Sister 1 and I belong to a local facebook page for Mums (To explain – I joined when I had my business, and there’s a lot that isn’t children focused on there and I can’t bring myself to leave!). Last night Sister 1 posted a picture to give people a giggle and had such a good response I thought I’d post it her.
It was 1982, my sisters (twins) were around 7 months old and we went on our family holiday to Cornwall (6-7 hours away). We only had a Metro and the laws weren’t like they are these days, so to fit the luggage needed for three children and two adults for two weeks away, the twins travelled in a cardboard box:
It was a specially made box to fit their cot mattress in. And they had me, age 6, supervising (I didn’t usually pull that face, by the way – I think the sun must have been in my eyes!)
When Sister 1 posted it, what surprised me was the number of people who talked about travelling in the boot, on the parcel shelf, in carry cots that weren’t strapped in to the back seat of their parents’ cars. It seems our family weren’t alone in our alternative ways to transport babies!
I just thought it might give you a Friday night smile :o)
the pog blog 
Brilliant pic. I remember my brother and I travelling inside sleeping bags in the back of my Dad’s van when we went camping in France. Got hauled out at customs because Dad made some wisecrack about smuggling to the customs officer and our ribena bottle was confiscated. Sadly Dad still hasn’t learnt his lesson…
Thanks so much for last night – it was fantastic to see you again. Chocolate biscuit cake has also been a huge hit!
They confiscated your Ribena?! That is terrible! Sleeping bags in the back of a van sounds great though…
It was lovely to catch up – looking forward to next time :o)
My Mom tells me that when I was one-year old and we went camping, I slept in a cardboard box. She called in my ‘puppy box’.
I love that! I will tell my sisters…I’m sure they will feel better that they weren’t the only ones to be boxed up :o)
Interesting how everyone has their own pre-safety-enforcement travel stories. Somewhere around winter 1980, my husband and I, our son (8) and daughter (7) and my mother and stepfather (6 people) drove to Toronto – in a Datsun station wagon (hatch-back thing): essentially a four-passenger car with a bit of cargo space. The kids were sardined in the hatch with heavy outer-wear (Canada-winter!), their luggage and sleeping bags. The good news: they couldn’t have been hurt had anything happened – they couldn’t move an inch! The bad news: they fought and bickered the entire 10 hours.
Funny memory that none of us has forgotten: hubby kept threatening to stop the car, and take his belt to them if they didn’t shut up. He finally pulled over, got out in the snow, threw open the hatchback, reached for his belt … and realized he wasn’t wearing one:-). It all went kind of quiet…
xxx
Wow – that is a whole different level to us in the Metro! I don’t remember if my parents got frustrated with us – knowing me I probably slept most of the journey and ignored my sibling duties. A few years later though, driving to the south of France I do remember dad getting really fed up with one sister who consistently kicked the back of his headrest! To be fair to my sister, we’d each been given and ice cream tub of sweets to keep us quiet so she was probably high on E numbers! :o) x