I posted this on the Aussie forum, and thought I'd put it here as well, in case anyone feels like a trip down their own memory lane.

I'm not really a Rover returning to the UK, I'll be a immigrant when I arrive there. Scouse is the returning Rover

When you were a child, did you think or dream of other places, other places that were very different to where you lived?

I did, often, and mainly through my habit of having my nose stuck in a book at every conceivable opportunity. Living in a small house with 4 siblings, I'd usually take my book and sit under the wattle tree at the back of our half acre block. Always ended up itchy from the grass, and usually with ants in my pants to boot, but it didn't seem to matter.

Despite the vast amounts of books I read, it was a movie that really fired my imagination about another country. The movie was Mary Poppins and it depicted a world I'd never even dreamed about, let alone seen. Leaving the Edwardian times in was set in aside - it was 'London' itself that fascinated this approx. 8 year old. In particular, I remember the churches, taller than anything I'd ever seen, built of dark stone and so enormous, regal and dignified - and the people, talking in a 'funny' accent, and the vast difference between rich and poor. All of that was so alien to a kid growing up in Perth in the 60s.

Of course, Mary Poppins wasn't even filmed in London, it was shot entirely in a film studio in California. The most 'goosebumby' part of the film for me was the depiction of the bird lady, selling her bags of crumbs for tuppence. While the Feed the Birds soundtrack played, the camera panning up St Paul's Cathedral (didn't know it was cardboard!), the birds flying around, the semi-darkness and gloom, and the poor old bird lady, sitting on the steps in rags, looking after 'her' birds as best she could - I never forgot any of it.

I watched 'Feed the Birds' on YouTube a while ago. Blow me down if I didn't get exactly the same tummy butterflies and goosebumps as I did (mumblemumble) years ago. The tears in my eyes were a bit unexpected though.

Sentimental old ninny. Were you an imaginative kid? Did any particular books or movies fire your imagination? Were you going to be a super hero when you grew up, or a soldier or a nurse? Or did you dream of another place, far away, so different to your home and think - I'll go there one day.

I had a thing about Constantinople and Czechoslovakia for no other reason than they were long names.

Other countries were places where earthquakes happened, or they had spiders, scorpions and snakes. And geysers.

Ten years ago I became step father to a couple of Canadians and I was astonished at the belief England was always wet, London was permanently foggy and that vaccinations were needed for Europe.

The most boring present my parents ever gave me for Christmas was a 'Viewfinder' with a two sets of views, one of the USA and one of Europe. I've never made the connection before, but the fact that the USA one was so uninteresting may be why I've never wanted to go there. I spent some time afterwards puzzling over how I'd ended up with parents who thought a nine year old girl wanted to see a three dimensional picture of the White House.

The only European view that caught my imagination was the Alhambra. I was fascinated to discover that it wasn't a cinema and it sparked a brief interest in mediaeval Spain. But, aged 62, I still haven't got round to visiting it.

I started collecting foreign coins around the age of 10. I would check out the atlas as well as go to the library to find out about the people & places of the coins I had.

At primary school we had kids in the class who had an aunt or uncle that had emigrated, who, when they visited back to the UK the kids would talk about them & often have paper money or coins, which I would swap for English money.

My much older Brother was in the RAF, my brother in law in the Army, they were stationed in different countries & when on leave I would get the stories, along with of course, souvenirs & foreign coins.

My older Sister & Brother with their spouses in the mid 50's to mid 60's would holiday in Europe - that too brought more stories, souvenirs & foreign coins

My Brothers wife worked for a large multinational in the accounts payable, she would bring me cancelled cheques to the many companies they'd dealt with. I would of course be intrigued with the amounts as well as want to know who the companies were & what they did.

Absolutely loved Geography at school.....

I think all of that led me to becoming an immigrant, as well as a 'want to be in other places in the world'... as it turns out, it materialized

As a child I so wanted to live in an area such as that depicted on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Tiny little cottages close to twee bridges crossing over babbling streams. Every thing seemed so idyllic and perfect. I now love to collect Lilliput Lane cottage ornaments which are similar to the dream I have of living in a quaint village

Elizabeth @ post # 5 ....

