Childhood Memories By Esther Maria Jewell ( Maria Gardner) Copyright To E M Jewell

A Memory of Etwall.

To laugh and to sing
On a beautiful spring day
Wild flowers is abundance
In the month of May

Bluebell and buttercups,
Primroses galore
Mother's words of wisdom
We chose to ignore

Playing out in the rain
Getting soaked to the skin
Having a wonderful time
Building a den made of tin

Anything we lay our hands on
Scrap wheels old pieces of wood
Building a trolley with friends
And having fights in the mud

Fishing down the brook
Frogspawn in my wellie
The long walk home for tea
There's hunger in my belly

Saturday chores all done
Time to get out treats
Thre'pence ha'penny was enough
To purchase all our sweets

Walking to the bomb crater
In the wind and the snow
Pulling hand made sledges
Little faces all aglow

A cricket match in the field
St Helen's church fete
Along the road to Ash Hall
Through the kissing gate

Watching from the bedroom window
On a cold Guy Fawkes night
The school field lit up with fireworks
Ash View Close, the privileged site

Sitting on the grass island
Making a daisy chain
Finding four leave clovers
We never looked in vain

Frosty Monday mornings
Icicles hanging from ledges
Make-believe mirrors made
From cobwebs in the hedges

Friends walking to school together
A wonderful start to the day
Not a grownup around to supervise
Now, what would our children say?

We managed without a fridge
No telephone, computer or car
We made our own entertainment
The happiest days they were, by far

An era gone by
But not lost forever
I still have my memories
Everyone I will treasure

Copyright E M Jewell (Gardner) 16.1.2013

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