Fridays in 1990 episode 1

FRIDAY Morning in 1990

Now that I know what it is like to go off to work leaving everyone else in their pyjamas, I can see this in a different light!

It was very cosy and safe staying at home with Sam  Of course I missed having my career, but I would have missed Sam more, and it would have cost an arm and a leg to hire a nanny with nursing qualifications.  No one else would have taken him on with his heart problems.  It was strange, but I felt almost grateful that I had a "real" reason for giving up work to look after him.  On the day he was born, as soon as I saw him, I knew I didn't want to go back to work but I had already agreed to, so I believed I had no choice.  A doctor's letter saying he needed my care got me off the hook, and I never went back.  Being "just a housewife" was mostly fun, although there was an associated loss of status (and income!)

Sam watches the tent stop on Playbus

Playbus was Sam's favourite TV programme.  He would have watched it all day, but at the time I wouldn't let him.  The pixie-like thing poking out from behind the curtain is a Brownie.  I loved A A Milne and used to read "When We Were Very Young" to Chris sometimes.  He loved "Brownie", but was also a bit afraid of them.

"In the corner of the bedroom is a great big curtain,
     Someone lives behind it, but I don't know who;
I think it is a Brownie, but I'm not quite certain.
     (Nanny isn't certain, too.)

I looked behind the curtain, but he went so quickly -
     Brownies never wait to say, "How do you do?"
They wriggle off at once because they're all so tickly
     (Nanny says they're tickly too.)"



All our grandparents except Great Grandma were called Nanny and Grandad so he didn't realise it was a children's nurse.  He thought it was his Nanny, who was so famous that she was in a real book with poems and everything.  I made him a Brownie out of felt based on the book illustrations, and stuck it behind curtains for him to find.

One episode of Playbus let me get washed and dressed - about half an hour I think, then I dressed Sam and we played.  I had a lovely selection of jumpers which my mum made for him.  She still likes to knit at 83, but then she was prolific.  He had a wonderful one with dinosaurs.

This was the day we made a matchbox guitar.  He was really excited to make and play his own musical instrument!

That Brownie certainly got around.

The end of Thursday 1990

All the time Jim and I were both working, he had done the shopping and cooking, and I had done the house maintenance and decorating sort of stuff. (Pretty radical in the 70s and 80s).

When I stopped work (I didn't intend to but Sam was ill), I had to give Sam his tea earlier than Jim could as he got home around 6.30. It seemed natural that I would get food ready for Jim as well.  Sadly he found it really hard to give up control of the kitchen.  So did I! - Let battle commence!

This was a lovely maternity dress in mini green paisley. I made it from a Vogue pattern.  It was hard to make as it had 8 box  pleats across the front.  Getting the hem to hang straight was the worst bit. Every time the bump grew I had to lengthen the front!

I had trouble with my perspective and proportion. I am sure the stairs had banisters at waist height.

Who remembers those little calendars the children used to make at playschool?  I always felt obliged to keep them and display them prominently.  They went well with the overall chipped paint and weetabixy decor.

Secretly I yearned for one of those swish homes where nothing was out of place and everything beautifully tidy and clean.  I always felt that most of my friends had such homes.  I found out afterwards that they used to tidy and clean just as frantically as I did before guests, so I suppose we were all trapped the same way by aiming for the perfect "Stepford Wives" stereotype.

One day at my friend Bobbie's as we were wading through Lego to the kitchen, she said something which let me relax a bit.  She said the kids are only little for a while, and you can tidy up when your nest is empty and they don't need you any more.  True.  Still haven't done it though.

More Thursday in 1990

Actually Sam couldn't run that fast, because he had a congenital heart defect but at the time in January I couldn't run at all!  He really needed these naps even at three and a half because his oxygen levels were low and he had to have the rest.

That maternity dress was truly horrible.  I believe it was made of sacking or something else equally scratchy.  The only thing was, it was roomy and the baby in the offing, George, was already pretty enormous.

Although we didn't know why at the time, kids with heart trouble often cry a lot when they wake.

He did it every time, so it was very tempting not to let him sleep during the day, but we had been told he should.  He did used to go out like a light as soon as he was in bed though, so I guess the doctor was right.

