My Mum had a cousin who lived in Hillingdon. Her name was Olga. I don't know the story, but it was a while after my Mum moved to London that she was finally given her address and they made contact.
On occassional Sundays, my parents, my sister and myself would get in the car and drive over there. She was married to Eddie and between them they had 4 children, Stuart, Jean Eddie and Ian. Ian was about the closest in age to me. We used have great Sundays there. Olga always struck me as being very glamorous. She didn't have a stunning figure, but she had dyed blonde hair, twinkly blue eyes and a happy smiley face. She was full to brim with warmth and I just LOVED going over there.
For a start, we would have CHIPS for Sunday dinner. My Mum always cooked meat and 2 veg on Sundays, so to go over and have chips for Sunday lunch was fantastic!! Then she would make something scrummy for afters. My favorite was Custard tart.
After lunch we would either get in my Dad or Eddies car and go to Heathrow airport. I had never been on a plane before so to me, if you were getting on a plane then you had to be VERY rich and VERY important. I never thought about where these people were going or why, just that to get on a plane you had to be special! Mostly we would go up to the roof of one of the terminal buildings and sit and watch the planes taking off and landing. Even more exciting was the fact that there was a darlek there and for a coin you could sit in it and get twisted around while it croaked 'exterminate!!!'
Yes, those Sundays thrilled me and somehow it wasn't as exciting when they came to visit us, although, many years later Olga would tell me she used to love coming to our house as she got a roast dinner! I used to love seeing them, she always dressed up to come to our house and her hair was blonde and styled very 40's!
Over the years our families went to each others weddings and gradually the visits dwindled. My Dad didn't have a car for a long time and then the last time we saw them Olga was ill and so was Eddie, but the visit was lovely. Sadly they eventually died and now it's just Christmas cards from Jean to my Mum.
To this day though, if I ever have to fly from Heathrow, I walk in and hold my head up because that 'special' feeling still comes over me. If anyone knows if the Darlek is still there, will they please let me know.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Monday, 15 October 2007
Warners Wagtails
Nowaday, Warners holidays are far more up market. No kids allowed to stay in their places, but when I was a child, it was a different story.
Every year my parents would take us to a Warners Holiday camp. There were rows and rows of chalets. Mostly we went to Dovercourt and there we would meet up with another family, the Morlams, who my parents had met years earlier.
I LOVED the holiday camp. Dovercourt had a massive pool, or so it seemed to little ol' me! They had the ice cream fountains at each end of the pool too.
We would always stay full board, which would involved trooping off to the dining hall for breakfast lunch and dinner, or breakfast dinner and tea!! At the first meal of the holiday, the green coat (Warners entertainment team) would get up on a little platform, grab a microphone and start geeing everyone up. He would then split the dining hall in half and the people on one side were the cads and the people on the other were the college. The week would be full of competitions and you would earn points for either the cads or the college! The competitions were quite silly. King of the week, queen of the week, diving competitions, fancy dress competitions, swimming competitions.
They had a kids club, Warners Wagtails. We would do all kinds of things, go on trips, rambles treasure hunts. But the best time for me was when the horses came. No matter where my Dad was, he would appear and pay for a ride for me. Then after tea, we would go back to our chalet, get all dressed up and go to the clubhouse. I used to beg my Mum to get a 'Pims number 1' so that I could eat all the cocktail cherries and fruit.
My siister was 8 years older than me, so she would usually find someone to hang around with and I would find someone my own age.
Once I remember getting lost and going to the reception. They had a tannoy and I got rather cross because they couldn't say my middle name as I had insisted on telling them my name was Carol Ceridwen Christian. Those really were hi de hi days!
We are Warners Wagtails
Happy as can be
Loving every minute
Beside the deep blue sea
As you look around us
You always see a smile
For we are Warners Wagtails
Happy all the while!
Every year my parents would take us to a Warners Holiday camp. There were rows and rows of chalets. Mostly we went to Dovercourt and there we would meet up with another family, the Morlams, who my parents had met years earlier.
I LOVED the holiday camp. Dovercourt had a massive pool, or so it seemed to little ol' me! They had the ice cream fountains at each end of the pool too.
We would always stay full board, which would involved trooping off to the dining hall for breakfast lunch and dinner, or breakfast dinner and tea!! At the first meal of the holiday, the green coat (Warners entertainment team) would get up on a little platform, grab a microphone and start geeing everyone up. He would then split the dining hall in half and the people on one side were the cads and the people on the other were the college. The week would be full of competitions and you would earn points for either the cads or the college! The competitions were quite silly. King of the week, queen of the week, diving competitions, fancy dress competitions, swimming competitions.
They had a kids club, Warners Wagtails. We would do all kinds of things, go on trips, rambles treasure hunts. But the best time for me was when the horses came. No matter where my Dad was, he would appear and pay for a ride for me. Then after tea, we would go back to our chalet, get all dressed up and go to the clubhouse. I used to beg my Mum to get a 'Pims number 1' so that I could eat all the cocktail cherries and fruit.
My siister was 8 years older than me, so she would usually find someone to hang around with and I would find someone my own age.
Once I remember getting lost and going to the reception. They had a tannoy and I got rather cross because they couldn't say my middle name as I had insisted on telling them my name was Carol Ceridwen Christian. Those really were hi de hi days!
We are Warners Wagtails
Happy as can be
Loving every minute
Beside the deep blue sea
As you look around us
You always see a smile
For we are Warners Wagtails
Happy all the while!
The Whites
My Mum comes from a big family. There were 8 of them altogether. 5 gilrs and 3 boys. They were born in Caerau, nr Maesteg in South Wales. They were born and grew up in Margam Street, very close to the Duffryn pit, therefore most of the men in the family were miners.
Often during the 6 weeks school holidays, me and my sister, Linda, went to Wales and usually ended up staying there for the duration. I had lots of cousins to play with and as there are 28 of them too many to name. Mostly I used to stay with my Auntie Liz, but sometimes I got to stay with my Aunt Sheila, who at the time, lived in the same house they were born in. My Aunt Sheila had 4 kids, my Aunt Glenys who lived opposite had 4 kids and my Uncle Ronnie, who lived further up had 6. Further up still by Caerau park, lived Geoffy who had 3 kids so all in all I had plenty of other kids to play with.
We would often go up the mountain to play. My Uncle Geoffy's house was right next to the mountain and if I stayed there, I would look out of the front window in the morning and see that the sheep from the mountain had come down and got in his front garden. He never complained, quite honestly I think it saved him from getting a lawn mower! He was always teasing one of us, and his pet name for me was fattie, sounding a lot like 'Fartie' with his Welsh accent. To get to his house, we often walked up the railway line, which wasn't used very often as it stopped at a tunnel not far from the park. Close to him was another uncle, Stanley, he had 5 kids.
Granny White lived in Bridgend with my Aunt Liz. She was blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, but she would lift her glasses and peer closely at the paper reading it to my Aunt Liz, who was unable to read. She loved her plants, and in her 'best parlour' she had lots of them. After tending them, she would stand at the window or go to her front door and most of the people passing by would give her a greeting of 'Hello Gran'. On her 80th birthday she received over a 100 cards, all from family and friends but a majority from the passers by. It seemed everyone in Coity Road knew my Gran and Aunt Lizzie
Aunt Liz had a son, Keith, he was her only son, and they all lived in the house together. She was very protective of Gran and Keith. If he came home late from the pub, boy she used to let him have it!! Often when she took me into town, she would make sure I held her hand as we crossed the road. Great when I was little, but not so great as I became a teenager!! When I stayed, I would have to share the bed with her and she would snuggle me up to her and say 'come on, cooch up' Most of the time she seemed really stern, but really she had a very kind heart. My Gran lived with her until Liz died, then she moved to Scotland with the last of my Aunts, Lavinia.
