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Saturday 14 December 2019

Call My Bluff



On Thursday we had some torrential rainfall, but I hadn't realised quite how heavy, until yesterday morning, when I walked past the old watermill.   Duck Island has disappeared and the stream has swollen to become a river, the water trying to squeeze under the bridge where I took the photograph from.

It didn't prevent me from walking Toby.  We managed to fit in our usual walk of a little over three miles, although it was heavy going in some parts, but that was balanced by the joy of walking along riverbanks and through open farmland. 

I wouldn't swap any of it for pavement walks, that is for sure.

Because we live just across the garden from two of our grandchildren, our home is something of a sanctuary to them, it also works as a place for their mother to let off steam - as she did this morning.

Storm in a teacup, of course.   I think most parents have been there - the house was a tip, children's toys all over the place, husband's sports gear just dumped in the kitchen, school books scattered around (he is a teacher, too), etc.       One grandchild wailing because she doesn't like mummy any more, grandson muttering under his breath as he half-heartedly sorted his things, husband looking thunderous because he wanted to be outdoors.

I couldn't resist, I went over and did my best Mary Poppins impression.   We looked for the fun and the job was soon done.   

Easy for me, but how it brought back the memories of when I was a working mother with three children, husband working away, and everything fell on to my shoulders.   Molehills became mountains and I often felt as though I was trying to swim through treacle.

When I returned home I decided to do a little cupboard sorting - talk about easily influenced.

I came across a huge brown envelope.


It was filled with pieces of card which had been cut from cereal/tissue boxes.    I recognised the handwriting immediately.    The cogs went round and I was whizzed back over thirty years.

Remember Call My Bluff?  The panel game, where contestants are split into teams and have to decide which definition of an obscure word is correct?     My father used to love that game.    Back then we used to have big family gatherings over Christmas and he must have spent days, if not weeks, making this for us all to play.

Can you imagine anyone these days spending so much time on a thing?   Much more likely to check out Amazon.      I love that this bundle of card is so imbued with his energy and hard work - he died almost twenty years ago, but this made him feel very near.

Well that's our Christmas entertainment sorted out then. 
Thanks Dad.xxx









23 comments:

  1. How brilliant to find this - like treasure from the past.
    I loved Call my Bluff, used to try and beat them by finding the words in a dictionary - of course I didn't often succeed as my Dict. was only small.
    Wonder if it would work as a programme now, probably not - it's too simple an idea for todays viewers

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    1. It was simple fun, wasn't it!
      I suppose these days people would be tapping the words into their computer/phones.

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  2. What a wonderful discovery, and a fun game to play at Christmas. The board game, Balderdash, is a favourite of ours that is similar to Call My Bluff.

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    1. I don't think I have ever played Balderdash, I must check it out.

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  3. We too, live just through-the-garden-gate, from one son and daughter in law. The let-off-steam works here too, and both ways, at times. -smile- A very nice thing, to have, in one's life.

    Lovely find! Bringing lovely memories.!

    Hope the water level goes down quickly, and that no one is really inconvenienced by it.

    🎄🌲🎄🌲🎄

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    1. More rain is falling - just as the last lot has finally drained away. Hey-ho! A safe place to let off steam and also handy for 'childcare' duties! We have a sleepover booked in for Friday night - I guess we will be worn out by Saturday morning.

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  4. Never thought there were any pavements around where you live, too far out in the sticks. Funny how someone elses presence seems to calm thngs down. Must have been a bit worrying for the owners of the Mill with all that water trying to get through

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    1. Well out in the sticks, just a couple of short stretches of pavement along one street in the village, Billy. I was thinking more about all my years spent living in towns and cities, they just don't compare to the years spent out here.

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  5. Oh what a wonderful thing to find, so many memories still to be made. Hope you all enjoy playing.

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    1. Thank you. I am really looking forward to playing it!

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  6. What a treasure to have found, and will put back into service.
    And yes, I remember "helping" my grandchildren clean their own home. Except, I was called The Boss. Sooner done, sooner gone, I decided was their motive.

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    1. I think they just get hung up on the idea of tackling the clearing up but once someone gets into harness with them it whizzes by. Granddaughter is very easily distracted and has to be kept on task though!

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  7. I loved Call My Bluff, how lovely to find your dad's handiwork just before Christmas.
    Yes, we act as the pressure release valve for our girls too. They often pop in for a cup of tea (rant) and I did the same with my mum who lived across the garden. We are very fortunate aren't we 😊.
    Jx

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    1. We most certainly are, Crowoak. We were also fortunate enough to have my parents live with us for their final years. Done carefully, it benefits all the generations.

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  8. Your virtue repaid by your old dad.

    LX

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  9. What a lovely surprise. I like to think these little gifts are from our departed love ones :)

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    1. I agree, Kathie J! It made me very happy.

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  10. What a treasure. We used to play a lot of board games as children - it was so much more fun than the electronic games that mesmerize children today. That must have been a lot of rain!

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    1. There was one board game which was eventually banned from our house - it involved armies, battles, a fight for supremacy - I think it may have been called War or Battle! - very appropriate because war always broke out between my brothers and I whenever we played it.

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  11. What a lovely treasure to find, and SUCH a link with your father. I used to love Call My Bluff too. Far more fun, as Susan said, than the electronic games the kids are glued to. We never played Christmas games as such, just sat around the telly after lunch as tv was still a novelty then.

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    1. I fear it also shows how infrequently I turn out that particular cupboard!! It warmed the cockles of my heart to see his familiar handwriting and the recycled cardboard which he had used - we used to tease him so much about that. Dominoes seem to be a great favourite with my grandchildren, at the moment - we have progressed from Double Six to Double Nines, just to make it more fun. Have a lovely Christmas.

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.