On the first of June, the people living at Primrose Croft Care Home celebrated Global Day of Parents with their friends. This gave them the opportunity to learn about each other’s pasts and shared fond memories of their parents.
Edna, who lives at Primrose Croft was happy to share a special memory from her younger years. She said they used to own chickens when she was a kid and her chore before school was to go out and feed them. She said it’s not something she liked doing but remembers had father saying, “Well you have had your breakfast and now they want theirs, or you won't be getting any more eggs.”
Another memory Edna shared was when her dad used to ‘Cut a rug dance with her’. This phrase stemmed from the 1920s, when people would do the ‘Jitterbug’ which was a continuous dance that would last for some time, usually causing the rugs to fray/split underneath them.
Ursula, who lives at Primrose Croft, said she used to worship her father as he always made time for her. She knows that many others didn’t have this luxury, so she always cherished his company. She remembers they didn’t like to be called ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’, so it was either ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’.
June said she was an only child and looking back now, was very spoilt. She did have lots of cousins who lived close to her though, so pretended they were her brothers and sisters.
Edith had a constant smile on her face while talking about her parents. She said her dad was a hard-working Forman and her mother was a marvelous woman. She remembers they had a lot of fruit trees in their garden and her mother used to make the children ‘pop’, while the adults drank wine. She remembers the ‘pop’ noise when her mother used to open a bottle.
Molly said she recalls her father being very tall and the time he taught her how to swim. While her mother small was and had a great sense of humour.
It was wonderful to hear about all the fond memories people had of their parents. Some people’s experiences brought back memories for others and helped to develop connections at Primrose Croft.