My favourite childhood memory...

Tanya (Mommaspaz) asked me what my favourite childhood memory was....

I can't think of just one though.....I had a great childhood....I grew up in a country village in the South West of England where everyone knew everyone else....my best friend lived across the fence from my garden (yard) and Lloyd lived across the fence next to her.....

I remember packing a picnic and putting it in my saddle bag and going off cycling for the day - I just had to be back before dark (and yes several times I remember being late and having my Dad driving around to find us!

I remember playing out in the garden on a blanket with my playpeople (playmobil!) and with my Amanda Jane doll or sarah my big 'baby' doll.....

Many many summer evenings when we would drive to the beach.....

Sitting in front of the real fire watching the 'fairies' dancing in the flames...making toast on the fire on Sunday afternoons.......making Tiffin for my Dad on Saturday afternoons while he was at a soccer match....my Mom would listen for the scores on the radio/tv to find out if Dad would be in a good mood or bad mood depending on whether his team had lost or not! The tiffin would be to cheer him up if he'd lost...or to celebrate if he'd won!

Playing 'pong' on the old black and white tv in the dinding room...pong was soooo cool back then!

Playing 'shops' when I was a preschooler with tins from the cupboards in the kitchen.....going to a keepfit class with my Mom....pancake races at preschool....

But I think if I had to pick one main memory from my childhood, it would probably revolve around the swimming pool.......the company my Dad worked for had an outdoor swimming pool for employees to use......I LOVED it......when I was so young that my parents would have to take me, my parents couldn't swim...so when they told me to get out as it was time to go home....I would swim to the middle of the pool and refuse to get out...knowing they couldn't do anything about it ;)

The filter was like an octopus thing that floated around in the pool and it was named George!

Then when I was old enough to go just with friends, a group of us would go and we would play 'Miss World'....walking around the side of the pool and commentating etc....(we normally had the whole pool to ourselves) it was so much fun! The pool wasn't heated and so afterwards we would warm up with hot chocolate from the social club beside the pool or we'd walk tot he chip shop and buy a portion of chips (fries) to share......I would beg to go to the pool almost every night in summer..and I have always always had a thing about outdoor pools....theres something special about the sounds of splashing and shouting and laughing from an outdoor pool.......one day I will have one here!

Its funny but I can still hear the sounds of those days...even the sound 'George' made......I can smell it all and see it all and hear it all so clearly.....

I have several photographs of being there with different friends! In fact Louise (who reads my blog) used to come with me sometimes and I have pictures of her and Julie in the pool still...I will have to find them and blog them! I will add some later! Louise - do you remember going to the pool there? Playing 'Miss World' going down the slide into the water etc etc.....?

Not long after I left home, they filled in the pool and no longer have it...I was so lucky to have it through my teen years!