Can I have your autograph please?

Hello. I was looking through some old diaries tonight and came across an autograph book with entries from 1960 to 1964. Did you have one of these? I used to go round all my school pals asking them to sign it. I bet the youngsters of today don't know what one is, what with the internet and emails and social media sites. We used to have pen pals, written letters sent back and forth in the post. Now they look at a screen and check Facebook and Twitter.

We collected autographs from our friends, now people collect celebrity autographs in the hope that they may become valuable one day.

When I left school in 64 I didn't keep in touch with any of my school friends, except one, and Carol is still my best friend now. Everyone went their separate ways, some went to college and most got jobs, I didn't know anyone who went to University. It's easier to keep in touch now, they all have mobile phones .Can you imagine the youngsters of today collecting autographs, ha ha. No, I can't either, it all seems so old fashioned now.

I'm glad I've still got mine, reading through the names I can picture what my friends looked like. And all the rhymes we used to write now seem ancient. At the age of 15 I was still a skinny kid. I thought I was grown up, but ha ha, I hardly knew anything about the birds and bees. I was very slow when it came to chatting up boys, I hadn't a clue.

looking at some of these little verses, I think we were all in the same boat. We thought some of them were a bit naughty, a bit rude. Got to laugh now.

I went to pick a rose
A rose so sweet and tender
I went to pick another
And BANG went my suspender

Good girls love their brothers
But I so good have grown
That I love other girls brothers
Far better than my own

Mary had a little lamb
She also had a bear
You often saw her little lamb
But never saw here bear

Ilona is a good girl
She goes to church on Sundays
Prays to God to give her grace
To kiss the boys on Mondays

Mary had a little cow
She milked it with a spanner
The milk came out in shilling tins
And little ones a tanner

I love you much I love you mighty
I wish my pyjamas were next to your nightie
Don't be mistaken don't be mislead
I mean on the clothes line, not in the bed

We all sat down on some nice soft grass
The softest we could find
But Ilona sat on something soft
The cow had left behind.

I didn't like actually going to school and sitting in class, but I did like my friends, and lunch times in the playground. We were a group of silly giggly girls, and if any of us had a crush on a boy and we told our best friends, the whole school knew about it. Of course we wanted the secret to get out in the hope that the boy would fancy us and ask us out. Never happened to me though, the boys I fancied just laughed.

My how times have changed, I bet that doesn't happen now. They are all texting each other, no need for face to face chatting up. These days you can chat to somebody online, get really friendly, then dump them when you are fed up, without ever meeting them. Crazy world.

It's been a lovely day, I've been sat in the summer house sewing. The picture is coming on nicely.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip