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| Taken in my pal's back garden a couple of nights ago |
It was sometime in 1969 (if I recall correctly), that a classmate offered to sell me some back issues of Fantastic and Terrific, which I eagerly accepted. I accompanied him back to his house after school, whereupon his mother told him to give them to me for nothing, presumably because they were only going to be thrown out to clear some space in a cupboard. Understandably, he wasn't too happy, but reluctantly complied with his mother's instruction. (I've never forgotten sitting at the top of the stairs, looking through the comics that I was about to acquire.) I eventually made it up to him around three and a bit years later by giving him (unprompted) just slightly more than the amount originally agreed upon, as I was still feeling a tiny bit guilty about him being deprived of the whopping sum of either one shilling and thruppence or one and ninepence. (I gave him ten new pence, being two shillings in 'old' money, the extra remuneration being 'interest'.)
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| A replacement, acquired in 1980, for one of the comics I got in 1969 |
It was to be 18 years before I returned to his house on three more occasions in the late '80s and early '90s, when he was there visiting or staying with his parents after living and working abroad. Fast forward almost 30 years, and I've now been in his family home at least another dozen times since April this year, as he's been travelling up from England (where he now lives, and has done for a long time) to prepare the house for putting on the market, 55 years after his family first moved in back in 1965. (Sadly, his elderly mother has dementia and had to go into a care home last December as she can no longer look after herself.) In fact, he's been staying in the house for almost the last three weeks (with it going up for sale only a few days ago), and he started back down to England this morning, currently being sat on a train in transit as I type.
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| The actual size replica photo, in my friend's house |
Anyway, back in 1987, my pal gave me his original copy of a primary school class photograph taken in the playground just outside the annexed huts, as the one I'd owned had been lost, damaged, or thrown out back in the late '70s or early '80s. The plan was that I'd have it copied and returned to him, but he generously let me keep it and supply him with an enlargement in its place. The original had been snapped in 1967 by a departing teacher, presumably to remember her pupils by, and she had a number of extra copies developed to give one to each of us. (I say 'give', but I can no longer recall whether they were free or we had to pay for the privilege.)
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| A scan of the original photo... |
I've now had that photo for a whopping 33 years (which is nearly three times as long as I had my own copy of it), but, like with the comics, I've always felt a bit guilty about my pal being deprived of the original print he'd had from his '60s primary school days, even though I'd supplied him with a bigger, newer, professionally produced copy to replace it. On the back of the original pic was printed 'Gratispool Sep 1967', missing from the new copy as, par for the course, only the front pictorial image had been duplicated, not the back. However, I felt that the info on the back reflected the time it was first taken as much as the front and was incomplete without it, so I recently decided to remedy the situation.
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| ...and the back. Unsure if date is when it was taken or developed |
Being the proud possessor of an excellent scanner and printer, I decided to scan both sides of the main photo and print out an actual-size copy, then present it to my pal so that it could spend some time in the very same house where the original had resided for 20 years before passing into my hands. Things had turned full circle, the 'master copy' having come from that house, and its doppelganger having returned to it while still owned by one of the first tenants, the very person who gave me the photo 33 years ago. It's now on its way to somewhere in England, tucked safely away in my pal's luggage, but the fact it (okay then, if you want to be picky, an exact duplicate) made it back to where it started from - even if only for several days - gives me an immense sense of satisfaction. It feels like I've finally completed an unfinished task.
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| My pal's house - now up for sale |
It's fairly safe to assume that my pal probably doesn't share my outlook to the same (or even any) extent as I do, but to me, it's a case of 'there and back again' (sort of) and that provides me with a huge measure of pleasure. Bonkers I know, but it's always good to complete the circle, don't you think? To my mind, it's the end of an era, as - even should my pal have to return to deal with anything concerning its sale - it's by no means certain he'll get to set foot inside the house again before it changes hands, never mind spend another night in it. So it just seems immensely fitting to me that, henceforth, whenever he looks at that photo, not only will he associate its image with his old house when he first lived there as a child, but also from when just before, as an adult, he left it for perhaps the final time prior to another family eventually assuming ownership of it.
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| Oh, go on then - one more of the replica |
Well, don't know about you, but I find that touching. The comment section patiently awaits your thoughts (if any). Feel free to say how mad you think I am, 'cos I don't think I could dispute it with any measure of confidence.
Priceless memories my friend. I understand the closing of the circle, or your circle so to speak. Primary school is for the majority of kids a great place though secondary and grammar tend to be a different matter. That image of a sunny day with all those smiling faces is a snapshot in time that even though we can never return to the past, the image will live with us forever and reminds us of a simpler time when the sun shone high in the sky, everyday was an adventure and troubles never entered our thoughts! Lightening in a, bottle that remains pure and will never be tainted. I wasn't in the photo but it reminds me of those classic school photos where you used to be able to name every person and now you cannot recall certain faces! Loved the 1960s and 1970s.....would love to go back. Great post mate.
