Family History Fun: Toy Time on Sepia Saturday

When we think of Christmas, children and toys come high on the list. So here are some charming pictures of children in my extended family - to finish the December "Indoors" theme from Sepia Saturday

Funnily enough I cannot remember having any favourite soft toys, though presumably the one I am clutching in this studio photo must have been high on the list.

Here I am, aged around two holdimg a soft ball, which I think is one my mother probably made. She enjoyed making such balls from felt and embroidering the sections in contrasting colours with numbers, or motifs for sale at village fetes etc. Today the picture of my father smoking a cigarette close by me, would no doubt, be distinctly frowned upon!

I was a "dolly girl" - I loved my dolls, which, as my mother was a dressmaker, were the smartest on the street. With my best friend, Carol, we would wheel our prams up and down and put the dolls in their cot (an old box), with a crocheted blanket and lace trimmed pillow and quilt cover, again courtesy of my mother, or set up the doll's tea set for a tea party.

My dolls were not particularly sophisticated, usually a rag doll that my mother made, though I had one that said "Mama" if you pressed it in the right place.

As for other toys, I remember being given (from the TV series) a Muffin the Mule and a Sooty puppet and these formed a major part of the "make believe" games we played. We got a new jigsaw every Christmas. The one I best remember was of a winter scene of skaters at the White Horse Inn, near Salzburg in Austria - 45 years later I actually visited the inn on holiday. Games were popular such as dominoes, snakes and ladders, ludo, tiddlywinks and colouring books and join-the-dot books.

Puppets were a favourite pastime. We would set up a makeshift theatre in the front room with the clothes-horse and a sheet, and make simple glove puppets from felt and bits and pieces from my mother's trimming box. I was usually the script-writer and my brother did the sound effects, with my father the hero or villain role and my mother and aunt the audience.

I loved getting in my Christmas stocking a pristine notebook to write in, a blank scrapbook to show off my collection of scraps and a new pencil case, with new pencils, rubbers and sharpener to take to school at the start of the fresh term. The really classy one that everyone wanted was wooden where the top swivelled round to show the bottom compartment - the only drawback was it was heavy in your satchel.

I enjoyed playing at shops, so a toy till , with play money was an ideal choice. We also played at libraries, so I was in seventh heaven to be given a date stamp - and I went on to become a librarian!

Books remained one of my favourite presents for any time of year, with an Enid Blyton at the top of my list.

For my brother it was meccano, marbles, conkers, his train set, Dinky cars and Airfix models. Outside, he had his pedal car and football, whilst I had my tricycle and skipping rope to practice "crossovers" and "bumps".

And not one needed a battery!

And Dolly came too!

Here is my mother's secomd cousin Elsie Oldham with her grandfather Joseph Prince Oldham (1855-1917) ith Elsie proudly showing off her doll, c.1911.

Joseph became a carter and coalman in Blackpool, Lancashire, in a house with stables, opposite the North Station. His son John William Oldham carried on the business. In the 1920's, Elsie became a hairdresser, giving her name a French twist as "Elise" working from the family home

A lovely little curly headed girl with her teddy. Unfortunately this photograph from my great aunt Jennie's collection was not identified.

A studio photograph of my brother in law and his puppy.

Onto the next generation and my daughter's favourite toy - donkey, ridden later by her own daughter.

And finally if you get tired of your toys, there is always the box to play with !

**********

Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity to share their family history through photographs.

Click HERE to read this week's contributions from other Sepia Saturday bloggers.

Friday 27 December 2013

The Book of Me - Toys and Games

This post was prompted by Julie at Anglers Rest and her series " Book of Me - Written by You", where she asks us here to describe our memories of toys and games.

I had a "Last Doll" for my 11th birthday, which seems in today's lifestyle, really old for a doll. The inspiration came from the book "Sarah Crewe or the little Princess", by Frances Hodgson-Burnett, where Sarah was given a grand doll with an extensive wardrobe on her 11th birthday. I saw the book serialised on television and decided that would mark the end of my "dolly" era - it didn't really, as I went on to collect costume dolls.

I cannot remember having a teddy and cannot recollect the soft toy I am clutching in this photograph. but I did have that popular 1950's toy (and now very politically incorrect) a golliwog in black and white checked trousers, a red jacket and bow tie - again made by my mother.

