I have very recently left teaching and realised that this will be the first time in...EVER that I won't have the summer holidays. It's made me look back on all those summer holidays I've had since childhood with rose tinted glasses. I say rose tinted because there were actually times as a kid where I got a bit bored during the summer and actually looked forward to going back to school. I know, I know, what a geek! Anyway, here are some of my favourite summer memories from childhood to adulthood.
1 - Playing 'Army'.
For the first twelve years of my life I grew up in the beautiful town of Bishops Castle. One of my favourite things to do during summers here was playing games of army in a local woodland with my friends. For those of you who were deprived of such an amazing game during your own childhood, army is where you get sticks that look vaguely like guns and pretend to shoot each other. If you get shot, you have to pretend to be dead for 5 seconds before getting back up and carrying on. Oh, and the 5 second rule was taken VERY seriously. It sounds ridiculous (and it is) but we would genuinely spend hours playing this without getting bored.
It is now banned from every school in the land but if they find a stick that looks vaguely like this they will still start making "pew pew" sounds.
2 - Dens.
Another very important part of childhood summer in the countryside was making dens. There was another wooded area we used to go to that we all called 'The Dingle'. I have absolutely no idea if that was what it was actually called as it sounds far too silly and slightly rude. Anyway, I used to go there with my friends and spend long days making dens that I remember looking much more impressive than they probably actually did. Dens were a brilliant memory from my childhood and every child should definitely be given the opportunity to make at least one den in their life.
3 - Spending far too much time at friends houses.
Nowadays, I can't imagine going to a friend’s house and just staying there for a week. I would miss my own home and space too much! However, when I was a teenager, it seemed perfectly acceptable. Whether it involved hundreds of games of Fifa, missions to obtain alcohol or endless prank phone calls, it always seemed a better option than just staying at home.
4 - Reading in the sun.
Reading is always great but so much better when you can read in the sun without having to worry about the alarm clock the next day. I know people who have no interest in books the rest of the year but will still read a novel or two every summer because it's such a good feeling. I plan on spending my retirement living somewhere hot and spending most my time reading as many books as possible. Brexit making my retirement to Spain more difficult is one of the many reasons to be disappointed with it.
