It’s that time of week when another blogger is going to be sharing their childhood memories. This week it’s Sarah from Arthur Wears.

Which decade were you born in?

The 80’s! (Cue the rest of today spent singing “I’ve got love for you if you were born in the 80’s…”)

What is your earliest memory? How old were you?

When I was a toddler (pre nursery) I used to have breath holding attacks if I got upset and my parents would bring me round by putting my head under a tap of cold water. I didn’t know about this until I was older and it made one of my earliest memories make much more sense: I remember walking towards our dog, Tilly, who was lying down in the garden. I decided to close my eyes as I was walking and see whether I would walk into her or miss her. The next thing I could feel was my eyes were closed and I couldn’t open them. I could feel myself being carried and tried to cry but wasn’t able to. I could hear voices saying my name but I couldn’t see them…..I now know that our dog had snapped at me which resulted in a breath holding attack!

What was your favourite toy at 5 years old? At 10?

At 5 years old I was a real girly girl, I loved pink and my favourite toy was a Barbie doll. I was desperate for the ‘Barbie makeup counter’ – I never got it. To this day I still think about how much fun it would have been to play with and I’m convinced this is why I am so obsessed with makeup and have a such a massive stash! At 10 I had a Girls World – basically the head of a doll that you could put makeup on, style her hair and make parts of her blonde hair pink/lilac. I’ve had pink/lilac streaks in my own hair numerous times over the years and again, I’m pretty convinced I can trace this back!

Do you still have any toys from your childhood?

My dad threw away most of my belongings when he split up with my mum, but I did manage to salvage a box of Barbie dolls which I have recently given Arthur to play with (promise this was for his benefit and not mine lol!)

Who was your favourite pop group/artist as a teenager?

My tastes really changed during my teenage years I started out as a young teenager loving Peter Andre just because I fancied him! By the time I was 15/16 I’d discovered a band called Haven who sung a song with lyrics “and believe me now I’ll only lie to you” which at that age I thought was ironic and clever. When I was 18/19 I’d discovered Tori Amos at university, mainly her song “Sorta Fairytale” and it’s still one of my favourites now!

What was your favourite TV show(s)?

Saved by the Bell and California Dreams. I used to tape the songs from California dreams and can still reel some of them off now…wish I knew where that tape was!!

What was the first film you remember seeing at the cinema?

Now this is a hard one. I have a vague memory of seeing a cartoon when I was very young – possibly Lady and the Tramp… Apart from that it was Mickey Blue Eyes when I was 14 and was allowed to go without my parents!

Do you have any dodgy haircut/ outfit memories that you’d rather forget?

Oh yes!! When I was 12 my Aunty took me shopping for my birthday and I was allowed to choose whatever I wanted as an outfit (this had never happened to me before!) I picked a short  and stretchy bodycon dress which was lime green at the top (no sleeves) and black on the (very tight) skirt with a silver chain across it. I’d also chosen some bright blue wedge shoes. I planned to wear them to the school disco but my mum and dad were so furious with the outfit they made me wear cycling shorts underneath. I remember the teachers at the disco looking at me disapprovingly and the other kids laughing at my shorts/skirt combo so I hid in the corner all night lol!!

What did you want to be when you grew up?

As a child, I loved my reception teacher and always wanted to be a teacher just like her. I didn’t start out in my career like that, but I did go back and retrain as a primary teacher after the 2008 recession and specialised in Early Years, securing a job teaching Reception so I guess you could say my dream kind of came true! I’ve recently got in touch with my old teacher on Facebook and I loved being able to tell her I was a teacher too – she was my idol.

If you could go back to being a child again what age would you choose and why?

Infant school – before the hormones kicked in, before adults worried about boys and girls being good friends, before exams, before responsibility, when looking forward to being a ‘grown up’ seemed like the best thing in the world and everything was so carefree. Oh and I had lots of friends. And of course that amazing teacher….those are the times I wanted to create for my own class when I was teaching and the kind of life I try to create for Arthur now. Fun, playful, exciting and happy.

 

Big thanks to Sarah for sharing her childhood memories – I always wanted a Girls World but was never allowed one!

Please do come back next week when another blogger will be Remembering Childhood