Childhood & Sentimental memories

Olliebeak

We had a set of Encyclopaedias that my grandmother bought from one of those door-step salesmen in the early 50's - I spent many hours going through them at random. From there I found the first poem that I ever memorised 'The Lost Doll' by Charles Kingsley.

'I once had a sweet little doll, dears; the most beautiful doll in the world; her cheeks were so red and so white, dears; and her hair most charmingly curled .....'

I think I must have been one of those kids that were creeps in school (:o)because I recited it for the teacher. She was most impressed that I'd learned a poem without being told to do so.

Another one that I loved was 'From a Railway Carriage' by Robert Louis Stevenson (from 'A Child's Garden of Verses') - 'Faster than fairies, faster than witches, bridges and houses, hedges and ditches ...........'. Fancy that being written by the same guy who also wrote 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' - how strange!

cathodetube

Waitrose is definitely worth a visit. I've never been in a Waitrose I haven't liked. The staff seem to like their jobs. Think they are all 'partners' like they are in the John Lewis partnership (which Waitrose is part of) and so they get profit sharing. Not everything is expensive. They do have offers on things!
And 55p for thin sliced bread is cheap! The tiny one I go to near me as been there since the 1940s - so I've been told!

Was reading the Observer food supplement from this past Sunday and see that Nigel Slater (love his receipe books) has published a new cookbook and they had extracts from it which are closely linked to this thread. It's called 'Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table'. The extract was all about biscuits and sweets. If you haven't ever read him then try Toast, his first book, which is about his childhood. He is also the food editor of the Observer and has recipes in every week. He has a good paperback out called 30 Minute Suppers. He had a good looking recipe for rice pudding in this week's magazine. No I am not his agent! I collect cookbooks and spend hours reading them in bed. I go to church fetes and car boot sales and buy too many. I also buy the ones you get in the States, which are usually put out by a church, with recipes contributed by parishioners, to raise money for the church. The ones from the Sixties and Seventies have very bizarre ones like jello (jelly) salad made with marshmallows and tinned fruit. There are usually good family recipes, handed down through the generation, like pasta sauces, or goulash recipes or stuffed cabbage. Because there was such a huge influx of different nationalities from the middle of the 19th century, you can see the influence. In Massachusetts you would have a lot of Irish and Italian recipes. In Wisconsin, Polish and German. We had a Scottish bakery near us in Michigan and my mother would go there and buy their meat pies. They were round with beef in them and we would have them with A1 Steak Sauce, kind of like HP sauce. I have seen them here, but not for a long time.

Does anyone else like Staffordshire oat cakes? I had a flatmate who was from there and she used to bring them back. We would toast them under grill and melt cheese on them. Can't find them in London.

kathyb1230

Wow, so many memories, this is fab!
Most of mine have been covered already I think, but talking about progressing onto Just17....I distinctly remember reading the Secret Seven books, and then moving onto the Famous Five ones- thought I was such a grown-up as my little sister was still on the 7's!
And...not that I watched it myself, but I remember my mum always watching a programme called the Sullivans (I think). If I remember correctly, it was Australian, and the opening credits ended up with the whole family posing outside their house for a sepia-coloured photo???
And also.....pretending to be ill so I could have some Calpol. How disappointed was I when I had to move onto the 'adult' version which didn't taste anywhere near as nice.

Hardup_Hester

I remember The Sullivans one of the actors was Sam Neill.

Iguana

pounds_and_pensive wrote: »

I remember the Camay ad. Every time it came on my mum would say 'I'd had all three of you by the time I was 22!'. I also remember the Harmony hairspray ad, with the woman strolling along by the building site, hairdo bouncing up and down like Zebedee on a pogo stick, and the builders asking each other 'Is she... or isn't she?' (!) The Christmas ads are the ones that stick in my mind most though - ze Cointreau couple, daft gadgets from K-Tel and Victor Kyam being 'so impressed, he bought the company'.

I also used to love the old Public Information films - Petunia and her husband ('He's not waving, he's drowning!'), Reginald Molehusband trying to park his car, and - my favourite - the woman peering through her letterbox after being locked out by a burglar ('What IS he doing with those candlesticks?!'). They don't make 'em like that any more

We must be similar ages!

Iguana

Olliebeak wrote: »

Another one that I loved was 'From a Railway Carriage' by Robert Louis Stevenson (from 'A Child's Garden of Verses') - 'Faster than fairies, faster than witches, bridges and houses, hedges and ditches ...........'. Fancy that being written by the same guy who also wrote 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' - how strange!

I like the Land of Counterpane better:

'When I was sick and lay abed
I had two pillows at my head
All my toys around me lay
To keep me happy all the day'

Also:

Happiness

John had
Great Big
Waterproof
Boots on;
John had a
Great Big
Waterproof
Hat;
John had a
Great Big
Waterproof
Mackintosh --
And that
(Said John)
Is
That.

Alan Alexander Milne

portsmouthali

kathyb1230 wrote: »

And...not that I watched it myself, but I remember my mum always watching a programme called the Sullivans (I think).

Oh yes, I remember The Sullivans! I think it was set during WWII. It must have been on at lunchtime, as I remember coming home from school, eating my lunch whilst watching Jamie & the Magic Torch, or Pipkins, and the Sullivans was on straight after.

bexsta-star

For all those Sullivan fans (and I was one of them)

http://www.crawfords.com.au/libary/drama/sullivans.shtml

Enjoy!!!

Olliebeak

Thank you for that link to the Sullivas - loved that programme when my kids were very young.

My sister and I were both hooked on it every day and cried buckets when the older son, John, got lost during the War and the family thought he was dead.

Wasn't 'Mrs Mangle' from Neighbours in it as well - as a very strait-laced but kind neighbour/aunt?

noonesperfect

Did anyone else watch The Double Deckers or Banana Splits on a Saturday morning? Or Tales from Czechozlovakia (sp)?

Do you remember crispy cod balls? My Mum always cooked everything from scratch so, daft though it sounds, it was a treat to have such "fast food"!! In her defence, my Mum was a very good cook .