Manchester, England, 1960s
M Ann McNulty went for walks daily to the local park in Fallowfield, Manchester with her beloved grandfather from Tipperary, Michael Barry.
Her family were Irish and lived on Egerton Rd, in Fallowfield. Her near neighbours were another Irish family, the Aherns. Their little girl Caroline was one of her and her brother’s earliest friends. They played in and out of each others houses and went to Irish dancing lessons together.
She loved her long, meandering, sociable walks with her grandfather, stopping en route to choose a hard gingerbread biscuit from the tin in the local shop. ( They lasted longer! )The lidded biscuit tins were wall mounted, at a slight angle, and she still remembers the joy of getting to choose that biscuit ‘all by myself’. Leaving the shop clutching the biscuit in a little paper bag, grandfather and granddaughter always found the perfect park bench to rest on so she could eat it and chat to her favourite adult, her favourite person in the whole world, about all things under the sun. As a three and four year old she was very conscious of being utterly and absolutely contented in his company. To be listened to, understood, respected and loved so unconditionally is something she wishes for every child.
Noticing flora, fauna, architecture, chatting about books, and to everyone they met on their journey – artists working en plein air, dog walkers, mothers with prams, shop keepers, people from all walks of life, and from every corner of the globe in multi-cultural Manchester was something she was privileged to experience at a young age.
Moving to Ireland a few years later was a very different experience. Society was more restrictive and there was little diversity.
She still likes long walks, books, nature, architecture…has a sweet tooth, a fondness for ginger, and the sitcom ‘The Royle Family’ which was written by and acted in by the incredibly talented Caroline Ahern.*
The basket, bought for her by her mother to hold stale bread pieces so she could feed the birds and ducks on those fondly remembered, long ago walks with her grandfather, has survived, although the little lid has long since vanished.
She wanted to record this memory before her own ‘lid’ vanishes!
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Aherne
