December 25, 2024 • 19 mins
Ever find yourself searching for something out there, only to realize the solution was within you all along? Join us as we wander down the nostalgic yellow brick road, drawing life lessons from "The Wizard of Oz." We revisit childhood memories of watching Dorothy and her companions—the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion—as they embark on a journey of self-discovery, reminding us of the inner strength we each possess. This episode is a heartfelt exploration of how our mindset and language can empower us, much like Dorothy, to find our way home without needing a wizard's help.
Reflecting on early Christmas mornings and the cherished traditions of our Spanish and English heritage, we share stories of joy and the occasional disappointment. Through our experiences, we reveal the sacrifices our immigrant mother made to ensure the holidays were magical, even with limited resources. From the surprise of wooden prams, built by our dad because our parents couldn't afford to buy us the dolls prams in the shops to the true origins of our gifts, we uncover how cultural traditions and family dynamics shaped our understanding of love and resilience. As we journey through life's ups and downs, we invite you to share your own stories of family, tradition, and the road that leads you home.
Hypnotherapy coaching sessions can help if you are struggling with anxiety. Please email us at englishsisters@gmail.com if you would like help with an issue, mentioning this episode of our podcast for a special discounted rate. We work with clients worldwide over Zoom. Buy our Book Stress Free in Three Minutes available on Amazon and Kindle, to help support our work. Thank you!
Love and smiles from The English Sisters.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chasing, chasing, chasing when you're always
chasing things in life.
What's it like?
Yeah, it's a bit like Dorothy,isn't it?
What was she chasing down thatyellow brick road?
Yes, the magical Wizard of Oz.
We used to watch that when wewere little, didn't we?
Yes, we did.
We watched it every year.
It was pretty boring.
(00:20):
Sometimes it was boring, but itwas a done thing.
It was nice to watch it withthe family.
It was, yeah.
So listen to this week'sepisode of get real with the
English sisters.
So we'd quite like to knowtoday, even though it's, yes,
quite deep in the end, it isactually, yeah, obviously, when
(00:41):
you watch that film when you'rea child, what do you see?
You see the witches, themonkeys, the scarecrow, the tin
man.
I didn't really understand anyof it, really, except for the
fact that Dorothy was alwaystrying to get back home.
I used to like the red shoesbecause they were shiny.
The red shoes were pretty, yeah, and they were apparently
(01:02):
magical, weren't they?
Well, they were supposed to beto tap them three times and
you'd go back to kansas, you'dgo back home.
But really, the meaning of this, the whole, the whole story, is
that dorothy, after all thejourney, she went on with the
tin man and the scarecrow.
Yeah, that she.
She had the power just to getback home on her own, just by
(01:23):
saying the words.
Somebody gave her those shoes,didn't they?
No, I think she had them aswell, or did the?
Wasn't that good witch who gaveher these red shoes?
Oh my gosh, we wouldn't needgoogle now I've forgotten it.
Yeah, okay, right, I can'tremember about the red shoes,
but I mean, I I do remember thelion being very frightened, yes,
(01:46):
which was a bit of a paradox,isn't it?
Because he's a lion, yeah, comeon, even though he had a man's
face, which I always thought wasa bit weird.
In the original film, you cansee it's just a costume.
The tin man is made a bitbetter, isn't he?
He's sort of like more like areal tin, and the scarecrow was
(02:07):
scared.
And the lion, oh, the lionlacked bravery.
Yeah, that was it.
Yeah, and the scarecrow,obviously, yes, he was scared.
Yeah, and I think it's a bitlike it would.
I mean, it reflects our everydaylives, how we might have low
self-esteem or we mightabsolutely bravery when we
suffer from anxiety andsometimes when other people
(02:28):
perceive you as being reallybrave and you're not, it makes
you feel worse, doesn't it?
Yeah, because if you, if youthink, if you think that you're
really brave, why are you actingso weird looking around?
If you're watching this onvideo, who's gonna be here?
(02:49):
It's just us in the studio.
Come on, who are you looking at?
You're looking to see if thephone's gonna ring.
Oh no, the landline wheresometimes we forget to unhook
the landline, and because Inever answer that landline
anymore never because it'snormally just promoters and that
stuff so I ignore it.
Anyway, yeah, it's just creaks.
(03:09):
So you've just heard a littlecreak.
It's this old house.
It's this old house.
Yeah, it's the old house, itcreaks.
No, but I mean, sometimes whenyou're in a, you have
responsibility, I know what youmean and then you might not feel
as if you're as brave as whateveryone else thinks you are, or
you might need help and youmight think but yeah, but no one
thinks I need help.
