Are you sitting comfortably? Because it's Storytelling Sunday and that means it's time for a tale
Let me take you back to the days when the milkman rattled his van through the streets of a morning, when the bottles arrived fresh on your doorstep, and, when to open a pint, you needed to press your finger into the shiny foil on the top.
 |
| When I scrapbook this story, I think I'll use a bit of this paper |
In those days, I had a friend, Claire, who conveniently lived right around the corner. we were always close when one of us came up with a cunning plan. Every other day, but twice on Saturdays. The plan I want to tell you about today required milk bottles. No, that's not strictly true: it required milk bottle tops. Because, as many of you will remember, those tops had a scrap value. They could be collected up and sold on for cash - a useful extra for charities. (Though I still wonder whether you actually would have needed a garageful to raise more than a few pounds).
 |
| and a bit of this one.. |
Anyway, our school supported Guide Dogs For the Blind, our teacher collected milk bottle tops, and we had a plan. We would, we decided, run a Fun Fair. It would be in Claire's garden, in the summer holidays and it would raise a shed load of tops because (here's the clever bit) - you would have to pay your entrance fee in - you've guessed it - Shiny. Silver. Foil.
We started to work fast. We had realised that if we wanted to take in a lot of foil, we had have to give our punters time to collect it. So we chose a date, drew posters and leaflets and put them through our friends doors; and then we pooled our pocket money and set off to buy the refreshments.
 |
| ..and some of these.. |
And guess what? It worked! Claire dressed up as a Gypsy and told fortunes (5 bottle tops); and we talked an older boy we knew into sitting in a bath and having wet sponges thrown at him. My sister spent all her money foil on this one. We had snacks, an obstacle course, I think, skipping races. Oh, I wish I had photos.
 |
| ..and possibly some of these.. |
And yet... maybe it's better I don't. It came from our imaginations; so that, in our young minds, it grew to the most amazing, magical, marvellous, travelling show ever seen on the face of the earth. And if we leave it in our heads, that's the way it will stay.
 |
| ...and I may very well put it all on a bit of this (all from SC's new State Fair line) |
Now you have read my tale, won't you share one of your own? The link will be open for the rest of the week.
If you would like to join in, but aren't quite sure where to start, you might want to take a look at the weekly writing prompts from Mama's Losin' It
28 comments:
What a great story, and, yes, some memories are better than pictures.
Rinda
how enterprising. I remember they had special foil tops for Charles and di wedding, with their picture on them - wonder if they are now collectors items!
We still have our milk delivered in bottles with silver foil tops
Really? Oh brilliant! I wish we did - it disappeared here years ago and now I have to carry big two litre containers from the supermarket. Not the same thing at all!
We still have our milk delivered too! It's great but I do wish the milkman would not park his milk float and rattle his bottles at right outside my bedroom window at 3am!
Coincidence time (again) when I was at primary school it was me and my friend Nicky (the star of my post today!) who were milk bottle monitors at school (back in the 60s every school child had a small bottle of milk at break time) and we collected up the silver tops for our class, washed them, squished them flat and saved them for a Blue Peter fundraiser!
Great story for my early Sunday morning blog reading. I wonder, are all your scheming days behind you?
A great story,Sian....I remember collecting those bottle tops for charity as well.
Some wonderful scrapbook supplies there.....look forward to seeing you using them.
i remember the tops we had to put on the bottle to stop the birds drinking the milk. we had silver and gold tops then, no blue and red ones. i love the idea of u all dressed up being the ringmaster,
Jo xxxx
We had our milk delivered up until a year ago ... but it was getting ridiculously expensive and DH didn't have a job so it had to go. I'm old enough to remember school milk bottle tops!
Lovely story - I also struggled with photos for mine, but will be scrapping it sometime soon.
How lovely to hear the full story - you'll recognise mine from our chat last week, too! Can't wait to see the layout that arises :-)
We did a similar thing to raise funds for "Jerry's Kids" (muscular dystrophy). But your story left me wondering... how many bottle tops did you collect and how much was it worth? Did it pay back what you spent on hosting your little carnival?
great idea, great story. i also love your little 'when i scrap this story' mini story :-)
Great story, Sian, and I can just picture you two planning and organizing in your sweet little heads!
Sorry I missed the boat on this month's story-telling. It completely slipped my mind as I have been going in several different directions. Next month... xo
That brought back memories - we too used to get our milk delivered and sometimes it was even a horse-drawn wagon. Now that was a lot of fun to watch. When we bought the house in 1954 it even had a milkbox by the side door. Loved your story about the fair. Sometimes photos just don't do the story or memory justice.
Fantastic story - and you weave such a visual tale without the images. After all isn't that what memories are?!
Thanks for another great Storytelling Sunday.
We have our milk in bottles still. So much greener because it might take a lot to make a bottle they last, on average, for twenty deliveries. It is also much easier to pour milk from a pint bottle than a six pint container, even if you do transfer it to a jug for use.
oh how i love all these childhood stories. I remember many a time setting up camp in someone's front garden to put on a show!! Although i'm not sure we'd have thought about payment in milk bottle tops!! i do remember saving them though for blue peter :) great story Sian.
A lovely story. I remember saving milk bottle tops for Blue Peter too! Just to let you know that I have posted on my blog for Pass the Book as I have read Still Missing and am ready for it to go to the next lucky reader.
We still have milk delivered too- and I remember washing them and saving them and I also remember being the one who pierced the bottle lids with a knitting needle and then someone else would put the straws in ready for the others to drink.
That's a lovely story. We have our milk delivered, but he only comes 3 days a week, often not until 8am and then leaves us milk in plastic bottles ... I want glass ones with foil tops!
kilk bottles those were the days! (tho sounds like they are still for some people)I bet you were into Blue Peter! Good to be catching up with your blog again! Really love all your paper choices xxx
Great story Sian! I wonder what fortunes your friend Claire told :)
what a lovely story and told so well you do not need any pictures it is in full colour thanks for sharing x
Wonderful story-telling and love how you've woven your scrapbooking thread through it ... I remember those milk-bottle tops too!
such a great story. i remember how fun it was as a kid to come up with an idea and work to make it happen like that.
love this story it reminds me to document the "making perfume from rose petal" moments. =)
Loved this story and it reminded me of the circus we once planned when I was young. I think there are some photos of us all dressed up somewhere. Thanks for the memory!
Another here, that has milk delivered :) and such a great story.
Post a Comment