MY CHILDHOOD CHRISTMAS DAY...

 My Childhood Christmas Day…

Each year was the same,

Or so it seemed.

A hunched pillow-case of white linen,

Bulky, its contents making sharp angles,

Simply begged to be investigated.

And I dreamed

Each year for the same,

Or so it seemed…

Toffees nestling in tins,

More than one ‘selection box’;

A gun in its holster,

Fruit stuffed inside socks.

Plastic cowboys or army figures,

Dinky Toy car reproductions;

Liquorice replicas of smokers’ pipes, 

Metal puzzles with crass instructions.

A fixed set of annuals,

Desperately sought

But disappointment was palpable

If any hadn’t been bought…

A pathetic compendium of games,

Sweet cigarettes tight in a packet;

But no golf-club for me it seemed,

Or even a tennis racket…

The awful painting by numbers,

Truly tedious, a terrible bore,

Always abandoned unfinished:

A long and intricate chore.

I hated too those awful figures

For rubber moulds mildly quaint,

To be messily filled with wet plaster

Then when dry being forced to paint.

But the horror for me was to unwrap

What caused total mental destruction:

Something technical, or mechanical,

Which entailed any kind of construction… 

Yet I guess the most acceptable

Gift of all for me was a ball:

A present simply to kick and head

Against the back-garden wall…

And so each year was the same,

Or so it seems now.

The stripped wrap of garish colours

Strewn, the contents making strange piles,

Simply begging to be investigated.

And I dreamed

Next year for the same,

Or so it then seemed…

Pete Ray

(Revised) Christmas Day 2021…

PAINTING BY NUMBERS: OMG...
NEVER FINISHED ONE.

It really did seem to be the same year after year.

It wasn’t, I’m sure.

LOVED THESE...

Charles Buchan’s Soccer Gift Book, the Roy of the Rovers Annual and the Dennis the Menace Annual were the must-have books.

Dinky Toy cars, model soldiers, cowboys and American Native Indians were welcome.

DINKY TOYS.
MANAGED TO RE-COLLECT MY FAVOURITES...

PLAYED FOR HOURS WITH THESE...

Liquorice and toffee were good. Selection boxes were cop-outs for buyers but those construction kits, such as Bayko, or Meccano were mind wrecking gifts of hell for me. 

NOOOOOOOOO!

Left-handed, you see… 

(My excuse and nothing will shake that.) 

A ball? Great stuff. 

AH, YES...

Presents left in piles and I was going outside whatever the weather, to kick my new ball. 

It’s what I did…