A walk on the wildside

We called it The Grove, a small wood, full of tall pine trees, it was out of bounds to us kids, we were not supposed to play there, the owner was a very cross old man who did not like small children. But of course we loved it all the more even if we were chased out of it every day. We loved to climb the trees right to the very top, daring each other to go ever higher. On one of the trees which was very difficult to climb, we made beds from broken branches, probably inspired by the Tarzan films which we loved so much.

Today, many years later I can still smell the pungent aroma of the sap running from the Pine trees. It was here that we loved to play out our Robin Hood adventures, the nearby Old Sandpit was better for our games of Cowboys and Indians. Many a fight took place to decide who would play Robin Hood, one of the reasons for this was that the girl who played Maid Marian (E.A.) was very pretty. What freedom we had as small children, we could roam through the fields and woods until the Angelus Bell at six o clock would send us scurrying home for tea.

And, how very innocent we were, one very frosty morning we found a dead robin in The Grove, his little spindly legs pointing up to the sky. We decided that the little bird should have a proper funeral, so we dug a hole under a holly tree. Put the robin into it, covering him with twigs and leaves, and marked the spot with a flat stone. Then someone decided that we should say a few prayers for the little bird, so we knelt down and said a few Hail Marys, I seem to remember someone shedding a few tears, but I cannot remember who.

Today I paid a visit to The Grove, nothing has changed much, the tree where we buried the robin all those years ago is still there, now much taller and full of red berries. As children how very privileged we were to have the freedom to explore the fields and woods of our Blackwater Valley and what happy memories they recall of catching callies at the Strand, learning to swim at Garners Island and exploring the dark wood we called the Beech Wood. Some of our favourite playing places are long gone, but The Grove still stands intact, a reminder of our childhood days.