Oh Happy Days.....

You may remember a post I did recently about how family holidays, from when you were a child, can remain in your memory forever. Well that post got me to thinking (it doesn't hurt much) about my only memory of a family holiday. I know Mum and Dad took us on more than one holiday but this is the only one I can remember. I would be about 6 years old when we went to the Howstrake Holiday Camp at Douglas in the Isle of Man and I loved it!

Our party consisted of four adults, Mum, Dad, Uncle Norbert and Aunty Delia, and three children, me, baby brother and Norbert my friend. Uncle Norbert and Aunty Delia weren't related to us, they lived across the street and were Mum and Dad's best friends. When I was little you couldn't call adults by their Christian names, you either had to call them Mr/Mrs whatever or if they were friends of the family they became honorary aunts and uncles.

I can remember the excitement I felt when Mum and Dad told me we would be going on a big boat to an island across the sea (the Irish Sea), I thought we were going to Timbuktu, somewhere I'd heard mention of in a story at school. I think the holiday had been booked a year in advance because the parents had to work hard and save up, so by the time we were ready to go I'd forgotton we were going! Anyway, needless to say once the packing got underway so did my excitement again.

Click on photos

Photos copyright 2007

Here we are waiting for the lift to the ferry. Mum's holding baby, I'm the one in the hat and Dad's missing off the photo because he's taking it, you can identify the others from the paragraph above.

I can't remember anything about the journey to the boat but I can remember being on the boat. I thought it was a cruise liner but it was just the ferry belonging to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Here we are on the boat posing for Dad again. I think he must have been the only one who could use the camera.

Here's me taking baby for a stroll round the deck. I think there must have been a bit of a swell as the picture looks like we are listing to port.

Another lapse of memory regarding how we actually got to the camp, but the chalets were very nice. Dad made it onto this photograph outside of the chalet, along with a friend Norbert and I had just met. Mum must have taken this photograph because (a) she's not on it and (b) she's chopped the baby's head off!

I loved my baby brother and got to play with him a lot. I think I was practicing my 'pout' as well as my see-saw skills here. There was lots to see and do on the camp and I remember going to see the Laxey Wheel but I can't find a photograph of it in our albums, but here's some information about it and if you click on the link you can see some professional photos of it.

The Laxey Wheel, known as "Lady Isabella" was built in 1854 to pump water from the mines.It uses water from the mountain streams to drive the water wheel which is connected to the pumps.The wheel is 72½ feet in diameter by 6 feet wide and was capable of pumping upto 250 gallons per hourfrom a depth of 1200 feet. The wheel still operates but does not pump water. Why the name Lady Isabella? that was the name of the wife of the Lieutenant Governor who opened the wheel in 1854.

We went to visit a castle but I can't remember where it was, anyway Dad said sit up there whilst I take your photo and don't fall off - I didn't!

There was a fantastic kids club at the camp, Norbert and I had a whale of a time, baby brother had to stay with Mum and Dad 'cos he was too young. Even if they'd had a creche baby brother wouldn't have gone in it because he screamed blue murder if Mum wasn't in spitting distance!

Here's a picture of Norbert and me with the kids club. You'll recognise me by now, I'm the one posing (again) with the beach ball.

As was the norm when we were kids, (in the year dot), the summers were always red hot, not like now! I don't think sun lotion had been invented then because I remember my back was horrendously burned, which resulted in my older cousin taking great delight in peeling the skin off it when I got home! Oh Happy Days!