(03:29):
They all think I'm amazing andI can do everything.
I'm a lion, I'm strong, I'mbrave, but I don't feel like
that inside.
So that does, in a way, reflectthe film.
Yes, I think he was missing aheart.
I think you know we should haveresearched this film before.
I mean, you did a little tinybit in the kitchen, it wasn't
(03:51):
anyway.
Who cares?
Yes, the whole thing is that wedidn't understand that film,
but the end part is actuallyquite significant, isn't it?
Because dorothy, all she has todo, she's always thinking she
has to have the wizard, themagical wizard, who just ends up
to be a little old man.
Yeah, shouting with amicrophone.
(04:12):
Yeah, because she needs awizard to get back home.
But really, all she has thepower within herself.
All she has to do is tap herlittle red slippers three times
and she'll, she's back home likethat.
Well, she has to do is tap herlittle red uh slippers three
times and she'll, she's backhome like that.
Well, she has to say the words.
So it really it's the languagethat we have, it's what gives us
(04:33):
power.
Yeah, what words does she say?
I want to go home?
Yeah, I want to go back tokansas.
Is that all she says?
Yeah, that's like uh, thisyou're probably gonna think why
didn't they read?
No, I think that's what shesays.
Yeah, I want going to think.
Why didn't they read?
No, I think that's what shesays.
Yeah, I want to go home, I wantto go home, something like that
and, if you think about it,sometimes we're looking
(05:02):
desperately for a feeling oflike our hearts aren't quite
calm, are they?
They're not quite satisfied inlife.
We're struggling when hardlyever I mean people that are
really satisfied with theireveryday lives are really
fortunate.
Yes, most of us have lived someform of discontent.
(05:23):
We're always either searchingfor something or we feel as if
we have a lack of something.
Yes, yes, yes, we're always inlack.
We're not in that state of fullabundance and appreciation and
really enjoying the moment,whatever it may bring.
So, no matter what thisenormous long journey down this
(05:47):
yellow brick road was, in theend, ultimately she had the
power within herself, dorothy,to bring herself back home
because really she was alwayshome.
Yes, she had home, was withinside her already.
Yeah, they were just like.
I suppose they represented allher anxieties and things.
She was just always.
She was always home.
(06:07):
It was really.
It was just a dream in the film.
Yeah, in the film that wewatched, it was just a dream.
Yeah, she just wakes up with alittle dog again and that's it.
And you think, gosh, all ofthat was just one big.
I remember being a bitfrustrated when I found that out
when I was a kid, you know, Ithought, gosh, it was all just a
dream, because you wanted somereal magic as a child, yes, yeah
(06:29):
, as a child I wanted it to bemore like the cartoons, I guess,
and it wasn't.
But the part that I do rememberthe most about that film is
sitting in our little livingroom with mum and dad and we all
watched it and it was like, oh,the Wizard of Oz is coming on
again.
And then dad would say, I'veseen that.
But then we would still put iton because that's what was on on
(06:52):
Christmas day.
There wasn't much choice, itwas like three or four channels
and we would all sit theretogether and that's what I
remember.
That's why I remember it beingnice.
I remember mum putting a littleblanket on.
Oh, I'm getting emotional.
She used to put this littlelike checked blanket over her
and if I would sit next to her,she would put the little blanket
over me too.
Oh, gosh, yeah.
(07:17):
And I remember that aboutwatching the wizard of oz, and
it was like calm and they wouldjust watch it.
Mum and dad would watch it,even though, you know, sometimes
I would think, oh, they'rewatching, it's like a children's
film, but they would watch itas well.
It wasn't just like us when wewere watching our little kiddie
stuff, because it was considereda family film.
It was considered a familyChristmas.
(07:38):
It wasn't just for kids.
Yeah, do you remember it theway I do?
Do you remember what I'mtalking about?
I remember, right.
Yeah, well, you mean sittingdown and, yeah, on that sofa,
with the pattern, the flower,the flowery, the green sofa,
with those, the sofa and thegreen sofa and everything.
But I don't remember all thedetails that you know, because I
, because I probably I didn'tlike the film much, but I
(08:00):
remember that focused on thefamily being together than I was
, I don't know, I was moreinterested in the film.
Well, I remember that because alot of times when the films
would start, mum would be in thekitchen watch, washing up, and
I would find that I didn't likethat.
No, but she would always come,though sometimes she would come,
but sometimes she would be likelate or she wouldn't.
(08:22):
You know, you can't, youcouldn't just stop and start the
movie.