I remember my Aunt Sheila as always being glamorous. She wore high heels and used to paint her lips dark red. Aunt Glenys wasn't so glamorous but she had the biggest heart. She was the one I could talk to and she would never judge. She had a bit of a rebellious streak in her. Her house wasn't always tidy, but it was always full of love.
Nowadays, I rarely see my cousins. Both my Aunt Liz and Aunt Glenys have died and so has my Uncle Geoffy and my Gran, but most of the time I did enjoy my Welsh holidays.
Often during the 6 weeks school holidays, me and my sister, Linda, went to Wales and usually ended up staying there for the duration. I had lots of cousins to play with and as there are 28 of them too many to name. Mostly I used to stay with my Auntie Liz, but sometimes I got to stay with my Aunt Sheila, who at the time, lived in the same house they were born in. My Aunt Sheila had 4 kids, my Aunt Glenys who lived opposite had 4 kids and my Uncle Ronnie, who lived further up had 6. Further up still by Caerau park, lived Geoffy who had 3 kids so all in all I had plenty of other kids to play with.
We would often go up the mountain to play. My Uncle Geoffy's house was right next to the mountain and if I stayed there, I would look out of the front window in the morning and see that the sheep from the mountain had come down and got in his front garden. He never complained, quite honestly I think it saved him from getting a lawn mower! He was always teasing one of us, and his pet name for me was fattie, sounding a lot like 'Fartie' with his Welsh accent. To get to his house, we often walked up the railway line, which wasn't used very often as it stopped at a tunnel not far from the park. Close to him was another uncle, Stanley, he had 5 kids.
Granny White lived in Bridgend with my Aunt Liz. She was blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, but she would lift her glasses and peer closely at the paper reading it to my Aunt Liz, who was unable to read. She loved her plants, and in her 'best parlour' she had lots of them. After tending them, she would stand at the window or go to her front door and most of the people passing by would give her a greeting of 'Hello Gran'. On her 80th birthday she received over a 100 cards, all from family and friends but a majority from the passers by. It seemed everyone in Coity Road knew my Gran and Aunt Lizzie
Aunt Liz had a son, Keith, he was her only son, and they all lived in the house together. She was very protective of Gran and Keith. If he came home late from the pub, boy she used to let him have it!! Often when she took me into town, she would make sure I held her hand as we crossed the road. Great when I was little, but not so great as I became a teenager!! When I stayed, I would have to share the bed with her and she would snuggle me up to her and say 'come on, cooch up' Most of the time she seemed really stern, but really she had a very kind heart. My Gran lived with her until Liz died, then she moved to Scotland with the last of my Aunts, Lavinia.
I remember my Aunt Sheila as always being glamorous. She wore high heels and used to paint her lips dark red. Aunt Glenys wasn't so glamorous but she had the biggest heart. She was the one I could talk to and she would never judge. She had a bit of a rebellious streak in her. Her house wasn't always tidy, but it was always full of love.
Nowadays, I rarely see my cousins. Both my Aunt Liz and Aunt Glenys have died and so has my Uncle Geoffy and my Gran, but most of the time I did enjoy my Welsh holidays.
Friday, 12 October 2007
Minded
My Mum used to send me to Evelyn Williams while she went to work. Evelyn and Ernie Williams used to live at number 58 and they had the top half of the house, while Nina and Pop lived downstairs. A lot of houses in the 60's were divided into 2 flats, in our house we had Mr and Mrs Jones who lived upstairs.
Evelyn and Ernie Williams had 5 kids. 4 girls. Valerie, Sylvie, Vicky and Pat and 1 boy, Christopher. They were all a lot older than me and from the time I can remember they were all working, except for Christopher. He had sets of toy soldiers and used to regualrly tie a bit of string to the leg and dangle it in the fire so it melted. None of that health and safety lark then, no guard on the fire, just me and him lying close to the hearth watching the soldiers melt.
