Rewinding back in time - Memoir Monday

avatar
(Edited)

Rewinding to the early 60s, is quite something, a very long walk down memory lane!

What was my favourite store and how did we get to 'town', the term we used for the city centre, way back then?

I was born in Port Elizabeth, a coastal city in the Eastern Cape.

Going to 'town' was an exciting event! Most times it would be the 'ladies' and my youngest uncle - Mom, Ouma, Mom's youngest sister, my favourite uncle, who was our dressmaker, and me. On those occasions, we would go by bus, which made it even more of an adventure. Well, that's how it felt for me.

Greenacres

My favourite was Greenacres which was filled with tempting goods of all kind; one would find anything and everything there, but the best was the smart restaurant in the middle of the store. I felt so grown-up and grand sitting at one of those tables where we would order jam and cream scones with tea or coffee, waffles with syrup and cream plus a double-thick milkshake, or a hearty lunch meal.

When the Christmas holidays were approaching, the whole family would pile into the car to watch the Christmas lights in the main city street; we were five children and I was the only girl. Don't even ask how we managed to get into that car, but they were bigger than today's cars.

Off-topic - Drive-in Theatres

Which reminds me, although totally off-topic, whenever we went to the drive-in theatres, only six were allowed per car; we were seven in total. My youngest brother would lie by our feet, covered in one of the blankets we took with, and once through the gates, he'd come up for air.
Not sure if any of you remember those drive-ins? We would take camp chairs with us and sit outside the car on a hot night, or us older kids could go and find a seat in a designated area for those without cars.

Father Christmas photo shoots

Back to my favourite store, Christmas time meant Father Christmas would be coming to our home on Christmas Eve to bring gifts, but we had to be good kids; very difficult for my four brothers, who all were real rascals!

This funny old man would sit at Greenacres during the day, and we could have our photos taken while sitting on his lap, or on our Mom's lap next to him if we were afraid of this bearded old man. We'd be bursting with excitement to see what was inside those 'lucky packets'.
Remember those colourful 'lucky packet' boxes filled with gifts - all kinds of cheap plastic toys, puzzles, and sweets, but they were a must-have to start the holidays, and have our photo taken with dear old/ funny old, Father Christmas!

We all firmly believed in this generous man who would magically bring gifts on Christmas Eve, and did not even think twice about the fact that he looked different every year at Greenacres!

Mom had a photo of me sitting on Father Christmas's lap, but I hunted high and low, and could not find it. I will add it to this post if it pops up.

This is one of my brothers, a bewildered baby sitting on my aunt's lap. I must say this Father Christmas looks very funny and must have been an odd sight for a little baby!
Brown Vintage Scrapbook Note Page Border.png
Edited using Canva

Window Shopping

I could not resist sharing a different kind of exciting 'shopping' experience with you, window shopping!

Dad would drive into 'town' at night, park in the street, and we would walk along the main streets and into the alleys, admiring all the tempting goods so beautifully displayed in the shop windows.

It was a magical make-believe world that our parents took us to; we would each decide on what we would buy if we had all the money in the world. Those outings were good lessons, that we could one day walk into those stores and buy some of the tempting goods if we worked hard enough.

Wonderful memories of carefree childhood days!

I've enjoyed my walk down memory lane, hope to see you join Memoir Monday, an initiative of @ericvancewalton. This is a great way to store long-forgotten memories, where he will ask a question each Monday.

This week's question:

Here’s the very first Memoir Monday question:
What store did you love to go to as a child?

I was a child many moons ago...in age that is, but believe there's still a child in each one of us, so let's bring those memories back and store them here forever with Memoir Monday!


Black & White Minimalist Signature Personal Brand Logo edit.png

Create your own Forever Memory Bank
Join our community of awesome content creators
right here on HIVE


𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩

Join our Silver Bloggers community Silver Bloggers footer banner 600 x 300.jpg
Artwork by @artywink



0
0
0.000
13 comments
avatar

So nice to go through your childhood. Some memories can never be wiped away.

0
0
0.000
avatar

We also use the term "town" for the city centre, although these days it has very few attraction points. I need to look for a present so I'll be heading to the neighborhood mall, but that does not qualify as "town"...
Wonderful story!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Our city centres have become slums, absolutely awful and tragic when one remembers how they used to look!
We also only shop at the neighbourhood malls.
How life has changed, right?
I'm glad you enjoyed it @ladyrebecca, thank you!

0
0
0.000
avatar

!LOLZ

Hello, my weekly report just got published. What about reading it and maybe giving a upvote ? It allow me to give better/bigger votes in the future

0
0
0.000
avatar

I enjoyed reading your time traveling back then, you have a memorable childhood, especially when Christmas time is coming♥️.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I'm so glad you enjoyed it @asiaymalay, yes it is a special time, especially for kids with all the fairy lights, decorations and the gifts of course!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yes.. I remember when I was a child. When September kicks in, I would start to count the days until Christmas ♥️😁.

0
0
0.000
avatar

You brought me right back to your childhood, Lizelle! Wonderful post. Expectations are so much higher now for children in many parts of the world after decades of consumerism. Our family would pile into the car during Christmas to look at the lights downtown and the department store windows, that was our entertainment. One of the local insurance companies would also put up an elaborate Nativity scene and that was another stop in our Holiday car tour. : ) Thanks for participating in this. There are six of us contributing so far hopefully we pick up more along the way!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you for the wonderful topic Eric, it was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
It's actually sad how demanding children are today, but of course, we know why! And parents just oblige, even if they cannot afford it! Worrying about brand names also wasn't an issue for us, I wasn't even aware of that! I'm sure Memoir Monday will pick up.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hello, remembering our childhood does us a lot of good. How you went out with your parents and siblings, those Christmas and Epiphany days are unforgettable. Very nice your memories, my friend. Thanks for sharing them. Nice weekend.🤗🥰

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you @mamani, it was a wonderful challenge, I've not popped into your blog, but I really hope you wrote one as well. Eric is a wonderfully kind Hive friend. We'll get a new question this Monday

0
0
0.000