I Feel For The Children

 It was such a beautiful day yesterday. By the time my daughter and I met up for our walk the clouds had burned away and the sun had come out. It was cold but not so cold to spoil the enjoyment. My daughter and her partner are police officers and they both had coronavirus just after the New Year. This was one of her first walks and although she is much better she still gets a bit breathless. I know from experience even if you recover well the breathlessness can carry on for a while. It was so fresh at the top of the hill though we stood and breathed in the air to exercise our lungs. It felt wonderful! I'm sure Tess my border collie thought we had lost our  minds.

The View From Oaks Park

There were little signs of spring everywhere. I don't care what the news says I just know things will seem better by then. There were families out in force walking with their little children. One family were walking along singing away. To jolly the little one up as he was looking decidedly miserable they were singing "Nick Nack Paddy Wack" as they walked. My daughter and I really laughed as that is exactly what we used to do on long walks! 

Snowdrops In The Park

Poor children I feel so much for them in this pandemic. Disrupted school, not seeing their friends and in a world were they were already so over protected, in comparison with my childhood, growing up obsessed with germs. I fear the harm it will do. I have thought a lot about the freedom we had as children. It was not just the freedom to play out for hours unsupervised but there was zero health and safety in the 1960s.

   I mentioned yesterday that two ten year olds would look after a whole class of five year old during wet play, that was the joy of being a "lunchtime monitor" reserved for the top class of primary school. There were however many other coveted jobs at the time. Every class, even the very little ones, had milk monitors. Two of us would go before break time to prepare the little milk bottles for the rest of the class. One would carry the sharp scissors and the other the box of straws. The only instructions being "Remember to hold the scissors downwards when you are walking down the stairs!" As a six years old I clearly remember pushing the straws through the silver top of the tiny little bottles after the other child had pierced the hole with the sharp scissors. 

However the job I enjoyed most and couldn't wait until it was my turn was the rubbish monitor! On a Friday afternoon I would take the waste paper bin down to the convent garden incinerator. I would carry the little metal bin through the vegetable garden to the big stone incinerator. I had to drop all the rubbish into the smouldering ashes below. Depending on what was in the rubbish bin the flames would burst into life shooting upwards to the top of the incinerator. It was such fun I would find myself looking all around the kitchen garden for more rubbish to drop in. I think I may have had eight year old pyromaniac tendencies! I doubt our school was alone in total lack of health and safety at that time and I'm sure it didn't do us any harm. I feel more harm is being done by the cautious way children are brought up now, which I'm sad to say I think will get much worse in the coming months. Apparently snow is on the way today and it feels cold enough for it. Tom is off work after a week of 3.30 am starts, so I think we will just sit inside by the fire and watch it. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx