Ok, I’m not losing it (well not entirely), just wildly misquoting Lord of the Rings.

What things in your childhood stand out for you? In terms of your environment? I grew up (mostly) in one house.

The thing I remember a lot about it, was that the street was lined with the most beautiful old Oak trees. They were absolutely huge, and must have been around for a long time. Way more time than some of the houses anyway, although many of them were big old houses, built back when people still took pride in their work.

It was the kind of house, where as a kid I was convinced that if I moved a piece of fretwork on the mantlepiece ‘just so’ that I would discover some kind of secret passage. Or my own private entrance to Narnia!

I also had my very own balcony, from which I could be Rapunzel, and Juliette later on, and onto which my brother who was five years older than me would climb, when he’d accidently locked himself out, after sneaking out in the first place.  Good times!   It was a pretty unique semi-circular balcony, but it had a great view, and I will always remember it.

I remember that we had the most fantastic huge pool, with a diving board! A pool you could actually do lengths in, and really feel like you were getting exercise. The birthday party I had, where we spent most of the time in the pool bobbing for corks which I’d collected for months before. The idea was that you had to collect as many as you could for a prize. Using only your hands – and you’d have to go back and forth.  I remember that there were like prizes for the first five, with the most corks. I was third. I totally expected win a prize, even though it was *my* party. What a brat!

I remember the loquat tree down in the bottom garden that you could climb, and on the limbs of which I sat, completely obscured from view of the house, and had my first cigarette aged 11.  Pinched from my mother’s stash of Courtley 2o’s. I reckon that’s the only way I got away with it too – because my mom smoked at that time, and thus didn’t smell it on me.  Hey I remembered the brand of ciggies my mom used to smoke. Huh funny.

I remember the exact patch of wall where I used to spend hours practicing my tennis swing by punting the ball back and forth. The basketball hoop. The sun room. Our library. The den. The study. The sewing room. The freakishly huge, though harmless rain spiders that would occasionally pay us a visit. Why did they always arrive in twos!?

It’s also the house in that we grew apart as a family. It was so damn huge that we could spend a whole weekend barely seeing one another, each tucked away in our own sections, with our own TVs doing our own thing.

It’s funny isn’t it, the things we remember.

What about your childhood environment do you remember the most?

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