Hollywell Bay, Here We Come!
It was my first ever trip away from home and family. A School trip for an only child.
(My Grandparents had their own off-licence in North London – just in case you think the worst of how the coin was acquired!)
On a cold morning
Many moons ago,
I stood with trembling heart,
Hand in Hand with Granny.
‘Are you excited?’ She asked.
I smiled with lies in my eyes
A masque of innocence
On every pore and cranny.
Grandpa pressed a large coin
Into my free hand palm,
And gently secured it tight –
Folding my fingers over.
My divining sense knew it;
Knew where it came from,
What it was – a half-crown.
I could see him open the till
And select the shiniest coin
To give me security and Strength.
I needed those two shields,
And I felt them too
As my left foot, risen,
Secured the bus’s first step.
The weight of my new rucksack
Pulling to reverse my climb –
‘A small step for mankind’
Had not then been spoken,
But still, I took a giant leap –
Toward the camping trip from hell…
Hollywell Bay, here we come!
I connected with as I was a rather timid little boy and even though I never went on camping trips, I still remember the feelings I had when I first attended primary and later secondary school. Things did change, however, when I went on a school trip to Germany when I was about fourteen. It was supposed to help us learn more German but mostly we leaned how to smoke, drink and chat up frauleins. (can’t do the umaut)
memories……
As Guaj said, times change and what seemed hell to a young child become treasured memories in later years.
A very enjoyable poem, Griffonner.
🙂 Luigi. Sadly, I have one vivid memory from this life’s experience, and I could possibly sully the page by describing it! I will say that teacher supervision appeared to be sadly lacking… but… it was a long time ago, and as we all know things were different then.
Thank you for reading and commenting, I greatly appreciate it.
Allen
Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
I wasn’t old enough to indulge in such teenage debauchery, and, to be frank, would have been too shy to do so anyway. (*SIGH – I WISH*)
My memory of the actual event is that I would have better enjoyed having my finger nails pulled out!!
Pretty much how I felt about my first days at a new school 🙂
Oh my! How I too remember the feeling of a half crown in my hand. It was a small fortune and felt like I had won the pools. 😉 On first reading I laughed. It could come over as funny along the lines of “Hello Mother, Hello Father here we are at Camp Granada” However, on second reading, I realised that this was a very scary experience for a young boy (only child) amid the hustle and bustle of those sorts of outings. So many of us realise now, just how risky, being put into the care of people who… Read more »
I’m always thanking you, Alison. I much appreciate the thought and time you put into your commenting. Thank you. You are absolutely spot on with the inherent dangers of such a trip at that time! My brush with sexual abuse of a minor (me) came around the same time when my Father made me join the then Church Lads Brigade. I incorporated the event in “Pathway to the Top”. I never told him about it, just endured the punishment for refusing to go to the meetings any more. We never had ‘counselling’ in those days either, did we? I often… Read more »
The dread of the unknown. You have rekindled memories of childhood school trips. The feelings of insecurity and nervousness. Excellent.
I imagine there are some children who somehow never experienced those feelings. There must be some, somewhere. But for the majority of us, I think we all have an inkling of what I was feeling that morning in 1950’s Friern Barnet!
It is nice to hear how reading my post rekindled momories for you, I do hope they weren’t too bad.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I greatly appreciate your having taken the time to tell me your impressions.
Allen