Store Your Happy Memories Here:

[Croix]

Dear All~

What this place is for:
This thread is a tool, a resource, and also I guess a dash of entertainment.

I’ve found that when life is grim that sometimes thoughts of past happiness can create a chink of light in the grey overwhelming press of down. They can help occupy the mind with lighter reflections.

With that in view I invite people to set down a brief passage describing some happy event they look back to with fondness and peace.

They - and others too - can then return to it when they feel the need to glean a little warmth.

It is not a place for gloomy or dire tales, those can go elsewhere.

What to do:
Just set out, as simply as you like, your recollection of some past experience that means something good to you, something you enjoyed, something from safe times.

It can be, like my story below, anything – from an account of visiting grandparents to simply cooking and eating a melted-cheese sandwich in a favorite kitchen – you get to choose.

How to do it:
Write. Write enough so someone else can feel the mood, know what happened, find the goodness. (stop at 2,500 characters please!)

Grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation are not compulsory, just write as you can – the only important thing is the content - not literary merit. Short or long - it does not matter.


I hope you enjoy, contribute and find a little distraction here when you need it.

Croix

[Croix]

Dear ER

No, I've been to Snowdonia and also the Conway Gorge at Betws-y-Coed but I lived in Holyhead (see first page of this thread). The foghorns and cannon were at the South Stack lighthouse. Actually if you browse the thread you will find a fair amount about Wales, partly as a previous member came from there and we enjoyed the memories.

No bronzewing pigeons, but lots of crows that settled in the oak trees near my bedroom window every evening and set about noisily squabbling over the best roost.

Croix

[Sej]

Travelling to Disneyland Anaheim with my 3 children who were 7, 8 and 9. Watching their faces light up meeting their favourite Princess's.  Listening to their laughter on the rides. Seeing the amazement and wonder and feeling so happy that we are able to give them these memories.  Donald Duck was jealous that the kids had Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on their hats and shirts.  He kept trying to knock their hats off. The kids were laughing so hard.

Mary Poppins took my youngest child's hand and walked her through the park so she could have the first photo with her and Burt. 

[mmMekitty]

Hi everyone

I'd forgotten we'd gone to Disneyland before coming to Australia, little over 50- 55 years ago. I was timid & didn't want to go on any fast rides. I liked the big spinning teacups & the "It's a small world after all" ride.

When we came to Australia & I had school projects to do, I did one about Disneyland, because we had some souvenirs I could show.

I think I chose Disneyland because I had a hunch the kids would be impressed that we had been there.

& so it seemed, because I got a high grade for that.

The next one I did was about the human body. I think I enjoyed putting that one together & presenting it more, because it was a subject I was more genuinely interested in.

*

I've enjoyed your memories, too, Croix. How you described theenviroment around you when you were in North Wales, & the sounds & weather, it's vivid. 

Thank you, & everyone, for the memories shared here.

Hugzies

mmMekitty

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Croix, Sej and mmMeKitty

I saw something about the South Stack lighthouse recently. It was a tv program about walks in Britain. That would indeed be an atmospheric place. I'll have a look back in the thread regarding Wales. One day I might get there. 

Sej, those are lovely, happy memories about your children at Disneyland. It would have felt like a magical world for them.

mmMeKitty, your memories of Disneyland made me think of visiting the annual Royal Show as a kid. I was also too timid to go on fast rides. Eventually at the age of 12 some family friends convinced me to go on one and I felt unwell with a headache for sometime afterwards. I'm obviously not made for them!

I do have some nice memories of the Royal Show though. It seems all so big and exciting when you are a kid. I think the animals were probably my favourite thing. I remember various farm animals with their distinctive farm animal smell, all sorts of unusual breeds of chickens and the sheep dog trials. We were allowed a couple of showbags. From memory one would be a lolly/chocolate one but then we could get another non-confectionary one. I think for me it was just all a big spectacle, at times a little overwhelming but also interesting and exciting. Although I was scared of fast rides, I did have fun watching other people on them. We did go on the ghost train which I'm not sure was exactly fun but I felt brave doing it. The last time I ever went there I was a young adult and I remember buying a tent from the camping section. It would be interesting to go again after all these years just to re-experience it.

