I’ve just introduced E and M to Spike Milligan.
Not literally, as that would mean either he is a ghost and in my house, or that I have him in a box somewhere, festering, being festy. Ick!
No, what happened is this…
M tugs my Spike Milligan children’s anthology from the double-packed bookcase on the upstairs landing, and starts to read.
I lay down beside her.
Part of me knows this is delay tactics, but ack, she’s reading Milligan, I don’t care.
We read, we giggle, we ponder.
“He’s a little bit mad isn’t he M? But Mummy loves him cos he’s interesting and daft, and he’s done lots of things.”
M nods and smiles and reads.
Minutes go by and another body joins us on our tiny landing. MIss E, wondering why Mummy and M are guffawing like two mad donkeys. And we lay together, taking turns, reading. Listening to rhymes, patterns, linguistic skips, hops and jumps.
I love Spike Milligan.
Love.
And Misses E and M seem to like him a little bit too.
Woo hooooooo.
If you’ve never read Spike Milligan, or if you’ve only ever heard “On the ning nang nong” (which I actually don’t like that much) then I’d recommend this:
Spike Milligan’s Hidden Words.
It’s one of my favourite books. There’s a poem for every occasion, from the serious to the silly, and I adore it.
This is not a sponsored post. Just a few words from a happy Mum.
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February 28th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
I almost wholly agree, love Spike Milligan, but I also love On the Ning nang Nong which I remember learning as a Halloween party piece – back in the days when you actually had to do something to get your sweeties when out guising for Halloween.
March 1st, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Awww now that would be cute. I loved to write my own rhymes as a kid so I think I used to see things like ‘On the ning nang nong’ as cheating. Dr Seuss used to also annoy me – making words up rather than finding rhyme. I know that wasn’t the point but ack I was a weird kid sometimes.
February 29th, 2012 at 10:59 am
I remember on the ning, nang nong. I loved it. Didn’t realise it was our friend Spike. You’ve inspired me to dig out some more of his work.
February 29th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
He was one of the best. You have to read Hidden Words Rosie. It’s wonderful.
March 2nd, 2012 at 9:40 pm
We have a great kids’ book written by Spike Milligan, called Mr Betts and Mr Potts. It’s all about a man who has lots of pets, who keep getting covered in stripes and spots, and he takes them to the vet. It’s all in rhyme, and is brilliant. You’d like it.
March 3rd, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Oh I would love that. I’ll have a look on Amazon.