The family that plays together, stays together

Whaley and son … tread the boards

Richard Whaley, 47: I joined the Riverside Players, a small amateur dramatics society in Old Windsor, Berks, five years ago. I had Ayckbourn in mind, but the first thing I did was Hickory Dickory Dock as part of a comedy duo called Slap and Tickle, dressed in pink velvet and an awful wig. We do three shows a year – a play, a summer musical and a Christmas panto.

Luke has always enjoyed being involved – even before he was in a show he’d come set-building with me. My daughter, Sophie, had a part in Dick Whittington when she was 13, and once he’d seen her, Luke said he wanted to have a go. The following summer he got his first part, in Below Stairs.

At rehearsals we spend very little time together. He’s with his friends and I’m with mine. There are other families in the group, and the children fool around as a bunch.

My wife finds the amount of time amateur dramatics takes up frustrating. Luke and I might be out on Sundays building sets, which blows Sunday lunch plans out of the water. But at the shows she sees where the time went.

I’m delighted Luke wants to spend time with me – many lads his age don’t want anything to do with their parents. He and I have found something we like and enjoy doing together – and he’ll also tell you he likes to creep into the pub after rehearsal occasionally!

Luke Suares-Whaley, 13: I love performing and wanted to get involved. I went to see some of the plays my dad was in, then he asked me if I wanted to come to a read-through for a play called Below Stairs.

Dad and I talk about acting a lot. Mum joins in some of the conversations, but my sister just dozes. We’ll try to guess what’s going to happen at rehearsal and whether we’ll be singing or acting.

Pantomimes are the most fun and there are more children’s parts. Last year I played John in Robin Hood & Babes in the Wood and my dad was Herman the Henchman. It’s funny acting with my dad as he always gets the silly roles – when I do scenes with him I try not to laugh, although I always want to.

www.riversideplayers.com

The Hooker family … drive steam trains

Richard Hooker, 38: My grandfather worked on the railways, and in the 70s he made friends with Commander Baldock, who owned a private working steam collection at Hollycombe in Liphook, Hants, and asked him to lay the tracks there.

My grandfather took my father up to Hollycombe, and my father took me. As soon as I was out of the pushchair I had coal on my hands and by the time I was 13, he had me driving the train.

Steam is the fascination; the smell of coal burning through the steam engine and the way engines are dead when they are cold, and when in steam they come alive, like dragons.

Hollycombe is such a friendly place and we are one of a number of families that volunteer here. At Hollycombe you’re involved in everything – from the fairground to the traction engine, a sort of road steam engine.

My father used to be the chairman, and he’d be up here seven days a week. He died four years ago, and I’ve now taken up the role.

I felt I could talk to my dad when we were here – we’d be up the tracks and have a laugh and talk about things that were worrying me. My dad and I spent a lot of time together at Hollycombe, and it’s the same for my son, Matt, and me.

The first thing Matt’s grandfather did with him was take him on the steam train when he was two. The public often scream the first time they see the steam, and hear the noise, but he loved it.

We drive the traction engine together and work well as a team; he operates the regulator and I steer. Matt is a very competent engine driver and he’s only 12; on the train he will act as a fireman, putting coal into the firebox.

Some kids can’t talk to their parents, but Matt can talk to me – I’m sure it’s because we have common ground. We’re father and son at Hollycombe, but also mates – and I’m teaching him as he grows up, as my father taught me.

Matthew Hooker, 12: My dad has been taking me to Hollycombe since I was a baby, and one of my first memories is driving the engine with my grandfather, and getting stuck on the grass.

I am up here every weekend and in the holidays. I go on the rides and clean and drive the engines. We own a traction engine, which will be passed down to me, so I’ve got to keep the family tradition going.

It’s exciting getting the wood and lighting up the engines, and fun to do something different every day. My dad is the best steam driver – he’s been driving the train the longest – and taught me to drive it, which took a few months. I get to drive the train at the end of the day, when it’s just me and my dad.

Simon Hooker, 22 (Richard’s brother): I feel as if I grew up at Hollycombe and remember spending summer holidays rolling in the coal. I wouldn’t say it was a hobby, more a home from home.

I can drive the train but I’m a bit rusty. I was always more into the steam fair side, so I work the steam swings.

