... Aged four (holiday story). in tell me a story about when you were...

This was our second visit to the sloping gardened house in Dorset. The lizards were still there and I had the most beautiful purple, flowery swimsuit (remember, this was the seventies so you know what I’m talking about!). We spent a lot of time on the beach and loved it - we would leave the garden by the gate at the bottom, walk along the footpath and go down some stairs to the beach.

One afternoon we were walking along when a seagull needed to go, but I digress. My dad has a great sense of humour but once in a while he forgets how to laugh at himself… Well, that seagull did its poo right on my dad’s hair - his black hair. Black hair, white poo, you know!! We all laughed and carried on laughing as he stomped home, the black mood accentuating the poo even more! He spent ages in the shower and complained that it just wouldn’t wash out! Ha ha ha! Poor dad!

The beach had that lovely, dark British sand and I sat, happy as anything, with my bucket and spade. I dug holes that filled with water and splashed it around, just living in the present, as children do. There was a big pool a little further up the sand with some large stones nearby. Big bro and I spent quite a while picking up the stones and splashing them into the water - I wince at how close to my toes that thing must have landed!!

I used up my first feline life on this holiday. My dad, brother and older sister went deeper into the sea. I was told I was too little to go and had to stay with mum and li’l sis (who was 15 months old by then). I really wanted to join their adventure, I couldn’t quite see over the waves but I knew that where they were going had an adventure so I followed them. I could see their heads above the waves, getting further away. Big sis’s long hair swaying as she walked through the sea, all holding hands. But the sea suddenly stopped feeling safe, I was no longer in control and it was washing over my head, my feet no longer feeling grounded. I felt panic set in and then became aware of mum, she was running into the sea, shouting to dad and grabbing me out of the water.

I told you, mum and safety were a very equal balance throughout my childhood 😊❤💕🐻