Tell me , what was the playground of your childhood?
Every so often a book comes along that speaks to you more powerfully than other books and you may have guessed that ‘The Stranger In The Woods’ is providing great writing prompts.
The past few chapters have outlined how Christopher Knight set up his camp and lived in it for the 27 years he was in the woods.
I grew up on a housing estate though it was surrounded by fields, a river and woodlands. From when I could open the door and let myself out I spent vast amounts of times ‘down the fields’ ‘at the stepping stones’ and up ‘the banks’. The fields explain themselves the stepping stones denoted the river and the banks were the disused railway line that the divided ‘our side’ from ‘their side’.
Until about the age of 12 if you were looking for me it was likely I was making huts and dens on the railway banks. Most often someone had made one before me so I was kinda taking it over. Somehow hiding in fallen trees or dugouts camouflaged from view fuelled my childhood imagination, we were living in our own world separated from parents and all else.
It got particularly exciting when we smuggled cans of baked beans and sausages and cooked them on a makeshift fire. It was while exploring the banks that we came across someone’s dumped porno mags. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing and the excitement that sprung from the visuals was still foreign to us.
Occasionally a group of older youths would come along to smoke, drink and talk dirty. They would not know we were in the bushes and we would listen to their as yet to us foreign language.
It was here that I caught my first fish, ok they were only spittlebacks and it was with a net bought from the local shops. It was here I got my frog spawn and created my own ‘Zoo of frogs’ in my backyard. It was here I kissed properly for the first time. I still remember my teeth scraping against hers.
When other kids had gone on holiday or on trips to the seaside I still had my dog for company. Christopher Knight so far has only himself will an adopted pet appear? I will read on.
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