As much as I am trying to be positive about Christmas this year if I am honest I am nursing a broken heart over the loss of my beloved Debenhams and tears keep flowing every time I try to concentrate on writing my 'tribute' article for 'Hastings Town' magazine 'making life difficult'...
In so many ways for me losing Debenhams is (almost) like losing a member of my family and because I have lots of lovely memories of my Nan tied up in the place as well it almost feels like losing her all over again, you know?
In many ways I have 'retreated' into the world of the 1970's this last few weeks and taken to watching lots of old programmes from that period on DVD. Networkonair.com is a brilliant place to shop for vintage films, dramas and television series and I have been enjoying Christmas episodes of 'classic' 70's comedies like 'The Rag Trade', 'Bless Me Father' and 'Two's Company' via their 'Classic ITV Christmas Comedy' compilation DVD set. I guess we are all feeling the need to escape the world as it is at the moment and for me that means returning to a time when I felt safe and didn't really have a care in the world. Childhood is such a great thing when you are brought up in a loving family environment and I was exceptionally lucky in that regard - something for many years I took for granted was the same for everyone until I learn't more about life.
Aside from cheering me up a bit all of my 'vintage viewing' has also brought a lot of memories back. Simple family related things, 70's life related things and even the odd smell and taste. One of which being the distinctive (and thankfully timeless) taste of Jaffa Oranges! I bet most reasonably well-off families had an ornate glass bowl full of Jaffa Oranges in their front room in the 1970's - probably in the centre of the living room on the coffee table next to the T.V. Times and Radio Times!
Blissfully, the scent and taste of Jaffa Oranges today is almost exactly the same as it was then and because of that I have been eating one a day every day since I heard the news about Debenhams as a kind of 'comfort food'. Immersing myself in the past has also inspired me and the other day I wrote the following 'Ode to the Jaffa Orange' because of that. Have a read and see if my poem connects with your 'inner child'! If so, do please let me know how it made you feel and what memories it evoked for you, won't you?
Max Jaffa
When I peel an Orange
I smell memories that date back as far as I can remember
When I taste an Orange
I am reminded of the sun, of happiness and of freedom
When I roll an Orange
I am a boy again and see my Grandfather at Christmas, hear the cracking of hazelnuts and dream of tiny hammers and of the toffee tray
When I see an Orange
I am reminded of simplicity and of how the simple things in life are often the best
When I share an Orange
I think of Tiny Tim and of a re-awakened Ebeneezer Scrooge - no longer scarred by life but touched by love
When I dissect an Orange
I think of chocolate of Terry Scott and yearn for a ‘curly wurly’
And when I paint an Orange
I feel comforted and content - safe in the knowledge that when I finish my painting all of the above shall never be lost to me…
Antony May 14/12/20
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