B is for Beds #atozchallenge

Posted on Apr 3, 2017 by TanGental

For the last two years I’ve joined in the #atozchallenge, namely to post every weekday in April using each letter of the alphabet in turn. In 2015 it was places I’d been to, in 2016 it was London themed. This year it is a dictionary of my family, recounting incidents small and large that have taught me lessons down the years, caused me consternation or generally seared themselves into my memory.  I hope you enjoy them. To find other bloggers doing the challenge and maybe be inspired yourself, check out the A to Z Blogging Challenge Blog, here. 

As I enter my seventh decade I’ve come to realise that, in the top ten critically important items in my life, a bed that lets me have an uninterrupted sleep is in the top three. Back when I was small and sharing a bedroom with the Archaeologist we had separate beds with mine in the disadvantageous position being nearest the loft hatch (causing me endless heebie-jeebies about what lurked in the dark), next to the windows (we had no heating so my bed cooled quickest in winter) and away from the stairs (so making my route to food longer and more tortuous when called by mum.

That bed too played its part as the Maw of Doom, when my older stronger brother would wrestle his irritating sibling (and, hands up, I was a persistent and annoying little shadow) between mattress and frame and hold me there. He may not remember and he may have only done it once but that sense of being trapped, utterly helpless and yet rather pleased that he had actually noticed me sufficiently to take such drastic action stays with me.

I must have slept in over 100 beds, maybe 500 down the years from those stuffed with horse hair to those riddled with fleas. I’ve rolled off futons and drowned in feathers – one awful four poster thingy in a pub in Long Compton in Warwickshire comes to mind when the weight differential between the Textiliste and me and the viscous softness of the mattress  caused us to sink into the soft centre like a thumb into a warm fondant cream and struggle to fight our way out.

These days I’m in need of the Goldilocks of beds – neither too hot, nor too cold, not too lumpy, nor too smooth but just right.

I have that at home and it is a very precious asset.

I was asked not long ago what 3 things I would save if given five minutes to leave the house before it was destroyed.

I thought about dad’s poetry book, photos of family and friends, one of the Textiliste’s quilts but, thinking about it now, I’d spend those 5 minutes dragging my bed and mattress outside.

Does that make me sad and old or just sad? Or very very wise… Or maybe I should just be grateful I have one at all, like Dog

About TanGental

My name is Geoff Le Pard. Once I was a lawyer; now I am a writer. I've published several books: a four book series following Harry Spittle as he grows from hapless student to hapless partner in a London law firm; four others in different genres; a book of poetry; four anthologies of short fiction; and a memoir of my mother. I have several more in the pipeline. I have been blogging regularly since 2014, on topic as diverse as: poetry based on famous poems; memories from my life; my garden; my dog; a whole variety of short fiction; my attempts at baking and food; travel and the consequent disasters; theatre, film and book reviews; and the occasional thought piece. Mostly it is whatever takes my fancy. I avoid politics, mostly, and religion, always. I don't mean to upset anyone but if I do, well, sorry and I suggest you go elsewhere. These are my thoughts and no one else is to blame. If you want to nab anything I post, please acknowledge where it came from.
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37 Responses to B is for Beds #atozchallenge

  1. Ritu says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    I wouldn’t blame you His Geoffleship… good, comfy beds are so hard to find!!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  2. LucciaGray says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 1:47 pm

    Absolutely agree! Not even the best hotel bed is better than my own bed. I sleep well anywhere, but I always miss my bed whenever I’m away. I’d say it’s more than just the bed. It’s everything around it too, smells, noises, things…

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Iain Kelly says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 2:05 pm

    I love the idea of a life told through the beds that we sleep in. Hope you get a good night’s sleep tonight ready for ‘C’ tomorrow!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Rowena says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 2:28 pm