I think you mentioned that you lived in the Wirral, similar to me as a child in the 50's on the other side of the Mersey wondering where all the ships with the freight & the folks on them were going to or had come from. This may be a male (young boy) thing which makes us different from females (young girls)?

I grew up with English grandmother and loads of books by Enid Blyton and always wanted to visit UK. I used to say I lived in the last British outpost when I moved to Natal to work and we all had bumper stickers on our cars advertising that fact. My first trip to UK on holiday I ran up so many photos of just about everything from London buses, pubs, post boxes and such. Only when I moved there did I really explore properly because my job took me to all the corners of Britain plus I represented British Food at trade shows in USA. Even my accent changed to more British. I had a very romantic idea of anything British. So I always imagined I was British, it was just a quirk of fate that my father chose to remain South African when they became a republic and I never got a say therein. Hence I am feelbritish, so yes my imaginings have made me the way I am!!

I had a similar fascination with Mary Poppins myself and even went looking for the street where the Banks family lived in London when we went on holiday that year; I was convinced it had to be somewhere near Downing Street.

When my parents were planning our move to Canada back in the 1960's, I honestly thought my Dad would be getting a job as a cowboy when we got there - something tells me I watched far too much tv.

Shortly before we went to Canada, I remember my Mam taking us to see a film called "Those Calloways" (an old Disney flick starring Brian Keith) at the pictures. We were enthralled with the Vermont scenery and all the fall colours. Eventually, some 20 odd years later, I did actually get to see Vermont for myself and I'm so glad I got to take my Mam there to see it before she died. Our first house in Canada was a big rambling old place set beside a lake in a setting that strongly resembled what we'd seen in that film and I remember my Mam saying "oh it's just like in Those Calloways!" I remember out the front of the house the property led right down to the lakeside to this tiny secluded little bay. I used to love to go and sit down there by myself in the sunshine and read or write letters to my Grandparents in England.

Yes Not2old, and I'm living back there now too To be honest, the ships on the Mersey to-ing and fro-ing really didn't occur to me at all, despite seeing many a launch back in the day. As you said, it must have been a boy thing

You really should you know. It's absolutely stunning, certainly among the top five places I've ever had the privilege of visiting, three times I think (but I'm older than you ).

I loved the Anne of Green Gables series of books. It's where my desire to come to Canada sprang from....that and snow. I had a difficult childhood so I always imagined myself away somewhere else...

I also loved The Little House on the Prairie books.....although I am discovering I am far more City Girl than I once thought

Good God. I had no idea that anyone outside of Canada had ever heard of Anne of Green Gables. Or, come to think of it, Little House on the Prairie. Even I didn't know that somebody had written a book upon the massively crappy TV series was based.

On topic though. I think I have to admit that Jules Verne was an important part of my imaginings when a pre-teen.

Anne of Green Gables is extremely popular amongst the Japanese. They dominate the tourist population in P.E.I. for that reason (Apparently they are also known to go to the Northwest Territories to see Northern lights, although I am unsure why anyone would want to freeze their posteriors to see some sky beauty).

My mum loved Anne of Green Gables. Can you tell by my username? But I'm not as sophisticated without the "e"! (And my brother is called Matthew, for the record)

I still want a boarded house with dormer windows and a wrap-around porch, from which to shout 'good night John Boy'.

My dad always brought home foreign paper money from his trips, which I also found fascinating.

As a young kid, I lived Famous Five and Secret Seven, and as a teen I was going to marry Sting, and had a girlie crush on Blondie, or more to the point, her cheekbones.

Lord, funny what you remember.

Oh me too!! I've started reading them with my son hoping the boyish adventure will spark a love of reading. It's funny re-reading them as an adult too...who knew Enid Blyton was so ahead of her time- I'm sure the George in her book would be on the waiting list for a transgender surgical op these days