Carly Findlay

Writer, speaker, appearance activist. Loving life!

  • About me
  • Say Hello – my book
  • Hire me!
  • Support Me
  • Contact
  • What is Ichthyosis?
  • Ichthyosis + appearance diversity resources
  • Disclaimer
  • Shop
  • Guest post contribution guidelines
  • Growing Up Disabled in Australia

Back in the day…

July 14, 2010 Carly Findlay 9 Comments

I received an award-type quiz meme from Hayley, Shinxy and Todd. (They all contribute to the great Ability in Disability blog, too.) It was the same quiz from all of them – 10 things about me. It was nice to learn more about them through their answers. But I have a bit of aversion to these ‘awards’ because I think sometimes they clog up blogs, and become uninteresting and repetitive. And that is the last thing I want my blog to become. But I was really inspired by the way Hayley wrote hers. It read like a beautiful memoir of a great childhood. And made me want to write. I haven’t done any overly inspiring blog entries lately.

So here goes. 10 things I remember from back in the day…

When I was about seven, or the year Itty Bitty Bins were en-vogue, whenever that was, my Dad found a dead mouse in the shed. He showed it to me and threw it out on the garden for a bird to take. I secretly collected it, and put it in this purple Itty Bitty Bin and then buried it in the shell garden in the front yard. (A shell garden was a little square of dirt covered with shells that I collected from holidays at the seaside.) Now back then, I had so few friends, but I’d invite kids over on the way back from school and show them this decomposing mouse body. A dead mouse was not a way to make friends. The kids that I wasn’t friends with would keep their broken coloured pencil leads in Itty Bitty Bins. I kept a dead mouse in mine! To this day I never know why I did it. I can’t stand mice, but I guess that a dead mouse is not a threat. And I can’t believe I wasted an Itty Bitty Bin on this. That was probably not a good story to start off with. Anyhow.

I used to belong to a church youth group in primary school. I guess it was a way of getting me to meet people, to make friends. I think there were a few nights where I went for dinner at the church hall. I remember disagreeing with most things they preached. They would say to me that anyone that drank alcohol was a bad person. They also told me that if I was living in Jesus times, I would have been classed as a leper and that people wouldn’t want to come near me because of my skin. I was told I have a genetic chronic illness because I am not baptised. I was smart enough to know that genetic disposition is not determined by a priest sloshing a bit of water on your forehead (plus I was born like this, and as far as I know, baptism is not in the womb). And I was so averse to cold water as a kid that I doubt that I’d have gone ahead with baptism even if I had a strong faith. When I went home and told my Mum the things they said at the youth group, she took me out of it. I was glad for it. I didn’t want anyone telling me how to think, especially not these small-minded views. Other than for funerals and weddings, I choose not to go to church.

Dad and I used to make ‘cheeses’ out of playdough. They were round and smooth, and Dad used to tell me the names of different cheeses as we shaped them. Gloustershire. Leistershire. Stilton. Brie. I loved this. Last year this time, we went to Tasmania and visited the Bruny Island Cheese Company. We bought lots of cheese. The cheese in the storeroom (see below) looked like giant versions of the cheeses Dad and I made. Except their cheeses weren’t bright blue!

When I was four, Mum’s relative came from South Africa with her son. I couldn’t pronounce her son’s name right. They stayed for about a week. The only memory I have about this visit was that her son ate my playdough. Mum would put Dettol in it to protect me from infections. And it was salty. Still, he ate it.

I have had genetic testing done. I am sure it involved a needle, and I’m sure I freaked out about it. But the thing I remembered most about the genetic testing is that they shoved a giant cotton bud so far up my nose that I am sure it touched my brain. It hurt like hell.

I really want to revisit playing with Lego Fabuland. I spoke about this to Danielle the other day. I had the BEST Lego Fabuland set. It was a flour mill with a slide that the characters would go down.

The imagination used when playing with lego was incredible. I know I am 28, but I crave a good play with Lego. Who’s in?

I developed a celebrity crush early. I was nine, and my babysitter loved a band called Southern Sons. She brought over video tapes of Rage. I was suddenly a fanatic. I loved all things Southern Sons and thought I’d marry Jack Jones (now known by his real name, Irwin Thomas). I wrote to Jack Jones and told him EVERYTHING about me. Including that I liked lasagne and Tim Tams. The fan-club sent me an autographed photo back, which is stuck on the back of my toilet door with other rock royalty.

You may recall this gem from Southern Sons.

Hold me in Your Arms. Sigh. He sounded like a youthful John Farnham. I remember my Dad saying, in all seriousness ‘I can’t get over how much this guy sounds like Farnham’. We were watching Southern Sons on VHS. I used to watch it a lot. Mum’s friend (my friend) bought me a Southern Sons t-shirt for my 10th birthday. It was down to my ankles then. This is what it looks like now. It’s a great mini dress.

I met Jack Jones/Irwin Thomas in 2007 after I pretty much jumped up on stage and hugged him at the Darren Hayes concert. He was also on my plane to Brisbane the next day and we chatted a bit on the plane and at the airport in Brisbane. He was a really nice guy, and called me darling. Squeeee! To say I was beside myself is an understatement. We are actually Facebook friends now!

