Youth is the theme of this week's Sepia Saturday and I am going with two photographs from my own youth, both of which are illustrative of the unfulfilled hopes and ambitions that populate our youth like acne pimples.
This first photograph was taken in the field just behind our house in Northowram. It was an empty field undergoing a lengthy transition between stone quarry and housing development. My youth occupied that window between the departure of the quarrymen and the arrival of the builders, and therefore the field was our playground, adventure park, campsite and racetrack. My brother and some of the other neighbourhood children had laid out a running track - marked with granite sets from the quarry - and we would run laps of the track in our own version of the Olympic Games. This photograph of me, must have been taken by my brother - probably around 1957.
My dreams of becoming a world famous athlete never came to fruition and were quickly replaced by my transition into an equally world famous racing car driver. Like most others of my generation I fell in love with the form and beauty of the E-Type Jaguar, and I dreamed of becoming rich and famous and driving such a car throughout the land. I never missed the opportunity to stand next to one and have my photograph taken. I never had the opportunity to sit inside one. But dreams are not just for youth - there is still perhaps time!
This is a SEPIA SATURDAY post. To see more posts on this theme go to the Sepia Saturday Blog and follow the links
Ha ha...and you must have been pretty good at running...you knees have no scabs showing, so you must not have fallen down much. That's a good thing. The car, well, I had a neighbor once who had one parked in our apartment parking lot...getting the same rain and snow and sun as our little MG-A.. Ours was a family car with a back seat!
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of you running. You look very happy competing in your personal Olympic Games. And the car! It looks like it could carry you right into a future time.
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