A Kind of Magic (Oxford Paperbacks)

collection of her memories of growing up on the Oxfordshire village of Ducklington during the 1920's. I thoroughly enjoyed her descriptions of everyday life in a time otherwise lost to me. Her own words are best - "There was a sense of wonderment about our everyday lives - searching for the first wild flowers of the season - sliding on a frozen pond at night in thr crisp, frosty air - the magic of staying with my Grandparents - luscious, country, stuffingy, Christmas smells - homemade jam boiling on an open fire - the magic of firelight and stories at bedtime - breviting over the fields, wooding and mushrooming - the kindness and good humour of neighbors and friends in those hard-up, happy times - the closeness of a big family in an overcrowded but happy home - our mother's indestructible gaiety and sense of wonderment - some of which, thankfully, rubbed off onto her children.