Brambly Hedge

Last week I was talking to a relative about my godparents, as I recently became a godmother. My godparents had very little to do with my life. I think they were my Mum’s friends at some point – I guess they still are, but I don’t know. I was confused about what a godparent does, and the fact my godparents are near strangers didn’t help with my understanding.

I think I know who my godparents are and I remember one of them visiting my parents’ house regularly. But I rarely spoke more than ten words to them. They were visiting to spend time with my Mum.

The other one is more confusing. I remember getting my first job and walking past the store where they worked on my way to work. I knocked on the door because I was feeling like I wanted to tell someone how excited I was to be working! I figured, as godparents, they’d have an interest in this. I knocked on the door and the godfather opened up – he looked confused. I can’t remember if I said I’m your goddaughter or I’m related to… but he then asked me what I wanted. I felt like it was too inconvenient to say oh, it doesn’t matter. So I mentioned my new job and watched him roll his eyes and look at a colleague deep in the store with a look of exasperation.

I remember feeling annoyed. Just because I had realised my Mum had asked them to be godparents based on the fact they were affluent, rather than because they cared. Because maybe, when I was being christened, she thought that they were the type of people who should have an influence on my life.

What I remember most about them in the store where they worked. I remember looking at the homeware in their store as my Mum chatted to my godmother and shop assistant. I looked at crockery and decided whether I liked it, whether I thought it was value for money (almost always no) and useful (sometimes no). I felt that most of the china was too fancy to use. In fact, my grandma had a lot of plates attached to her living room wall. I thought the decoration would come off with regular use. I also remember being talked about in front of my godparents, and never having an opportunity to speak.

One of the cabinets I always looked at was Brambly Hedge. I may have even been given a few pieces as a child. The mice captured my imagination. Recently, I’ve been visiting antiques stores to look at pieces. The miniature tea set pieces seem just as enchanting as I remember. I did a bit of research and found out that there’s an exhibition of the Brambly Hedge artwork this month at the Illustration Cupboard.

I can’t help but feel strange that the most memorable interaction I had with my godparents is when I became interested in the fictional life of mice.

 

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