Treasure In The Attic

Finally, when the accumulated detritus of 20 years must go ...



... the rusted locks of my mother's old suitcase have to be bust open.

And inside, treasure!  

At least if you're a writer. Because which of us wouldn't give our eye-teeth to re-glimpse the world as we knew it at six years of age?

Between the uniform grey covers of Gloucestershire Education Committee's school exercise books, there are stories and news!

So what was little Deborah's world like, 47 years ago?  Well, funnily enough, not that different.  

Tuesday 20th June

I went to a party and I was not invited.  

We are going to Devon and while were dawn there Mummy and daddy our buying me a budgerigar. Thay gave me a cage for by briday but they did not give me a budgerigar yet and I know way because he may die and we would not like that.  If he does not die we are going to teach him to talk.

Yesterday it was remembrance day and we had to minutes silence and my threepenny bit dropped ... Aunty Betty's brother died in the war and the man said Ken reed and that is Auntie Betty's brother

I have one Nanny and no Grammy my Grammy died my other Nanny died and my other Grammy died too. my Nanny may die if she does I will have no Nanny or Grammy then what shall we do 

It's not all death and anxiety ...

Thursday 28th September

At Shaldon there is an ness.  which is called the mouth of the river tame you can walk. We go up into a field and we have a rest. and then we go down by the duck pond.

... but the child is clearly the mother of the woman.

Wednesday 15th November

Yesterday I fell off my scooter. I hurt my nose, my leg and my lep.  My lep bled and mummy held her handkerchief to it and then she gave the handkerchief to me and I held it to my lip. Mummy felt so sorry for me. Mrs Fowlls [my teacher] saw me but she did not say anything. This morning she said did you do that yesterday and I said yes I did. After I fell off my mummy said that I could have some sweets but she said have something that costs 3d but I could not and I had to have some thing 6d.