tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post5591008006752930680..comments2024-03-23T09:57:30.798+00:00Comments on The Review : PAULA'S PEOPLE: DEBRA BROWNSharon Bennett Connollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12041403536250826439noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-84357614169033266242013-10-23T08:12:41.502+01:002013-10-23T08:12:41.502+01:00Your move does sound very unsettling- not bad, but...Your move does sound very unsettling- not bad, but so different and almost back in time, as you say. I can hardly imagine them using thee and thou in this last century, and especially youth. <br /><br />Thanks for visiting the post and sharing your thoughts.Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-78648446900489806262013-10-23T07:34:47.081+01:002013-10-23T07:34:47.081+01:00I really enjoyed this post and your story, Debra. ...I really enjoyed this post and your story, Debra. Like Margaret I remember days so cold that we had frost on the inside of the windows. The Cold Old Days. It would be lovely to hear what people's favourite childhood books are. I think that they prove a great influence on my writing today, more perhaps than on my reading. <br /><br />And I really understand the strangeness of moving area when a child. When I was eight I moved from London to Chesterfield in the east midlands of England. It was 150 miles away but felt like a different country. More than that it felt like a different time. The school was Victorian with scratch pens and caning for boys who were dirty. And out in the playground it was almost medieval with kids theeing and thouing and calling each other youth. Martin LakeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-82638300355544323872013-10-20T07:06:39.389+01:002013-10-20T07:06:39.389+01:00:):)Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-31305734889012524982013-10-20T07:01:57.539+01:002013-10-20T07:01:57.539+01:00One day it would be fun. I thought of Nancy Drew w...One day it would be fun. I thought of Nancy Drew when I read this. I so enjoyed those stories as a child.Carol McGrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11072696398820339640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-80711102883994483562013-10-19T17:08:32.480+01:002013-10-19T17:08:32.480+01:00Hi Margaret, I remember it being too cold to dress...Hi Margaret, I remember it being too cold to dress in the mornings too. My poor father was the one who had to face the cold and run down to the basement to shovel some coal into the furnace and get things going again. Then the heat would drift up one central vent where we would all huddle till we could go off and get ready for school.<br /><br />Your poem is wonderful! It is nice to know so many wonderful people in the literary world. Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-39786142432043838632013-10-19T17:02:51.167+01:002013-10-19T17:02:51.167+01:00Thank you so much, Simon!Thank you so much, Simon!Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-56824659765962993422013-10-19T17:02:08.290+01:002013-10-19T17:02:08.290+01:00Hi Louise, isn't it pleasant to think back to ...Hi Louise, isn't it pleasant to think back to these things? We had more time to enjoy such natural art as children. Thanks for your comment on CC&K and for being a part of our groups.Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-1136377825137556422013-10-19T13:23:16.208+01:002013-10-19T13:23:16.208+01:00I remember the frost on the inside of the windows ...I remember the frost on the inside of the windows too. on the days when the windows looked so beautiful I pulled my clothes into my bed and when they had warmed up a little I got dressed under the covers before I got up. (An art form actually.) <br />And for a literary anecdote - when I was 11 I wrote a poem about the frost for a school competition and it won! Only problem was that I had to read it out to several hundred people at the school concert. It finished with the lines, <br /> 'Twas that Jack Frost<br /> I saw portrayed <br /> In blue and grey <br /> On a window pane <br /> In winter's day. <br /><br />The embarrassing thing was that our headmaster was called, you've guessed it, Jack Frost!<br />I managed not to laugh!! Though there were lots of comments queries afterwards as to whether it was deliberate or not... Whatever he clearly forgave me for he volunteered to play the organ at my wedding, which was lovely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-45401791024629761902013-10-19T10:27:24.660+01:002013-10-19T10:27:24.660+01:00A beautiful post, and a real joy to read! Good lu...A beautiful post, and a real joy to read! Good luck with everything, Debra!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18196399295962497955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-39036338042764576632013-10-19T08:43:29.059+01:002013-10-19T08:43:29.059+01:00I am a child of the 1940s from London, and it was ...I am a child of the 1940s from London, and it was the norm in winter to have what we called 'ice trees' on our windows. Fabulous patterns. I've enjoyed reading this post very much. It has evoked many childhood memories of winter. I have Castles, Customs and Kings, and it is fabulous, one of my best purchases this year. Thank you.Louiseruleauthorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03662370428583932577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-1434092923350283262013-10-19T06:44:03.694+01:002013-10-19T06:44:03.694+01:00Lovely post Debra, its a pleaseure to have you as ...Lovely post Debra, its a pleaseure to have you as a guest on The Review. I loved the sound of your childhood home *sigh. sound idyllic. Good luck with all you do!Paula Loftinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17138899684247746388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-92101170142859947332013-10-19T06:02:47.790+01:002013-10-19T06:02:47.790+01:00Barbara, isn't the frost incredible? And it se...Barbara, isn't the frost incredible? And it seems the colder the night, the fancier the frost. I could be wrong, but I used to check the "painting" on the windows each morning. It's great to talk to someone else who read the books! Mine were the green set of seven- I think from 1929?<br /><br />Carol, the house was amazing with closets that went through from room to room- lots of space in there to hide, and who would know what room you would turn up in after. I felt like Nancy Drew. And Carol, why don't you write the biography, but you'd better embellish it or it will be boring... lol.Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-56555934748811754832013-10-19T05:50:43.970+01:002013-10-19T05:50:43.970+01:00Thanks for having me, Paula! Big thanks.Thanks for having me, Paula! Big thanks.Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-83743296421832806922013-10-19T04:45:31.585+01:002013-10-19T04:45:31.585+01:00When I read of your childhood I thought of my own ...When I read of your childhood I thought of my own and equally I wished I could be there in that house with its tunnelling chests and great old trees. I was also interested to read of how you started English Hist Fiction author blog. It is truly wonderful. And it was Debbie who suggested the book which shamefully I still must get hold of and haven't yet as am away from home until Nov. What a superb interview and thank you both Paula and Debra for this. I think a biography one day Debra and Paula of Debra's story.Carol McGrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11072696398820339640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264965526853735683.post-83061552423051045002013-10-19T01:07:21.435+01:002013-10-19T01:07:21.435+01:00I remember Jack Frost on the window panes! (I grew...I remember Jack Frost on the window panes! (I grew up on a warmer climate than Minnesota, but we got plenty of frost in the winter.) I also have fond memories of My Book House. After googling a bit, I think I must have had what is known as the rainbow set. <br /><br />Hurray for the blog and the book!Barbara Monajemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06740868750916582900noreply@blogger.com