British Summertime

Can somebody remind me but did the clocks not go forward to signal the start of the Great British summer? You know what I mean, that time of year when the sun shines, the birds sing, the garden grows and we all get a dose of food poisoning from the BBQ that was rushed because a cloud or two appeared!!!

Now for sure the days are getting longer but something is missing....aye the bloody sun! I am not looking for scorching hot days, because that would mean that I had immigrated, but a wee bit of blue sky without the weather man predicting snow on the high ground with more snow forecast would be helpful-  after all this is Scotland and it is all on the high ground!!

So far this year, or I should say since the start of summer, we have had two maybe three days when it was safe to strip down to just the woolly jumpers, and on each of those occasions the garden has been the focal point, however the wee one and I like nothing more than getting out and about on tour, even if it is just to feed the ducks, so the extension to our winter season without the pleasure of good snow, deep snow, real snow where you can make snowmen, and generally play in It, is becoming a wee bit tiresome as far as she is concerned. The wee one has even got into the habit of opening her curtains in the morning with a look of great expectation that quickly turns to disappointment as she sees the weather for the day!!

Today the weather is just the normal... bad,....and the wee one who has surveyed the situation very carefully from her window is less than impressed. As I said the wee one is not one for being cooped up all day in the house, and with each poor day that passes she gets a little crankier. Don't get me wrong the wee one is very good at self entertainment but like us all she has her limits, and a built in instinct for fresh air and adventure! So being stuck in again! raised the potential, to result in a boring day, with tantrums and huffs firmly on the cards as her frustration levels rise.

 

However she took a more practical approach to the situation, for today at least, her solution to the problem was staring right at her, so she wasted little time in trying to explain to granddad what was about to take place, and got wired in, pulling out every toy she owned for a review and test run to see if it was still worthy of its place in her toy box!

Not only that some even got played with, that was until we hit the jackpot-the dollies, that had been hiding at the bottom of her box and further, all the bits and bobs that are part of any wee girls doll set, were also there waiting to be remembered.

With a great deal of excitement, the same excitement she had when we first bought them, she gave them the royal treatment with every other toy now derelict plastic or metal in her eyes.

Now the ASBO gardener aka papa was going to find out what a real dolls party was all about, A far more serious affair than the teddy bears picnic she had him involved in last week, no this would require real tea and sandwiches, none of the pretend stuff here, not for the dollies!!
So a great tea party was being had, the best tea party ever and that was just the ASBO gardener aka papas opinion!!

So what was granddad up to during the greatest tea party of all time? Having that long awaited nap? Reading the paper and catching up on the news perhaps? or simply just whiling away the day deep in thought? No sadly none of these ambitious targets was reached on this occasion! No Grandad got the glory of putting the toy box back together.

In fact as I go about tidying them up it begs the question why did we buy all of these toys in the first place- when the doll sets have entertained her for well over 4 hours!
There must have been a reason and that reason can not have been she did not have enough!!
Memories come flooding back as I pick up the lorry trailer set she got in the charity shop ,that memory of a frowning two year old whose stare could melt not only me but, even the devils heart.

Now that got me to pondering one of my own morals, and worse still I found that I had actually done something I had vowed would not happen, something I have written about, talked about and aye even argued about with family- I gave into expectation and desire without explaining to the wee one she does not get everything she sees or wants in life!!!

 

The conclusion, all of those toys and there were many, was that they were whim buys, with me giving into pressure tactics and peer pressure, you know the sort of thing I am talking about- when the wee one lies on the floor  crying that cry that every parent knows you need to silence, because everyone else in the store, is now judging you, and tuting or shaking their heads in disapproval while muttering poor wee soul.
It begged a question?
Had I really been played like a well tuned fiddle?...  the answer was..well yes I had, leaving me to ponder the question of what to do next?

As I reloaded the toy box with toy after toy that had not seen daylight for as long as we have not seen the sun, it struck me that many a child would love some of these toys,  aye they would even cherish them as the wee ones I was thinking about had nothing.
That only left one thing to do, use the memory banks and sort out some toys that the wee one never plays with, and put them to the appropriate charity.
The wee one fresh from her tea party, the greatest ever tea party, went back to the toy box opened it and removed a couple of toys to play with, and went about her business, having not noticed that the toy box was only half full, and missing one or two items she had previously ignored, she was clearly unaffected by what had taken place!!!

So the wee one has plenty. some other children who had none have some and I need to practice what I preach!