Memories 14



As I have said before when we were kids we had no money we had to make do with what we had and so I was the outdoor type
so my pa took me all over the place, I remember once after his evening excursion to The Willow Tree at Newsham he
announced that we were going camping, good Lord I didnt realise he meant straight away so of we popped with a couple
of blankets, a tent and this paraffin burning stove thingy. well it was like summit off bloody Monty python in his
haste he forgot to include tent pegs so he ended up on his back spread out like a snow angel holding the damn thing
down then he decided me and my brothere Clinton would hold it down while he cooked his supper so out came the paraffin
thingy and he proceeded to light it when it did light it went up with a woosh, bye bye eyebrows and the whole lot got
slung out the tent flaps complete with his incinerated supper, with that he reverted to being a snow angel and he
bravely lasted till about 5 oclock and he announced "bugger this am going to bed" he wrapped the whole lot in a bundle and
off he trudged home with me and bro scampering along behind him. He vanished upstairs to his pit and we saw him no
more that morning.
Another of his antics was "I know I'll build the bairns a trolley" he cried to Doris, shaking her head Ma vanished
leaving him to get on with it, four pram wheels were acquired and a couple of planks and very soon we were bowling up
and down South View on it "Lets go up to Delaval with the kite" the genius announced, once again of we trot and got
set up, now this kite was a traditional diamond shaped kite made of cloth with two sticks to keep it taught, and it
was called the Windjammer there was no running up and down trying to get it in the air you just let it go and it shot
up like a bullet after letting all the line out it was a pinprick in the sky and on occasions Dad left it tethered in
the garden and would still be flying there next morning. gone are the days sadly my Ma and Pa gone as well


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