Minor/Major: Re-writes
Danielle - "Corners"
"As a young child I spent most of the summer in my families card shop, I spent most of my time at the back of the shop behind the counter in my own little den, abundant with note pads, coloured pencils and small blue tack animals.
The secluded part behind the counter was in the shape of an L, with incredibly high corner shelves and a small counter top covered with clutter. There were vibrant purple and blue veils separating the den from the rest of the shop, blue carpets fraying at its edges. The shop was made of blue and gold colours and so was the den, clear storage boxes filled birthday, sympathy and good luck cards. Stationary set everywhere. The shop also sold ornamental dragons and fairies, ones which were borrowed by myself to play with, dragons flying around the shelves or two epic dragons fighting over the magnificent card designs. This place made me feel safe and secluded, I had this feeling of being sneaky because none of the customers could see me, yet I had the element of surprise as I could see them.
It got to the point where I reached the age of 12, I started to help more in the shop and get myself more involved, I soon started to stop thinking about the den as a play area. But to this day I still sit in the back with my laptop or something and catch a glimpse of a dusty dragon or pirate figure that fell back behind the shelves all those years ago. When I think back to these memories, I feel nostalgia and cosy as I used to bundle myself in coats or anything I had with me as the shop often got cold"
Eleanor L - "The Tunnel"
"At a young age, about 7 or 8, I used to see this area in the school playground as a 'secret' place. An area which was unkempt and overgrown, the trees and foliage creating a tunnel, but in the centre was an opening. I remember in the spring it had an odd smell of garlic and that went on into the summer. The small area of dirt was full of pottery and each day we went down and pretended to be archaeologists, digging up as much as we could and making up scenarios for each piece we found. I left school each day with heavy pockets, each one filled with a mixture of dirt and pottery. People were welcome to our secret place, but not many seemed bothered to investigate into this area of ours. As I grew, we stopped playing here and we all soon went our separate ways, other schools and paths. I imagine that this place has stayed the same, with tonnes of pottery still left in the dirt. Thinking about it I remember the happy times I once had there."
Manisha - "Light in the Dark"
“At the end of the Woman’s Refuge garden, stood a large play house made of fantastic colours. It was brimmed with toys upon toys, keeping all those who visited this shed occupied. The place gave you happiness and put you at ease and made you feel safe and secure, while surrounded by all these toys, who wouldn’t feel this while playing with teddies, dolls, cars and instruments while in a world of your own? It made those problems in my reality disappear.
There was always this rule of no eating in the room, and when it came to our parents, they happily left us all alone to play. After leaving the refuge, I returned 5 years later after more problems arose, I was reunited with the large play house, soon shocked to find it in its abandoned state, rot setting in and unused by all the children. The urge to look inside grew, only being 11 and the rule of not being able to use the large playhouse left me with a feeling of disappointment. The only option for me was to forget about it and move on from the idea of returning into that little world of happiness. Thinking back, sadness comes to mind at how derelict it was and how it was no longer cared for, sad teddies shoved up against once clean windows, mould growing and weather damage unfortunately took over, changing this place house from what it once was – a place of happiness for those young children.”
Eleanor S - "Jack"
“His name was Jack, my imaginary friend, he was there with me whilst living in Guernsey. He went between living in the house and living in an imaginary world of his own. I could always go there to play with Jack, we played tag the most. The world Jack belonged to had a never ending grass path with trees standing either side like soldiers in line, a wire fence on the left with masses of bushes and brambles growing behind it and to the right was nothing, except for the light from the sun. Trees creating a canopy over this never ending grassy path, Jack and I chased eachother, running back and forth playing tag. Whenever I was scolded as a child, Jack would wait in his own world, where I would later return.
This place always felt safe to me, happiness and warmth captured you as you entered this place. It was always in sun light and always green like a summers day. It was idyllic. My last memory of it wasn’t a fond one, I ran from Jack, not for a game of tag but for the fact that he was mean towards me. After we moved away from Guernsey, I never spoke of Jack again, 2 years ago my mother asked if I recalled Jack and surprised myself in having the ability to still being able to describe him. No one ever knew of Jacks world, When I think about it now, I wouldn’t want to return there as to me, Jack and the trees it was really ever only an escape from the reality of my parents divorce. But I’ll always remember the happiness I found there.”
Pip Harris - "Bed Sheets"
"As a young child I spent most of the summer in my families card shop, I spent most of my time at the back of the shop behind the counter in my own little den, abundant with note pads, coloured pencils and small blue tack animals.
The secluded part behind the counter was in the shape of an L, with incredibly high corner shelves and a small counter top covered with clutter. There were vibrant purple and blue veils separating the den from the rest of the shop, blue carpets fraying at its edges. The shop was made of blue and gold colours and so was the den, clear storage boxes filled birthday, sympathy and good luck cards. Stationary set everywhere. The shop also sold ornamental dragons and fairies, ones which were borrowed by myself to play with, dragons flying around the shelves or two epic dragons fighting over the magnificent card designs. This place made me feel safe and secluded, I had this feeling of being sneaky because none of the customers could see me, yet I had the element of surprise as I could see them.
