Domestic Archaeology
Putting things back after the decorators produces experiences like those freak seismic upheavals which bring to light small treasure troves from years long past. Thus, I find a small pile of slim booklets, roughly 10cm by 14cm in size, on the bottom shelf of our mostly still empty bookcase.
- Good Lord, Alison - where did you find my I-Spy books?
- Oh, in Tom's room.
- What on earth were they doing there? I didn't know they even still existed!
Well, that's the mystery. These little books, some of which actually belonged to my sister (at least, she wrote her name in them, which may or may not be proof) are relics of the 1950s and 1960s. I'm quite sure I didn't 'bring them into the marriage', so the likelihood is that they were somehow preserved, as in aspic, by my parents, and at some stage given by them to Tom, when he was younger. This may, as it happens, be the only way parents can get their grown-up children to take back the stuff they left 'at home' when they moved out.
For those who haven't come across or don't remember the I-Spy books, they were published by the News Chronicle, and later the Daily Mail which took it over. They were designed to encourage children's curiosity by getting them to take an interest in the things they saw in the world around them, by scoring points for what they saw. The complete list of what we have here is:
No.2 On the Farm
No.3 History
No.4 On a Train Journey
No.6 In the Country
No.7 At the Zoo: Animals
No.9 In the Street
No.10 On the Road
No.11 The Sights of London
No.16 Cars
No.19 Sport
No.21 Musical Instruments
No.25 Road Transport
No.29 People in Uniform
No.32 Sports Cars
No.34 The Land
No.38 On the Pavement
No.39 Churches
These all cost sixpence each - that's 6d, folks, not 6p - except for the single volume in colour - Wild Flowers - which cost one shilling.
And then a clue: one book looks much more recent in style. I-Spy Trees, price 35p, which tells us in childish writing and pencil, that the Lombardy poplar was seen 'In front of Broadmead Lower School'. This is the equivalent of carbon dating, for Broadmead Lower School in Stewartby, Bedfordshire, was indeed the school Tom first attended at the age of 4. This confirms that he had this book as a child, and Nanny or Grandad told him, 'Your daddy used to have lots of I-Spy books: here they are!'
These are wondrous nuggets of the ancient history that is still within living memory. Whether it's the possibility of seeing a chair mender or a knife-grinder (On the Pavement), or the latest in Cars: Riley Elf ('A more luxurious version of the Austin Mini and Morris Mini-Minor'), NSU Prinz 4, Hillman Husky or Goggomobil Royal 700, it conjures up a world of childhood which the TV-fed children of today could only wonder at. 'Did they have dinosaurs too, when you were young, daddy?'
- Good Lord, Alison - where did you find my I-Spy books?
- Oh, in Tom's room.
- What on earth were they doing there? I didn't know they even still existed!
Well, that's the mystery. These little books, some of which actually belonged to my sister (at least, she wrote her name in them, which may or may not be proof) are relics of the 1950s and 1960s. I'm quite sure I didn't 'bring them into the marriage', so the likelihood is that they were somehow preserved, as in aspic, by my parents, and at some stage given by them to Tom, when he was younger. This may, as it happens, be the only way parents can get their grown-up children to take back the stuff they left 'at home' when they moved out.
For those who haven't come across or don't remember the I-Spy books, they were published by the News Chronicle, and later the Daily Mail which took it over. They were designed to encourage children's curiosity by getting them to take an interest in the things they saw in the world around them, by scoring points for what they saw. The complete list of what we have here is:
No.2 On the Farm
No.3 History
No.4 On a Train Journey
No.6 In the Country
No.7 At the Zoo: Animals
No.9 In the Street
No.10 On the Road
No.11 The Sights of London
No.16 Cars
No.19 Sport
No.21 Musical Instruments
No.25 Road Transport
No.29 People in Uniform
No.32 Sports Cars
No.34 The Land
No.38 On the Pavement
No.39 Churches
These all cost sixpence each - that's 6d, folks, not 6p - except for the single volume in colour - Wild Flowers - which cost one shilling.
And then a clue: one book looks much more recent in style. I-Spy Trees, price 35p, which tells us in childish writing and pencil, that the Lombardy poplar was seen 'In front of Broadmead Lower School'. This is the equivalent of carbon dating, for Broadmead Lower School in Stewartby, Bedfordshire, was indeed the school Tom first attended at the age of 4. This confirms that he had this book as a child, and Nanny or Grandad told him, 'Your daddy used to have lots of I-Spy books: here they are!'
These are wondrous nuggets of the ancient history that is still within living memory. Whether it's the possibility of seeing a chair mender or a knife-grinder (On the Pavement), or the latest in Cars: Riley Elf ('A more luxurious version of the Austin Mini and Morris Mini-Minor'), NSU Prinz 4, Hillman Husky or Goggomobil Royal 700, it conjures up a world of childhood which the TV-fed children of today could only wonder at. 'Did they have dinosaurs too, when you were young, daddy?'
posted by Tony at 9/29/2004 10:13:00 am
2 Comments:
oh yes! I'd forgotten all about those - so many happy hours ticking off stuff we spotted on lengthy trogs through the countryside on a sunday afternoon...
I have to report that as late as the mid 90s (that's 1990s, just in case the archaeological innuendos are overwhelming!) my sons were pursuing "Diggers and Dumpers" around the country...think we may have done horses and ponies with Luci too, but that's more of a hazy memory.
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