So, on this Mother's Day Young Ben is flying off to Tenerife with his mum and dad leaving his poor old grandpa feeling like Macaulay Culkin.
It seems only right then that on this day I say something about my own mum. My mum died in 1987 when she was only in her sixties. My dad lived for a further 20 years but he was never really the same person after my mum died. Given that she had three sons she was the only female in a house full of men but she revelled in this situation and would always join in any activities that were going on, always taking great pleasure if she managed to beat my dad at any game or sport
When I was 16 we moved from Ayr to Crook in County Durham and by this time my two older brothers had left home. I remember turning up for my first day at Wolsingham Grammar School with a fear worse than my first day at Primary School. There was I, a spotty, long haired Scots boy wearing my maroon Ayr Academy blazer. Unfortunately Wolsingham blazers were black.In later years the friends I made down there would remind me of the banter that day..."Which one is the new boy?"..."That's him standing alone at the other end of the playground with the maroon blazer on" I might as well have had a large neon sign suspended above my head reading "Spot the new boy". When I told my mum this story after school on that first day we went straight to the shops and bought a black blazer. It may well have been the best purchase my mum ever made for me.At the time it saved my life and my dignity
My mum operated an "open house" policy for my friends and I in England and was always happy to see friends visit our home. She was not the best cook in the world but she had a wonderful knack of creating something out of very little. I cannot count the times I would arrive home with an unannounced number of friends with me and she would always manage to rustle up some kind of feast. This made our house a popular meeting place and I believe it made her very happy
When we lived in England at first we would often drive back up to Scotland for the weekend to visit family. This was a drive which lasted less than three hours but regardless my mum always prepared sandwiches and a flask of tea and half way up the road we would stop for a break. She would even bring my dad his slippers and they would sit there munching away, reading the paper for a good half hour. As a teenager this used to drive me crazy, but now as I fondly look back....no, who am I kidding it still drives me crazy, it feels like I spent half my life sitting in lay-bys on the A74 (it wasn't even an M in those days)
When I first started work in England I was still living at home and every week I would give my mum the princely sum of £5. I am sure by the end of most weeks I had received at least double that amount back from her but I think it was the principle that mattered to her
I have carried the morals and principles learnt from my mum and dad with me my whole life and hopefully passed these on to my own children meaning Young Ben should benefit from the same. I believe I have a reputation for being good natured with an easy disposition. If this is so I know that these traits definitely come from my mum and my thoughts are of her today as they are everyday
It seems only right then that on this day I say something about my own mum. My mum died in 1987 when she was only in her sixties. My dad lived for a further 20 years but he was never really the same person after my mum died. Given that she had three sons she was the only female in a house full of men but she revelled in this situation and would always join in any activities that were going on, always taking great pleasure if she managed to beat my dad at any game or sport
When I was 16 we moved from Ayr to Crook in County Durham and by this time my two older brothers had left home. I remember turning up for my first day at Wolsingham Grammar School with a fear worse than my first day at Primary School. There was I, a spotty, long haired Scots boy wearing my maroon Ayr Academy blazer. Unfortunately Wolsingham blazers were black.In later years the friends I made down there would remind me of the banter that day..."Which one is the new boy?"..."That's him standing alone at the other end of the playground with the maroon blazer on" I might as well have had a large neon sign suspended above my head reading "Spot the new boy". When I told my mum this story after school on that first day we went straight to the shops and bought a black blazer. It may well have been the best purchase my mum ever made for me.At the time it saved my life and my dignity
My mum operated an "open house" policy for my friends and I in England and was always happy to see friends visit our home. She was not the best cook in the world but she had a wonderful knack of creating something out of very little. I cannot count the times I would arrive home with an unannounced number of friends with me and she would always manage to rustle up some kind of feast. This made our house a popular meeting place and I believe it made her very happy
When we lived in England at first we would often drive back up to Scotland for the weekend to visit family. This was a drive which lasted less than three hours but regardless my mum always prepared sandwiches and a flask of tea and half way up the road we would stop for a break. She would even bring my dad his slippers and they would sit there munching away, reading the paper for a good half hour. As a teenager this used to drive me crazy, but now as I fondly look back....no, who am I kidding it still drives me crazy, it feels like I spent half my life sitting in lay-bys on the A74 (it wasn't even an M in those days)
When I first started work in England I was still living at home and every week I would give my mum the princely sum of £5. I am sure by the end of most weeks I had received at least double that amount back from her but I think it was the principle that mattered to her
I have carried the morals and principles learnt from my mum and dad with me my whole life and hopefully passed these on to my own children meaning Young Ben should benefit from the same. I believe I have a reputation for being good natured with an easy disposition. If this is so I know that these traits definitely come from my mum and my thoughts are of her today as they are everyday
Great blog. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLOL,remember fondly Jim and his driving slippers and like you not so fondly of layby's with exhaust fume topping on mother's pride sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteHave memories of crinkle cut chips and tinned custard.Never crinkled since!