Monday, October 26, 2020

A Memoir at Seventy Seven........................


Today is my BIRTHDAY!

When I was 7 years old, mother, father and I moved to what would be 
their forever family home. Prior to that, as a baby/toddler, I lived
 in a second floor flat in town with my mother and grandma, my father
 still away serving in the Royal Air Force. 
Later we moved to a prefabricated ('prefab') home - modern and
 quite spacious - on one of many housing estates built to accommodate
 the British people across the UK requiring homes following
 World War II. It was there that I made my first friends and we all
 went to school together.
   
To me, the new 'real' house, was a dream come true. Although small,
the semi-detached bungalow with three bedrooms, and great garden
 areas front and back, and neighbors with children my age, was fabulous.
  On a then very quiet road, more like a country lane, it was just a two
 minute walk from the rolling, lush green Devon countryside, and a ten
 minute bus ride to the seaside and beaches where I spent a lot of time. 
Note, not many people had cars in those years! The year following 
that move, along came my brother, eventually filling that third bedroom!

My childhood there was magical and my memories are still so clear.  
With farms and fields to explore, my mother and I would pull on
our rubber 'wellies' to go gather mushrooms for breakfast in the early
 morning dew - before the sweet-faced Jersey cows stomped on them! 
We'd stop and buy fresh eggs from a farm. 
On long summer days I spent hours learning the names of wildflowers, 
native birds, climbing huge oak trees, and often on warm, sunny days
 picnicking on a blanket and breathing in the fragrance of the rich red 
clay soil, tall grass and flowers.

Oh, by the way, the bungalow house, where I lived until 1962 when I
emigrated to the USA. . . . . .was number 77 on our country road!
It's still there and I always stop and look at it when home for a visit.
Not much has changed other than the front garden being turned
into a parking lot now that people have cars! Not pretty as 
when my mother planted many beautiful shrubs and flowers.

Somewhere, some years ago, I found this brass number.  Probably at 
one time it held a key to a locker, and with such a magical, to me,
 number I had to have it. Today seems the perfect day to share it
  with you as I celebrate yet another birthday. . . . . . . .bet you can
 guess which one!!!

Birthday celebrations, like all celebrations this year, have to be 
different. Mine will be quiet. As October leaves fall and the
 nights turn chilly, I will just be thankful for another year under the
 warmth and safety of my roof, and in good health. . . . . but ready for
 cake, and a glass of bubbly later of course!



48 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to you! A lovely post that jogged plenty of memories for me too. I remember prefabs like that, though most of them have disappeared under modern housing. I lived for the first part of my life deep in the countryside in a bungalow built by my grandfather. Enjoy your day!

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    1. Yes John, I bet we could share a lot from back in the pre-fab era. Lucky you living in a
      country home actually built by your grandfather!
      Thanks for the birthday greeting - bet you still haven't had as many as me!!!!

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  2. What lovely memories, Mary. I wish you a very happy birthday and many more. xx

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    1. Barbara dear, how fast the birthdays come nowadays. Glad for each one though.
      Thanks for thinking of me.

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  3. Happy, happy Birthday to you, dear Mary!
    Enjoy that bubbly and the cake - have two or three pieces, if you like, and more than just one glass; you turn 77 only once! :-)
    Lovely memories of your childhood, thank you for sharing them.

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    1. Thanks Meike - actually I did have three pieces of cake. . . . . .one a day for three days
      until it was all gone, lol!

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  4. A very happy birthday dear Mary 🎂🎈💐🍸
    What lovely childhood memories of idyllic days spent with your mother and life in your families first home.
    I wonder whatever our mothers would think of the world we live in today?
    Enjoy your cake, and a glass of bubbly with Bob this evening.

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    1. Thank you for the birthday wishes Rosemary.
      Yes, like you, I often think of how our parents would view today's world. Not favorably I fear, and definitely not idyllic!
      Bob and I had a nice quiet time.

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  5. Replies
    1. Thanks Penny - I did have a good if different one to celebrate 77!

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  6. Happy Birthday, Mary. Lovely memories of your childhood in England. I particularly enjoyed reading about your morning mushroom gathering times with your mom and childhood days spent in nature. I wonder if that is where your love of gardening and healthy eating began :). Enjoy your special day!

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    1. Thank you Kim. . . . . yes, I still love mushrooms and cook with them all the time! Just wish there was a place nearby to pick my own - all I get are toadstools! Yes, veggies are my favorite food - and it never ceases to amaze me all that one can do with them in the kitchen!

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  7. Replies
    1. Thanks JayCee - I just discovered where you live! Wonderful.

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  8. Oh Mary,
    What a beautiful post. I am so happy that you shared so many of your childhood experiences. I spent my childhood in a similar way. Always roaming in the countryside, learning the ways of nature.
    Have a most wonderful birthday and yes, bring out that special bottle of bubbly.

