Nothing could ever separate Caroline Haswell from her beloved toy pram.
Caroline, now 70, was given the Triang pram when she was six.
“Look after it!” Caroline’s parents told her, and she has.
The pram came with her to different childhood homes and travelled hundreds of miles around the country with her, to Bo’ness, London and the north-east of England, when she was an adult.
It now resides with her in Skye, and apart from needing a little WD40 here and there, is as good as new.
The pram came from Benzies of Union Street in Inverness.
Caroline remembers going down the staircase to the toy department in the basement, and looking up at all the display toys hanging overhead.
“It was a magical experience for a child,” she says.
It was taken proudly home to Kiltarlity, where the family lived on the Phoineas estate.
To this day, Caroline realises how lucky she was to be given the pram.
She said: “We didn’t have much money or many things in those days.
“My father worked as a gardener on estates, so it was mainly outdoor things we had.
“The pram would have been expensive, so I think it must have been in a sale.”
Caroline has given much thought to why her parents stretched the budget to give her the pram.
“I had two big brothers and perhaps my parents thought I needed something to play with as a girl.
“I was struck by the fact that my parents had bought me something that they weren’t able normally to do.”
Choosing the pram wasn’t so straightforward.
“I wanted a more fashionable-looking one but my mother said this one was much better, so we bought the one she wanted.
“I’m sure she was right.”
The pram, complete with hood and apron, came without bed clothes, so Caroline’s mother made an eiderdown and pillowcase for it.
“I played with it a lot, particularly with my favourite doll, Camilla,” Caroline said.
Camilla has long since gone, but the pram has endured 64 years, needing only the occasional replacement of the leather straps used in its suspension.
Caroline’s daughter Catriona played with it, and now it’s a great attraction for her grandson Sandy, 2, and three-year-old great-nephew Magnus.
“There’s a new baby coming too,” Caroline said.
“I hope the pram will stay in the family, passing down the generations.”
- Have you got a favourite old toy with a story? We’d love to hear about it. Please contact Susy Macaulay here.
