Memory is a funny thing. Mines as airy as a honeycomb.
Some things have got joined together in my mind which may not eve belong together.
As a kid in the early Seventies I remember my Mum coming home from work on Saturday afternoons around 5pm from her job in a clothes shop in Preston Town Centre. I was 11.
In my memory its always dark and winter. Mum has shopping bags from BHS - British Home Stores and maybe Owen and Owen and M&S. I've no idea how she got home. She didn't drive. Preston did have a huge modern bus station though!
I was always excited about Mum coming home on Saturdays, because she brought me one of my fave treats, a triple pack of Walnut Whips. I think these were a BHS own brand. I know I adored them, three chocolate daleks in a neat window box. They always had a walnut inside and one on top too.
In this walnut memory I then retire to the telly room and watch one of those super cool and creepy episodes of Doctor Who running at the time. The Curse of Peladon is there as are the Sea Devils. I distinctly recall how the boar monster appealed to me greatly, stalking the shadowy corridors of Peladon and reflecting the dark and wintry weather outside our house.
It a mixture of images - like liquorice allsorts - which could easily shift in the bag over time. But at the mo and for quite some time its walnut whips and Peladon and my late Mum mixed together, which are guaranteed to make me smile.
You can still get trio's of whips from Tesco and maybe Marks and Sparks but i think the walnuts have gone. And the Curse of Peladon was one the first VHS video's I ever bought brand new because my memory of it was so vivid. I plan to recreate the experience next winter one dark Saturday night. My old Mum won't be there in person but hopefully in spirit as I nestle in the settee in my own telly room.
For those interested, the Curse of Peladon has an interesting Wiki page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curse_of_Peladon.
Have you similar memories of old Saturday afternoons?
Saturday afternoons were outdoor time for me unless it was Winter and the weather was totally unbearable.Cartoons began their Saturday broadcast as early as 5 A.M.,and went as late as 1 P. M. I watched as many different shows as I could,while my parents drank coffee and read newspapers,but when the last one went off the air,it was time to get fresh air and hang with the neighborhood friends.We always had bicycles tinkered together from spare parts and usually rode around like a pack of Post Apocalyptic mutants at a local gravel pit,but we also played baseball or basketball if we had enough people for 2 teams.I had no coordination for basketball, but I was a formidable batter on the baseball diamond,and a pretty good first baseman.In the warm weather,we had a pool in the backyard and a Lake Park right up the street,so we all swam.
ReplyDeleteFab memories Bri. What cool childhood saturdays. It reads like those ace flicks like ET or the last Starfighter with kids on BMX bikes! Saturday mornin meant cartoons for me too. Ah oh chongo!
DeleteAhh, the Curse of Peledon! I'll forever associate that with the Miners Strike of 1972, and the regional power-cuts. The whole industrial unrest thing meant something like six or eight weeks off school, it might have even been more. I hated school with a passion, so I was a very happy bunny.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, it also meant that there was a shortage of coal for the Power Stations and therefore Regional Power Cuts. One of which curtailed my viewing pleasure of at least one or two episodes of the Curse of Peledon. But going out late at night, as there was no light pollution from Swansea to the West Country resulted in the most spectacular view of the Milky Way I have ever seen.
As far as I could see, and in those days I had 20/20 vision, the sky was ablaze with stars. Literally like seeing a picture on an Ultra HD television, I could see even the smallest of them. Natures light-show is a memory I will always carry with me.
What a brill picture you paint of a lightless night Bill. I'd love to see the Milky Way like that. Sounds wonderful. The curse of peladon is on dailymotion online i think.
DeleteSaturday afternoons were always frustration; "when is Grandstand going to be over, so I can watch Doctor Who?"!
ReplyDeleteSunday mornings were the things I really remember. My granddad would come to visit and he always brought a Jamboree Bag (anyone remember those?) Which contained a small toy, a paper hat and cheap toffees and dolly mixture. My dad was a photographer (he took that photo of Christine Keeler sitting in the chair) and Sunday mornings he'd invite his friends and associates around for coffee and talk. The attendees I really remember were Peter Purvis from Doctor Who and Drew and Jacqui Henley. Drew would later guest on UFO and Jacqui will always be remembered as Servilan on Blake's Seven. I also had a crush on Maddie Smith, who would later feature in Live and let Die. As a ten year old, I suppose it was my introduction to the glamorous world of film!
What a childhood. Also full of stars! I know the keeler photo. Iconic! all the stars of the sixties were in your house! Amazing. Did you get lots of autographs?
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