We got a new jigsaw every Christmas. The one I best remember was of a winter scene of skaters at the White Horse Inn, near Salzburg in Austria - 45 years later I actually visited the inn on holiday. Games were popular such as dominoes, snakes and ladders, ludo, tiddlywinks and colouring books and join-the-dot books.

Getting a pristine notebook to write in, was a delight, as was a blank scrapbook to show off my collection of scraps and a new pencil case, with new pencils, rubbers and sharpener to take to school at the start of the fresh term. The really classy one that everyone wanted was wooden where the top swivelled round to show the bottom compartment - the only drawback was it was heavy in your satchel.

I remember being given (from the TV series) a Muffin the Mule and a Sooty puppet and these formed a major part of the "make believe" games we played. Puppet shows were a favourite pastime with the clothes-horse and a sheet, as the theatre and simple glove puppets made from felt and bits and pieces from my mother's trimming box. I was usually the script-writer and heroine (of course) and my brother did the sound effects, with my father the hero or villain role and my mother and aunt the audience. At Christmas, led by my father we usually put on a play for the family. The one requirement was that should wear a long dress with a stole of my mother's, or as a maid wear a doily with streamers on my head. As you can gather, I liked dressing up.

I enjoyed playing at shops, so a toy till , with play money was an ideal choice.   We also played at libraries, so I was in seventh heaven to be given a date stamp - and I went on to become a librarian!

Books remained one of my favourite presents for anytime of year, with Enid Blyton at the top of my list.

For my brother it was meccano, marbles, his train set, Dinky cars and Airfix models. Outside, he had his pedal car and football, whilst  I had my tricycle and skipping rope to practice  "crossovers" and "bumps".   Yoyos and then hula hoops were a great fad in the playground - no doubt rejected these days by the "health and safety" brigade.

Looking back, toys seem very simple compared with the range today's children have in their crowded toy boxes, but none then needed batteries! I have happy memories of what we did have.

Thursday 15 August 2013

Happiness is Stitching - Sentimental Sunday

Kathleen & Edith Danson

"Happiness in Stitching" could be my mother's motto.

For her to go into a fabric shop was like going into a jeweller's. If she sat down, she was rarely without a needle in her hand. She was a creator in patchwork, crochet, collage, knitting, embroidery, smocking, dolls and dresses, with dabbles into millinery, lampshade making and china painting.

My mother Kathleen (Kay) Weston, nee Danson was born in 1908 in the small town of Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. Her older sister Edith was equally talented and from their photographs they clearly enjoyed fashion.

At the age of 14 Mum was apprenticed to be a tailoress and was still making her own clothes in her 80's - though on a much more sophisticated machine than the old treadle she began on.

Modelling one her dresses

Mum set up her own dress-making business from home and continued this throughout her life. In the 1950's this meant working in the spare bedroom which was icy cold in winter and hot and stuffy in summer. I remember one time when my little brother - a typical boy into everything - got hold of her oiling can, filled it with water and proceeded to "oil" the sewing machine!. He was not very popular!

I benefited from cutting up old Butterick and Simplicity pattern books and creating characters and "schools" from the fashion figures.

My brother and I in outfits made by my mother c.1948
See the smocking on the baby dress & cross stitch embroidery on my blouse.

My Sunday coats always had velvet collars, embroidered with flowers and a matching bonnet. In summer I always had a new sun dress with bolero.

In my sun dress - 1950'

Our village held an annual gala day and Mum was in demand for helping with the costumes.

Costumes Mum helped make for the local Staining Gala Day
I am front left kneeling - early 1950's.

I don't know how my brother ever agreed to take part in a fancy dress parade, and wear dyed red tights as a Yeoman of the Guard. The costume was adapted from an old red suit of Mum's.

As a child, I had the best dressed dolls on the street and especially remember my Coronation Doll of 1953 with its white dress and long embroidered purple velvet train. I do now regret not keeping it as a family heirloom. One of my favourite toys was, a now very politically incorrect, hand-made Golliwog with his checked trousers, red jacket and bow tie. Sadly I have now photographs of these toys and dolls.

Thirty years on, my daughter was the recipient of nursery collages, soft toys, a Cindy wardrobe, costume dolls, crochet waistcoats and fashion jumpers. Mum was also an active member of the Women's Institute (W.I.) and regularly took part in craft competitions, displays and demonstrations. Here are some wonderful examples of her work.

