Old Friends & Brighton Childhoods, & Ardingly Antique Fair looming
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| lunch in the garden |
The other day
I had lunch with my
lovely aunt,
I had lunch with my
lovely aunt,
in her garden
in Brighton.
in Brighton.
Only thing is,
she is not just my aunt,
she is not just my aunt,
she is my oldest friend.
My Mum, bless her
waited 17 years for a sister.
My Nan kept producing sons,
albeit lovely sons,
whom she still adored,
whom she still adored,
but she was so desperate
for a little sister.
By the time the sister
came along,
came along,
Mum was almost engaged
and leaving home.
and leaving home.
So, my aunt and I were
nearer in age and somewhere
along the line,
probably when I
was in my teens,
we became the best of friends.
nearer in age and somewhere
along the line,
probably when I
was in my teens,
we became the best of friends.
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| Oh to be 17 again! |
Prior to that,
I have snatched recollections
of her feeding me "rainbow drops"
I have snatched recollections
of her feeding me "rainbow drops"
(remember those?)
and teaching us kids to make toffee apples
in our kitchen in Woodingdean, in Brighton.
Once I was grown up,
and I use the term loosely,(ha ha)
we were great buddies,
and saw each other
through some pretty catastrophic,
and saw each other
through some pretty catastrophic,
but equally, euphoric times, as well.
This is the work my exceedingly
clever aunty does.
In the 1960's she trained at
Brighton Art College
and later worked for grandad,
her father,
her father,
who was a well known
furniture restorer in Brighton.
furniture restorer in Brighton.
She does the most beautiful
hand painted work.
hand painted work.
Chinoiserie is one her of specialities,
which I wouldn't even attempt.
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| chinoiserie on a 19th century bamboo table |
table aunty Barb painted for me.
Neither of us are keen
on the idea of hunting,
so the fox has definitely
escaped on our table,
hiding down on the bottom shelf.
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| Noah's Ark on a 19th century chest If you ever want a hand painted chest or other piece, do let me know. She could be yer gal. Anyway, back to lunch...... We try to meet up on special family anniversaries. |
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| The cat escaping from the new puppy in the house |
We visit the cemetery in
Woodingdean
and go for a
walk to chat and remember all those
dear to us that are no longer around.
No really,
it's never maudlin.
We laugh hysterically at some of the old family tales.
Shed a small tear occasionally.
Hug each other and
vow to meet more often.
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| Biddy and Flossy our walking companions. |
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| looking down over Brighton |
My visits to Brighton
always make me feel nostalgic ...
childhood memories come flooding back.
When I was 13, I was in love
with a 17 year old mod from up the road.
In secret, I used to stand
on the lav and gaze misty eyed
out the of the bathroom window
to watch him drive up and down the
road on his silver lambretta.
Oh! the ecstasy when I jumped off the school bus one day,
in the middle of a bitterly cold winter and there he was.
I was in my Convent Girl school uniform,
he on his lambretta wearing his parka.
"Can I borrow your scarf, its freezing on here?"
Oh joy...I could barely contain myself.
Just as the scarf was in place,
wound neatly around the neck
of my dreamboat,
from across the road,
screamed my mother's dulcet tones.
"Get that scarf off yer greasy neck"
Oh the mortification of it all!
I blushed, he blushed, then he quickly rode off on his scooter and I
stood in the middle of the road gazing misty eyed after him.
Unrequited teenage lurve.
ha ha.
Memories are great sometimes
aren't they?
Sunday I know,
but on with the Victorian bamboo.
We have Ardingly Antique Fair next month
If you get on the fair site
you can download a pdf
of the entire years dates.
Come and say "Hello"
if you visit the fair.
cant sit here chatting,
much as I'd love to
have a great day
www.arundeleccentrics.com
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