Imaginary
There are blessed few kids’ TV programmes I can endure. Most of them are arse-tripe. I’m sure kids LOVE them, but oh my life, are they arse-tripe. I do, however, value a special, golden few. They are less than arse-tripe. They are maybe guff-waft. Or ear-cheese. Y’know, something not so bad.
One of these programmes is Charlie and Lola. You know it. The one about the boy, Charlie, and his little sister, Lola. You’re already singing the theme tune in your brains, aren’t you? Sorry about that. But I really like this programme. The animation makes me go all dribbly, and in a good way. It appeals to my artistic side, and the side of me that hankers after dodgy fabric patterns. Sure, the characters are faintly annoying but there’s a hint of surreality and I have been known to snigger out loud (SOL?) on occasion at some of the ridiculousness. Also, that there theme music is a bit 1970s and hideously catchy, innit. Now you’re HUMMING it. You’re so suggestible.
But ANYWAY, the reason I mention it is cos Lola has an imaginary friend called Soren Lorenson. If you click the link I’ve just inserted you go through to his Facebook page. He has more friends than me. A fictional, imaginary person. THAT’S HOW FARKING POPULAR HE IS. Bastard.
I would like to confess that I, too, had imaginary friends when I was growing up. Yes – plural. Friends.
The BBC website for Charlie and Lola describes Soren Lorenson as Lola’s ‘confidante, her security blanket’ and ‘sometimes… Lola’s true voice’.
My imaginary friends were largely useless, being imaginary. There was one called Sally. She was the naughty one. And one called Mary. She was the good one. I s’pose you could say they were my confidantes. I had a variety of brothers in my childhood house and there would be NO WAY I’d confide in them, cos boys have fleas, innit. But my imaginary girl BFFs were always there for me. I remember Sally had copper hair and a brown checked dress. Mary was blonde with a blue dress (imaginative of me, must be that one Sunday school class I went to, FFS). They usually manifested themselves just behind me, and they were faded, like old photographs. I don’t think they had ‘voices’ as such. I certainly don’t think they were my ‘true voice’. Unless they harped on about Care Bears, or Enid Blyton. Which was mostly what I was obsessed with.
Why do people have imaginary friends? I wasn’t lacking in real-life ones. Sure, I was living in a mostly male household but I could dress any willing siblings up in my clothes and pretend they were a sister, and they were FINE WITH THAT (she says, laughing evilly). But I seem to remember being out and about and busy and doing stuff with people, a lot. A farking fine childhood, by any account. No complaints here.
But I could really do with a Sally or a Mary right now. Occasionally I get quite lonely, and if my (very gorgeous and super) real-life mates are unavailable then I tend to wander the park or haunt the soft-play café like a miserable wraith. If Sally or Mary were there, then they could keep an eye on Moo while I grab a cup of tea, or have a go on the swings, yeah? That would be OK, wouldn’t it?
No? Oh right. Cos they’re not real, I get you.
So did you? Have pretend friends? And why do you think that was?
I had never had one but I do love Charlie and Lola! I read their books in my best British Charlie and Lola voice. My kids say “Nope, you sound like Harry Potter.”
Even the QUEEN speaks like Harry Potter. It’s not that unusual.
My head was always full of people I invented who lived in stories I made up, but real imaginary friends I never had. I liked being alone every now and then, and some haunting unexisting creatures would have disturbed my peace
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Yeah they are so demanding *tsk*
I didn’t have exciting imaginary friends, but I thought that Roland Rat was real. I wrote and invited him to dinner at mine. His Mum Iris sent a polite reply on his behalf, declining on account of him being too busy.
Well that did it for me I’m afraid. On all counts. Sadly, I still have the letter somewhere.
I do recall inventing an imaginary friend when I was 10yrs old. I felt somewhat dull that I had never had one, so invented one accordingly. He was really quite boring and did nothing; probably because he was an imaginary-imaginary friend.
PMSL at the Roland Rat thing. That, my dear, is adorable. Though my mind is boggling at the imaginary-imaginary friend.
When my daughter was little, so long ago, as is shown by the fact that she has commented on this before me (Kitti wychwood – not her rel name I hasten to add). Anyway when said child was little, she was besotted with postman pat, fireman Sam and tots tv….oh how she loved the them tunes to them all, and we could regularly be heard zooming up and down the m6 to the booming bass of “…early in the morning, just as day is dawning….” and “…..when he hears the fireball chime, fireman Sam is there on time…..” and finally “…. I’m a tot, je suis une tot, Tilley, Tom and tiny, we’re the tots of tots tv, 1,2,3……”
What’s worse is I remember the lyrics……my daughter is 21…….still better than the crap they have now……someone should slaughter Peppa pig and spit roast her and he silly brother!
Mahahahahahaha yeah I had a brother who was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. I can still do a good beat-box to that theme tune. (and I am so with you on Peppa Pig, the horrid animal)
Yes, I did. She was called Margaret. I have little recollection of her, There is a vague memory of the ‘two of us’ sitting under the dining room table, tablecloth pulled down so ‘we’ were ‘hidden’ from the big people, playing with Tiny Tears. It totally freaked mum out as Margaret was the name of my dad’s deceased sister! ooo weeee ooooo weeee! I so would have liked a friend like Drop Dead Fred. How cool would that be?
Uh, not that cool. Rik Mayall would get really annoying after a while, I reckon.
Did you know that Soren Loresen is named after the author’s son Soren, and because she is Lauren Child he is Lauren’s son. My daughter has imaginary friendly monsters. I have to open the back door at dinner time so they can go and eat worms
I did not know that, thank you for telling me
Nope. But then again, I didn’t have any real friends so I had no idea what a pretend friend should be like.
I just shouted at sticks until it was time to go to bed.
This comment has made my morning
Also, “boys have fleas”. So obvious, and yet it never occurred to me.
Well, girls have girl fleas too. It’s only fair.
It’s a wonder you’re so well-adjusted.
I did not, but Goldilocks has more than made up for it. Her imaginary boyfriend is David Tennant, her imaginary horse is Phillipe and she has scores of imaginary pet animals. Not sure about humans though… :/
My imaginary boyfriend is also David Tennant! OMG he is imaginary two-timing us!! The imaginary bastard!
David Tennant is two-timing the both of you’s cause he’s still getting over the fact that I dumped him for Benedict Cumberbatch.
My last imaginary friend was my imaginary cousin, Belinda. She was all cool and rock n roll like. And she had a hat like Debbie Gibson’s who – was totally NOT cool, of course. Team Tiffany! *cough*
My daughter has pretend conversations with her grandparents. I’m slightly concerned…
Team Tiffany! Woo! So there’s TWO of us in this team! YEAH!