An Upside-down Cinderella Doll

Mum stitched this patchwork quilt when she was in her 80's.
She lived to the age of 91.

And of course Mum made my wedding dress -

here arriving at the church with my father.

I don't have Mum's skill, but I have inherited her love of handicrafts and she left me with tangible memories

of a very talented lady.

[Note: I have posted a number of articles before on my mother's talents, but I wanted to pull them all together - hence this tribute}

Thursday 22 May 2014

Sepia Saturday - Doll Memories

Sepia Saturday give bloggers an opportunity to share their family history and memories through photographs.

What has struck me in writing for Sepia Saturday is how limited the photographs were in my childhood - either taken on a seaside holiday or formal school portraits. Of course there was no flash for the average home camera - so no photographs of Christmas, birthday parties, or playing inside - nor do I have any taken in winter. So finding photos for this prompt was a challenge.

There were occasions when I stayed overnight with a friend (and vice versa), but the term "sleepover" had not yet reached us from America, and it was very much a one-to-one arrangement - not a group of friends. Even so we chatted into the night and did not get much sleep. I cannot remember any photographs being taken of the occasion.

The same pattern continued with my own daughter and this is the nearest I can come to this week's theme - as she snuggled down in bed with her menagerie of furry friends.

She was never a particularly "teddy" girl - panda was her favourite. Here is Scottie dog, with two owls perched on top of him and alongside two pandas, a koala bear present from Australia and a Brownie, knitted from a pattern in "Woman's Weekly" magazine - a great source of ideas for home-made toys for children.

What struck me in the prompt photograph is the girls looked quite grown up (by today's standard) to be playing with dolls.

I was a "dolly girl" - I loved my dolls which, as my mother was a dressmaker, were the smartest in the street. With my best friend, Carol, we would wheel our dolls' prams up and down the street and put the dolls in their cot (an old box), with a crocheted blanket and lace trimmed pillow and quilt cover, again courtesy of my mother, or set up the doll's tea set for a tea party.

My dolls were not particularly sophisticated, though I had one that said "Mama" if you pressed it in the right place. My mother made rag dolls, but my very special doll she made me in 1953 for the Queen's Coronation, with a long fur trimmed purple velvet train, and embroidered, beaded dress. I so wish now I had kept it as a family heirloom.

I had a "Last Doll" for my 11th birthday, which seems in today's lifestyle, really old for a doll. The inspiration came from the book "Sarah Crewe or the little Princess", by Frances Hodgson-Burnett, where Sarah was given a grand doll with an extensive wardrobe on her 11th birthday. I saw the book serialised on television and decided that would mark the end of my "dolly" era - it didn't really, as I went on to collect costume dolls.

And no - I have no photographs of my dolls at all.

Around the age of 8, my own daughter had a collection of Cindy dolls - the British version of Barbie, I think - with a lovely wardrobe of clothes again made by my mother.

My little granddaughter shows not the slightest interest in dolls but she too struggles to find a place in bed amongst the myriad of soft toys.

So dolls remind me of my own childhood and my mother's talents - with. below. some of the dolls she later made for craft competitions and displays.

An Upside-down Cinderella Doll

My mother Kathleen Weston, nee Danson

Click HERE to discover more about Sleepovers, Dolls, Bedrooms & Banners

Saturday 23 April 2016

A-Z : I Remember...Toys

I Remember When.......

Recalling Memories of My Childhood

In my TOY box, there was no question what was my favourite - for I was a "Dolly Girl" - as told in my A-Z entry for D.

I cannot remember having a teddy and cannot recollect the soft toy I am clutching in this photograph, but I did have that popular 1950's toy (and now very politically incorrect) a golliwog in black and white checked trousers, a red jacket and bow tie - again made by my mother.

We got a new jigsaw every Christmas. The one I best remember was of a winter scene of skaters at the White Horse Inn, near Salzburg in Austria - 45 years later I actually visited the inn on holiday. Games were popular such as dominoes, snakes and ladders, ludo, tiddlywinks and colouring books and join-the-dot books - ones I enjoyed playing later with my little granddaughter.

Getting a pristine notebook to write in, was a delight, as was a blank scrapbook to show off my collection of scraps and a new pencil case, with new pencils, rubbers and sharpener to take to school at the start of the fresh term. The really classy one that everyone wanted was wooden where the top swivelled round to show the bottom compartment - the only drawback was it was heavy in your satchel.