ReplyDeleteTa much, Triple F, and nicely put. There's at least one person in that photo who never made it past the age of 18 or 19, and there's around three or four that I know of who now live in Australia, having emigrated there many years ago (one in 1968 or '69). Others I still see walking about occasionally, some I haven't seen in decades and don't know what happened to them, yet there we all are in the photo. I wonder if the teacher is still alive (Miss or Mrs. Tighe was her name, though I'm not sure about the spelling). I'm glad I was able to return an actual sized duplicate with the Gratispool name (and the date) on the back, to the house it started from and to the person who gave me the original 34 years back. Yup, circle completed. Your appreciation is appreciated.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post Kid, I'm also selling my deceased Mom & dads house,i Lived in it from 86-
ReplyDelete2000,They lived in it till last may, when my mom had to go into a home, her Alzheimer's was really bad, and my dad into hospital with pneumonia, Both died last Dec, within 4 days of each other, so me & my partner have been going back and forth (From Nottingham) to Tamworth to clear it, there was so much stuff, eventually house clearance came in, so now its empty, and even more sad!..It just reminded me of what your friend is going through.
Such a shame about your parents, RD. I don't know if it's any consolation (not the best word, I know) to you that they both went within such a short space of time - it might've been too painful for one to survive for too long a time without the other. If you believe in an afterlife, at least they're both together again somewhere, which is a nice thought to hold onto. Hope you got lots of photos of inside and outside the house to remind you of happier times.
ReplyDeleteHi Kid...Thank You, yes i have lots of Pics and footage on my phone,plus a few keepsakes from the house, ornaments i associate with the house & them, very much like yourself.
ReplyDeleteI find that tangible reminders help reinforce the memories, RD, as you obviously do too. I wish I had more photos of me inside some of my former houses when I lived there though; my parents never seemed to take interior photos, probably because my father had an old 'Box Brownie' camera throughout the '60s, which didn't have a flash.
ReplyDeleteI'm Fortunate to have had A Polaroid camera in the 70's, must have been a Present, although i have no memory of it as a present, so it may have been my dads, even though i always seemed to be using it, so i have a few of the interior of the house i lived in from 66-86, on Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, I loved living there, and associate nearly all my great Memories with it, Comics Tv shows, Toys Ect..
ReplyDeleteBefore that my family lived in the Holmes,the first Modern flats built in Brum, ours was pretty much next to the Birmingham City Football Ground, all the family was involved in that Club, and My Nan & my Aunt also lived in the Holmes, a few doors down
So there were many Family Get-Together's.
A wonderful Time, I have a Vivid memory of One of my Cousins presenting me with a Wind Up Stingray toy..wish i still had it!
I don't think it would've occurred to my parents to take interior photos even if they'd had a flash, RD, because to them, they mainly took photos when we were on holiday, or had visitors. There are a few shots out in the front or back gardens of a couple of houses, but most were taken by visitors who gave us copies, with only 3 I can think of (off the top of my head) taken by my parents - and they're dutch-tilted with heads cut off, as well as light leaking in at the edges.
ReplyDeleteI've got that Stingray toy - it was by Lone Star, and there's a picture of it on the blog somewhere. I've also got the '90s one by Vivid Imaginations, which is the same idea, but quite a bit more detailed.
I've just realised that you probably mean the clockwork Stingray. It's the rubber band powered one (you wind-up the propeller) that I've got.
ReplyDeleteHi Kid, yes I Have The Vivid one as well, pretty cool it is too, i think it was the Clockwork one i had.
ReplyDeleteThe Vivid one is a good toy, but unfortunately some of the blue colouring turns green over time.
ReplyDeleteI Liked the Vivid range of Anderson toys, i was still collecting at the time, the art work was fantastic, the Stingray Marineville was really good, If only the UFO re-shows had been more successful, we might have had some great Figures & toys, i was hoping for a UFO interceptor, Like the Vivid large angels One, but it never happened, it was a good run of merch while it lasted.
ReplyDeleteThere was a UFO Interceptor (with UFO) made by Product Enterprise (or Character Options or whatever they were calling themselves at the time) a few years back, RD, and it's very nice indeed. Take a look on ebay to see what it looked like.
ReplyDeleteYes Ive seen that, it is great, The Mobile too.Superb.
ReplyDeleteMine are still in their box - I've never had a chance to display them. Same goes for a whole load of other metal models.
ReplyDelete