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    1. Thank you dear Gina. We did toast on my special day but had cake the previous day - Jasmin's birthday - when she came over to be with us. It was fun.

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  9. Dearest Mary,
    Wow, cheers to your very special double digit birthday!
    You really earned your bubbly and I love this special and short memoir.
    It is so special to write anything of value about one's life.
    I'm writing stories of value for my Pieter who's over fourteen digits ahead of you and with a very weak heart. That is a sword of Damocles that always hangs above you; unexpected and often unannounced as his cardiologist has warned now for years.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Like you Mariette, I do enjoy writing childhood memoirs. Perhaps it's because we grew up in countries so different from the USA!
      I wish your dear Pieter many more good years - he certainly looks wonderful at his age. Hug him, gently, for me. Did you notice I mentioned my mushroom gathering days as a child?
      Thanks for the birthday greeting.

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  10. Oh I very much enjoyed this wander down Memory Lane. Your childhood sounds marvelous. (I watch a lot of Return to the Country so I understand what a bungalow is in Devon. Maybe. A one-story home duplex is how I would describe it on this side of the pond.)

    🍂🧡🍂The happiest of birthdays to you, Mary. You have arrived at double perfection. Sounds great!

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    1. Vee, do you mean Escape to the Country on BBC? Wasn't familiar so just looked it up and now I'll be glued to the episodes - I can get them on Amazon Prime, especially the ones of Devon which is my home county. . . . . . .and get nothing else done!
      Thanks to the birthday greeting dear friend.

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  11. Happy, Happy 77th! I enjoyed reading a bit of your history this morning (quite cold in Bend, warming later in the week) .... something so sweet, poignant, relevant I found myself with tears in my eyes. Enough, Helen! Today no tears, it's Mary's Birthday!!

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    1. Helen you are so sweet - thanks for thinking of me on my 77th! How did we get to be this age?

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  12. Happy birthday Mary, I hope you have a lovely day. We live in one of those pre-fab houses built just after the war.....although it looks a lot different now the outside has been bricked up and a tiled roof on. The old pre fab is still there inside the brick cladding as many a workman has found out.

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    1. Thanks so much. How neat they renovated pre-fabs in your area. Our estate in Torquay was knocked down, I think in the late '60's after I left the UK. The same roads are still there though and nice brick bungalows replaced the pre-fabs.

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  13. Happiest of the birthdays to you my dear friend! Wishing you much health and love! Miss you so much!! Have a wonderful day! Love you, Vanessa xx

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    1. You know how I miss you Vanessa - birthdays and ALL days just haven't been the same since you went West! Love you and hope we get together again soon!

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  14. Dear Mary, I emailed my birthday greetings yesterday!
    Such evocative happy childhood memories, similar to mine in the antipodes!
    Not a care in the world and safe in the arms of a loving family - how fortunate we were.
    Love
    Shane xxx

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    1. Thanks Shane. I was thrilled to get your email too - will answer soon.

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  15. Happy birthday, Mary! I hope you have a wonderful day...yes, complete with cake and bubbly tonight!
    xoxo

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    1. Wouldn't mind being as young as you again Melanie!
      Thanks for thinking of me.

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  16. what a nice story about the number 77 but related to age, it's just a number. An other happy and healthy year ahead.

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  17. Happy birthday! May you be blessed with the gift of time and all you wish.

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    1. Yes, time is definitely a great gift, but only after good health which is the most important.
      Thanks for the greeting.

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  18. What warm and glowing memories. Blessed, indeed. Happy Birthday Mary! I'm sure you'll have a have a lovely day with your beloved. xx

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    1. I did have a quiet birthday this year, but it was still fun. I'm grateful for each and every October 26.

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  19. Very Happy Birthday wishes to you, dear Mary. A lovely story about the meaning of 77 for you, on this special birthday. Wishing you much joy today and every day!

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    1. You are such a sweet friend Lorrie - and always say such kind things.

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  20. Many happy returns Mary, hope you will make many more happy memories. Keep on blogging!

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    1. Thanks Betty and yes, I hope to keep blogging!

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  21. Happy Birthday dear Mary - and may you have many more! What a sweet quote from L M Montgomery - I think it is time I read those books again, especially now we have a permanent connection with Canada. Lovely to read about your childhood in beautiful Devon. You were so young when you left to live in the US - my big adventure was to move 50 miles to the city :) Enjoy your celebrations and have a wonderful year. xox

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    1. Yes, it was a big leap of faith I suppose. Of course at 19 we had more spirit, less fear, and many of us wanted to see the world! These days it just would work and I feel sad for young people.

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  22. Sweet memories for a sweet lady. Hope your day was blessed!

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    1. Such fun to see you here after so long - nice birthday gift for me!!!
      Stay well Donna.

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  23. Happy birthday Mary. What beautiful memories you have shared.

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