My dear grandparents died within 6 months of each other back in 1996. They had been married for 65 years and had raised 6 children with my dad being one of them. I have wonderful memories of my childhood with them .... they used to pack us older grandchildren up and take us off camping most summer weekends. We started in a tent and then progressed to a caravan and mainly visited the Essex/Suffolk coast where we wandered with fishing nets and caught sticklebacks, flew kites and went cockling on the Jaywick mud flats.
Part of the camping equipment was the deckchairs and when their house had to be cleared two of their old directors chairs were sitting in the shed and nobody else wanted them so they came home with me. Here we all are circa 1962
I am sitting in the one on the left of the photo, my cousin is in the foreground and you can just see a third on the right. Grandma sits next to the empty chair and grandad stands behind her.
Well this is how they looked last year when I re-discovered them collecting dust in my shed
This morning they were stripped of the tatty fabric, sanded down, wiped and then a liberal coat of Briwax was applied. I left them till after lunch and then with Tony Blackburn playing on the radio in the background they had a good polish and I started to get the fabric ready to re-cover them.
It's funny how music can trigger memories and the hits from 1962 that he was playing today took me back to Sunday morning visits to my grandparents house. Grandad would be in the garden, grandma was in the kitchen getting dinner ready and the smell of lemon meringue pie wafted through. In the background their old brown leather Bush radio would be playing all the tunes that I was listening to today .... Matt Munro, Brenda Lee, Acker Bilk, Del Shannon, Kenny Ball, Sam Cooke, Roy Orbison .... I was transported.
Well by the end of this afternoon the job was done .... both chairs finished and here is a photo of one of them
Not bad for around 50 years old and lots of life left in them yet xx
Lovely memories!
ReplyDeleteYou've made a great job of those chairs! I was listening to Tony Blackburn this morning too .... but it was just a little bit before my time. I belong to the late sixties really!
xxx
Golly that takes me back - Sunday lunch with two way family favourites and the Billy Cotton Band show in our house, I only have to smell roast lamb and I'm transported. You've made a great job of the chairs - our new ones were quite expensive.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a tot my mother cooked Sunday lunch to the sound of Forces' Favourites hosted by the Orange Lady, Judith Chalmers.
ReplyDeleteThose chairs really look super and and now you'll be using them for decades :O)
Isn't it strange how music can just take you back to a moment in time, gives me goosebumps. A really lovely post and happy memories xx
ReplyDeleteYou did a grand job there Debbie. Love the old photo of everyone. Jane's comment re "Two Way Family Favourites and the Billy Cotton Band Show" took me back though.........
ReplyDeleteThey look great and how wonderful to have them and the memories they stir. Gorgeous photos.
ReplyDeleteThey're lovely Lala!! Wouldn't your grandparents be so pleased to see them all renovated, and living on in your garden?
ReplyDeleteThey certainly don't make things like they used to!!!
Sharon xx