Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The reincarnation of Olly Cushion


On honeymoon in Bath, we saw these owl cushions for sale, and the Prof bought this one for me.

When I was small, maybe four or five, I had a cushion with the face of an owl. His name was Olly Cushion. This one isn't the same as my Olly Cushion, but he reminds me of him. I think the original Olly was green. I used to take him in the car to sleep on, back in the days when there were no seat belts in cars and parents would let their children lie down on the back seat. He was named after Olly Beak, a character on children's television. I'm not sure if I used to watch the programme, I don't remember Olly Beak from his photograph. Perhaps my parents named Olly Cushion. Recently someone mentioned another children's television character to me, Humphrey Cushion, who I immediately remembered. I think my Olly Cushion's name may have been a mixture of the two.

Humphrey Cushion
Olly Beak


When our family car was stolen, Olly was inside, as was my my baby brother's car seat. The police later recovered the car and the car seat, but not Olly. I remember not understanding why the car seat was returned to us and Olly Cushion wasn't. I wonder now if the car thieves gave him to a child, or did he get tossed aside in a dustbin, or the gutter?

Perhaps there is a woman or man somewhere today who treasures the green Olly Cushion from their childhood. Even if their father/uncle/cousin stole him.

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