first six years of my life

[naturelover]

i thought i would tell you about my childhood,the first six years of my life i remember as though it was yesterday,mum dad and me lived with my nan in a big house called Castle House,it was three storys high and my bedroom was right at the top,i was born in 1946 not long after the war and as you all know there wasnt much about then,i even had a rashon book in my name to get food.Mum and dad lived with nan for ten years because there was no where else to live,anyway i am getting off the subject of what i wanted to say,i lived with wait for it 7 cats,1 dog,they were my nans Rabbits,chickens,and ducks,also we had in the big old house rats,mice,big spiders,and in the celler where it was damp were frogs and toads,the garden was huge and that was my playground playing with snails,grass hoppers,worms,saving flys from spiders webs,also liked making mud people,this is the bit that you girls wont like,one night my dad killed a rat left it in the shed saying he would get rid of it the next day,well he forgot and went off to work,who do you think found it,me of course and i wasnt satisfied just looking at it, i dressed it in my dolly cloths wrapped it in a blanket and laid it in my dolly pram saying mummy look what i got,mum came out in the garden and had kittens,she took me in the house and scrubbed me clean,then she burnt all my pram things,you can imagin what i did ( SCREEM )that was that.Now you can understand why i am a naturelover.

[DaiTheDragon]

Nice story, do you still like rats?

Dai

[Ann2]

Oh yes, that's just the sort of thing I used to get up to as a kid.

I wasn't allowed a pet hamster so I used to feed the rats that lived in the compost heap instead!

Ann

[naturelover]

can you imagin the fuss there would be today if little sue dressed a rat and put it in her dolly pram,i recon it would make headlines,and dai i like all creatures always have including rats,had a white one a few years ago her name was sugar she was very loving.

[Ann2]

I've just remembered another daft story about rats.

A friend of mine runs a cat rescue charity and she was on her way to see the vet with one of the cats when she came across a half dead rat staggering around outside a well known fast food restaurant. She hated seeing an animal suffer so she popped the rat into a carrier bag and took it to the vet with her.

She asked the vet to save the rat but he insisted as it had been poisoned and was nearly dead, it wasn't possible. So she paid for the vet to euthanase the rat instead, rather than see it suffer any longer.

Ann

[naturelover]

nice story and a lovely lady.

[Nettle Runner]

I believe that the best naturalists are children, if given the opportunity.

When I was young I watched creatures in and around water, as there were a lots of wild places where standing water remained all year, like on flood planes, etc., unlike today. I knew the names for most of them, but could only have learnt that from other children, not having access to books, TV, etc. Children then (in the 1940's) had more freedom to roam the countryside and exercise an enquiring mind.

Of course, bird nesting was acceptable, and the ways of birds were studied so that one could find their nests. Nettles and thorns were no deterant to boys in short trousers, bent on adding to their egg collection. New shoes (which didn't come very often) provided a box, which was stuffed with cottenwool, to made the ideal repository for ones egg collection. My most memorable bird was the Nettle Runner

I had a wonderful childhood, despite rationing (or was it because of).
les

[naturelover]

Originally Posted by Nettle Runner

I believe that the best naturalists are children, if given the opportunity.

When I was young I watched creatures in and around water, as there were a lots of wild places where standing water remained all year, like on flood planes, etc., unlike today. I knew the names for most of them, but could only have learnt that from other children, not having access to books, TV, etc. Children then (in the 1940's) had more freedom to roam the countryside and exercise an enquiring mind.

Of course, bird nesting was acceptable, and the ways of birds were studied so that one could find their nests. Nettles and thorns were no deterant to boys in short trousers, bent on adding to their egg collection. New shoes (which didn't come very often) provided a box, which was stuffed with cottenwool, to made the ideal repository for ones egg collection. My most memorable bird was the Nettle Runner

I had a wonderful childhood, despite rationing (or was it because of).
les

i think you are right in saying less,kids today have far too much, my three boys didnt have bikes till they got their own not because they didnt want one i just couldnt afford it,money was tight them days and i didnt belive in getting in debt,now kids get cars for their 18th birthday.