When I was 12, my parents and I went to a dinner party at a friend’s house. We all told jokes around the table. I was a pretty advanced reader back then. Dad had let me read his ‘Best Jokes of All Time’ book. I proudly remembered one. The joke contained a word that rhymes with ‘stunt’. The room went silent. My parents had me out of the dinner party quicker than you could say ‘wash your mouth out’. And they were pretty quiet with me the next day. I had a really thick Macquarie dictionary and I consulted it to see what ‘stunt’ meant. I didn’t actually know the meaning of it when I told the joke. And thanks to the Macquarie dictionary, I realised why my parents were so embarrassed by my joke…

Ok, it may be eight, nearing on nine… back in the day, I was never good at maths, and still aren’t.

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

bruny island cheese company, carly findlay, darren hayes, fabuland, genetic testing, irwin thomas, jack jones, lego, melbourne, southern sons, Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Mez says

    July 15, 2010 at 12:15 am

    Oh Carly, this was BRILLIANT!! I LOVE the itty bitty bin mouse story. They were the best bins, can't say I ever put a mouse in them though. And FABULAND!!! I have 2 massive buckets full of the stuff for if/when I have girls. Marjorie the cat was my favourite, I have still got that mill set. She had a vacuum cleaner, I still have that too and a ferris wheel and apple trees and carts… so many Fabuland things.

    This was a great trip down memory lane.

    Log in to Reply
  2. Lizz says

    July 15, 2010 at 10:16 am

    I hear you on the Lego. Emma is old enough for Duplo this year, I think we are more excited about it than she will be πŸ˜‰

    Log in to Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    July 15, 2010 at 10:59 am

    Hi Carly, I found your blog via Vogue. I love it! As a 29yo stay at home Mum (I am going back to work next week casually much to partners disgust!) Your blog is lovely, and has given me more than a few laugh out moments! I don't know how to "follow" but I will be sure to add you to my favorites! Can't wait to make that chocolate mousse…….

    Log in to Reply
  4. Sydney Shop Girl says

    July 15, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    Laughing out loud!

    I remember the bins and also Southern Sons…

    Thank you!

    SSG xxx

    Log in to Reply
  5. Shinxy says

    July 16, 2010 at 12:38 am

    I think a lot of people with disabilities are treated poorly by religious groups. Despite being a devout atheist, friends over the years have convinced me to go to various churches. I've been told I'm possessed, evil, the devil incarnate. Faith City was particularly bad. They attempted to brainwash me and convert me; they didn't give me an option to say "no" and they locked the doors so I couldn't leave when I wanted to. I'm sorry you had a bad experience too.

    Log in to Reply
  6. hollypop says

    July 16, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    itty bitty bins.. i always wanted one!! but when i was allowed to choose a toy at kmart i always chose a polly pocket πŸ™‚

    Log in to Reply
  7. Carly Findlay says

    July 16, 2010 at 9:50 pm

    Thanks for the Fabuland love, everyone! I want to find some and then we can all have a Fabuland convention!

    Log in to Reply
  8. beavercity says

    July 17, 2010 at 12:13 am

    Great Post Carly!

    I heart Fabuland! It was the best. I had a big tin and my brother and I used to make these wonderful huge houses (to solve fights we colour coded, I got red and yellow pieces and he got black and blue. Of course I'm older so I got the better set). I actually won a lego building competition when I was nine, I built a fabuland house. I had to go to the finals, but mum got sick and couldn't take me. She bought me a stuffed Koala. Not a good enough consolation! I think the lamb character was my favourite, I had 2 of them so used to pretend they were the sweet valley twins! Another flashback, reading the sweet valley twins books (Pre Sweet Valley High) in the late 80s.
    Thanks for the trip down memory lane, a lot of similar obsessions!

    Log in to Reply
  9. Rellacafa says

    July 20, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    Thanks for picking this one up!! (hmm, I really was far behind…bad interneting, Hayley) LOL @ Jack Jones crush, I also had one of those, there was just something about Heart In Danger that did me in, also loved You Were There ;P x

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Socials

  • View tune.into.radio.carly’s profile on Facebook
  • View @carlyfindlay’s profile on Twitter
  • View carlyfindlay’s profile on Instagram
  • View sqoggle’s profile on YouTube

Book me to speak

Sign up for some love in your inbox

Listen to my podcast

Tune in

Enter your email address to receive new posts by email.

Archives

Popular Posts

  • The Greatest Showman - upliftspirational exploitation and the able gaze
  • What's with the image descriptions on my social media posts?
  • Coke is my washing machine miracle - it de-greases clothes and the machine.
  • The death of Offspring's Dr Patrick Reid. The TV death that stopped a nation.
  • Disability is not a bad thing! - My keynote speech for International Day of People with Disability in Albury Wodonga
  • Interview with Beth Bradfield from Malory Towers
  • My concerns about Wonder the film (and how to talk to your kids about Wonder)
  • Callan Mulvey got married
  • Six at Best - Eddie Perfect - Offspring
  • My review of Wonder the film

Copyright

The material on Tune into Radio Carly is copyright. The writing in this blog is by Carly Findlay unless otherwise stated. Most photos in this blog are by Carly Findlay unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without permission from Carly Findlay. This blog represents my personal opinions and experiences. It does not reflect those of my employers'. The information I provide about ichthyosis is mostly based on personal experiences. Please seek medical advice or counseling before trying any new treatments I've written about. Where stared, I use affiliate links on this blog. By clicking them, I receive a small percentage of the purchase.

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Dish Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.