WIMMC? ~ Item No: 2

~ What's In My Mother's Cabinet?
(Part of a fun series of posts detailing my cherrished items of 'tat' inside my Mother's cabinet!)

Item No: 2

Eric and Bambi

Well here we have the second item from my Mother's cabinet.. I hope you are suitably excited?!  Yes, I know there are two items, but I am classing them as one.  They have never been apart and hopefully never will be.  Eric and Bambi, residing on  the more elite cabinet shelf.  Beautifully made glass ornaments.  They were a gift from my parents following my performance in the local pantomime, quite some years ago now.  I still remember opening the box and thinking what a lovely present.  I was a regular in the village pantomimes.  Despite being known as a shy, self-conscious type, I was quite happy to project my voice to the back of the hall whilst on stage.  In fact I couldn't understand why some people had trouble doing this - why not speak loudly when given full permission to do so? Didn't make sense to me when people preferred to mumble into the side curtains.  I did have a problem however with slow songs, (and also with  the rather sharp tongue of Mrs. H. - the lady in charge.  I know she was fond of me, and she was only trying to get the best out of us all, but still..)  Anyway,  I would get upset and be unable to continue singing.  Are you familiar with 'Feed the Birds'??  Got me every time!

That is until I hit 14 or 15 years old.   One evening the rehearsal was not going well.  My friend and I were practising a duet of sorts, but the notes were unbelievably high.. which the two of us found slightly amusing. The, by then,  quite aged Mrs. H.  was not amused and from her chair planted in the centre of the otherwise empty hall,  spat out her low opinion of our screeching attempts ... and waited... for the tears.  But surprisingly they didn't come. I'm not sure who was more shocked - her or me!!  I had outgrown the fear that was sometimes present at rehearsals.  Outgrown her.  I think she would have been rather sad. 

Together with my Mother in fact.. being sad I mean.  Every year she would be keen to tell me that  rehearsals had started again.  I remember the final year.  By then I had an enormous crush on one of the boys at school.  I was self-conscious beyond belief.  The thought of him seeing me in pantomime-style clothes was unbearable! So her announcement was met with an uncertain and reserved smile, and she knew..   I was growing up. 

    

.. every time..

Laters x