The little boy sitting cross-legged on the ground with hands clasped is my husband aged about three years at Willow Lane Nursery School, Lancaster. He and his little pals appear to be waiting for something, on what was obviously a hot day, (hence the tent). Perhaps it was the end of the Summer Term and the children were having some races; the tent could have been to keep them cool whilst waiting to take part in the ‘egg and spoon’. Who knows? My husband doesn’t remember and even the bunting on the houses behind the school, doesn’t help. This was the Summer of 1952 so a year too early for the Coronation. My husband has suggested that it was some local event, perhaps The Lord Mayor’s Parade or similar. What is certain, however, is that they were not telling sad tales of the deaths of kings, as in the quotation above. The family albums are littered with people sitting on the ground; picnics, gardens, beaches, to name but a few, and I could have produced an entire gallery. I opted instead for just one photograph and this one best matched the Sepia Saturday prompt picture, with its suggestions to; “Sit on the ground, hang out your flag, put on a silly hat ... and generally look pleased with the world.”
Join other Sepians this week to see what they made of the prompt.
I'm amused by the fact that I've pushed my way to the front, to sit next to three girls. I started young!
ReplyDeleteThe little girl's hat looks amazingly similar to one that a fellow in the prompt photo is wearing. Even without the precise story of when and why, the photo surely prompted "Mr. Caminante" to tell other stories of his days at Willow Lane. Maybe they'll make their way into a future SS post.
ReplyDeleteIt is such a wonderful photo. It is nice to see your husband enjoying himself out in the tent.
ReplyDeleteI like the way the tent frames the kids in the photo. Can you tell what the printing on the tent says?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the printing is something about sailing & dinghies, and maybe the tent is made from sails.
DeletePretend camping could often be more fun for children than the real thing! You've chosen a lovely natural shot here. Maybe one of the other children will see it and recognise themselves.
ReplyDeleteCamping in your own backyard can be fun!
ReplyDeleteWaiting to take part in the "egg and spoon..." What is THAT? It's a great shot to have of one's husband, indeed!
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable pic! Love the tent and of course that its your hubby sitting in the front!
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming "the egg & spoon" is some sort of race in which the children must balance an egg in a spoon while they race? Hopefully it was a hard-boiled egg!?! Really cute picture.
ReplyDeleteA very suitable photo to match the theme. The tent looks like it might be a emergency survival tent.
ReplyDeleteYour husband and the little girl next to him are directly in the hot sun, while everybody else seems to be packed like sardines in the tent. Hope he was successful in the egg and spoon race when his turn came up.
ReplyDeleteLovely photo. When I saw the date and the bunting I immediately thought of the Coronation and then saw that you had dismissed it because it was a year too soon. "No", I said to myself in my wise way, "Marilyn has got it wrong there, the Coronation was in '52, surely". Of course then I looked it up and discovered two things : (1) I should learn to trust Marilyn; and (2) that would make a good question for next Friday's quiz!
ReplyDeleteLovely! Quite a gaggle of children crammed in there!
ReplyDeleteWish we had a few more photos of my husband when he was that age - only found two!
Good choice of photo to match the theme:) Very sweet.
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