Sometimes I am random and to celebrate this I would like to share a silly selection of childhood Afropolitan memories:
- Rice stored in the margarine container in the fridge rather than tupperware.
- School pack lunch placed in an ice cream tub, much to your embarrassment, whilst all your other friends had nice, child friendly tupperware. To be fair, this only lasted for a short period of time (thanks Dad for the intervention).
- Sandwich fillings – when your mum decides to make your packed lunch for a school trip and includes sardines, mackerel, boiled eggs- basically the smelliest fillings she can find deliberately designed to embarrass you. Meanwhile all your friends are eating Dairylea and cheese and ham.
- Old clothes used as floor rags.
- Always had a tin of ‘African milk’- condensed milk in the cupboard just in case.
- Old tights being used as a bedtime scarf.
- Mum styled your hair in threads because it grows your hair quickly but really it’s just an invitation for ridicule.
- Parents generous with their wisdom and their backhands too.
- You had to ask before you could help yourself to a snack at home.
- Saturday morning was spent food shopping and the dreaded visit to the market.
- You remember using the ‘broom’ even though you had a Hoover that worked perfectly fine.
- Having to do chores on Saturday before going out to play and feeling like you are missing out even though eventually the parents would let you- FREEDOM!
- Child of the 80’s living in London, I guarantee your front room had one of the following; brick wall paper, beaded curtains or a random cocktail bar.
- Visiting that one relative on the weekend when you really didn’t want to but had no choice. Felt like temporary imprisonment /punishment when all your friends were out playing and you were made to go against your will. Worst of all that person’s home was so BORING- nothing remotely child friendly about that environment but you had to suck it up!
- The ice cream van in the summer- 50p- screwballs/ Feast or the 99 – ice cream with the strawberry sauce and chocolate flake – brought many a smile to my face as a child!
What random childhood memories do you have? Would love to hear them x
