Everything seemed simpler in the 1950s when I was growing up. In the summer holidays (which, incidentally, consisted of endless days of constant blue skies and sun) we went to the local recreation ground - or 'rec' as we called it - most days. Sometimes our mom came with us and we took a cobbled together picnic - sandwiches, crisps, an apple and, if we were lucky, a Penguin biscuit. If mom was busy we went on our own. It was about a fifteen minute walk or a ten minute bike ride away. My elder brother had a second hand bike - his pride and joy - from a jumble sale. Mum had paid seven shillings and sixpence for it - a lot of money at the time - but it turned out to be a sound investment. So, sometimes we walked, sometimes we biked it, but either way we used to go and spend most of the day there, playing in the bushes and round by the pond. These days it would be unheard of for three children, between the ages of eight and fourteen to spend a whole day playing out, fifteen minutes from home, but in the fifties this was the norm. Men were at work, their wives were busy at home and so the kids entertained themselves. I only remember two incidents connected with the rec. One was when a man appeared from behind a tree and asked me to come and see what he'd got in his hand. I hadn't got a clue what he was talking about and took a step towards him, smiling politely. Luckily my much more streetwise friend pushed me back and told him in no uncertain terms where to go He turned tail and legged it across the rec, while we continued to play quite happily. I don't think I even bothered to mention it to my mom when I got home. The other incident was far more worrying to me. After a few hours at the rec I returned home, only to discover I'd left my brand new cardigan (hot off my mum's knitting needles) on a bench. Mum was fuming, promptly donned coat and shoes and raced up to the rec. Needless to say, in those days of common poverty, somebody had taken a fancy to my cardigan and it was no longer abandoned on the bench. My mom wasn't happy and my main worry was not that I'd lost my cardigan but that I might be banned from ever returning to the rec. We played out after tea - cricket, the stumps chalked on to our front wall, the bat another jumble sale find; 'keep uppies' - until Gilly's mom came out and shouted at us for constantly banging on her wall; 'Keep the Sunny Side Up' with Iris Whitewell and Christine Archer - two big girls who, in all honesty, struggled to keep anything up, least of all their beefy thighs. I was self appointed choreographer and star dancer, with absolutely no ability in either field. We practised for hours for the show in my dad's garage, stopping abruptly if my dad or brothers dared to come in; we played Mothers and Fathers where my poor younger brother was always the baby; we held sales in the front garden, goods set out on kitchen stools, signs made from cardboard boxes. Our mums took pity on us and came and bought our old rubbish back. Back then, everyone had a local milkman, complete with super slow milk float, delivering to every doorstep. We had a baker, too, who left us our daily bread. He still had a horse and cart, which was a great novelty to us kids. Most days we had a couple of pints of milk delivered. Sometimes my mom would leave a note in the empty bottleWhat I really wanted was the half size bottle of orange juice that teased me from a crate on the back of the milk float. My mom said it was a waste of money - and at that time money was tight and certainly not to be wasted on such frivolities. The more I was told I couldn't have the orange juice, the more I wanted it. I devised plans of how to get hold of a bottle. I worked out how long I would have to save to buy one, but on 1d every other day for pocket money I soon gave up on that idea. Christine Archer had the bottles of orange regularly, but then she was allowed most things, including staying off school if she so much as murmured that she felt a little poorly. In contrast, I had to be at death's door before missing a day's schooling. My lucky break came the day I was offered sixpence to go off with a man lurking at the bottom of our street. I was highly temped to take the sixpence and leg it, but after the rec incident I was a bit more wary of strange men asking me to accompany them, and raced home to tell my mom. The police were called, a description given and a police officer led me by the hand around the local streets, looking for the culprit. I decided that any man who was willing to throw away sixpence on the off chance of getting a young girl to go off with him wouldn't be hanging around after his offer had been rejected, and sure enough, he was nowhere to be seen. I actually felt it was all quite exciting being the center of attention but my mom obviously thought I'd been scarred for life and was desperate to minimise the trauma. She came out of the kitchen and handed me a scribbled note.
So many times I’d imagined The sweet, smooth orange Sitting on the doorstep In its half sized bottle Next to the milk
It took a minor drama To produce results A simple message in a bottle Foil cap peeled off slowly Bottle to lips, head tipped back Large swig... An early lesson in disappointment Thanks for reading Jill
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