Friday, February 17, 2006

Amendment to Meme

After completing the Three Meme a few days ago I began thinking about special days from my childhood, and one came to mind that definitely was a unique day for me.

When I was in Year 7 at high school in 1955, I was a member of the school choir. One Saturday the choir mistress took the entire choir on the train to Melbourne, a trip of 60 miles (96klm). On arrival in Melbourne we went out to Station Pier and had a look all over one of the ships in port. I can't remember its name or what type of ship it was.

Next we visited the Botanic Gardens and ate our lunch on the banks of the Yarra River. It was like having a special picnic with so many schoolfriends and our teacher. I think we discovered that Mrs Wells was actually human that day.

After lunch came the real purpose of the trip - a visit to the Melbourne Town Hall for a concert by the Trapp Family Singers, who many years later were the subject of the movie 'The Sound of Music'.

I can still picture Maria von Trapp and the adult children dressed in Austrian National Costume on stage in that wonderful building. Baron von Trapp had died some years earlier, in 1947. We loved the colourful costumes and the joyous singing.

We had tea in the Alexandria Gardens before catching the train for the trip back to Drouin. For me it was such a special day, not just the ship and the concert but also the train trip, spending the day with friends doing things and seeing places that were new to me. We lived on a farm and had practically no social life so this was one day that has stayed in my memory all of these years.

11 comments:

Susan Tidwell said...

I love that movie, and to hear and see the actual singers in person must have been wonderful. Another great story from the history of Alice...

Alice said...

Susan - over the years if that movie was being discussed I would sometimes say that I had seen the Trapp family in concert. Many people would say, "What, you mean they were a real family?"

Jellyhead said...

You saw the Trapp family singers??! WOW.

Motherkitty said...

What a great memory to pass along to your children and to us. Thank you for taking us along on your outing.

Kerri said...

Isn't it great how some memories stay clearly locked in your mind forever? What a wonderful experience that was for you as a young girl.
The movie and music are such favorites of mine.
Thanks for telling us this story.

kylieps said...

What a great day that must have been! I've always been an addict of the Sound of Music movie. My sister and I will sometimes sing the yodelling song (that went with the puppet show,) together when we're riding in the car. We get a lot of funny looks from other motorists.

Sandy said...

What a lovely memory.

Miss Robyn said...

Alice - that must have been such fun as a child. Amazing how things like this stick in our minds. Going to the city was always a big thing for me too when I was a child. country mouse goes to the city ;)

Unknown said...

What a lovely memory Alice :)

I was in a high school production of The Sound of Music - I played Leisl.

Anonymous said...

I sat down with my daughter(5) a few weeks ago to watch the movie and Isabella is now a vivid fan. I have to say that the more I watch the movie, the older i get, the more it captures my heart. It sounds like a wonderful memory and thank you ever so much for sharing.

Judypatooote said...

Isn't it wonderful what we bloggers do for each other....we bring back memories, by telling our memory....and it triggers off a memory in our mind, of something special.....thanks for sharing Alice and you just gave me an idea for my next blog.....hehe