My Rainbow Coloured Memories

By Shirley Felton

To me, Rainbows mean the Lord's promise that He'll always be there for me for he will never leave me. 

My childhood story tells of an easier, less worrying time for showmen. Government demands on health and safety, testing and plating make it a hard life nowadays. In some ways, life for modern travelling showmen is more convenient, but it is also more expensive and stressful.

The remnants of my travelling life are still around; my stainless steel water cans and rubbing board are stored in the kitchen, memories of days before launderettes when all the washing was done by hand in water carried from a standpipe on fairgrounds where we travelled.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keeley Felton
• Release date: Nov 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393081791

Book preview

It was the summer of 1989 and my granddaughter, Charlotte was staying the night with us.  She had asthma at that time and could not get to sleep for coughing, so I prayed for her and, nursing her, I began to hum a tune I had never heard before but found myself humming it a lot until one night I woke up singing in my mind some words.  They were strange to me and I needed to write them down so I got up and, in the dark wrote the words on the back of some cardboard as I did not want to wake my husband.

The next morning I rang Glad from church and told her about my song, not knowing that she had a keyboard; she kindly brought it to my home and asked me to hum the tune and then sing it with the words.  I went to the playroom and sang as I want to cry every time I sing it, but she managed to write it down for me and that is what is shown above.

I thank the Lord for my song.

Preface

To me, Rainbows mean the Lord’s promise that He’ll always be there for me for he will never leave me.

My childhood story tells of an easier, less worrying time for showmen. Government demands on health and safety, testing and plating make it a hard life nowadays. In some ways, life for modern travelling showmen is more convenient, but it is also more expensive and stressful.

The remnants of my travelling life are still around; my stainless steel water cans and rubbing board are stored in the kitchen, memories of days before launderettes when all the washing was done by hand in water carried from a standpipe on fairgrounds where we travelled.

Chapter 1 - Some Historical Background

Nowadays I live alone in my bungalow that we bought in 1982, with my family close by, full of mementos of my showman life.  I have a large collection of books, photos and newspaper cuttings on the history of fairs and shows; resources sometimes consulted by visiting showmen. I feel as if I am a record keeper for a changing way of life. Also there are a few showmen within 5 minutes from where I live, such as Sylvia and Charlie Campbell, who come in for a cup of tea and a chat now and then; also Poppy Cooper and family that I visit often and Alan and Nora Bowman and their family who live next door, so I am not a lonely lady.

Also I have lots of cousins who have always been there for me.  Twenty-nine on my dad’s side.

Uncle Bill in dark grey suit with his four nephews at my cousin Cindy’s wedding.

Rene Holland (my cousin Tommy’s wife) and her family are in Sheerness, eight miles away; they are there if I ever needed them. My eldest cousin, Billy Bibbey, he helped my dad a lot when