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| Granny at Surfer's Corner, Muizenberg |
Once upon a time, a long time ago, when my children were just two bricks and a tikkie high …… Nah! That doesn’t work! A couple of decades ago three young children had a wonderful Granny who lived in a very tiny bed-sitter overlooking the vlei - a kind of lake. Granny’s bed-sitter consisted of a small kitchen (with a large house-size double door fridge), and a living room with a single bed, a red cushioned, black leatherette three-seater sofa, and a chest of drawers. One half of the long wall between the kitchen door and the bathroom door was a built-in cupboard, and the shower-basin-toilet bathroom was back to back with the kitchen. The long, big window gave her a picture on the weather, the sea, the vlei and in summer, the busy road crammed with holiday-makers going to the beach.
There wasn’t much room in Granny’s flat for three adults and three children, but somehow we managed and Granny even managed to cook a Sunday lunch for us all – even though it was done in batches.
The best treasure in Granny’s flat was the daisy embroidered, plastic lined, handle-less basket under the bed. As soon as the three children arrived, and after greeting Granny with a hug and trying to avoid a kiss, the basket would be dragged out from under the bed and emptied on the 3x4 foot rug next to the bed and for the best part of the visit - about two hours - the contents of that basket would keep three under nine-year olds quiet or occupied, or both.
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| Granny with Nicole and cousin Lindsey |
There was an injured Barbie doll, whose leg or arm or head, had to be salvaged from the bottom of the basket and whose tiny tight clothes were a challenge to get on or off; there were about eight domino bricks which would form walls, or beds or fences; there were about six wooden blocks of various shapes to build to a tower and then dramatically bash down – usually on top of sister’s carefully laid dominoes; and some coloured plastic rings to stack on a plastic cone.
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| Granny with Sean |
I’m not a Granny yet, but I wanted to have a Granny Basket ready for any children who might come visit, and so the charity shops kindly obliged! So far I have a red-roofed house-shaped shape-o-toy with all its wooden blocks; a wooden house/barn with removable roof and little wooden stairs inside – it’s currently sitting on my bureau with the Christmas lights flashing through it’s window holes and lighting up the little straw lady standing in the doorway. I also have a box of 100 blocks in a tub with a shape-o-toy type lid – all 100 blocks of different shapes are there, the future Grandad counted them! And then there’s the books: card-paged Funny Bunnies by Nicola Baxter; Georgie Adams’ Nursery Story Book; a set of 25 Walt Disney books (all 25 for £3.50!); and four Enid Blyton books: The Wishing Chair Again, The Enchanted Wood, The Big Story Book, and The Book of The Year. Together with a selection of soft toys received as presents from special people, I reckon my Granny Basket is ready for the children!
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| The children who enjoyed the Granny Basket - Sean, Nicole and Megan! |
Apart from the (grand)children, there’s one other thing missing.
The Basket!
Off to the charity shops again!