    My husband and I have a King-sized bed which is wonderfully spacious and we truly miss it when we travel, especially when we find ourselves sharing a double bed. These days how any couple could sleep in a single bed is beyond me, but I think that also shows my age and dowager status. I really loved your tale about your brother trapping you under the mattress and your delight at being noticed. The sad desperation of the younger sibling.
    April has crept up on me and I find myself flapping like a drowning person trying to find an angle on Tasmania, where I can write about places without feeling the need to provide a tourist handbook everyday. Fortunately, I stumbled on the idea of emphasizing the thing of travelling alphabetically around Tasmania, which makes no sense whatsoever and could be add the spark I’m needing to the series.
    Anyway, Happy A-Z.
    xx Ro

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Katie thecyborgmom says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    Amen! I think it makes you super duper wise! I have chronic pain and NEED a good bed to sleep in. We bought a natural latex mattress a few years ago and I’m in love. Even my husband, who never notices anything, loves the bed. Really enjoyed your post…and your adorable puppy!
    Blog hopping from A to Z!
    ~Katie
    TheCyborgMom

    Like

  6. Judy E Martin says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 8:25 pm

    You can’t beat a nice, comfy bed! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. gordon759 says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    I cannot remember squashing you in a bed, but I have little doubt I did so. I suspect I was being experimental, possibly something like, ‘what happened to the princes in the tower’.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. thecontentedcrafter says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 9:49 pm

    Oh yes – totally with you on this subject – one step ahead even. I would save three things – 1 bed; 1 dog; 1 The Pillow = 3! The dog might be last….. (It goes without saying the cat has already saved himself at the first sign!) I got myself a state of the art bed in 2008 after spending years waking up unable to walk upright for the first hour of any day and they threw in The Pillow. Which was good as I had spent the GDP of a small kingdom on the thing! The Pillow is memory foam, perfectly adapted to my head and neck and sheer BLISS! Whenever I travel, and it’s possible to include it, I take The Pillow with me. Maybe it is age, maybe it’s entitlement – maybe it’s just sheer appreciation that as one totters towards the end of the 7th decade it’s having a decent mattress and a decent Pillow that makes waking up every day completely enjoyable. ❤ Wonderfully done Sir!!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. vanbytheriver says:
    Apr 3, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    Nothing like your own bed…except maybe Hilton hotel beds…but I’m partial.

    Liked by 1 person

    • TanGental says:
      Apr 4, 2017 at 10:04 pm

      The best hotel bed, and I’ll fight you over the title, was in the Jumeriah hotel at Central Part South Side circa 2009 – it was like I’d upgraded my body for the night…

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Helen Jones says:
    Apr 4, 2017 at 6:44 am

    I agree, Geoff – a comfortable bed is to be cherished and held on to. There’s nothing like ones own bed – I love mine too (although in a fire I would die trying to wrestle it downstairs, probably would save my computer instead) 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Hugh's Views and News says:
    Apr 4, 2017 at 4:12 pm

    Arr, freshly laundered and ironed sheets and a nice comfy bed – these are just a few of my favourite things. Just saying 😀

    Does Dog unstuff his bed? Looks to me that he enjoys taking the stuffing out of items.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. shirleyjdietz says:
    Apr 6, 2017 at 1:07 am

    For me, a love/hate relationship. I love my bed at night when it’s time to get in but by morning I can’t wait to get out. I had a theme like this last year. Practice for a memoir, maybe?

    Liked by 1 person

  13. drkottaway says:
    Apr 12, 2017 at 12:45 pm

    I ran numbers on my patients and 48% are over 65. One will turn 100 in August! In their 80s and 90s they ask about sleep. They don’t sleep through the night and I explain that “The blue butterfly lies.” The blue butterfly was an advertisement for a sleep medicine, but 8 hours continuous sleep is actually NOT “normal”. Here is my write up about our sleep doctor talk: https://drkottaway.com/2015/01/08/sleep/
    Sweet dreams.

    Liked by 1 person

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