What treasures ! I loved going to Brownies until enrollment day. My father for some unearthly reason had asked that we all had his name, Aubrey included in ours. This was fine for my brothers but I found it terribly embarrassing. It wasn't as if it was his first name - which was John ! But there were so many John Smiths in the services he became J. Aubrey Smith.

And so they called out Penelope Ann Aubrey Smith & I wished the floor could eat me up. This could be why when ever I phoned my friends & was asked who was calling I replied,
" only Penny " One dad called me this affectionally from then on. Another -a real Sussex countryman called me Tuppence which I loved. I really should have called the Blog...It's only Penny. Perhaps when I write my memoirs.....

Brownies clashed with Red Cross in our village hall ( probably the only night they put the heating on ) so I reluctantly left Brownies and its awful brown dress, leather belt & brown beret. Red Cross seemed so grown up in comparison. I went on a camp and got terribly homesick & wouldn't do sleepovers for ages afterwards. We had a regional competition and all our group won was singing. I mean I know that singing lifts the spirits & all that but it will hardly stem bleeding or resuscitate. Still we were proud.

I was a prefect in name only... there was hardly anyone to be prefect to as our school had been changing into a sixth form college since the year after I joined. It was great - more & more in the VI form every year for us to swoon over. Though it retained it's school title until it fully became a college, we felt like we were already there.

Dear little badges of honour and mementos of the past.