My thoughts have drifted back to my youth, somewhere between the ages of 10 & 12, it takes me back to a period where my friends and I would venture to a park named the Malago, it was a wooded area, many trees with a little stream running through it, a small bridge at the beginning of which above was a road, there were many little areas of stepping stones so you could cross from one side to the other, you had to be carefull at times due to the slime that was on these stones and many a time i can remember me or my friends slipping and falling into the stream which was not deep but very rocky, this created many a laugh amongst us and someone was always called wet leg, where that came from i dont no, one side of the stream was a high embankment, a lovely area to walk through and a great place to play fox and hounds or go bike riding, the only downfall was the downfall, a grand 30 - 40ft drop, not straight down, slanted and quite dangerous.
My story starts on this side of the stream as on this side there was what we called the monkey slide, through the summer it was dry and hard and hanging over the slide was an huge Oak tree attached to it was a rope swing, swinging from there you always felt as though you were up in the clouds, never thought of the dangers of the rope snapping and falling 20ft into the rocky stream, just screams of laughter. During the winter rainy season it was very muddy and slippery, hence the monkey slide, what better a thing to do to climb to the top and slide down on the slippery mud into the cold stream below, well some did and some were clever enough to stop before hitting the stream, opposite this area was flat grassy land with a walk path, this whole area was very much used by many children from surrounding areas and was a great place to meet, this is where I met a lovely girl named Helen.
Helen and her friends would meet here as we did and we all got to no one another and spent many a fun time here at the weekends meeting up on a regular basis. Helen was a fun loving person who was always laughing and very much enjoyed getting involved with the boyish activities, she was a great laugh and fun to be with and there was never a dull moment, chase games, walking through the stream barefoot searching for sticklebacks, all standing on the small weir holding onto the iron frame while the water gushed between our feet watching the ducks and swans on the lake, or just all laid by the river bank in the sun, exchanging thoughts of the future, dreams and whats happening at school, home and talking of holidays had and the adventurous places we had all been to.... Memories of a great period in my youth.
We all were getting older still all going to the same school but the Malago became a chapter in our lives and we all moved on in our seperate ways dealing with what the future had in trust for us.
My story ends on a very happy note, that being that 30 odd years later Helen is now my partner, when we first met up again it was as if it was only yesterday, there was a feeling that no time had lapsed between us as we gave eachother a cuddle and kiss, since that time we have spent many a great time together, she still is the most amazing fun filled laughing person I knew many years ago, yet now I no her as a loving caring woman with a warm, gentle, kind heart, my friend, my sister, my lover, a combination of all beauty wrapped up in one bundle and for that I love, respect and honour everything about her.
In deed i have been showing various projects on here that I have finally got around to doing, but my inspiration was from Helen and i have many jobs to complete and through our journey together and helens inspiring nature, its going to be a fun filled adventurous future.
Mmmm maybe it might've been one of those things we discussed while sat on the river bank.
Love you Babe xxxx
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