Sunday means a lot of different things for families.
Childhood memories include it being the day Granny would visit for dinner, bag of goodies in hand. For others it was day of loading up the “sang-witches” for a match of some sorts somewhere or another. But for most, it was the day the family packed into the car for “a spin”.
This “spin” might be to nowhere in particular, it might have been twenty minutes long or it might have felt twenty hours long, but nevertheless it was “a spin”.
A Sunday spin is a car journey different to one on any other day of the week.
Here are 11 things a Sunday spin consisted of:
1. Tape On Repeat
The music of the moment was on repeat. Whether it was the latest one hit wonder boyband, some god awful nursery rhyme tune or a package holiday pop disco compilation, all we can say is our parents were lucky. God help this generation of parents, Gangnam Style on repeat anyone?
Honorary mentinon: If there was an inter-sibling argument the music would be turned off. Awkward silence for all involved.
“Nellie the elephant packed her trunk and trundled off to the jungle…”
2. A Fight Over Where To Sit
There was a time when we thought the middle seat was the best spot. Cue: a fight with the siblings for the middle seat. Then we got older and realised it was a window seat you wanted. Cue: Slide sneakily over to the window seat and pretend you’re doing your younger sibling a favour by letting him/her sit in the middle.
3. Hard Sweets
There was a packet of hard sweets kept in some secret location in the front of the car. They came out when you were being “good”.
Sweet, anyone?
4. Car Sickness
There was always one. Our parents had the patience of a saint.
5. Car Games
“Do you want to play a game?”. Some honorary mentions go to I Spy (hours of alphabet-based fun), Coloured Cars (the smart person would pick silver) and 20 Questions (“Give me a clue…give me another one”).
6. Incessant Questions
“How many more minutes?”
“How many more corners?”
“How many more towns?”
Etc, etc.
Pic: parentalguide.org
7. The Shop
The excitement when you stopped at “the shop” was unbearable. Often used as bribery by parents, it was regretted approximately twenty minutes later when we’d all be as high as kites off sugar in the backseat.
8. A Pit-Stop
We had absolutely no problem hitching up the skirt and heading behind the car for a spot of relief. Boys had it so much easier… for obvious reasons.
9. Parental Threats
*spoken in a low menacing tone, perfected only when you have your own kids*
“We’re turning right around right now.”
“We’re never bringing you out here to Bally-Go-Backwards on a Sunday again.”
“No TV when you get home lads…”
“If you think you’ll be getting ‘X’ for your ‘Y’ you’re wrong missus…”
This photo must have been taken at the beginning of the journey. They’re all smiling.
10. Radio Requests
If you were listening to the radio you would try and get a song request. It would be spoken about for days, weeks, years to come.
“Do you remember that Sunday…?”
11. The Sunroof
If you were lucky enough to have a sunroof it could be opened on those rare sunny days we have in Ireland. You could pretend you were in a sports car. Wow.