So I would feel like a bitanxious.
I would say, mom, come, youknow it's starting, but for that
particular film, I don't know,we would watch all of it right
from the beginning and the musicthree hours, oh, the music at
the beginning, and then, yeah, I, she would stop and go off for
a cup of tea and things and thencome back.
(08:43):
Would there be adverts?
I don't know, I can't rememberthere were adverts in those days
.
Who would last Were thereadverts?
Yeah, really long ones, oh, soyou could get up and go off
somewhere, anyway.
(09:04):
But yeah, I'm wondering, youknow, the whole film, film is
that where we, you know, in theend, the meaning of it is quite
significant, isn't it?
The meaning is is that we'realways home, but we always think
we have to have more, more,more.
We're already complete, aren'twe?
We don't need anything extra.
We don't need a, like, a newhaircut or a new to be to be
home.
We don't need a new dress or anew to be home.
We don't need a new dress or anew.
Yes, they're nice things, butyou don't need them, so they're
(09:26):
not necessities.
You just, you know you need thebasic.
Of course, we all need ourbasic needs.
But then all the rest of it,all this chasing, chasing for, I
mean for the bigger, like, eventhe you know the stress of the
christmas shopping and thechristmas presents.
I mean, what some of ourhappiest memories are when now
(09:47):
you're gonna start tearing dadwould make us a little pram
exactly wooden pram.
Yes, couldn't, they couldn't,they couldn't afford, they
couldn't afford us to make us alittle pram for our dolls yeah,
the little to buy them.
And the the little girl up theroad, had a new one and then we
said, oh no, she's got a newpram.
We want a pram for christmas.
Father, christmas will bring usa pram.
(10:09):
That probably put mom and dadinto massive crisis.
No way, two prams, I mean, youknow, yeah, so he made, you know
, dad made us that tiny littlewooden pram with it.
And then mom made little woodenwheels, wooden wheels.
(10:30):
It was just a basic.
It was a little square box butthen he had a little like a
little cover on.
It had a hood.
Yeah, he made a hood, a littlewooden hood.
So the little doll put the hooddown?
Obviously no, it was a hood, itmade a hood, it made a little
wooden hood.
So, the little doll, youcouldn't put the hood down.
Obviously no, it was made ofwood.
But it was so cute and it hadlittle wooden wheels and the
little sticks to push it along,and we would push it along up
the street, just like the otherlittle girl that was considered
(10:53):
to be the rich one, because shewas.
Obviously they were morewell-off than we were at the
time, probably, yeah, and youknow we were so happy, yeah, and
she loved them as well.
So we still liked hers more,you preferred hers more.
You wanted the shop one, didn'tyou?
I did, yeah, and then I think,but I still liked the baby one a
(11:15):
lot.
Did Mum buy you a real babypram and you were really upset
about it?
Oh God, I think no.
Then, like Mummy and me.
And three years later we were alot older.
You were like eight orsomething.
Yeah, we were a lot older.
Then I asked for a pram againbecause I fixated with prams.
Oh God, I thought we wanted.
Obviously it's what they usedto advertise kids in those days.
(11:36):
I don't know, yeah, and I don'tknow yeah and uh and yeah, and
I got a real pram.
Yeah, that was a bitdisappointing, so it wasn't a
dolly's like, it was a realposture for real children.
It was because my mum probablythought, look, she thought it
was cheaper than the other oneand she probably thought this
will do.
She can put, because my dollwas quite big, so she thought
(11:57):
the doll fits in it and then Ican use it as well.
Yeah, I'll use it for becauseshe was a child minder.
That was the biggestdisappointment.
That was yeah, that's what I'mthinking about.
As far as you know, christmaspresent goes and father
christmas.
I think when you actually sawthat pram, you did not.
That wasn't even really becausewe used to get up some of our
presents we would get atchristmas because they did
(12:18):
respect the Christmas tradition,but since mum was Spanish, we
would get the pram came at ReyesMagos.
Reyes Magos for the Spanishcommunity, you'll know.
Yeah, that's the epiphany iswhen the three kings actually
bring, you know, the childrengifts.
And then that's when I knewthat, like it wasn't, that mum
(12:41):
had done it, I knew it wasn'treal.
Oh yeah, that Christmas of theThree Kings, yeah, because I saw
it.
It had mother care.
Mother care is a shop in the UK.
It used to be.
I mean, it's still there.
It's still there.
I think it's still there and itsells all kids stuff, you know,
(13:01):
for children, for babies, andobviously that brand name
Mothercare that gave it up,didn't it?