I loved this bedroom.  It had blue cloud wallpaper and lovely trees with little ducks under them all round the top.   Some of my happiest memories are of reading stories to babies in this room, or feeding them in the quiet of the night when they were tiny.

Pink and grey.  Anyone remember that?  It was everywhere.  I painted the hall one afternoon without warning Jim.  Unfortunately we had an extremely deep stairwell.  My broomstick-lashed-to-a-paintbrush was too short to reach the ceiling, so we spent the rest of our time there trying not to notice the patterned wallpaper left unpainted at the top of the stairwell.   You know that sudden horrible revelation about the state of the place you get when you have someone coming over?  Well we never got it,  because guests could not see the missed bit from the hall. We only saw it when we went to bed.   Like I said, it is surprising what you can get used to.

We had bare plaster between the new windows in our bedroom for about 4 years as well.  When we finally got around to decorating, we quite enjoyed it, and wished we had started years before.

There is a moral here somewhere.

On the plus side, we got to know Carmina Burana well.  Records and tapes were the main things.  We taped our new record of Carmina Burana to listen to while decorating.

More cartoons from a Thursday afternoon in 1990

Sam goes to big playgroup

This is more of a Thursday.

Sam knew he went to different playgroups on different days (I had no idea you had to get their names down at birth!) So we tried to attach the days of the week to his activities.  I don't know whether it worked or not, but I think he knows the days of the week now.

I suppose it's rather sad, but I still have the paintings...

On the plus side, I was very brave a few years ago and threw away their baby teeth.

We had 1940s hardboard pelmets!  I liked them because someone had included curtain pulls and metal curtain rails which were really strong and worked smoothly every time.  I never liked things which broke too easily.  Comes from being a bit heavy handed I suppose.

Sam was a creature of habit and soup meant Heinz tomato.  No other would do, but we kept on giving new ones to him anyway.  Sigh.

He had one of those square yellow plastic seats to sit up to the table with us.  Weetabix sets like a rock when it is dry.

Sam watches Robin Hood

I hope this picture is a bit of an exaggeration, but only adults who were over 5' 9"  could reach the TV.  I didn't really like TV much, Jim sneaked one into our house during our first year of marriage, and I never forgot it!

Sam was kept on short commons as far as TV went.  I chose what he watched and usually watched it with him.  He was very fond of the Disney Robin Hood at the time.  Later we had trouble when he watched Sleeping Beauty too often and started behaving like the "bad guys" and hitting people.  Luckily he was too small and weak to hurt us, but he meant to!  We stopped him watching that for a while.

I still think it is a good idea to be very careful what you put into kids' heads at a young age.

The Tree Bears episode 3

Meanwhile back at home, Mum and Dad were getting a bit fed up with Bear’s long absence.  Dad was doing the berry round on his own. Mum was irritated at having to answer all the letters from the school asking why Bear had not been to his classes.   Mum was just beginning:

“Dear Mr  Spelthorne,

I am very sorry that Bear has been away so long.  You are quite wrong thinking that he is on holiday with us.  We will let you know as soon as he is able to return to school.”

She was just about to add “yours sincerely” when something flew past the window by the dining room table and landed with a terrific crash in the strawberry frame.  Mum rushed outside to see what it was. 

The strawberry frame was completely smashed.  In the middle was a school bag containing school books, a mangled toy plane and a large packet of peanut butter sandwiches.  It was Bear’s school bag.  A few minutes later there was a heavy rumbling roar from the forest.  Birds and animals began to appear from the trees and head off into the distance.  Briefly Mum was caught in a flurry of wings and furry creatures.

A short while later, Bear appeared at the edge of the trees.  He ran happily into his mum’s arms. 

By the evening, Bear had had a lovely meal and a hot bath and was feeling relaxed and happy to be at home.  The trouble about the strawberry frame had been glossed over in the joy of his return.  Dad was outside mending it and Mum was lighting the fire to take the chill off the evening.  It was frosty now the nights were drawing in.