When Dad was up at Hollycombe you could speak to him more – he was happier. I bonded with my dad and brother, Richard, who is much older than me, through being here.

We’re a very laid-back family, and I think it has to be something to do with being in the open and spending so much natural time together. I bring my little girl, Alyssa, to Hollycombe now. She’s three, and I’m trying to get her interested. She goes on the rides, although she’s a bit wary – but she’ll get used to it.

www.hollycombe.co.uk

Mother and daughter … row on the Lea river

Sylvia Chew, 51: All my children have rowed; initially it was a case of getting up at 5am to take them to regattas, watching them and coming home again.

Elaine, my youngest, was eight when she first went out in a boat. I was so worried she’d fall in that I’d walk the bank while she was on the water. I was 42 when I first rowed. We live half a mile from the Lea Rowing Club in Hackney, east London, and it was more about the fact I was there. I saw my role as helping out, rather like when my sons were at Scouts, so I took an instructor’s course, which you can do without having rowed much, and did volunteer coaching. I started going out in boats on Sunday mornings.

In 2005 the club secretary got together a women’s eight and asked me to join. Because the Lea is a racing club I said no – I wasn’t fit enough and didn’t want to bring them into disrepute.

Elaine was winter training, so I went with her to do 10km on the rowing machine twice a week instead. I am now part of a group of women, aged 30s to 50s, who want to row and develop together as a veteran squad.

I love being on the river; Hackney is in inner London but on the river you could be anywhere.

I think Elaine was initially a bit embarrassed and surprised I did it. I defer to her expertise all the time – and rowing is less stressful to do than watch at a regatta. Sharing experience is helpful, but I think the basis of a good relationship is mutual respect. If I did feel she felt I was invading her space then I wouldn’t do it – I see it primarily as her sport – but I would miss it.

Elaine Chew, 17: When Mum first started rowing I didn’t like it much – I felt like rowing was “my thing”. But then I realised I’d “stolen” it from my brothers, who had both rowed before me, and they’d never said anything.

Now I don’t mind – it’s useful for lifts! I didn’t doubt her, but I was surprised when I saw how committed she was.

Mum is a club rower – I don’t think she’s aspiring to more, but I’m aiming for the GB team. She’s really good – and I’m not just saying that. When she started she was in boats that didn’t balance, with lots of splashing and people not talking to each other at the end of the outing. Now she wins races. I’m proud of her.

We’ve also raced together in a mother-and-daughter eight. It was one of her first races, but we only lost by a foot.

Going to regattas with Mum is one of my favourite things. When we were younger she’d be shouting us on and it was nice to know someone was there. We always cheer for everyone at the club, but I cheer her a bit more. She’s done it for me all these years; it’s nice to be able to do that back.

www.learc.co.uk

Three generations … go tap-dancing

Vicki Arnold, 36: I’ve danced for as long as I can remember, and we’ve been pestering my teacher to run an adult tap class for years. Mum is keen to have a go at absolutely everything, and was the first one to say, “I want to do that.”

It’s a chance for her to get out of the house – and for me to see her enjoying herself and relaxing. She knows we laugh at her and she laughs back.

We go through steps in the kitchen before the next class. But there is a little bit of competitiveness – I show her things, but I leave some things out.

She makes sure she stands behind me in class so she can copy me. I don’t always get it right, but I tell her I do!

Here, she’s not in a family environment, and it’s about seeing her as an individual, rather than just my mum. It sounds clichéd, but she’s my best friend, the sort of person I’d want to spend time with.

Val Burgess, 66: Three generations of our family tap dance at the Windsor School of Dancing on a Monday: me, my daughter Vicki, and my granddaughters, Samantha and Denise.

It’s a mixed ability class; I’m middling, but the others are good. They pick it up quickly and then go through steps with me after the class. The older you get the longer it takes to stay in your brain. If I do it wrong I’ll do a little jig until I’ve worked out what to do. They are proud that I do it though, even if I get it wrong.

With the hectic lives we all lead now, people tend to go their own way. Sharing an interest every week, you know when you’re going to see them, which is important. I’d see them anyway, but not as frequently. I could phone them, but it’s not the same as doing a timestep and being laughed at.

01753 864482

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