I remember being given (from the TV series) a Muffin the Mule and a Sooty puppet and these formed a major part of the "make believe" games we played. Puppet shows were a favourite pastime with the clothes-horse and a sheet, as the theatre and simple glove puppets made from felt and bits and pieces from my mother's trimming box. I was usually the script-writer and heroine (of course) and my brother did the sound effects, with my father the hero or villain role and my mother and aunt the audience. At Christmas, led by my father we usually put on a play for the family. The one requirement was that should wear a long dress with a stole of my mother's, or as a maid wear a doily with streamers on my head. As you can gather, I liked dressing up.

I enjoyed playing at shops, so a toy till , with play money was an ideal choice. We also played at libraries, so I was in seventh heaven to be given a date stamp - and I went on to become a librarian!

Books remained one of my favourite presents for anytime of year, with Enid Blyton at the top of my list.

For my brother it was meccano, marbles, his train set, Dinky cars and Airfix models. Outside, he had his pedal car and football, whilst I had my tricycle and skipping rope to practice "crossovers" and "bumps". Yoyos and then hula hoops were a great fad in the playground - no doubt rejected these days by the "health and safety" brigade.

Looking back, toys seem very simple compared with the range today's children have in their crowded toy boxes, but none then needed batteries! I have happy memories of what we did have.

More T's

What TREATS were you given? Every Saturday evening, my father used to give us all a small bar of chocolate each - mine was a Fry's Turkish Delight.
What TV programmes did you watch?
Did you have the chance to go to the THEATRE?
What was your first introduction to TECHNOLOGY? We got our first gramophone in the late 1950's but we could not afford much in the way of records so could only choose one each to begin with. Mine was ballet music, my mother's opera, Dad's a military band - and I have no idea what my brother chose. Later I saved up my pocket money to buy in Wooldworths records of musicals (78's and 45's).

Onto U for UNIFORMS

in Case You Missed

A-Z Challenge 2016 Theme Revealed:
I Remember......Memories of Childhood

A - Autumn

B - for Babies, Books, Birthdays & Brownies

C - Clothes + Church, Chores, Christmas, Crafts & Cars

D - Dolls + Dogs & Desserts

E - Events + Eating Out & Easter F - Food + Fads & Fashion and Freedom

G - Grandparents + Games

H - Hairstyles + Hobbies, Houses & Halloween
I - Inspiring Teachers

J -Journeys & Joining

K - Kitchens & Knitting

L - Libraries M - Music + Movies N - Needles + Nativity and Names

O - Occupations

P - Poulton - My Ancestral Home
Q - The Queen's Coronation

R - Radio + Religion, Remembrance and Russia

S - Speccy Four Eyes

Thursday 8 December 2011

Advent Calendar 6: The Four LIves of Santa Claus

I came across this in my local church magazine and it made me smile. No source or acknowledgement was given, so here it is.

The Four Lives of Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus

I don't believe in Santa Claus

I am Santa Claus

I look like Santa Claus.

My mother, Kathleen Weston, nee Danson, made this "Santa Claus" many years ago for a Christmas display - just one of the many soft toys she made. She was a very talented lady, sewing well into her 80's and her personal motto is reflected in the posting Happiness is Stitching.

Advent Calendar is a daily blogging prompt from www.geneabloggers.com to encourage writers to relate their family stories and memories.

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Here I am, aged around 2, clutching a soft ball, which i think is one my mother probably made. She enjoyed making such balls from felt and embroidering the sections in contrasting colours with numbers, or motifs for sale at village fetes etc. Today the picture of my father smoking a cigarette by me, would be distinctly frowned upon!

Funnily enough I cannot remember having any favourite soft toys, though presumably the one I am clutching in this studio photo must have been high on the list.

As for other toys, I remember being given (from the TV series) a Muffin the Mule and a Sooty puppet and these formed a major part of the "make believe" games we played.    We got a new jigsaw every Christmas. The one I best remember was of a winter scene of skaters at the White Horse Inn, near Salzburg in Austria - 45 years later I actually visited the inn on holiday. Games were popular such as dominoes, snakes and ladders, ludo, tiddlywinks and colouring books and join-the-dot books.

Puppets were a favourite pastime. We would set up a makeshift theatre in the front room with the clothes-horse and a sheet, and make simple glove puppets from felt and bits and pieces from my mother's trimming box. I was usually the script-writer and my brother did the sound effects, with my father the hero or villain role and my mother and aunt the audience.

