Welcome to my blog, where I take pleasure in words and pictures, be they my own or those of others. I'm a creative individual, and the crafty side I explore on my 'other blog', Picking Up The Threads, which I hope you'll visit too. I'm sure you understand that I have sole copyright of my original work and any of my contributions, so please ask if you want to use them. A polite request is rarely refused. So, as they used to say on the BBC's 'Listen With Mother' radio programme, many years ago: "Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin."

Friday 2 January 2015

Let Us Sit Upon the Ground

“For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground and tell sad tales of the deaths of kings.” William Shakespeare, Richard II



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. 

15 comments:

  1. I'm amused by the fact that I've pushed my way to the front, to sit next to three girls. I started young!

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  2. The 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.

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  3. It is such a wonderful photo. It is nice to see your husband enjoying himself out in the tent.

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  4. I like the way the tent frames the kids in the photo. Can you tell what the printing on the tent says?

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    1. It looks like the printing is something about sailing & dinghies, and maybe the tent is made from sails.

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  5. Pretend 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.

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  6. Camping in your own backyard can be fun!

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  7. Waiting to take part in the "egg and spoon..." What is THAT? It's a great shot to have of one's husband, indeed!

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  8. What an adorable pic! Love the tent and of course that its your hubby sitting in the front!

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  9. I'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.

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  10. A very suitable photo to match the theme. The tent looks like it might be a emergency survival tent.

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  11. Your 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.

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  12. Lovely 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!

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  13. Lovely! Quite a gaggle of children crammed in there!
    Wish we had a few more photos of my husband when he was that age - only found two!

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  14. Good choice of photo to match the theme:) Very sweet.

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