Bradford Lad: Observation
Warm-hearted Mike Coatesworth was taught to really observe the world around him by his Aunt Chrissie, who had a secret motive for getting him to properly use his eyes.
I recall times when me and my brother were lads, out on a leisurely walks with our Aunt Chrissie. She loved her walks, and very rarely went out without at least one of us with her. As we walked along the cobbled street she would point to the shops and describe them in detail. For example, as we passed the bakery, she stopped and closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and had us do the same. She asked if we could smell the fresh bread.
Both my brother and I did the same and confirmed to her that we could. Then she said to keep our eyes closed and describe the shop. Although we had passed the shop many times before and even entered it; we could not describe it properly. Like most people we had taken it for granted that the shop was there and sold bread and cakes.
She asked us to open our eyes and take a good look at the shop and the surrounding area, and the inside of the shop. This we did and looking around we took in everything that was possible for young lads to take in. People passing didn't take much notice of what we were doing. They probably presumed that it was a mother playing with her children.
After a few moments, our Aunt asked us to close our eyes again and describe what we had taken in.
We told her that the brown-painted front of the shop was divided into 16 small sections of glass panels, and the door was a solid brown door with fancy curved black handles and in the centre of the door was a large ornate knocker. Underneath the knocker was a black metal slot for posting letters. Above the shop was a large sign "Ronnie's Bakery.''.Inside the shop was a long brown counter. On the counter was wicker baskets of bread and teacakes, large and small. And there were two women behind the counter.
Outside the shop, there was a cobbled main street with people walking up and down. Well for young lads, this was quite an achievement!
I remember Aunt Chrissie praising us and informing us on how well we'd done. She told us that with practise we would be able to describe everything around us.
We were a little puzzled, as we thought that we already had achieved this.
Smiling and running her fingers through our hair, she explained that we hadn't noticed the man across the street repairing the gas lamp, nor the horse being led to the farriers, probably to have new shoes put on. There were lots of other things that we hadn't noticed, but the most important thing, and the most obvious, was, our Aunt!
Without realising it, we had taken her for granted.
Over the following months, she played this game with us and we really enjoyed it. What we didn't know at the time was that our Aunt was losing her sight and when this finally happened, she was hoping that when we went out, we would be able to describe the surroundings to her.
'Sight is a precious thing,' she informed us. 'Don't take it for granted, look around you, and take stock of your surroundings, then you won't end up with any nasty surprises.''
Years later, when I was in the army, I reckon her words saved my life a couple of times.
Now every time I pass a bakery and smell the fresh bread, my mind wanders back in time for a few moments, and once again I'm going down that cobbled street with my Aunt.
If you had met her, I know you would have liked her as much as we did.
Time for a Cuppa!
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