘pod’ before the sepals opened … I still love
fuchsia … the memories of fuchsia hedges remind me of youth and Cornwall days …Fuchsias ... I used to pop the sepals
The front
garden had a potting shed for Grandma – covered with prize certificates from the
St Ives gardening shows … where they’d entered their best entries … plants,
flowers or vegetables …
Happy Days - and I hope you all had peaceful Easters ...
The
Dambusters’ March (by Eric Coates) – performed here by the Auckland Symphony Orchestra
The LaughingPoliceman – a music hall song by Charles Penrose (1922)
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories