The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

camelot1001

When we judge at school we always go for the home made costumes, buying one seems like cheating!

GrannyKate

I was quite good at making costumes for my children but this had its down side.  I remember making and taking in an angel's costume for my DD for nativity play - at the end of the day teacher came out to say 'Costume was really nice - could I make another 4 as the other angels didn't have anything!'  I suppose it was compliment.  I must admit I did used to wonder about the criteria for judging costumes at times.  I still harbour memories (from the 1950s!) of sobbing bitterly in the corner when I was told I had to be a soldier in school play and I couldn't be a fairy princess as the tall girls had to be soldiers to make up the numbers.  Suspect that would not be PC these days.  

monnagran

Now come on children.  No bitterness about not winning, even if it was blatantly NOT FAIR.  I think you are all wonderful.  My most searing memory is of the day the neighbours drew up in their car to give my 6 yearold a lift to school.  He went out to the car then rushed back, popped his head round the door and said, "Oh, I need a donkey costume today!"  50 years later it still sends cold shivers down my spine.
i
In my school we didn't go in for lavish productions.  The nativity play was the simplest ever because I always did it with the nursery class  -  it was all new to them and their expressions of wonderment made it a tear-jerking performance.  Costumes were always the same. Girls wore nighties, angels with tinsel haloes, Mary with a blue cloak. .Boys wore dressing gowns with either teatowels on their heads or home made crowns. Years later one of the mothers told me that she still had the note that I sent home asking that her son should be provided with a dressing gown and crown, any old gold crown she had knocking round the house would do.  One year we happened to have the son of the local pub owner and his dressing gown was made out of beer mats (the towelling sort) so that year Joseph was advertising Watneys, Stella Artois, etc.
Then the famous year, the story of which I have often told on here,  when I told the 'left over' boys that they could chose what animal in the stable they would like to be.  We had half a dozen sheep and a gorilla. 

You really must stop encouraging me to indulge in memories. I'll creep back into my hole.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY     -   an old but good one.

An apple a day will keep ANYONE away if it's thrown hard enough.

annieb64

When I worked in the charity shop we would get a stream of mothers in on the days before World Book Day looking for costumes. We did our best but never had enough.
I can remember  making DDs princess dresses -one from an old velour dressing gown and the other from a very old satin type bedspread my aunt gave me. They both won prizes. I also made an angel dress from an old cotton petticoat. Now I'm  making costumes  for grandchildren! 

silvasava

Costume making doesn't stop when your children grow up, a couple of years ago I did Princess Bride out of old net curtains for Halloween for DGD. She was 25! 
When I was in senior school I was picked for the school play, A Midsummer Nights Dream, my mum made me a short green satin tunic and my dad made  a little cap covered in green leaves. All very nice but I was 5" 10'' - the biggest elf youve ever seen! Happy days and I still remember most of my lines  

Suffolksue

Monna reminisce all you like I love them!
My best one was my then 14 yr old son ,halfway out the door leaving for school.
”Oh I have to make scones today .What do I need to take for scone ?”
he was most put out when I yelled at r him “But I’ve remembered “

mothernerd

Suffolksue said:

Monna reminisce all you like I love them!
My best one was my then 14 yr old son ,halfway out the door leaving for school.
”Oh I have to make scones today .What do I need to take for scone ?”
he was most put out when I yelled at r him “But I’ve remembered “

When DS3 was at college, his tutor remembered my turning up at 'night school' (computerised accounting), covered in flour. I was supposed to finish work at 7 pm and start the class at 7 pm (luckily the boss let us all go once our work was done - as long as she decided when, if anyone hinted at finishing she would make us wait). I walked into my house to be told that 'we have to take cakes for tomorrow'. Scones were the only things I had ingredients in for so I threw them together and put them on a tray ready to go in the oven when I got back, then ran down the road to my class.

My sons' school was overly fond of 'themed assemblies' done by a whole class, so we got lots of ' I need a bee costume for tomorrow morning' as we walked out of the school gates (they might have been practising all week but it was always the night before.

Living_proof

How about unpacking the school lunch box only to find party invitations for the next day the other side of town? DD didn;t seem to realise how difficult it was buying cards and presents at the last minute on a Saturday. I subsequently stocked up with a one-size-fits-all present selection.

VJsmum

It's OK, Monna, I'm really completely and totally OVER IT - even though it was NOT FAIR
(Narrator:  I really don't think she's over it)

pollyanna_26

monnagran said:

So.   I spent 40 minutes patiently tapping out a post with my index finger,  leaned over to pick up my exercise book to choose a TFT, touched the wrong bit of my tablet and turned it off.   !!!!!!!
Sort version ...mothernerd, we love you, keep moaning, you need it.
Living-proof, if they are Lakelands green veg bags, yes they work and yes you can wash them.
burtha, you are mad.  Good luck to your DD.
Polly, you are a great comfort to me.

Everybody.....All together now....Chin up.  Tits out.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY 

Follow your soul.  It knows the way.

I'm now convinced your tablet is in cahoots with my laptop monna.

I wrote a very long post on Thursday before going out. No sign of it now.

Advice to teachers and other school staff, Never ever let your head know you can sew. I got away with it when the two older ones were there but the head  remarked on dd2s pretty M&S  gingham summer dress  and said oh she's funny she said you made it. Caught off guard I told her I'd made her two.

Well that was it school plays, nativity , world book day when we started doing that and some parents didn't have the means to make something no one seemed to buy an outfit then. Night after night I'd be sewing. I remember dd2 wanting to be a cat , I can't remember which literary cat but have you ever tried to make a furry body , tail and whiskers?

Youngest a dead ringer for Katie Morag wanted to go as Katie Morag which was a bit of a challenge when she already had the red hair which meant she'd just look like herself. I ended up copying an outfit from the books and making her a badge with Katie Morag

on it.

I was already designated fastest runner so school trips would be me chasing the naughty boys through zoos, parks and other places we went for a school trip.

What finally broke me was the last nativity play I sewed for. All the girls who didn't have a main part wanted to be an angel. so the head told them they could all be an angel I'm surprised she didn't self combust as my eyes bored into the back of her head..The nativity used to involve reception to top juniors so a lot of angels. We didn't have the funds for fabric so put out an appeal for white sheets. I drew a simple design , full length, round neck and long sleeves but apart from another teacher and one mum I was on my own . Night after night i'd be cutting and sewing. Then there were wings and halos to make.

My arthritis was already worsening so I told the head to keep all the outfits or recruit  some volunteers to take on the task in the future. She kept the outfits thankfully . I'd also had to do the many shepherds with stripy blankets etc. The three kings and mary and joseph were easiest. Luckily we didn't have any live animals.

It was very much a different time. I may be old fashioned but I've never been in favour of buying or hiring things for world book day or Prom day. That didn't exist back then. There's a company near here which hires out stretch limos at eye watering costs and some of those leaving senior school look lke jail bait when they're all done up. Most are going on to the college my eldest dd attended before Uni and there's no way she would have gone out at 16 looking like that.

pollyx