[Croix]

Dear All~

I can't say much about the Royal Show as I've never been 😞 I do remember street fairs in Paris when I was a kid. We'd go via the Metro (underground) where all the carriages had signs saying 'Defense de Cracher' plastered all over them. Dunno why so many.

We'd arrive and the fair, which was sort of a cross between a vegetable market, a flea market and a fun fair. It would go the length of the boulevard. You could buy just about anything, paintings to pots from all the second hand stalls, gather a week's veggies and meat, and go to galleries, rides on ponies, watching jugglers and more. Street organ music playing no recognizable tunes was deafening in places

Sadly there were still many reminders of the war, including the bits of uniforms many still wore (whjich I thought were pretty cool back then). No berets or striped shirts, the English idea of a Frenchman.

Unlike the UK of the time it was colorful and noisy, not grey and somber.

I remember 'briquettes', they were a slang term for waffles smothered in honey, guaranteed to leave you a sticky mess. Once I managed two - but regretted it shortly after.

Evan as a kid I'd be exhausted when we caught the Metro home laden down with all we'd bought.

That leads me on to another happy memory from there, bowls of café au lait for breakfast (a bit like flattened soup bowls with no handles)  plus  sandwiches with chocolate squares plus butter in white bread. All the things that the UK was short of.

That was in the 50's.  I still have 50 centime coin from there as a keep-sake

Croix

[Doolhof]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for sharing your happy memories, it is lovely to read them. We went to Disneyland, my husband and I. At the time I had a really painful back so was unable to go on any of the rides, my husband enjoyed many rides while I watched people and listened to all the scream of excitement. 

I did find one ride I could go on, I seem to recall it was a boat trip through a jungle experience and it was lovely. There was so much colour everywhere, all the characters walking about to entertain people.

The little town where I grew up had a show every New Year's, there were exhibitions in the hall, an evening dance with a real band that had travelled hundreds of miles to get there, and a carnival with all kinds of activities from bathing beauties, to running races, sand castle coemptions, side shows and an amazing merry go round brought out once a year. 

[rhinoceros]

One that comes to mind is when I was 7 or 8 years old-  I was just starting to learn guitar. My Mum was having a go at playing a few chords. She eventually could play "Amazing Grace". The guitar playing was not great, neither was the singing, but as far as I'm concerned it's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard - hearing my Mum singing. I'll cherish this memory as long as I live. If Mum saw this post she'd laugh! 

[Eagle Ray]

I love this memory rhinoceros. It’s beautiful to remember that expression through music from your Mum.

You have triggered a positive memory for me. When I was 5 my Mum danced with me to a record. It is my only memory of her playing and interacting with me in that way. It was like she had a momentary connection with her inner child. Even as a 5 year old I could sense it was awkward for her to do that, but it meant so much that she tried and reached out to me in that way. It was like a brave thing for her to do to reach outside of herself. The record was by an experimental instrumental group called Sky who blended rock and classical music. The song was called Dance of the Little Fairies. It is in 5/4 time which is unusual and I remember Mum explaining that to me. I just found it on YouTube and it made me cry. My parents had a lot of trauma but they loved music which obviously had helped them in their lives and they had the most interesting record collection. I’m very grateful for the wide range of music I got to hear as a child. Mum learned piano as a child but was mostly too shy to play as an adult. When I was 8 she got a small electric piano. She would play it a little. She could play Fur Elise. I never had lessons but taught myself a bit from a book and most of all liked to improvise. I have a synthesiser now that I bought years ago that has a good piano sound on it. I might get the amp I need to power it out of the garage in the next few days and play a bit.

[Doolhof]

Years ago I worked with children. I am not a very good singer! Enthusiastic in the car when driving by myself yes, but not so much in public. We were singing this day at work and one of the children asked me if I could be quiet as my singing was hurting her ears. I had such a good laugh over that one!

[Croix]

Dear All~

I was talking to ER in another thread about a set of music songs, which in turn remind me of a very sad one about stars, which in turn led me to remember the galaxy of little red stars one could see in the shallows of the sea. They were the eyes of prawns caught in the glare of a floating Tilley Lamp.

My Welsh uncle and I used to net prawns (he was a fisherman) and we'd freeze but always come home with  a decent catch to be shared wiht my grandparents.

It was all fun and togetherness (even the shelling which can be tedious).

Between fish, crabs, prawns and winkles the sea was a great source of food when Britain was still struggling with supplies.

Croix