…Are you sitting comfortably?
This post is one of 26 I am writing for the A-Z Challenge on the subject of writing a memoir. I’m not an expert in writing memoirs, but I’m exploring the topic with thoughts about writing one, and am happy to share the fruits of my exploration.
And today a special “THANK YOU” to Arlee Bird who started this challenge.
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One of my first memories is of Daphne Oxenford saying, “Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.” These words, spoken at a quarter to two every day, always meant that I was about to hear another story on the radio programme, Listen With Mother.
To this day, if I happen to notice that it’s a quarter to two, I hum the signature tune of Listen With Mother, either to myself or out loud. My husband joins in.
This seems a good way to begin my series of A-Z posts about writing a memoir. What does my memory mean to you, my readers? Well, if you’re from the UK and old enough to remember Listen With Mother, you might feel as nostalgic as I do.
What if you’re not? Why would you be interested to hear about that piece of information?
The answer is, you probably wouldn’t be interested, as it stands. But what if I told you about the only story I remember out of all those I heard every day at a quarter to two? The story was about a dog who rushed home for his meal and burnt his tongue on the hot food, but then remembered being told to start at the edge because food at the edge is cooler. I remembered the story all these years because it taught me something.
“Okay, but that’s not so interesting to me,” you might say.
What if I told you my mother used to say, “Now you’ve listened to your programme, you must keep quiet and let me listen to mine.” And I tried to keep quiet for the whole hour of Woman’s Hour because I had listened to my fifteen minute-long programme. Only at that time I didn’t realise my mother’s statement wasn’t as fair as it sounded, because I didn’t have a good idea of time.
“That could be interesting,” you might say. “But only if it has some bearing on the theme of your memoir, or one of its topics.”
“How would that work out in practice?” I might ask.
“Well, say you wanted to show that your mother used to tell you things that weren’t really true for various reasons. Then you would give several examples of times when she did that.”
“Like telling me that they moved house just so that I could go to the school I was at?”
“Exactly.”
“That backfired big time.”
“Then write about it in your memoir.”
I will. And I’ll be returning to the topic of theme in other posts.
How about you? What are your first memories? Why would your readers want to know about them?
Are you sitting comfortably? We’ve begun.
Miriam Drori, Author 
23 replies on “A-Z Challenge: A is for…”
I have lovely early memories of climbing up onto the table to hear ‘Listen with Mother’ on what would now be seen as a big, old-fashioned ‘wireless’. I’m not sure why I sat on the table!
I suppose it’s as good a place as any!
Never heard of “Listen with Mother” and for some reason my first memories involve opening a bag of Cheetos when I wasn’t supposed to. Huh.
Hi from Nagzilla bloghopping A to Z
That probably made the Cheetos all the more tasty 🙂
Oh! Oh! Oh! I’d forgotten until I read this but my Mum used to say that to me. I doubt if I ever let her listen to the whole of Woman’s Hour though. I remember that I loved Listen With Mother but I can’t remember anything except for the line, “Are you sitting comfortably! Then I will begin.”
Isn’t it amazing how memories can be woken after so long!
I think I was brought up by Radio Four. Listening to Jack De Maggio (spelling?) get the time wrong as we were getting ready for school, wanting to stay for the end of morning story on the days it replaced Yesterday in Parliament, hearing my mother argue with the wireless when Any Questions was on…oh and my very first political moment: the family huddled around the sunburst cabinet listening to the results of the American Presidential election come in. I was very, very small and I thought it was a race between a nice Irish boy called Jack and Dixon of Dock Green….Ah, see what you’ve started!!
I had to look that one up. Aha – Richard Nixon.
Oh boy, Miriam, do I remember Listen with Mother and Daphne Oxenford and it’s a great place to start a memoir blog . It started me thinking of all those lunch times with my mother.
My mother had had enough by the time I was three. She sent me to kindergarten.
Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with Listen to Mother, but it sounds like it was a wonderful program to enjoy as a child.
One of my first memories, vaguely, is of having birthday party and the cake being made in the shape of Raggedy Ann. Who knows, it’s such a sketchy memory that it may have been a remembered desire instead lol!
It would be interesting to know how many of our early memories really happened the way we think they did.
I had never heard of “Listen with mother” I will have to ask my Mom. Great post!! One of my favorite memories was sitting with my Grandfather as he cut out paper dolls for me. What a great memory that is for me!!
Connie
I’m visiting from the A to Z Blog Challenge
Peanut Butter and Whine
It’s fun to remember, isn’t it?
I am sitting comfortably, do please go on Miriam.
I have vivid memories of Listen with Mother and Woman’s Hour. I’m listening to that right now as I write this.
Memory is the grist to our mill as writers – true or not.
Oh yes!
I can’t wait to read your memoir Miriam! I remember very little before my sister was born but one of my fondest memories is playing outside with a big book, ‘jumping in’ (a la Mary Poppins) and continuing to play in a fantasy world based on the story we’d jumped into. Oh, and eating beef sandwiches in front of Playschool one Sunday (lunch away from the table!). Happy days.
I remember crying because it fitted a part I was playing. I couldn’t do that now.
It’s odd which snatches of the past come back to you, as if they are truly in a memory box.
My husband and I remember different parts of our life together.
🙂 I like to start writing in the middle too!
AJ Lauer
#atozchallenge helper minion
Twitter: @ayjaylauer
Lovely post. Good luck with the challenge! I participated last year and had a blast!
Donna L Martin
http://www.donasdays.blogspot.com
Isn’t interesting what we attach our memories to? Dates, places, smells and the time of day. I have never heard of the radio program.