Von Trapped in the Sound of Music

    I suppose that I have had fifty years to think about it. 

   The Sound of Music movie came out fifty years ago this month. 

   I was born just two years prior. Making allowances for being a baby and with not much idea about anything apart from feeding, sleeping and puking and then going to playschool, infants and junior school it may not have been until I was about 8 years old that I first heard of the film. This will have been from those who saw it at the cinema. I seem to remember that it may not have reached the family black and white TV until the mid 1970's, yes, as usual, as the Christmas Day afternoon viewing.

    Whatever the timing I firmly believe that I was one of the Von Trapp's. 

    Let us consider the ten main coincidental facts. 

    1) I had an idyllic childhood full of singing, trips out, running about in grassy meadows and sometimes wearing hand made clothes although definitely not fashioned out of a pair of curtains. Nuns were often milling around although this may have been down to that we did live near a convent. 

   2) My father, who certainly loved me and my siblings was often away from home on important business.  Being himself an only child but with five offspring of his own he was understandably a bit overwhelmed and aloof but in a friendly way which we regarded with affection and respect. 

   3) We were looked after by our Mother who certainly had the patient of a saint and made the character Maria, played by Julie Andrews, look distinctly lazy and tardy by comparison. 

   4) We were never short of activities and pursuits. In my mind everything was accompanied by piano music or a good harmonious sing song and again, sometimes wearing hand made clothing, skillfully knitted, sewn or crafted.

   5) There was the large house that we lived in although it may just have seemed to be palatial as we always had plenty of room to cavort about and most of us had our own bedroom. We were often asked to stand on the stairs in ascending order of age and size when our parents had guests. My sister was always asking for a sip of Babycham.

    6) I was entered into music festivals at an early age and can still remember most of the words of the test poem of "The King's Breakfast" by A.A Milne which opened with "The King asked The Queen and The Queen asked the Dairymaid , could we have some butter for the Royal Slice of Bread?". 

    7) As for that piece for descant recorder at a highly regarded Lincolnshire Musical Festival, "The Gavotte", I can still play it in full some 40 years later. On occasion I still wake up in a cold sweat and sheer panic after dreaming of forgetting where to place my fingers on the holes. There was also a distinct memory of a strong disinfectant smell, like there was on passing the Convent in town.

    8) We did flee our home. Well, it was not quite as dramatic as that. We just moved to another area but it did seem like we were leaving in a hurry clasping only the barest of essentials. In fact the removals company had managed to fit everything in the lorry and all we had to do was carry our most prized possessions.

   9) There were no actual Nazi's intent on our pursuit and persecution but Father , who was the town Bank Manager had a similar opinion of his superiors at Regional Head Office. 

  10) Some of my big sisters boyfriends and suitors were not at all to be trusted. None were called Rolf Gruber but there was a bit of a theme of fair haired youths who would, in my opinion, think nothing of betraying their grannies to advance in the hierarchy of the local Cub Scouts, Sea Cadets or Church Lads Brigade.

Many coincidences indeed. 

   So long, farewell, Auf Weidersehen, Goodbye.....................must go and oil my favourite Lederhosen.