Bear explained the whole adventure to his parents, he told them about the peanut clouds and breadfruit trees.  He told them about Bessie, and he told them why the Tree Bears were now a permanent addition to the forest.

In the meeting after Whaley Island woke up and went off to the deeps, the bears discussed the problems they were having with the Tree Guidance System.  Their tree had broken away from the main wood during a storm, and they had ended up by the lane in Bear’s home wood.  They had lost their steering gear in the crash.  This meant that they couldn’t follow the forests from Whaley Island to look for another landing place.  As bear listened he realised that he had the answer to their problems in his rucksack.  The x box controller was the tree guidance system.  He had taken the tree into the atmosphere by pressing the A button, then put it in his bag - no wonder the Tree Bears couldn’t find it!  As soon as he understood this, he had given the controller to the chief engineer and straight away they had headed back to the woods where Bear lived.  They liked the look of the place and decided to land.  A bit of a bumpy landing made Bear drop his bag into the strawberry frame, but he was home safely at last!

On the minus side, Bear had to go to school on the very next day, but on the plus side, well, so many good things came out of his adventure!

The Tree Bears decided they would like to stay in the forest, so Bessie came to school with Bear.  She was very excited to see a real school and learn to read properly.    Bear’s mum and dad got on very well with the Tree Bears, partly because they ate berries, so business was good, but also because they had a steady supply of peanut butter sandwiches in the summer.  The Tree Bears took the tree up for flights whenever the weather was suitable.  Sometimes they took the school on an outing.  No one had to bring a packed lunch as long as they liked peanut butter sandwiches, or breadfruit pudding.

As Bear’s dad said it was nice to have another bear at school to make Bear feel more at home.  Bear agreed.  But he was glad that it was a bear with dimples.

The Tree Bears episode 2

Bear stood with his mouth open staring.  A waft of peanuts puffed on a breath of wind under his nose.  His mouth watered, and he dribbled.  A small brown bear approached him with a plate.  “Have a peanut butter sandwich’” she said, holding the plate out timidly.  “You look hungry”.  Bear took the plate from her and remembered to close his mouth.  His mum had often told him it was rude to dribble but he found it hard not to when peanut butter was nearby 

“Thanks” he whispered.  “You’re welcome”, said the small bear smiling.  She had nice dimples.  She put her paw on her chest.  “Bessie” she said. “Bear” said Bear.  He bit into the peanut butter sandwich.  It was the most delicious he had ever tasted - a perfect blend of crunch and butter with beautifully soft fresh bread.  “Mmmm!” he sighed, “that is so tasty”.  The other bears turned away and resumed their conversations politely ignoring the stranger until he had been properly introduced.  Bears can be particular about manners.

“So” said Bear, “Where am I?”  “This is Bearpark” said Bessie.  “It’s where we live”.  “Ok” said Bear, “and who is we?”  “The Tree Bears of course” said Bessie, “anyone can see that!”  Bessie told Bear all about the life of the Tree Bears. She told him how they spent the summer time cruising the skies collecting peanut clouds and tying them to the breadfruit trees.  Under certain conditions, using bats, the breadfruit trees and the clouds interbred and produced peanut butter sandwiches.  “We are harvesting our last few cloud banks today” she explained “and then heading back to Whaley Island for winter.  In wintertime, the clouds are not as good so we go swimming and eat a lot of fish.  Personally I prefer peanuts and other fruits, but it’s not that kind of island, because it doesn’t have proper soil”

Presently Bear found himself being introduced to Bessie’s parents.  They invited him to stay so he phoned his mum and asked if he could.  She had to say yes of course, as he didn’t really know when he could find his way home, although he was perfectly safe.  The only land the Tree Bears knew of was Whaley Island and they were headed there at full speed.

Bessie and Bear soon became friends.  They spent long afternoons sitting at the front of the trees watching the bats diving in and out of the foliage.  Bessie showed him how to cook breadfruit using a solar cooker that her father had developed after a tree fire some years before.  They played climbing games that were so advanced and terrifying that he would have passed his Highers exams without trying.

