Sunday 1 July 2012

Storytelling Sunday 2: The Words, The Pictures

Hello there! It's Storytelling Sunday and I have something special for you today. Uncle Dave started us off this year with his thoughts on storytelling. He'll be heading back Stateside soon, so I wanted to give him a chance to tell a story of his own before he goes...

Storytellers, please welcome Uncle Dave

The Pizza Box


This very small story is almost, but not quite, about pizza.

It might be hard to believe and harder still to recall, but there was a time before blogging and time before your friends the Tall One and the (Not So) Small One; and there was a time before pizza. That time was the 1980s. Sian was at university in Belfast, and seeing a gentleman who looked like a younger version of The Accountant.  I was definitely just Dave in those days, the Little Brother, not yet Uncle Dave or Professor David or any of the other much less complimentary things I sometimes get called. 

 I was  living in the small market-town that we all grew up in, and was a little younger than the Tall One is now. However I possessed none of his poise, social skills or general awesomeness. In fact, my horizons and knowledge of the outside world were rather limited, to the extent that my young life's annual highlight took the form of going on a bus to the cosmopolitan metropolis of Belfast to attend the Ulster Motor Show, a display of new cars.  I know, it's not the stuff Teenage Dreams should be made of; but it was my favourite thing by far at a time when not very much at all happened, and what did wasn't always good. Stories can be told about the yearly visit to the now defunct Motor Show, but not today. This is about what happened afterwards

It's late, we're tired and one medium-sized family car has begun to look very much like another, as they tend to do. We're also hungry.  When I say "we" I mean Sian, myself and the younger version of the Accountant. Pizza was suggested, although not by me as up to that point pizza was only something I had ever seen on television, which put it on the same level of exotic as crocodiles or the Queen, only potentially more nutritious.  By some magical process that I did not yet understand, the single pizza (times were tight and budgets small) was ordered and eventually carried to a small room at the top of a tall house (yes really, but not that one - this one was full of students).


 The pizza was everything it should be: hot, cheesy, tasty. But no delicious thing lasts forever, and it was soon gone. The annual pilgrimage to what appeared to me to be the world's most vibrant and exciting city (Belfast in the Eighties) came to an end and another bus took me back to a quiet normality where pizza-shops existed only in fantasies and memories.

A few weeks later saw Sian, my big sister, back in our home town for a brief visit. And with her came a great prize: an old, empty pizza box. No, THE old, empty pizza box - the flat, square repository of good times, memories and hot cheese. You may think me a rather sheltered child, but this wonderful box remained on display in my bedroom for a long time. Trophies are funny things

...Thanks, Dave! That's your story for today folks. I didn't write it, but I do appear in it; and I hope that makes a nice change!

If you have a story of your own (of course you do!), please do join in.  All tales are welcome - short or tall, we read them all. How about a photo and a couple of sentences? We love those too! Write a post mentioning Storytelling Sunday, so your readers know what you are up, come on over and add your link. We are all ready and waiting

39 comments:

Susanne said...

Thanks for the story, Dave. Sian, I can certainly tell that delightful storytelling genes run in your family - come hear about my family genes, won't you. (Of course you will!)

Anonymous said...

Thanks Uncle Dave for a fabulous tale. We have pizza as our treat on Saturday and it is still looked forward to with anticipated delight in our little house.

This West London Life said...

Who knew that the thought of pizza could evoke such memories? TBC is thoroughly au fait with pizza and pizza restaurants ~ funny old world, really.

Unknown said...

That is special to have Uncle Dave back and what a great snapshot of time he captured :) I remember exotic pizza coming to our town! I'll try and join in later.

Missus Wookie said...

Ah - yes I had the joy of explaining Pizza to Wookie when Pizza Hut opened... when they still free refills of soda, were confused as to why you wanted knives and forks and the pizzas were a decent size :happy sigh:

Thanks for the memories - pizza is still a family treat here.

Lou said...

Oh yes i remember days before Pizza - now a family favourite. Lovely story x

helena said...

and what a kind sister Uncle Dave had to bring him the box

Irene said...

Sian, You chose a great guest today to give a new dimension to Storytelling Sunday. Thanks Uncle Dave! And thanks Sian for keeping that box. It took a wonderful story to another level.

debs14 said...

Oh Uncle Dave, I'm old enough to remember when pizza was exotic too! Great story - and lovely to meet another storyteller from your family.

Kirsty.A said...

Great story - Uncle Dave - keeping that box defintely shows a scrapbookers mentality!

Mitralee said...

Pizza was exotic? LOVE that story, since we eat that almost weekly if the kid will let us!!!

Abi said...

I love this story! I find it so funny that pizza was an exotic dish! ha ha! And what a kind sian to bring you the box!

