Thursday, December 15, 2011

Recycled Christmas

I was looking through a box of old family photographs and found some pictures of infant school days. The top class of seven year olds always performed the nativity play. The costumes were carefully packed away each year and used again.

Here is the nativity play of December 1952, with me as the angel Gabriel:

 and here, five years later, is my little brother as Joseph:

Every year, someone's baby brother was brought in to play the part of the infant Jesus. I must say that these two look so similar that I am inclined to think they must have packed the 1952 babe away to recycle in 1957!

Here is a full cast picture but from which year?
The school closed many years ago and I suppose the costumes were disposed of along with the plasticine, the enamelled cups and the wooden slide that linger strongly in my memory. This afternoon three year old Millie will be a king in her kindergarten's nativity play.  Recycling in action!

5 comments:

  1. A girl king! A new day indeed. Wonderful pictures.

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  2. I'm hoping for some photos of the girl king to be emailed, e. My daughter is a little worried that the non-speaking part will have been transformed by our little garrulous Millie by the time she reaches the stable!

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  3. Dear Mo, a blast from the past =- a trip down memory lane. In my photo the cast is L t R Linda Mark, Moi, Christine Blatch, Teresa Cosgrove( as Mary) and Marjorie Brown. Who Jesus is God only knows (delibarate pun!). Don't know if you remember but I suffered for my art as I had a broken arm in plaster at the time.
    Regarding the unknown year photo is Joseph played by Jeffrey Campbell or is that the wrong year group?
    I wonder what the H&S goup would say about photographing a nativity play in a primary school? I think of all those parents now who are missing photos of their children performing in their school activities because of PR and H&Safety rules being applied so precisely.
    We have these wonderful photographic memories of our childhood and schooldays. It also proved the dementia test: somehow I remembered the others' names in my nativity from 1960 (51years ago)but what did I do this morning????

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  4. Hi John (must you still be anonymous when you have named everyone else in your photo?!) Actually I can name most of the cast in mine, too. The full cast photo is, of course, mine - can't you see the angel Gabriel singing so beautifully? Yes, Jeffrey Campbell was Joseph.

    You may be able to remember names, little brother, but your arithmetic is all wrong! You were not ten years old in that play!

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