I loved getting in my Christmas stocking a pristine notebook to write in, a blank scrapbook to show off my collection of scraps and a new pencil case, with new pencils, rubbers and sharpener to take to school at the start of the fresh term. The really classy one that everyone wanted was wooden where the top swivelled round to show the bottom compartment - the only drawback was it was heavy in your satchel.

I enjoyed playing at shops, so a toy till , with play money was an ideal choice.   We also played at libraries, so I was in seventh heaven to be given a date stamp - and I went on to become a librarian!

Books remained one of my favourite presents for any time of year, with an Enid Blyton at the top of my list.

For my brother it was meccano, marbles, conkers, his train set, Dinky cars and Airfix models. Outside, he had his pedal car and football, whilst  I had my tricycle and skipping rope to practice  "crossovers" and "bumps".

Onto the next generation and my daughter's favourite toy -

donkey, ridden later by her own daughter.

Onto the next generation and my daughter's favourite toy -

donkey, ridden later by her own daughter.

And finally back to bed with a menagerie of soft toys. My daughter was never a particularly "teddy" girl - panda was her favourite. Here is Scottie dog, with two owls perched on top of him and alongside two pandas, a koala bear present from Australia and a Brownie, knitted from a pattern in "Woman's Weekly" magazine - a great source of ideas for home made toys for children.

Looking back, toys seem very simple compared with the range

today's children have in their crowded toy boxes, but none then needed batteries!

I have happy memories of what we did have.

Click HERE to read contributions from other bloggers on this week's theme.

Monday 14 February 2011

I was a "dolly girl" - I loved my dolls and soft toys, which, as my mother was a dressmaker, were the smartest in the street. With my best friend, Carol, we would wheel our prams up and down and put the dolls in their cot (an old box), with a crocheted blanket and lace trimmed pillow and quilt cover, again courtesy of my mother, or set up the doll's tea set for a tea party.

My dolls were not particularly sophisticated, though I had one that said "Mama" if you pressed it in the right place. My mother made rag dolls, but my very special doll she made me in 1953 for the Queen's Coronation, with a long fur trimmed purple velvet train, and embroidered, beaded dress. I so wish now I had kept it as a family heirloom.

I had a "Last Doll" for my 11th birthday, which seems in today's lifestyle, really old for a doll. The inspiration came from the book "Sarah Crewe or the little Princess", by Frances Hodgson-Burnett, where Sarah was given a grand doll with an extensive wardrobe on her 11th birthday. I saw the book serialised on television and decided that would mark the end of my "dolly" era - it didn't really, as I went on to collect costume dolls.

We got a new jigsaw every Christmas. The one I best remember was of a winter scene of skaters at the White Horse Inn, near Salzburg in Austria - 45 years later I actually visited the inn on holiday. Games were popular such as dominoes, snakes and ladders, ludo, tiddlywinks and colouring books and join-the-dot books.

I loved getting a pristine notebook to write in, a blank scrapbook to show off my collection of scraps and a new pencil case, with new pencils, rubbers and sharpener to take to school at the start of the fresh term. The really classy one that everyone wanted was wooden where the top swivllled round to show the bottom compartment - the only drawback was it was heavy in your satchel.

I remember being given (from the TV series) a Muffin the Mule and a Sooty puppet and these formed a major part of the "make believe" games we played. Puppets was a favourite pastime. We would set up a makeshift theatre in the front room with the clothes-horse and a sheet, and make simple glove puppets from felt and bits and pieces from my mother's trimming box. I was usually the script-writer and my brother did the sound effects, with my father the hero or villain role and my mother and aunt the audience.

I enjoyed playing at shops, so a toy till , with play money was an ideal choice.   We also played at libraries, so I was in seventh heaven to be given a date stamp - and I went on to become a librarian!

Books remained one of my favourite presents for anytime of year, with Enid Blyton at the top of my list.

For my brother it was meccano, marbles, his train set, Dinky cars and Airfix models. Outside, he had his pedal car and football, whilst  I had my tricycle and skipping rope to practice  "crossovers" and "bumps".

Looking back, toys seem very simple compared with the range today's children have in their crowded toy boxes, but none then needed batteries! I have happy memories of what we did have.

A lovely little curly headed girl with her teddy. Unfortunately this photograph was unidentified.

******************