FAVOURITE TIMES
When I was young Mum used to ask me to brush her hair in the evenings: we both enjoyed this. Her hair was dark, long, arranged in two plaits pinned round to the top of her head - a popular post-war style. The brushing helped to relieve tension after her long day of hard work and constant worry: she would sit in her armchair with her feet upon the mantle-piece in winter, so that the heat from the open fire warmed her legs. We enjoyed listening to plays, comedy programmes, and classical music on the radio. She would sing along to operatic arias and conduct symphonies with the poker. She particularly liked the conductor Leopold Stokovski because there was a likeness to my father.
Christmas was always good. A week beforehand Mum would produce packets of strips of gummed coloured paper and we kids made paper chains to decorate our living room. If she had the money she would buy tissue paper bells and a Santa which opened out to give a 3D effect (these were carefully folded up after Christmas and put away for Christmases to come). Graham and I were given one of Mum's laddered stockings to hang on the end of the bed on Xmas Eve. When the morning came they had been filled with small presents – crayons, paints, colouring books. (Dinky cars for G). The Indian carpet in the living room had paisley patterns surrounded by wide rectangular strips which G used as roads for his many and varied vehicles, and airstrips for his model aeroplanes. I can see him now, lying on the floor going Brm Brm. We rarely had 'big' presents, beyond board games and 'The Eagle' and 'The Girl' Annuals.