The Granny Basket

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.

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.

 



Granny with Sean

The basket has always been known as the “Granny Basket”. 


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!

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!