A family holiday as a young teen when it rained every day…However much fun was had, and memories were made…
Rainy Day Memory....
Today it is warm and rainy…not unpleasant, with a soft, gentle breeze…It reminded me of a holiday back when I was a young teen. As a family we went for a week to Scarborough, a seaside Town on the East coast of the UK…about 50 miles from where we live in Hull….it has two bays and sandy beaches split by a headland which bears the 12th century Scarborough Castle. It also has a large Park, ‘Peasholme…’which is very pleasant, with a large lake, and back then had a very real looking Pirate ship upon it, complete with billowing white sails etc. The ship visited an island nearby in the middle of the lake where the occupants (mainly kids, but with some excited parents too) were encouraged to find ‘gold’ Spanish doubloons in the sand…such good fun!, .. Pirates on board all dressed the part…Tricorne hats, eye patches and all 'ME HEARTIES!!
This particular week of our yearly holiday it rained heavily every single day…Dad went out shopping, and brought back a BINGO game for all the family to play in the flat where we were staying…and some little prizes too for the winners….It was such good fun, despite the weather…, and lots of laughter too…Dad also tried to make a fire in the grate as it was quite cold, but that is another story for another time! Mam was in charge of providing the food to keep us happy and tummies well filled…she always did a splendid job!
A memorable day this week was a trip out to Peasholme Park in the pouring rain to the ‘Milk Train’…this was a portable set of two Railway Carriages where milk shakes of many different colours, and flavours could be bought…a real treat back then, and it was there for the one week only…our holiday week…Dad had to park the car at the edge of the Park, and Mum, Dad, myself my two sisters and young brother trekked across the soaking wet grass in Summer sandals ( no Wellingtons with us!) to reach this ‘oasis of interest’ during this rainy week’s holiday, which had prevented us going onto the beach, making sandcastles and having a cool paddle in the North Sea…However, we all had fun choosing the colours and flavours of our milk together, and we sat at a little table drinking our milk shakes noisily though stripey straws, and looking through the Carriage windows at the pouring rain outside, …but the beautiful lush greenery that surrounded us, and the togetherness of this simple experience left its strong imprint in my memory forever, and this morning, as the soft, warm rain fell amongst the lush greenery of our garden… , the memory was triggered, and I was lucky enough to relive it again…
Such a simple pleasure we enjoyed back then, and nothing much at all by todays standards for kids entertainment, but so vastly and happily incomparable in my memory…
My family was split into 8 different directions very early in my life. So I have no set of cohesive good memories to fall back on. But I can dream, and ponder, and arrive at bits of make-believe that sustain me. I am not whining, rather I'm suggesting that all our early lives are precious, and someplace, somewhere we will all get to come back to a wonderful re-union. Then I am going to check you out, Diana!
Ed
Such a fine sharing, Diana. I find some memories from my childhood to be very vivid and always easy to recall. Much enjoyed! Love, peace, and best wishes to you,
GOOD OR BAD...IT'S THE 'LITTLE THINGS' THAT LEAVE DENTS IN OUR MEMORIES. I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS SHARING, DIANA...WHAT A FANTASTIC, HEART WARMING RECALL THAT A RAINY DAY PROVOKED. THANKS FOR SHARING. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...HIS+INSPIRATIONS
I’m glad you received this outpouring of appreciation for your story here, Diana. It gives us a plenty good helping of wholesomeness, which you spread out in lovely detail we can identify with (especially us elder readers), because it speaks of the ‘simplicity’ of just being together with family. And the setting not needing artificial entertainment, just stripey straws and togetherness. I love it. ~~ the other Diana
that was visually and mentally stimulating. I can hear the rain, the sound of the Bingo, the cheers, laughter and slurping noises you have shared with your family, such a lovely memory.
You have such a way with words, that transport me into the experiences you share. What a wonderful memory of a time of innocence, depicted so well, I can see the colors and tase those milk shakes with stripes straws. A very nice story told with evident love for happy times and simple pleasures.
I wonder when it is we change from loving a summer rain and getting wet to only going out with rain gear and umbrellas. Like you I loved the outings my family took to the beach and when it rained it would be the best time to be in the water. Thanks for awakening long forgotten memories...
Oh Diana, I was there with you and your family during the family vacation when it rained. It seems that many of your usual activities were put on hold, but being together with family, enjoying the simple pleasantries of life, turned out to be one of your most memorable times of childhood. As I said, I was there with you and family, enjoying the moment, but, at the same time, I took a few steps back into my own Appalachian boyhood, where life was probably much different than anything you ever experienced. Still, there was plenty of food, ample clothing, and shelter over our head—the necessities of life. But beyond these things there was lots of love and enjoyment of life. Now that I am in the latter years of life, I look back and know I wouldn’t trade the years of my youth for anything life has to offer today. Thank you, Diana, for taking me with you on your “Rainy Day Memory.” I enjoyed it tremendously.
I really loved how descriptive you were about these beloved places from your childhood and how the rain could put a damper on what you wanted to do. You managed to show the brightness that shined through. Especially when you described how wonderful the landscape looked when it was soaked with rain.
You reminded me of our northern Wisconsin where sometimes it can rain for days. But you're right about the dark days tending to bring out the brightness of fauna and flora, especially in the fall when the leaves have changed making the colors more intense and the greens, greener.
When I took my younger brothers on a second hundred mile canoe trip in the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Ontario, it was cold and rained five of the seven days. But we ate hot meals by the campfire, slept well and dry without any mosquitoes, and paddled on through the pattering rain and gloom. My younger brothers wanted to hurry back and get a hamburger. I just wanted to stay there forever.
It's so rewarding to read of simple pleasures and rewards that Nature provides. It truly rises above the technocratic world we are beholden to today for work, pleasure, and escape. Your portrait of rain as a soothing and pacifying element in life is sincerely appreciated. Write on.
Good morning (here in SoCal) What a beautifully written story, Diana.
I am sure that everyone reading this will feel that little longing pain in their stomach that says :I want to be there again!
One of the nice thing about being a writer: we can go back! And if we do it well enough, we will bring people back with us.
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