It gave it, totally gave it away.
It's written right across thefoot bit yeah, that was a bit.
That was disappointing.
And then I said to mum, that'snot from the Reyes Magos, you
must have bought that.
No, no, I didn't buy it, theReyes Magos bought it and then
(13:22):
that's what happened.
I never really did believe muchin those Reyes Magos palaver.
I didn't.
I didn't, you know, beingbrought up in England.
Definitely, father Christmaswas there, but the Reyes Magos
was like this I mean, I didn't,I didn't really get that.
Our cousins in Spain would say,no, they're really important,
they really do bring you gifts.
And I would think, but that'sFather Christmas that brings you
(13:43):
gifts.
And then they would alwaysarrive via you know the post,
the post they arrived like inpackets.
Who From Spain?
These gifts?
Was it just mum buying them?
No, mum would just buy them.
No, spanish aunties would givethem.
Oh my God, I've just discoveredthis at 57.
I thought our Spanish auntieswould send them.
No, didn't they send us thisdoll once, this special Spanish
(14:06):
doll?
Did they send that?
Or did we go and get it when wewent there once?
Because once we went there forChristmas and we got, I think
maybe one time after that theydid send one, they sent the
other dog, I think, once we gotone there, and then, once they
sent one, one arrived like atthe post office or something
like in a packet.
(14:27):
Anyway, yeah, these are thethings that you kind of remember
about the Christmas time, don'tyou?
You do, you do, you don'tforget them.
No, funny, really, is it funny?
Well, yeah, it stays with youall these years.
Well, yeah, that disappointmentstayed with you, didn't it?
(14:48):
I mean, I'm not bothered aboutit, obviously, even as a child
was very mature, yes, I realized, I reasoned, I realized why mom
had done it and that she neededthe prime, and I kind of felt
sorry for her.
Yeah, yeah, you thought, okay,yeah, she, you can use it,
borrow it.
She would, yes, yeah, she wouldborrow it definitely.
(15:09):
And then, I think, when we wereolder, she told us it's because
the little ones were soexpensive compared to the bigger
one, so she She'd also did itand this one looks sturdier and
stronger.
She also did it for that reason.
Yeah, but I think really, itwas her practicality kicking in
there.
Practicality can kick in whenyou're you know, you've got
responsibilities.
(15:30):
It was unusual for her becauseshe always used to go to such a
big effort to make Christmasreally special for us, so it
wasn't really like somethingthat she would generally do.
No, it was unusual.
Yeah, so I don't know, maybethey were going through a harder
time that we didn't know askids.
No, yeah, you don't know halfof it, do you when you're
growing up?
Because all the rest of thetime she would always take us to
(15:52):
the shop and ask choose ourChristmas present.
And then say, oh, she would bereally sneaky about it.
Come and have a look and thensee what you like, and then I
like this and I like this, andthen afterwards she would buy it
and then it would appear onChristmas Day.
Yeah, then later on she wouldtell us that gifts and you know,
the things that we would choosein those days, were really
(16:13):
expensive for her being animmigrant, a Spanish immigrant,
and so she would have to likeliterally put save pennies in
this little wooden box for to beable to afford it.
And then, once she actuallytold the shop can, can you keep
them for me and I'll bring youevery week, I'll bring you like
one pound.
And then she said there was alovely shop and a toy shop, and
(16:37):
they said, yes, of course we'lldo that for you.
And they kept them Like shewould go like in June or
something and we would haveabsolutely no idea about
Christmas.
No, I remember going a withlater than that.
Well, yeah, but come on, it wasa lot in advance.
It didn't feel like anywherenear the winter or something.
She would be very just.
(16:59):
Let's just browse around thekids shop.
And obviously that's what wedid with our children as well.
We would take them to the toyshop and say, oh yay, we would
have a night here in italy, wewould have a couple chino, let
let you go and have a look atthe toys, isn't it lovely?
Then we say, oh, father,christmas is coming soon, and
then, of course, we would findout which ones they wanted
(17:21):
exactly.
I mean, you've got to find yourlittle ways, don't you?
You do, you do.
But yes, I do wonder if we'renot all like dorothy, that we
really do possess our own innerwisdom and our own inner power
and we already have theresources we need.
However, we still need to go onthat journey and go through
those difficulties and thestruggles in order to come back.
(17:46):
Yeah, but I think we can helpourselves by making that journey
a little easier and realizingthat we don't always need to be
chasing, and you know, you'd begrateful for all the, all the
resources and everything we havealready within us, and that
maybe the wizard of oz is, is,is is just like in the film.
