... and nothing but the truth

A CHILD OF THE NINETEEN FIFTIES

A Child of the 1950's

Chapter One

Baby Patricia

There was once a little girl called Patricia Ann Wood who was born in the early 1950's, not too long after the end of WW2. She was born with one side of her head very flat, which I think may well account for all of her oddities in later life, but we shall never know. Baby Patricia was a good baby and never cried.

Patricia was a good little girl, but she had a mind of her own. In her quiet way she was very feisty and even now, push her too far and she will explode! Ha, ha.

When she was 18 months old she would be put to bed at the normal time of a child of that age. She slept in her parents room in a cot by the side of their bed. At a certain time of night, she would wake up and climb the cot side and jump onto her parents bed, pad across to the door and then go downstairs. Her parents were ready, listening out for her each night so that she did not fall down the stairs. I don't know if they had a stair gate or not as this is not a story she remembers herself, but a story related by her mother.

One night her parents were listening out for her, but there was no sound. After a few minutes, her mother went upstairs to see what was happening, only to find Patricia hanging by a belt at the back of her long nightdress over the end of the cot. She was not crying, just hanging in mid air – her mother got quite a fright! But Patricia seemed completely unharmed by the experience, but even so we shall never really know what damage it did. How long was she hanging there?

Perhaps she should have counselling? Ha, ha, ha.

Patricia's Own Language

When Patricia was two or three years old she made up a little language all of her own. Whether this meant she was clever enough to do that, or stupid enough not to learn English properly, one will never know.

She called a ball a 'babem' because it bounced. To her mind it was the sound the ball made as it bounced up and down.

Little boys were called 'little boos.'

The birds were 'Bee Bees.'

A hedgehog was a 'Boggy.'

The front room was the 'Root Row.'

Her sister Marilyn was called 'Mar Mar.' Her sister hated it! But she did it for years and years...

And the worst one of all was 'Belly Bum' which she said when she was cross.  Belly and Bum being words she was not allowed to say, so she did by adding them together. (I must add here that she no longer says it, but perhaps she should).

Patricia was taken to church each week as a child and once, when visiting another church to listen to a local girl singing, Patricia shouted 'Belly Bum' out loudly during the service. She did it because she was told not to do something or to do something, not sure which... and it was very strange, because no one took any notice at all, even though it was very quiet when she did this. As young as she was, she was expecting some re-action. Her mother shushed her and probably sank beneath the pew to hide her shame.

My poor, poor mother! She had a lot to put up with....

Early Memories

My very first memory is of sitting in a push chair. It was raining, so the hood was up. My mum was pushing me and we were coming home, up the street. It must have been bin day as the bin men were emptying the bins, which were galvanised steel and made lots of clanging noises.