I love spending time with my family and I get really upset when I haven’t seen them in ages. So today when I got to spend the day in Littlehampton seeing my mum, nan and siblings; I was truly in my happy place.
I love Littlehampton because it’s not one the most popular beaches along the south-coast of England due to it’s rocky beach rather than sandy beach. But for me it’s a place of fantastic memories and fun because I spent a lot of my childhood there visiting my nan during the school holidays.
Every time I visit she always brings out the same toys for the kids to play with that I used to play with when I was little; we take a wander down to the harbour and go on the rides and play in the arcade; and then we always go right down on the beach front to build sandcastles and find the biggest rocks we can (today we totally out-did ourselves, see below)
However, today I found a number of items in my nan’s house that really took me back to my childhood, when we all used to live in our three bedroom house in South London together back in the late 90s/early 00s.
First of all, I found my old black panther teddy laying on the bed in the room I used to call home during the school holidays. I was far too excited because I was only talking to my boyfriend about it last week. I’ve had it for as long as I can remember and is still in what I would call near perfect condition. I don’t remember who brought me the panther or if it even belonged to me in the first place; but I’ve claimed it as my own.
The second was a Pineapple teddy sitting on the shelf among my nan’s thing. It’s just a grabber machine toy but it’s the most hilarious toy I think I’ve ever won and probably began my addiction to the machine. (I can’t go in an arcade without spending at least £10 on those god damn things and today was no different.) Once again, I have no recollection of winning the toy but this time I know damn well it’s mine and that it’s one of the greatest prize to ever be won. I do have a giant Pacman ghost that’s pretty awesome but look at the Pineapple, I mean it’s so bloody goofy its amazing.
Finally, my most favourite childhood toy of all. My Winnie the Pooh figurines and play set. My nan has been looking after this for me for many years now and surprisingly there are no pieces missing. My cousins, my siblings and many many people have played with this toy and every single one of them has heard the same phrase over and over again: “You better count to make sure you have them all otherwise Toni will be cross”. One time my cousin thought he had lost one and spent the next ten minutes searching all across the floor until it was found. It’s my most prized toy and I honestly cannot believe I never lost any pieces myself. (I lost a few extra pieces like trees and honey pots but the characters are all still there)
There really is nothing greater than finding old toys and relieving the memories.
Opinionated Blonde 