You know, this person thatwe're searching for to emulate
(18:09):
or to be like a lot of the times, like you know, maybe we are
more than they are.
We are more than they arebecause we are what we need, we
are what we need, what they need, and but we still have to go
through that journey ofdiscovery because it's like as
if it's someone else.
(18:30):
That's life, isn't it?
That's life.
That's life.
That's the joy of living reallyas well, the game we live.
It's that yellow brick roadthat we've all got to go down,
and with all the magic and thestress that goes along with it,
(18:55):
I guess.
Well, let us know what youthink.
We hope you enjoy the festiveseason and we'll see you next
week.
Lots of love and smiles fromthe English Sisters.
Bye.
Chasing, chasing, chasing when you're always
chasing things in life.
What's it like?
Yeah, it's a bit like Dorothy,isn't it?
What was she chasing down thatyellow brick road?
Yes, the magical Wizard of Oz.
We used to watch that when wewere little, didn't we?
Yes, we did.
We watched it every year.
It was pretty boring.
(00:20):
Sometimes it was boring, but itwas a done thing.
It was nice to watch it withthe family.
It was, yeah.
So listen to this week'sepisode of get real with the
English sisters.
So we'd quite like to knowtoday, even though it's, yes,
quite deep in the end, it isactually, yeah, obviously, when
(00:41):
you watch that film when you'rea child, what do you see?
You see the witches, themonkeys, the scarecrow, the tin
man.
I didn't really understand anyof it, really, except for the
fact that Dorothy was alwaystrying to get back home.
I used to like the red shoesbecause they were shiny.
The red shoes were pretty, yeah, and they were apparently
(01:02):
magical, weren't they?
Well, they were supposed to beto tap them three times and
you'd go back to kansas, you'dgo back home.
But really, the meaning of this, the whole, the whole story, is
that dorothy, after all thejourney, she went on with the
tin man and the scarecrow.
Yeah, that she.
She had the power just to getback home on her own, just by
(01:23):
saying the words.
Somebody gave her those shoes,didn't they?
No, I think she had them aswell, or did the?
Wasn't that good witch who gaveher these red shoes?
Oh my gosh, we wouldn't needgoogle now I've forgotten it.
Yeah, okay, right, I can'tremember about the red shoes,
but I mean, I I do remember thelion being very frightened, yes,
(01:46):
which was a bit of a paradox,isn't it?
Because he's a lion, yeah, comeon, even though he had a man's
face, which I always thought wasa bit weird.
In the original film, you cansee it's just a costume.
The tin man is made a bitbetter, isn't he?
He's sort of like more like areal tin, and the scarecrow was
(02:07):
scared.
And the lion, oh, the lionlacked bravery.
Yeah, that was it.
Yeah, and the scarecrow,obviously, yes, he was scared.
Yeah, and I think it's a bitlike it would.
I mean, it reflects our everydaylives, how we might have low
self-esteem or we mightabsolutely bravery when we
suffer from anxiety andsometimes when other people
(02:28):
perceive you as being reallybrave and you're not, it makes
you feel worse, doesn't it?
Yeah, because if you, if youthink, if you think that you're
really brave, why are you actingso weird looking around?
If you're watching this onvideo, who's gonna be here?
(02:49):
It's just us in the studio.
Come on, who are you looking at?
You're looking to see if thephone's gonna ring.
Oh no, the landline wheresometimes we forget to unhook
the landline, and because Inever answer that landline
anymore never because it'snormally just promoters and that
stuff so I ignore it.
Anyway, yeah, it's just creaks.
(03:09):
So you've just heard a littlecreak.
It's this old house.
It's this old house.
Yeah, it's the old house, itcreaks.
No, but I mean, sometimes whenyou're in a, you have
responsibility, I know what youmean and then you might not feel
as if you're as brave as whateveryone else thinks you are, or
you might need help and youmight think but yeah, but no one
thinks I need help.
(03:29):
They all think I'm amazing andI can do everything.
I'm a lion, I'm strong, I'mbrave, but I don't feel like
that inside.
So that does, in a way, reflectthe film.
Yes, I think he was missing aheart.
I think you know we should haveresearched this film before.
I mean, you did a little tinybit in the kitchen, it wasn't
(03:51):
anyway.
Who cares?
Yes, the whole thing is that wedidn't understand that film,
but the end part is actuallyquite significant, isn't it?
Because dorothy, all she has todo, she's always thinking she
has to have the wizard, themagical wizard, who just ends up
to be a little old man.
Yeah, shouting with amicrophone.