During the days that followed, Bear ate a lot of breadfruit and peanut butter sandwiches.  He became a little fatter, but he still yearned for the porridge and berries he ate at home.  Late one night after a particularly large supper there was a sudden and violent jolt which woke Bear out of a deep sleep. Clambering with Bessie to the edge of the trees, Bear saw a terrible sight.  Just below were the remains of an island.  Water was surging over the beaches and into the forests, which were lifting into the air with creakings and groanings.  Several forests were breaking into smaller chunks and moving quickly away from the others.  Bear saw that they were just like the one he had been living on. He soon realized that the whole island was covered in woods and forests of Tree Bear colonies.  As he and Bessie watched, the whole island sank under the waves.  A few minutes later,  a large tail appeared where the island had been and splashed down into the water.  A waterspout spurted out of the sea and nearly reached Bear on his branch.  "The island has completely gone!" he exclaimed in dismay.

The Tree Bears were philosophical.  “It’s not surprising “ explained Bessie, “Whaley has been restless for years, so it’s about time he went looking for a bit of company.  He ought to be married at his age”.  “Oh!”  exclaimed Bear  “Whaley isn’t an island at all, it’s is a whale!   I’ve never seen one as big as that before!  What will you do now?” 

No one seemed to know.

The Tree Bears story episode 1

Here is the first instalment of one of the stories I used to tell the kids on the way to school .  It is kind of designed for parents to tell, and for most ages of kids to get a little something out of.  I had a 2 year old, who liked the three bears, a 6 year old who liked the three bears and school stuff, and a 10 year old who liked surreal unexpected stuff.  Although the younger ones didn't understand all of it they liked hearing a story and I presume it helped their vocabulary.  Anyway they never complained.

 The story of the tree bears

Once upon a time, there were three bears, a Mum, a Dad  and a young bear, commonly known to his friends as Bear.  They lived in a cottage in the woods, as bears do, and had porridge for breakfast every day.  They made furniture for the other bears round and about.  They had a very successful berry picking business that Bear helped with before school.  They were a bit traditional really.  But in a good way.

One lucky day, after he had finished his berry round, Bear found a 50p on the way to school and decided to buy a new plastic glider with it.  He went into Acme Toys on the way home and chose a plane with a shark painted on the front.  All the way home he threw it along the lane and ran to catch up with it.  After many throws his arm began to get tired and when he threw, it landed to the side of the path in a tree and stuck there. 

Bear climbed up the tree and was most surprised to find that there was an x box controller on the branch next to the plane.  He picked it up and it lit up.  Automatically he pressed A.  The tree shot up into the air at a terrific rate until in a few moments Bear couldn’t see the ground.  He found pretty soon that he could steer the tree using the controller so he settled himself comfortably into a fork between two branches and started to take a bit of notice of his surroundings. 

He saw at once that he was somewhere very different from his own lane where he had climbed the tree.  For a start the ground was nowhere to be seen even when he craned his neck out between the leaves.  Secondly the clouds which he passed through tasted of peanuts which was very disconcerting.  All at once he spotted something in the distance - a green mass that quickly resolved into what he could only call a wood. 

Bear steered the tree towards the wood, slowing down as he approached, so as not to hit it.  It didn’t’ really help because the trees in the wood turned towards him like a shoal of jellyfish, their roots trailing out behind their billowing leaves.  Soon Bear found that his tree was entangled in the wood and he couldn’t get it loose, no matter how he manipulated the controls.  Vines and creepers grew into his tree and it was soon swimming along with the rest.

Bear put the glider and the controller in his school bag and walked into the wood.  There was not much danger that he would fall, he won the school prize for tree climbing most years, although he usually got very low marks for food tech as he often got fur in his cooking.  He walked through the leaves looking for anything which might explain how he could get home, as he was beginning to feel rather hungry.  As he was walking he began to find that the branches were broader and flatter.  After a few more minutes he heard voices and came out into a clearing where the light was brighter and the leaves less dense.  In the clearing were fifteen or twenty bears sitting round on branches and having some sort of picnic.  At one side of the picnic area there was a cloud under a tree branch.  Every so often the cloud was moved along a bit and Bear could see that where it had been there were white things hanging from twigs.  He walked out into the clearing, and there was a sudden silence.

To be continued!