From Alona at Lonetester HQ comes this Geneameme.
Alona Said: "So if you’d like to record a little of your own childhood history, feel free to take part in my “When I Was Young” geneameme."
I'm calling this the When I Was Younger Geneameme because, although I am quite old, I still feel young.
1. Do you (or your parents) have any memorabilia from when you were a baby? (ie. baby book, lock of hair, first shoes etc.)
I have my Baby Book from the Truby King Clinic, the congratulatory cards and telegrams my parents received on my birth, my teddy bear, my gold golf bangle and a couple of dresses. There are a few photos of me around too.
2. Do you know if you were named after anyone?
My mother ignored tradition and gave me a name that was fashionable at the time of my birth.
3. And do you know of any other names your parents might have named you?
The other name my parents considered was Julie. I have never really liked my name and regularly asked Mum if I could change to my second name.
4. What is your earliest memory?
A holiday to Adelaide and first aeroplane ride with my Mum when I was around three.
5.Did your parent/s (or older siblings) read, sing or tell stories to you? Do you remember any of these?
My Mum read to me and instilled me with a lifelong love of reading. We started visiting a subscription library at Kings Cross when I was very young. I still have some little fairy tale books from my childhood but I have never forgiven Mum for passing most of my books on to distant cousins. I loved Milly-Molly-Mandy, Noddy and Big Ears and Enid Blyton
6. When you were young, do you remember what it was that you wanted to grow up to be?
A nurse. I started nursing when the training was done in hospital, I lasted about 15 months. Night shift did get in the way of my social life.
7. Did you have a favourite teacher at school?
No, some were kind, some were cruel and some were generous - especially The Sisters of Mercy who regularly gave me 6 cuts when I was in primary school. The Sisters of Charity when I was in secondary school were not into corporal punishment, they just banished me from class to to the library. No wonder I ended up being a librarian.
8. How did you get to school?
In primary school I walked but when we moved house I caught two or three buses depending on if I felt like a one mile walk in addition to two buses. Sometimes my Dad picked me up in the afternoon but I always had to get myself there in the morning.
9.What games did playtime involve?
Brandings, Chasings, Fly, Hide and Seek, Hopscotch, Hula Hoops, Queenie, Simon Says, Skipping,Tennis - if we could get one of the school courts, Yoyos.
10. Did you have a cubby house?
No.
11. What was something you remember from an early family holiday?
Sunburn and mosquito bites. Swimming and sand. Aunts, Uncles and cousins having fun together. Being carsick going to and fro.
12 What is a memory from one of your childhood birthdays or Christmas?
My friends in second class were impressed when I had a party in the restaurant at Sydney's Botanical Gardens.
13. What childhood injuries do you remember?
A chandelier light fitting fell on my head. My Mum wrapped my head in a towel, raced out into the street, haled a taxi and took me to St Vincent's Hospital to be stitched up.
14. What was your first pet?
Ethel the goldfish who lived for ages (I thik she may have been Ethel Mark 1,2,3, etc.) Nanna was always disappointed that I didn't name one of my dolls ater her so when I got the goldfish I named her Ethel for Nanna.
15. Did your grandparents, or older relatives tell you stories of “when I was young ..?”
Both of my Nannas told me stories, I spent quite a bit of time with them in school holidays as I had a Mum who went to work and that was unusual in those days. Oh, how I wished I would have paid more attention to my Nannas' stroies.
16. What was entertainment when you were young?
Family get togethers with singalongs. Movies. Board Games. Reading. Playing Poker and Rummy for money with my Nanna. We visited my paternal grandmother's home for lunch every Sunday until I left school then I was let off the hook.
17. Do you remember what it was it like when your family got a new fangled invention? (ie. telephone, TV, VCR, microwave, computer?)
I remember when we got a fridge. That meant we didn't have to buy ice-cream from the corner shop. Mum then started amking her own ice-cream that was very icy.
We didn't get a telephone until I was a teenager, prior to that I used to phone my friends on a Sunday when I visited my Nanna.
The VCR, Microwave and Computer didn't appear until I was an old married mother.
18. Did your family have a TV? Was it b&w or colour? And how many channels did you get?
I remember watching TV through the window of the electronics shop in Kings Cross. Dad found the Davis Cup fascinating and we stood there for ages watching it. We didn't get TV until I was around ten. There were three channels in Sydney at the time.
19. Did your family move house when you were young? Do you remember it?
We moved from a flat in cosmopolitan Kings Cross to a house in the suburbs when I was about nine - that was quite a culture shock although it was nice to have my own pink and white bedroom.
20. Was your family involved in any natural disasters happening during your childhood (ie.fire, flood, cyclone, earthquake etc)
I was the only natural disaster in my family.
21. Is there any particular music that when you hear it, sparks a childhood memory?
Alexander's Ragtime Band. My parents used to play this rousing tune to put me to sleep - there were no lullabies for Jill.
Traditional Irish songs and Catholic hymns that my grandmother used to sing to me.
22. What is something that an older family member taught you to do?
Nanna taught me to crochet and cross-stitch, Mum taught me to sew, Aunty Lil taught me to cook. I was remedial in all of these areas. Aunty Eileen took me to ballet and tap lessons each Saturday. In spite of Mum's best efforts Dad taught me some colourful language. Mum taught me to shop, she was a great teacher.
23. What are brands that you remember from when you were a kid?
Pears Soap, Lux Flakes, Reckitts Blue Bags, Cobbers and Freckles, Cahills Caramel Sauce, Shelley's soft drinks - Snowcap Champagne was a favourite.
24. Did you used to collect anything? (ie. rocks, shells, stickers … etc.)
Autographs, Stamps, Beatles memorabilia. Mum also threw all my Beatles scrapbooks out but I saved my Autograph Book.
25. Share your favourite childhood memory.
My childhood is one big happy memory.
Alona Said: "So if you’d like to record a little of your own childhood history, feel free to take part in my “When I Was Young” geneameme."
I'm calling this the When I Was Younger Geneameme because, although I am quite old, I still feel young.
1. Do you (or your parents) have any memorabilia from when you were a baby? (ie. baby book, lock of hair, first shoes etc.)
I have my Baby Book from the Truby King Clinic, the congratulatory cards and telegrams my parents received on my birth, my teddy bear, my gold golf bangle and a couple of dresses. There are a few photos of me around too.
 |
| The earliest photo of me. Dad wouldn't let Mum carry me in case she dropped me. |
2. Do you know if you were named after anyone?
My mother ignored tradition and gave me a name that was fashionable at the time of my birth.
3. And do you know of any other names your parents might have named you?
The other name my parents considered was Julie. I have never really liked my name and regularly asked Mum if I could change to my second name.
4. What is your earliest memory?
A holiday to Adelaide and first aeroplane ride with my Mum when I was around three.
 |
| On holiday in Adelaide |
My Mum read to me and instilled me with a lifelong love of reading. We started visiting a subscription library at Kings Cross when I was very young. I still have some little fairy tale books from my childhood but I have never forgiven Mum for passing most of my books on to distant cousins. I loved Milly-Molly-Mandy, Noddy and Big Ears and Enid Blyton
6. When you were young, do you remember what it was that you wanted to grow up to be?
A nurse. I started nursing when the training was done in hospital, I lasted about 15 months. Night shift did get in the way of my social life.
 |
| Nurse Jill |
No, some were kind, some were cruel and some were generous - especially The Sisters of Mercy who regularly gave me 6 cuts when I was in primary school. The Sisters of Charity when I was in secondary school were not into corporal punishment, they just banished me from class to to the library. No wonder I ended up being a librarian.
 |
| Sister Eugene (Charity) wasn't a bad old stick |
8. How did you get to school?
In primary school I walked but when we moved house I caught two or three buses depending on if I felt like a one mile walk in addition to two buses. Sometimes my Dad picked me up in the afternoon but I always had to get myself there in the morning.
9.What games did playtime involve?
Brandings, Chasings, Fly, Hide and Seek, Hopscotch, Hula Hoops, Queenie, Simon Says, Skipping,Tennis - if we could get one of the school courts, Yoyos.
10. Did you have a cubby house?
No.
11. What was something you remember from an early family holiday?
Sunburn and mosquito bites. Swimming and sand. Aunts, Uncles and cousins having fun together. Being carsick going to and fro.
 |
| Summer holidays with Mum and Aunties |
12 What is a memory from one of your childhood birthdays or Christmas?
My friends in second class were impressed when I had a party in the restaurant at Sydney's Botanical Gardens.
 |
| A Birthday in the Botanical Gardens |
A chandelier light fitting fell on my head. My Mum wrapped my head in a towel, raced out into the street, haled a taxi and took me to St Vincent's Hospital to be stitched up.
14. What was your first pet?
Ethel the goldfish who lived for ages (I thik she may have been Ethel Mark 1,2,3, etc.) Nanna was always disappointed that I didn't name one of my dolls ater her so when I got the goldfish I named her Ethel for Nanna.
 |
| Ethel the Fish 1968 |
15. Did your grandparents, or older relatives tell you stories of “when I was young ..?”
Both of my Nannas told me stories, I spent quite a bit of time with them in school holidays as I had a Mum who went to work and that was unusual in those days. Oh, how I wished I would have paid more attention to my Nannas' stroies.
 |
| My Nannas - 1964 |
16. What was entertainment when you were young?
Family get togethers with singalongs. Movies. Board Games. Reading. Playing Poker and Rummy for money with my Nanna. We visited my paternal grandmother's home for lunch every Sunday until I left school then I was let off the hook.
17. Do you remember what it was it like when your family got a new fangled invention? (ie. telephone, TV, VCR, microwave, computer?)
I remember when we got a fridge. That meant we didn't have to buy ice-cream from the corner shop. Mum then started amking her own ice-cream that was very icy.
We didn't get a telephone until I was a teenager, prior to that I used to phone my friends on a Sunday when I visited my Nanna.
The VCR, Microwave and Computer didn't appear until I was an old married mother.
18. Did your family have a TV? Was it b&w or colour? And how many channels did you get?
I remember watching TV through the window of the electronics shop in Kings Cross. Dad found the Davis Cup fascinating and we stood there for ages watching it. We didn't get TV until I was around ten. There were three channels in Sydney at the time.
19. Did your family move house when you were young? Do you remember it?
We moved from a flat in cosmopolitan Kings Cross to a house in the suburbs when I was about nine - that was quite a culture shock although it was nice to have my own pink and white bedroom.
 |
| Our flat building in Kings Cross |
I was the only natural disaster in my family.
21. Is there any particular music that when you hear it, sparks a childhood memory?
Alexander's Ragtime Band. My parents used to play this rousing tune to put me to sleep - there were no lullabies for Jill.
Traditional Irish songs and Catholic hymns that my grandmother used to sing to me.
22. What is something that an older family member taught you to do?
Nanna taught me to crochet and cross-stitch, Mum taught me to sew, Aunty Lil taught me to cook. I was remedial in all of these areas. Aunty Eileen took me to ballet and tap lessons each Saturday. In spite of Mum's best efforts Dad taught me some colourful language. Mum taught me to shop, she was a great teacher.
23. What are brands that you remember from when you were a kid?
Pears Soap, Lux Flakes, Reckitts Blue Bags, Cobbers and Freckles, Cahills Caramel Sauce, Shelley's soft drinks - Snowcap Champagne was a favourite.
24. Did you used to collect anything? (ie. rocks, shells, stickers … etc.)
Autographs, Stamps, Beatles memorabilia. Mum also threw all my Beatles scrapbooks out but I saved my Autograph Book.
25. Share your favourite childhood memory.
My childhood is one big happy memory.
4 comments:
Soaked up and enjoyed every word of this post! Jill is a great name - love the name and love you Mumbo xx
What a delightful post Jill. You seemed to have a close family round you...no wonder you are so good at connecting with people. You reminded me of a few things I'd forgotten..my own gold bangle, newspaper clipping of my birth, toys...and freckles lollies.
I've never heard of Queenie or brandings ..what were they?
learned something new too... A nurse!!!
I managed to stay away from the cane of the show-no-mercy nuns...bit that the a presentations were any better I might add.
Love the photos, and the memories. You reminded me of my own teddy bear that I was given when I was born.
As Pauleen says ... a nurse. That's not something I would have picked. But good on you, since that's what you wanted to do, and you did. It just didn't last. And the being sent to the library - that was in no way punishment for you was it?
It's great to hear that you had such a happy childhood. ;-)
Wonderful! I loved the photos too!
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