(04:12):
Yeah, because she needs awizard to get back home.
But really, all she has thepower within herself.
All she has to do is tap herlittle red slippers three times
and she'll, she's back home likethat.
Well, she has to do is tap herlittle red uh slippers three
times and she'll, she's backhome like that.
Well, she has to say the words.
So it really it's the languagethat we have, it's what gives us
(04:33):
power.
Yeah, what words does she say?
I want to go home?
Yeah, I want to go back tokansas.
Is that all she says?
Yeah, that's like uh, thisyou're probably gonna think why
didn't they read?
No, I think that's what shesays.
Yeah, I want going to think.
Why didn't they read?
No, I think that's what shesays.
Yeah, I want to go home, I wantto go home, something like that
and, if you think about it,sometimes we're looking
(05:02):
desperately for a feeling oflike our hearts aren't quite
calm, are they?
They're not quite satisfied inlife.
We're struggling when hardlyever I mean people that are
really satisfied with theireveryday lives are really
fortunate.
Yes, most of us have lived someform of discontent.
(05:23):
We're always either searchingfor something or we feel as if
we have a lack of something.
Yes, yes, yes, we're always inlack.
We're not in that state of fullabundance and appreciation and
really enjoying the moment,whatever it may bring.
So, no matter what thisenormous long journey down this
(05:47):
yellow brick road was, in theend, ultimately she had the
power within herself, dorothy,to bring herself back home
because really she was alwayshome.
Yes, she had home, was withinside her already.
Yeah, they were just like.
I suppose they represented allher anxieties and things.
She was just always.
She was always home.
(06:07):
It was really.
It was just a dream in the film.
Yeah, in the film that wewatched, it was just a dream.
Yeah, she just wakes up with alittle dog again and that's it.
And you think, gosh, all ofthat was just one big.
I remember being a bitfrustrated when I found that out
when I was a kid, you know, Ithought, gosh, it was all just a
dream, because you wanted somereal magic as a child, yes, yeah
(06:29):
, as a child I wanted it to bemore like the cartoons, I guess,
and it wasn't.
But the part that I do rememberthe most about that film is
sitting in our little livingroom with mum and dad and we all
watched it and it was like, oh,the Wizard of Oz is coming on
again.
And then dad would say, I'veseen that.
But then we would still put iton because that's what was on on
(06:52):
Christmas day.
There wasn't much choice, itwas like three or four channels
and we would all sit theretogether and that's what I
remember.
That's why I remember it beingnice.
I remember mum putting a littleblanket on.
Oh, I'm getting emotional.
She used to put this littlelike checked blanket over her
and if I would sit next to her,she would put the little blanket
over me too.
Oh, gosh, yeah.
(07:17):
And I remember that aboutwatching the wizard of oz, and
it was like calm and they wouldjust watch it.
Mum and dad would watch it,even though, you know, sometimes
I would think, oh, they'rewatching, it's like a children's
film, but they would watch itas well.
It wasn't just like us when wewere watching our little kiddie
stuff, because it was considereda family film.
It was considered a familyChristmas.
(07:38):
It wasn't just for kids.
Yeah, do you remember it theway I do?
Do you remember what I'mtalking about?
I remember, right.
Yeah, well, you mean sittingdown and, yeah, on that sofa,
with the pattern, the flower,the flowery, the green sofa,
with those, the sofa and thegreen sofa and everything.
But I don't remember all thedetails that you know, because I
, because I probably I didn'tlike the film much, but I
(08:00):
remember that focused on thefamily being together than I was
, I don't know, I was moreinterested in the film.
Well, I remember that because alot of times when the films
would start, mum would be in thekitchen watch, washing up, and
I would find that I didn't likethat.
No, but she would always come,though sometimes she would come,
but sometimes she would be likelate or she wouldn't.
(08:22):
You know, you can't, youcouldn't just stop and start the
movie.
So I would feel like a bitanxious.
I would say, mom, come, youknow it's starting, but for that
particular film, I don't know,we would watch all of it right
from the beginning and the musicthree hours, oh, the music at
the beginning, and then, yeah, I, she would stop and go off for
a cup of tea and things and thencome back.
(08:43):
Would there be adverts?
I don't know, I can't rememberthere were adverts in those days
.
Who would last Were thereadverts?
Yeah, really long ones, oh, soyou could get up and go off
somewhere, anyway.
(09:04):
But yeah, I'm wondering, youknow, the whole film, film is
that where we, you know, in theend, the meaning of it is quite
significant, isn't it?
