We didn’t go on holidays when I was a child. Well, apart from one holiday in Cornwall that I vaguely remember. I must have been four. We stayed in a white beach house with pale blue window frames. We went with another family, friends of my parents. We played in the sand dunes and Uncle Ken lost his glasses in the sea.
After that I suppose we didn’t have the money for holidays. Also my Dad was a home-bird. So we went on day trips.
I recently found some of my old school books. I wrote a news story, when I was seven, that made me roar with laughter. The gist of it was that we had gone out in the car one weekend for a drive around Luton ‘to see all the changes’. This would have been my Dad’s idea. I feel sorry for my Mum and my seven year old self and my five year old brother. A drive around Luton. Holy Moly.
We did have enjoyable day trips though. We went to the seaside, to a different town each year, in either Norfolk, Suffolk or Essex. My brother and I saved up our pocket money for weeks. We loaded up the car for the two hour journey. I tried not to be sick in the car – with mixed results. We all peered through the windows attempting to be the first to see the sea.
We went on the beach, ate ice creams, chips and candy floss, played in the amusements, looked in all the souvenir shops and had a nice meal in a restaurant before the long drive home. My brother and I would fall asleep smiling.
I want my children to have happy memories of family holidays. Now, where’s that road atlas? I hear there’s a new bypass opening in Bolton…
A child of the 70's, sounds so familiar. We used to go on holidays in the caravan (tourer) and mum and dad always made the back seat of the car into a bed for me nad my bro and set off in the middle of the night!!
ReplyDeleteYou do need a holiday! I think the thing is about younger children that they honestly don't care where they are as long as there's ice-cream, maybe a pool or the sea and they have their parents undivided attention. But of course I do believe that travelling is fantastic for kids, particularly if you're able to go abroad, because the kids get to experience different culture and (hopefully) different food. I hope you're able to take your kids away on a lovely holiday somewhere Sandy xxx
ReplyDeleteAh great memories, love the highlight being Uncle Ken's glasses! We've only done UK holidays with the girls because I can't face getting a plane with them, also there's some beautiful parts of the UK to explore. Book a holiday!
ReplyDeleteIf you feel the urge to have a drive around Luton to see the changes you must pop in for a cup of tea here !
ReplyDeleteHey Sandy, this made me laugh out loud. Traversing Luton in the name of good times... The furthest we ever went on holidays was the Isle of Man, and I thought it was SO exotic. My mum kept promising mythical trips to Jersey, her Holy Grail of holiday destinations, and she was planning to pay for it with supermarket holiday tokens, but, damn, it never happened. I think they discontinued the tokens before we had hoarded enough...
ReplyDeleteOh dear lol, I think it's the time of year we all want a holiday, I know I do, hope you get one.
ReplyDeleteLovely memories.
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm Luton, how very nice for you! lmao Gald you have such lovely memories of your childhood, I also loved days out and we take the kids out for loads of day trips in the summer now, probably visiting some of those beaches of yoru childhood as I only live about 15 miles from Luton now. Mich x
ReplyDeleteThe Mad House, oh yes, the good old days before seatbelts!!
ReplyDeleteLiz, thanks, I hope we can take them away too. It should get easier the older they get x
It's a Mummy's Life, yes, I think we'll start with the UK! :-)
Muddling Along, next time we go to Luton I'll take you up on that! :-)
Valerie, the Isle of Man is abroad (well, overseas anyway)! Oh what a shame your mum never made it to Jersey. x
ReplyDeleteAng, I hope you get one too :-)
Slim Lens, yes, they are :-)
Mich, I bet they haven't changed much! :-)