It got to the point where I reached the age of 12, I started to help more in the shop and get myself more involved, I soon started to stop thinking about the den as a play area. But to this day I still sit in the back with my laptop or something and catch a glimpse of a dusty dragon or pirate figure that fell back behind the shelves all those years ago. When I think back to these memories, I feel nostalgia and cosy as I used to bundle myself in coats or anything I had with me as the shop often got cold"
Eleanor L - "The Tunnel"
"At a young age, about 7 or 8, I used to see this area in the school playground as a 'secret' place. An area which was unkempt and overgrown, the trees and foliage creating a tunnel, but in the centre was an opening. I remember in the spring it had an odd smell of garlic and that went on into the summer. The small area of dirt was full of pottery and each day we went down and pretended to be archaeologists, digging up as much as we could and making up scenarios for each piece we found. I left school each day with heavy pockets, each one filled with a mixture of dirt and pottery. People were welcome to our secret place, but not many seemed bothered to investigate into this area of ours. As I grew, we stopped playing here and we all soon went our separate ways, other schools and paths. I imagine that this place has stayed the same, with tonnes of pottery still left in the dirt. Thinking about it I remember the happy times I once had there."
Manisha - "Light in the Dark"
“At the end of the Woman’s Refuge garden, stood a large play house made of fantastic colours. It was brimmed with toys upon toys, keeping all those who visited this shed occupied. The place gave you happiness and put you at ease and made you feel safe and secure, while surrounded by all these toys, who wouldn’t feel this while playing with teddies, dolls, cars and instruments while in a world of your own? It made those problems in my reality disappear.
There was always this rule of no eating in the room, and when it came to our parents, they happily left us all alone to play. After leaving the refuge, I returned 5 years later after more problems arose, I was reunited with the large play house, soon shocked to find it in its abandoned state, rot setting in and unused by all the children. The urge to look inside grew, only being 11 and the rule of not being able to use the large playhouse left me with a feeling of disappointment. The only option for me was to forget about it and move on from the idea of returning into that little world of happiness. Thinking back, sadness comes to mind at how derelict it was and how it was no longer cared for, sad teddies shoved up against once clean windows, mould growing and weather damage unfortunately took over, changing this place house from what it once was – a place of happiness for those young children.”
Eleanor S - "Jack"
“His name was Jack, my imaginary friend, he was there with me whilst living in Guernsey. He went between living in the house and living in an imaginary world of his own. I could always go there to play with Jack, we played tag the most. The world Jack belonged to had a never ending grass path with trees standing either side like soldiers in line, a wire fence on the left with masses of bushes and brambles growing behind it and to the right was nothing, except for the light from the sun. Trees creating a canopy over this never ending grassy path, Jack and I chased eachother, running back and forth playing tag. Whenever I was scolded as a child, Jack would wait in his own world, where I would later return.
This place always felt safe to me, happiness and warmth captured you as you entered this place. It was always in sun light and always green like a summers day. It was idyllic. My last memory of it wasn’t a fond one, I ran from Jack, not for a game of tag but for the fact that he was mean towards me. After we moved away from Guernsey, I never spoke of Jack again, 2 years ago my mother asked if I recalled Jack and surprised myself in having the ability to still being able to describe him. No one ever knew of Jacks world, When I think about it now, I wouldn’t want to return there as to me, Jack and the trees it was really ever only an escape from the reality of my parents divorce. But I’ll always remember the happiness I found there.”
Pip Harris - "Bed Sheets"
"My best friend’s house, there were bed sheets and duvets were hung between the bed and curtain rail, curtains draped from the windows to the bookshelves to create a second fort above the large bed. Spare sheets grabbed from the airing cupboard and draped down from one sheet to the floor to create an entrance to our great fort.
Each bed sheets had a unique design from cartoons to movies. Underneath the sheets and inside the fort we would arrange mountains of toys. Signs made to tell others to stay out on doors and in the hall, stolen toys from the brother’s rooms. Each having our own collections of fossils, crystals and shells, both tipped together and organised along the rooms windowsill which was encased inside the fort we made and then the collection divided between the two of us to each equally have the same.
It was a snug space, everything made to fit nicely in this small space. Pens, stickers and paper in amongst the many things for us to play with and create things. The lighting inside the fort was beautiful, with all the different coloured bedsheets and the light shining through the window, it created colourful light throughout the fort. Small stained-glass ornaments hanging against the window pane, creating different patches of multicoloured light inside the fort we made."
Graeme - "Sanctuary"
"The neighbours field was always an escape a lot of the time for me and my family members when we were young. It was on top of a hill that overlooked the surrounding countryside, trees of every kind accumulated around the perimeter of the hill. It felt like its own little island and that the surrounding countryside was its own version of the sea surrounding it.
The hideout itself was at the centre of the highest point on the hill, a ginormous oak tree laid on the ground, the exact same place since it had fallen, Its root still embedded in the dirt allowing it to live. Branches hung down and arched around the inner part of the hideout, its appearance looking much like a wooden carcass that encapsulated us from the outside world with a canopy of leaves and smaller branches. Each of us swung from the branches, climbed upwards among them and jump from one branch to another. One side of the hideout was steep, we created a slide, which in thought was really a desire line which ran down into the dirt from the wear and tear. We would run down this slide area we dubbed as the death trap, trying to use the branches by catching them and protecting us from sliding down to far. It felt like a fortress of solitude, a place to escape to. It was magnificent during the golden hour, there was an opening in the trees which allowed the orange glow of the sunset to seep through, the surreal feeling it gave the place, It was like something straight out of a Hollywood movie.
No one else really knew about our place, I used to go there by myself a lot and was happy to do so. I returned quite a bit as a teenager but not as much as I used to, I’d climb the highest trees I possibly could and watch the sunset from my perch. After my parents separated, time there started to become significantly less frequent but once in a blue moon, visiting my Dad gave the opportunity to go there and yet still to this day, I return to my little sanctuary. The place still holds much sentimental value to me."
Comments
Post a Comment