The meaning is is that we'realways home, but we always think
we have to have more, more,more.
We're already complete, aren'twe?
We don't need anything extra.
We don't need a, like, a newhaircut or a new to be to be
home.
We don't need a new dress or anew to be home.
We don't need a new dress or anew.
Yes, they're nice things, butyou don't need them, so they're
(09:26):
not necessities.
You just, you know you need thebasic.
Of course, we all need ourbasic needs.
But then all the rest of it,all this chasing, chasing for, I
mean for the bigger, like, eventhe you know the stress of the
christmas shopping and thechristmas presents.
I mean, what some of ourhappiest memories are when now
(09:47):
you're gonna start tearing dadwould make us a little pram
exactly wooden pram.
Yes, couldn't, they couldn't,they couldn't afford, they
couldn't afford us to make us alittle pram for our dolls yeah,
the little to buy them.
And the the little girl up theroad, had a new one and then we
said, oh no, she's got a newpram.
We want a pram for christmas.
Father, christmas will bring usa pram.
(10:09):
That probably put mom and dadinto massive crisis.
No way, two prams, I mean, youknow, yeah, so he made, you know
, dad made us that tiny littlewooden pram with it.
And then mom made little woodenwheels, wooden wheels.
(10:30):
It was just a basic.
It was a little square box butthen he had a little like a
little cover on.
It had a hood.
Yeah, he made a hood, a littlewooden hood.
So the little doll put the hooddown?
Obviously no, it was a hood, itmade a hood, it made a little
wooden hood.
So, the little doll, youcouldn't put the hood down.
Obviously no, it was made ofwood.
But it was so cute and it hadlittle wooden wheels and the
little sticks to push it along,and we would push it along up
the street, just like the otherlittle girl that was considered
(10:53):
to be the rich one, because shewas.
Obviously they were morewell-off than we were at the
time, probably, yeah, and youknow we were so happy, yeah, and
she loved them as well.
So we still liked hers more,you preferred hers more.
You wanted the shop one, didn'tyou?
I did, yeah, and then I think,but I still liked the baby one a
(11:15):
lot.
Did Mum buy you a real babypram and you were really upset
about it?
Oh God, I think no.
Then, like Mummy and me.
And three years later we were alot older.
You were like eight orsomething.
Yeah, we were a lot older.
Then I asked for a pram againbecause I fixated with prams.
Oh God, I thought we wanted.
Obviously it's what they usedto advertise kids in those days.
(11:36):
I don't know, yeah, and I don'tknow yeah and uh and yeah, and
I got a real pram.
Yeah, that was a bitdisappointing, so it wasn't a
dolly's like, it was a realposture for real children.
It was because my mum probablythought, look, she thought it
was cheaper than the other oneand she probably thought this
will do.
She can put, because my dollwas quite big, so she thought
(11:57):
the doll fits in it and then Ican use it as well.
Yeah, I'll use it for becauseshe was a child minder.
That was the biggestdisappointment.
That was yeah, that's what I'mthinking about.
As far as you know, christmaspresent goes and father
christmas.
I think when you actually sawthat pram, you did not.
That wasn't even really becausewe used to get up some of our
presents we would get atchristmas because they did
(12:18):
respect the Christmas tradition,but since mum was Spanish, we
would get the pram came at ReyesMagos.
Reyes Magos for the Spanishcommunity, you'll know.
Yeah, that's the epiphany iswhen the three kings actually
bring, you know, the childrengifts.
And then that's when I knewthat, like it wasn't, that mum
(12:41):
had done it, I knew it wasn'treal.
Oh yeah, that Christmas of theThree Kings, yeah, because I saw
it.
It had mother care.
Mother care is a shop in the UK.
It used to be.
I mean, it's still there.
It's still there.
I think it's still there and itsells all kids stuff, you know,
(13:01):
for children, for babies, andobviously that brand name
Mothercare that gave it up,didn't it?
It gave it, totally gave it away.
It's written right across thefoot bit yeah, that was a bit.
That was disappointing.
And then I said to mum, that'snot from the Reyes Magos, you
must have bought that.
No, no, I didn't buy it, theReyes Magos bought it and then
(13:22):
that's what happened.
I never really did believe muchin those Reyes Magos palaver.
I didn't.
I didn't, you know, beingbrought up in England.
Definitely, father Christmaswas there, but the Reyes Magos
was like this I mean, I didn't,I didn't really get that.
Our cousins in Spain would say,no, they're really important,
they really do bring you gifts.
And I would think, but that'sFather Christmas that brings you
(13:43):
gifts.