Jane said...

Oh to return to more simpler times!!

Lisa-Jane said...

Love that you kept the box! Memories can be made of the most mundane things.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Great story of your first encounter with pizza, Dave. I wonder how often you enjoy a slice now that you are older and more worldly. ;o)

Thanks, Sian, for continuing to encourage us to tell our stories!

scrappyjacky said...

Great story,Uncle Dave....hard to imagine now a time when pizza wasn't commonplace.

Melissa said...

What a fantastically written story & fun memory. How thoughtful of Sian to carry that box home so you could enjoy that "trophy" for many years!!

Gem's Crafts said...

What a great story, and really well told! We all had a good think about when we had our first pizza, I was in primary school and round at my friend's house for tea!

Becky said...

Great story Dave! Can't remember when I had my first pizza, but I had my last on Thursday in Universal Studios Los Angeles!!

Mel said...

Great to have the story told from another perspective. I think students are a lot richer now than they used to be! Take-out pizza is also really cheap - especially in Leeds!

alexa said...

Another wonderful storyteller :).Hope you may be able to put in the odd guest appearance form the States?

furrypig said...

great guest story teller! Just like Jackanory. I have tried to add my link and it said there was an error then it said it had already been added when I tried again so I hope it appears on your list soon lol xxx

Elizabeth said...

Great story, but now I am hankering for a pizza for dinner.

Carmen said...

Do you know what my first memory of pizza is? Deep fried with chip shop chips welded into the cheese. Our first night upon arriving in Scotland. I was 6. We'd had that loooooong drive from Kent and our furniture wasn't arriving till the next day. So we had a super rare treat of eating in a sit-in fish & chip shop. I chose the half pizza supper. Bliss on a plate. Where it was a half of pizza and fried the edge that was cut went supremely crispy and yummy. From then on, for the 10 years we lived there on the rare occasions we were treated to a chip shop meal (and I bet I could count them on one hand) that's what I would have!

When we moved back to England and I ventured into a chip shop on my own - they looked at me as if I was mental when I ordered that. So I haven't had a chip shop half pizza supper in over 18 years but I can still taste it to this day. I swear I'll have one one of these days when we go back to visit.

Loved this story Uncle Dave :)

Susan said...

Fabulous story! I was 12 when I tried my first bite of pizza - it had always seemed too strange to me before that. I was offered 25 cents if I'd try a bite and how could I resist an offer like that? It's been one of my favourite foods since.

Alana said...

Aww, Uncle Dave what sweet doughy memories. My story is equally nostalgic this week but about bread! I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here and maybe post a line or two back in America. Sian, I'm a bit late posting today....so much to say about bread:)

WendyB said...

Fab story, has reminded me of my first ever glimpse of a burger from Burger King - I think pizza is probably better for you lol.

Jimjams said...

What a fab story Uncle Dave - I wonder what food TTO and TnsSO will think of fondly when they look back one day - we eat so internationally these days it's hard to imagine anything "new" for them!

AM Zafaran said...

Great story! The childhood memory narrated so well that I am hungry too!

Beverly said...

Hi, Uncle Dave, I recently wondered if you were still around. Thanks for sharing another story with us. I have some fond pizza memories myself :)

Ifa said...

LOL, I can see where you're coming from. I came from a small provincial town and used to love visiting bustling metropolis, Georgetown,in Penang, Malaysia. Taking the ferry, spotting the jelly fish in the sea, swimming in the sea! But they didn't have pizza or KFC or McD in Georgetown then. For exotic food, we had to go further south to KL.

Sandie said...

That's a lovely story, Dave. Obivously the skill of telling runs in the family. Thanks for sharing.

Scrappi Sandi said...

Oh I love this story Uncle Dave!! It brought back memories of my own first brush with KFC on a visit to our capital in the 70's!! I also brought home the 'bucket' as a keepsake until it fell apart! TFS & Safe journey back to the US! :D

Anonymous said...

Great story Dave. It brought back so many memories of when I first had pizza.

Jennifer Grace said...

Ha ha, great story! I'm glad you kept the box as a trophy, that shows the true memory keeping spirit! x

Anonymous said...

What a terrific story. I especially enjoyed how you drew together both the then and now in your story. It's obvious that memory keeping and story telling are family traits--dinnertime when all of you are together must be very entertaining!

Unknown said...

I can not imagine a time without pizza ... EVER!!!!! I am very thankful to my American mom who made sure we always ate it :-) Although they were the homemade variety and not the take-away version. Great story.

Cheri said...

I just can't fathom the idea of growing up without pizza. So glad you finally got a taste of it!

Jo said...

Thanks for the story Uncle Dave, I refuse to admit I can remember a time before pizza :)

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