Evelyn used to insist that I had an afternoon nap, I was forced to lay in one of the beds and try to sleep, but after a few minutes I would get bored. She had wall paper on the wall that had very tiny roses on it and if I stared at them long enough, they used to move. That used to scare me as I imagined they were little beetles so then I would pick them off the wall. Evelyn would go nuts, shouting at me for picking the wall paper off and threaten to 'pay' me, which was usually a tap on the bum!!
When I was really bored, I would go down and see Nina and Pop who were in their 70's. Nina was a lovely kindly old lady and, as my only living Grandmother used to live in Wales, I adopted her as my nanny. She used to cook proper dinners, fish with parsley sauce, real steak and kidney puddings. Sometimes, we would pop out to the 'Thatched' to do some shopping. Up the 'Thatched' there would be a proper butcher, a greengrocer and fishmonger. Then on the way back, she would take me into the sweetshop opposite her house and get some tinned peas and have a gossip with Doll, the lady who owned the shop.
Occassionally, Evelyns daughters would take a sneaky day off work and then they would go back to my house, get a swimming costume and take me over to Whipps Cross Lido. I used to love it there, they had 2 fountains, one each end of the pool that looked like great big ice creams. The water used to come out of the middle and slash down the outside into a pool I could paddle in.
http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location.php?loc=993
A few years back, my Dad and I were over Whipps Cross and we decided to explore a bit and try and find SOME sign that a big Lido was once there. There wasn't 1 brick, the only thing we could find was a new pond where the pool must once have been.
I still see Evelyns Children on very rare occassions and they still refer to me as 'Little Carol' !
Evelyn and Ernie Williams had 5 kids. 4 girls. Valerie, Sylvie, Vicky and Pat and 1 boy, Christopher. They were all a lot older than me and from the time I can remember they were all working, except for Christopher. He had sets of toy soldiers and used to regualrly tie a bit of string to the leg and dangle it in the fire so it melted. None of that health and safety lark then, no guard on the fire, just me and him lying close to the hearth watching the soldiers melt.
Evelyn used to insist that I had an afternoon nap, I was forced to lay in one of the beds and try to sleep, but after a few minutes I would get bored. She had wall paper on the wall that had very tiny roses on it and if I stared at them long enough, they used to move. That used to scare me as I imagined they were little beetles so then I would pick them off the wall. Evelyn would go nuts, shouting at me for picking the wall paper off and threaten to 'pay' me, which was usually a tap on the bum!!
When I was really bored, I would go down and see Nina and Pop who were in their 70's. Nina was a lovely kindly old lady and, as my only living Grandmother used to live in Wales, I adopted her as my nanny. She used to cook proper dinners, fish with parsley sauce, real steak and kidney puddings. Sometimes, we would pop out to the 'Thatched' to do some shopping. Up the 'Thatched' there would be a proper butcher, a greengrocer and fishmonger. Then on the way back, she would take me into the sweetshop opposite her house and get some tinned peas and have a gossip with Doll, the lady who owned the shop.
Occassionally, Evelyns daughters would take a sneaky day off work and then they would go back to my house, get a swimming costume and take me over to Whipps Cross Lido. I used to love it there, they had 2 fountains, one each end of the pool that looked like great big ice creams. The water used to come out of the middle and slash down the outside into a pool I could paddle in.
http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location.php?loc=993
A few years back, my Dad and I were over Whipps Cross and we decided to explore a bit and try and find SOME sign that a big Lido was once there. There wasn't 1 brick, the only thing we could find was a new pond where the pool must once have been.
I still see Evelyns Children on very rare occassions and they still refer to me as 'Little Carol' !
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Awful names
One of my earliest memories was playing in the street. Thats where I met Auntie Sue.
Susan was a bit exotic, she lived with her Nan and single parent Mum, Maureen along with 2 of her uncles, Graham and Dennis. Susan had a Turkish father but he wasn't around anymore. The first thing anyone noticed about Susan was her long long hair. It came past her knees and was a mass of perfect ringlets, plus she was quite dark skinned.