And then they would alwaysarrive via you know the post,
the post they arrived like inpackets.
Who From Spain?
These gifts?
Was it just mum buying them?
No, mum would just buy them.
No, spanish aunties would givethem.
Oh my God, I've just discoveredthis at 57.
I thought our Spanish auntieswould send them.
No, didn't they send us thisdoll once, this special Spanish
(14:06):
doll?
Did they send that?
Or did we go and get it when wewent there once?
Because once we went there forChristmas and we got, I think
maybe one time after that theydid send one, they sent the
other dog, I think, once we gotone there, and then, once they
sent one, one arrived like atthe post office or something
like in a packet.
(14:27):
Anyway, yeah, these are thethings that you kind of remember
about the Christmas time, don'tyou?
You do, you do, you don'tforget them.
No, funny, really, is it funny?
Well, yeah, it stays with youall these years.
Well, yeah, that disappointmentstayed with you, didn't it?
(14:48):
I mean, I'm not bothered aboutit, obviously, even as a child
was very mature, yes, I realized, I reasoned, I realized why mom
had done it and that she neededthe prime, and I kind of felt
sorry for her.
Yeah, yeah, you thought, okay,yeah, she, you can use it,
borrow it.
She would, yes, yeah, she wouldborrow it definitely.
(15:09):
And then, I think, when we wereolder, she told us it's because
the little ones were soexpensive compared to the bigger
one, so she She'd also did itand this one looks sturdier and
stronger.
She also did it for that reason.
Yeah, but I think really, itwas her practicality kicking in
there.
Practicality can kick in whenyou're you know, you've got
responsibilities.
(15:30):
It was unusual for her becauseshe always used to go to such a
big effort to make Christmasreally special for us, so it
wasn't really like somethingthat she would generally do.
No, it was unusual.
Yeah, so I don't know, maybethey were going through a harder
time that we didn't know askids.
No, yeah, you don't know halfof it, do you when you're
growing up?
Because all the rest of thetime she would always take us to
(15:52):
the shop and ask choose ourChristmas present.
And then say, oh, she would bereally sneaky about it.
Come and have a look and thensee what you like, and then I
like this and I like this, andthen afterwards she would buy it
and then it would appear onChristmas Day.
Yeah, then later on she wouldtell us that gifts and you know,
the things that we would choosein those days, were really
(16:13):
expensive for her being animmigrant, a Spanish immigrant,
and so she would have to likeliterally put save pennies in
this little wooden box for to beable to afford it.
And then, once she actuallytold the shop can, can you keep
them for me and I'll bring youevery week, I'll bring you like
one pound.
And then she said there was alovely shop and a toy shop, and
(16:37):
they said, yes, of course we'lldo that for you.
And they kept them Like shewould go like in June or
something and we would haveabsolutely no idea about
Christmas.
No, I remember going a withlater than that.
Well, yeah, but come on, it wasa lot in advance.
It didn't feel like anywherenear the winter or something.
She would be very just.
(16:59):
Let's just browse around thekids shop.
And obviously that's what wedid with our children as well.
We would take them to the toyshop and say, oh yay, we would
have a night here in italy, wewould have a couple chino, let
let you go and have a look atthe toys, isn't it lovely?
Then we say, oh, father,christmas is coming soon, and
then, of course, we would findout which ones they wanted
(17:21):
exactly.
I mean, you've got to find yourlittle ways, don't you?
You do, you do.
But yes, I do wonder if we'renot all like dorothy, that we
really do possess our own innerwisdom and our own inner power
and we already have theresources we need.
However, we still need to go onthat journey and go through
those difficulties and thestruggles in order to come back.
(17:46):
Yeah, but I think we can helpourselves by making that journey
a little easier and realizingthat we don't always need to be
chasing, and you know, you'd begrateful for all the, all the
resources and everything we havealready within us, and that
maybe the wizard of oz is, is,is is just like in the film.
You know, this person thatwe're searching for to emulate
(18:09):
or to be like a lot of the times, like you know, maybe we are
more than they are.
We are more than they arebecause we are what we need, we
are what we need, what they need, and but we still have to go
through that journey ofdiscovery because it's like as
if it's someone else.
(18:30):
That's life, isn't it?
That's life.
That's life.
That's the joy of living reallyas well, the game we live.
It's that yellow brick roadthat we've all got to go down,
and with all the magic and thestress that goes along with it,
(18:55):
I guess.
Well, let us know what youthink.
We hope you enjoy the festiveseason and we'll see you next
week.
Lots of love and smiles fromthe English Sisters.
Bye.
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