Video transcript
The Museum find that triggered my thoughts was, a little girl in the picture Blackberrying
by Harold Harvey. She is totally engrossed in the berries and flowers in front of her
while the timeless, unhurried, West country view stretches far away around her.
In 1963, in Chagford, Devon, my dad left our family. My mum needed a way of earning
enough money to keep her family together, so she went to train as a teacher in
Exmouth.
We went to live with the Lyons family. My sister was old enough to go to school every
day and my brother was a poorly baby in a pram. So I spent long, peaceful days in the
garden, by myself.
To my four year old eyes the beautiful plants towered high around the garden. To one
side was a magic rockery that seemed to climb like a rocky outcrop above me. I would
gather up the flowers and fallen petals and tiny stones and make fairy scenes along the
ledges, like little rooms in a fairy palace.
Once I turned five, I started at the village school. My main memory is of long, sunny
afternoons on a patch of earth at the back of the school, digging with spades, happy
hours finding china treasure. Filling my pockets with beautiful pieces of broken pot, I
loved studying the snippets of patterns and pictures. The pieces would all be stored
away in old chocolate boxes, to be got out for browsing through on wet rainy days.
Eventually we joined my mum in Exmouth and we finally became our tight knit, self-
sufficient family. Now the digging happened on the beach, where I added beautiful
pebbles and shells to my collections.
This time and its memories have never left me, they've stayed deep down inside me,
making me slow and pensive, self-contained and easily pleased. My house is still
dotted with pieces of broken china and shells collected over the years.
And, to this day, I trawl beaches and rocky places for treasure and I still get excited at
the allotment, when a beautiful piece of china, pops out of the ground.
I agree - it's the tiny things that bring back childhood memories. For me it's buttons and I also remember the broken pottery. We called it 'boody' in the North East.Posted on 10/11/2009 at 08:40:04
What's it take to become a sublime exopudenr of prose like yourself?Posted on 17/03/2013 at 02:57:21
Hello Pete we are glad you are in Windsor now and doing better at the hpiostal . Your family and your girlfriend have been with you thru it all and that is the best you can ask for. Greg is good brother to stand with you and support you the wat he has.My family is going thru the same thing with my Sister Cathy's youngest son Bradley who at 20 on Thanksgivihng Day 2010 had a motocross bike accident in Milton. It has left him paralyed from the breasts down and after his hpiostal time of 6 months in Hamilton he has returned home and with the theaphy he does has some movement and touch with hts feet. He is back to work now in Milton with my sister in law and doing pretty good. Bradley has his own truck with hand controls now and is getting to move around really good. I took him hunting for wild turkeys in South Caralina this April and also at home. He too has a strong family who love him a lot and give him hope for his drive to walk again and he will do it. over the years you and Greg have had a lot to deal with and both of you have had to fight together and i know how hard that was watching you guys grow up. Big Arn died Dec 9 -2011 of Dementia and also my Sister Janice Dec 5 2010 from Cancer and thru all of this the Arnolds are still strong and supporting our family and that whatb good families do just like yours .Me and Anita will try to get down to Windsor to visit, so keep trying and as old Bobby Collins used to say give me all your heart and desire you can do it.Posted on 17/03/2013 at 03:00:47
wuSKXp kaboyujlirgsPosted on 18/03/2013 at 02:01:12
This info is the cat's pajmaas!Posted on 19/03/2013 at 09:57:25