In the early 60's it was quite alright to play in the street as there were hardly any cars driving up and down the road, in fact most of our games were played in the middle of the street along with all the other kids that lived there. There were the Pikes, the Marriots, the Mansfields, us, the Christians and Susan, who at that time was an Ahmed.
Susan and I always seemed to be having fights, she was 3 years older than me and didn't take any rubbish from anyone!!
One day, my Mum went over to see her Mum as the nit nurse had been and discovered I had nits. My Mum went over to warn Maureen to look in Sue's hair as I might have passed them on but Maureen got the wrong end of the stick and though my Mum was telling her I had CAUGHT them off of Susan. A big row started, Maureen had a shrill voice and so did my Mum and it took a while for it to sink in to Maureen that my Mum was telling her to look at Sue's hair cos I had them. Eventually it all calmed down.
Unfortunately though, those nits earned me a nick name. Fleabag!!
I was about 5 years old and really used to get upset when Susan and I argued as the first thing she would call me was FLEABAG. I had to hurt her just as badly so I started calling her a really terrible name: W-G.
One day we were shouting at each other, Her Fleabag and Me w-g and my Mum came out to see what was going on. She came out just as I was calling Sue a w-g! Boy I was in trouble (And quite right too) My Mum dragged me in by the scruff of the neck and gave me a really good hiding for using 'that disgusting word'
When I think of that now, I cringe. Neither of my parents had ever used that word and were in fact not the least bit racist. I stopped calling her that immediately and had to say sorry. But then she never called me a fleabag again either.
To this day, Susan and I are still great friends. She comes up to see me when she has a free weekend and I am part of her family and she is part of mine.
She gave me a photograph a few years back. She had found it and had it blown up. I was 15 and she was 18 and on the back she had written on it : To Fleabag, friends forever love W xxx
Susan was a bit exotic, she lived with her Nan and single parent Mum, Maureen along with 2 of her uncles, Graham and Dennis. Susan had a Turkish father but he wasn't around anymore. The first thing anyone noticed about Susan was her long long hair. It came past her knees and was a mass of perfect ringlets, plus she was quite dark skinned.
In the early 60's it was quite alright to play in the street as there were hardly any cars driving up and down the road, in fact most of our games were played in the middle of the street along with all the other kids that lived there. There were the Pikes, the Marriots, the Mansfields, us, the Christians and Susan, who at that time was an Ahmed.
Susan and I always seemed to be having fights, she was 3 years older than me and didn't take any rubbish from anyone!!
One day, my Mum went over to see her Mum as the nit nurse had been and discovered I had nits. My Mum went over to warn Maureen to look in Sue's hair as I might have passed them on but Maureen got the wrong end of the stick and though my Mum was telling her I had CAUGHT them off of Susan. A big row started, Maureen had a shrill voice and so did my Mum and it took a while for it to sink in to Maureen that my Mum was telling her to look at Sue's hair cos I had them. Eventually it all calmed down.
Unfortunately though, those nits earned me a nick name. Fleabag!!
I was about 5 years old and really used to get upset when Susan and I argued as the first thing she would call me was FLEABAG. I had to hurt her just as badly so I started calling her a really terrible name: W-G.
One day we were shouting at each other, Her Fleabag and Me w-g and my Mum came out to see what was going on. She came out just as I was calling Sue a w-g! Boy I was in trouble (And quite right too) My Mum dragged me in by the scruff of the neck and gave me a really good hiding for using 'that disgusting word'
When I think of that now, I cringe. Neither of my parents had ever used that word and were in fact not the least bit racist. I stopped calling her that immediately and had to say sorry. But then she never called me a fleabag again either.
To this day, Susan and I are still great friends. She comes up to see me when she has a free weekend and I am part of her family and she is part of mine.
She gave me a photograph a few years back. She had found it and had it blown up. I was 15 and she was 18 and on the back she had written on it : To Fleabag, friends forever love W xxx
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