When I was a toddler I had a jack-in-the-box which, on account of my early language skills, I named ‘Guggla.’ I don’t really remember him that much, he was just one of the many toys that I played with as a child. He shared my room with cars, trucks, fire engines, a parking garage, action-men, lego, a guitar and a whole host of other things that accompanied me through my early years. So when my Mom recently emailed me some pictures of my young niece and nephew, Jacob & Sumalee, playing with a wooden fortress that my Granddad had made for me, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
I loved that fortress. It had a draw bridge that could be extended over the gloss blue moat, and turrets upon which my knights in their painted armor would brandish gruesome weaponry and cast imaginary arrows at the invaders below. It had no switches or buttons, cord or batteries, it was powered entirely by the imagination of a child. I don’t know how many hours I must have spent immersed in that medieval world, but I imagine that the fortress served as the seed for the fascination with castles that I have today.
My Granddad created a number of great toys from wood. He built my multi-level parking garage with it’s array of ramps and tricky walls. He made my action-men a home and a base from where they planned their various adventures, one of which involved parachuting into the pond, much to my Dad’s annoyance. And then there was the scale model of our family home, a dolls house built for my sister, Louise, which came complete with action figures of the five of us. It was amazing, and I’m not ashamed to say that I think I played with that about as much as my sister did (much to her annoyance too I might add!).
Mom also sent me a photograph of my niece and nephew playing in Jubilee Cottage, a wendy house built into the space under the stairs in my sisters family home. I first saw Jubilee Cottage back in 1977, the year of the Queens Jubilee when I was just six years old. It was another one of Granddad’s creations, built into a space in my sisters bedroom. Dad had painted the outside with red tiles, and flowers either side of the bright yellow toddler sized door. Louise and I played in there for hours, cooking on the hand made wooden stove and making imaginary cups of tea served in vivid orange and yellow plastic cups.
I’s funny how when I look back, it’s not the battery powered loud toys that I remember most. Instead it’s things like the fortress and the parking garage that are embossed into my memory. Even a stuffed cartoon style bird I named ‘King’ sticks in my mind. Made by my grandmother, whom we to this day still call ‘Yogi,’ ‘King’ was an exact copy of a stuffed bird that used to look out of the window of a house we used to walk past on the way to my grandparents who lived just around the corner. I liked looking at that bird and wanted one just like him. With a little neighborly help Yogi was able to make that happen, and ‘King’ looked out of my bedroom window for years to come.
Then there was the train set that my Dad built in my brother’s room. It included a model village complete with a pub called ‘The Swan’, a police station, and a farmhouse set on a landscape of trees and hills. It was a pretty impressive train set I can tell you, but Pete wasn’t always excited about having his little brother in his bedroom, and so began my education in boundary distinctions. Fortunately my Scaletrix set, wasn’t similarly fixed and therefore my brother and I were able to play with that in relative harmony.
I’m glad that my parents were able to hold on to some of the things of our childhood. Sure, they’re different now as I look at them through the eyes of an adult. But there’s something of that child in me that can still recall the wonder of these things. So when asked recently, I couldn’t resist an invitation by Sumalee to join her inside Jubilee Cottage for a cup of imaginary tea.
As for Guggla, my old jack-in-the-box, he wasn’t discarded either. When I grew tired of his wobbly ways he took retirement in a storage box where he remains to this day, quietly hoping perhaps to make a few encore appearances and once more feel the warmth of the sun on his wooden face before he’ll ‘guggle’ no more.
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Wrote the following comment on Jul 10, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I love this post! I would’ve loved to have had a Grandad to build me stuff and would have loved to have a Jubilee Cottage. Your Grandad sounds tops! :)
Wrote the following comment on Jul 11, 2008 at 2:15 pm
When I go to my older sisters house EVERYTHING her kids have requires batteries and I can’t see any of that stuff standing the test of time like Jubilee Cottage or your castle.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 11, 2008 at 1:20 pm
My sister and I had 2 baby crib/beds my great grandfather built for us. At one point they were big enough for us to fit into. We played with those forever! I don’t know what ever happened to those and that’s kind of sad to me :-(
My husband and I have 4 children and the last one is 7 years younger than her closest brother. Once when she was about 5 we were in a toy store and I remember her running up to a cute, soft, cuddly teddy bear and turning it round and round looking for what it “does”. It was then that I realized she has been raised up in a totally different generation. It’s amazing how much the world has changed even with something as simple as toys. Great post!
Wrote the following comment on Jul 12, 2008 at 3:47 am
i really enjoyed your story. i remember well the puppet theater that my dad built for us kids one christmas, along with the puppets that my mom made. happy times.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 12, 2008 at 8:01 am
Fantastic post, Bro. As always. Love the pic of you and Sumalee in Jubilee cottage.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 12, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I think you took that picture didn’t you Bro?
Wrote the following comment on Jul 12, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I did?!? Oh.. yeah.. I did!!
Wrote the following comment on Jul 12, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I enjoyed that post! And I agreed with your brother, that really is a lovely picture of you a the beautifully names Sumalee.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 12, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I am -so- going to pass this post along to my own grandad, maker of many a fine wooden toy! And my sister, to pass along that great idea of what to do with the cupboard under the stairs!
And then there’s my own childhood memories. This cardboard space ship I had, tall enough for 6-year old me to stand up in, with portholes and all. Is it a wonder I love space? Our early lives shape us in whatever ways they can, I suppose. Great post, so fun.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 14, 2008 at 6:11 am
I enjoyed your post.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 15, 2008 at 7:28 pm
what a unique and beautiful name, Sumalee. How did she get her name? What does it mean?
Wrote the following comment on Jul 16, 2008 at 10:25 am
You know Shri, I’m not sure where Louise got the name from. But you and Farren are right, it is a beautiful name isn’t it.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 17, 2008 at 5:36 pm
i, like many others, know exactly what you mean by not placing much importance on the shiny plastic toys bought in a store. it’s still amazing for me to just sit back and watch a kid play with/in a box, and if you can find one that doesn’t smile at the site of bubble wrap i’d like to meet him/her. and do a psychological analysis on them as well.
anyway, just last night my bf and i were swapping stories of our favorite toys and games and childhood memories. one of my earliest memories included a giant mound of gravel that we turned into a miniature city and drove our hot wheels cars around on.
until i was old enough to enjoy video games, the toys that allowed me to use my imagination always trumped the gifts that didn’t.