I find now that I look back to my childhood quite often, and the highlights are, of course, the holidays', the first two of which were at Troon and at Coldingham. All I remember of the Troon one was that it must have been a boarding house and that there was at least one other family there. On at least one occasion I was sent to have a bath with 2 or 3 other children, and it was bliss! Not just sharing a bath (we had done that at home, too) but having a deep, hot bath. This was unheard to me as we were allowed only a fixed depth of water (post-war, you know) and, I think, instilled in me a desire always to have a deep, hot (almost scalding!) bath which lasted throughout my adult life. Ah well, no more baths for me now, but I still have very hot showers.
I remember on the beach there were jellyfish and I did not want to get near them, so it was fortunate that they had been blown or taken by the tide to one corner; also on one occasion someone must have addressed me as “little girl” because I vividly remember replying in high dudgeon “I’m not little, I’m SEVEN” That places the holiday in 1948, so it is not surprising that post-war restrictions to bathwater applied.
(Later: I think the restriction was to a depth of 3 inches.)
The next year we went to Coldingham and the most memorable thing about that was that it rained and rained and rained. And rained. We were in a house looking on to a street that was on a slope, and the water just kept pouring down the street. The window had a very broad ledge inside, so my brother and I played shops to keep us occupied. Back in those days, you didn’t have the plethora of toys so many children have nowadays, but it is amazing what you can do with a few props and a lot of imagination. There was a farm near by and we went there for our milk (I don’t know if we bought anything else there, as certainly there were no big farm shops as such.)
It can’t have been much of a holiday for my parents having two bored children and a third, a toddler as well!
After that I think we went to North Berwick every summer for years.
But I shall leave that post for another day
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4 comments:
Hello Elaine - have you been reading the news stories about Linda and Paul McCartney by any chance? Earlier today I came across the expression "high dudgeon" for the very first time in one such story in the Daily Mail and had to look up what it meant. Now I find that you have used it too. Maybe it'll become an in-phrase for a while.
I do enjoy your stories - always interesting in a gently readable kind of way.
No, didn't see that one, but if you remember the story about the recent documentary about the Queen, well what the excerpt purported to show was the Queen marching off "in high dudgeon"!
I am so pleased you enjoy my stories; I always thought I would have an audience of one!
Gosh! You were well-off, Elaine. Holidays?
No, dickiebo, we were not well off at all,but my parents skimped and saved to do their best for us,and taking a holiday let was not very expensive and gave such good return in terms of benefits for the three children and for my mother. I was 7 when we went for our first holiday, by which time my mother (who by this time was 44 and had 3 small children) so it must have been worth saving for.
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