Holidays

Off to France for a couple of weeks.
Sarlat then onto Riberac.
Will tell stories of the trip on my return.
Have a happy and healthy 2 weeks everyone.

Auntie Peggy poorly

Had a call from my son today.
Auntie Peggy had a turn early this week. Hopefully it was just a drop in her blood pressure, and nothing more sinister.
She had a pace maker fitted last year and that made a new women of her.
My son was her carer prior to her going into the care home.

A sorry tale

Auntie Peg, tells us how she remembers as a child when one of our cousins broke his arm and was in plaster. This meant that his parents did not want him as he was not whole anymore.
   "They tried to sell him" she claims, "But we weren't having any of it and told them "We do not do that sort of thing in our family."

Long live Auntie Peg.

I've been on my holidays, we went to York in the U.K.What a wonderful place.

On return, I had an anxious sister on the phone,relaying the antics that Auntie Peg had been about.
She had a week of conflict with some other service users, and was seen to shake a fist more than once, with the odd curse for good measure. Then she set about banging hard on the lift doors to summon the travel mode hastily.
This would not be the first time that she had adopted this tactic.
 The staff would be heard to call out,
'Be patient Peggy, it won't be long, we are doing the meals and have to leave the lift doors open.'
I once witnessed this debacle and in my embarrassment tried in vain to calm the irate aunt.

Strange thing is that the staff of this wonderful place think the world of our Auntie Peg.

The carehome

When the time came for Auntie Peg, to go into a home, it was one of the most difficult things for my sister, my son and myself to undertake.
We knew how she loved  a drink and a smoke. This had been her life's enjoyment for many years.
Not many of the homes near us would admit anybody with these habits.
We were only given 2 weeks to establish a suitable placement for her.
This was an impossibility, as all the places we looked at were not to the standard that we desired, bearing in mind her needs. She could no longer hear or see so well, therefore the T.V. held no delight.
I say she didn't see so well, but I have never known such dexterity with the fingers when she rolled her cigarettes.
Eventually we found the wonderful place where she now resides. Auntie is both happy and very well cared for, and can enjoy a smoke when the staff take her into the gardens. The whiskey is measured, with three tots daily being the prescribed amount on offer.

Long may she thrive and survive.

A 'fishy tale'

One day when I was out with Auntie Peggy, she decided to take me to the cockle and whelk stalls by the harbour in Folkestone.
It was she who introduced me to the delicious crustations particularly shell fish.

Father nearly had a blue fit when he found out where I had been.
Dad was now a school teacher in the town, and thought it most improper for his daughter to be seen eating at 'Chummys' shellfish stall.

I continued to sneak down to the harbour with Auntie Peg at every opportunity, and to this day still enjoy munching on this wonderful food.

Let there be light.

Today I thought about long ago, when we lived with Auntie Peg.
There was no electricity in the house, that was because Auntie Peg
said it was to dangerous to have put in.
That was back in 1948.
Granted there were very few houses where we lived that did have it. People like my Aunt were very suspicious of electricity.

She used to take me up to bed by candle light, telling me 'spooky stories' as we went.
Little wonder that I had nightmares.

The make -up routine.

When I was a child of six or seven, I remember Auntie Peggy,{ mothers sister} and her makeup routine.
It was an intense production.

The kitchen table was used for the performance.With the hand mirror propped  appropriately in position to apply a variety of lotions and potions. I would sit opposite her and watch with wide eyed amazement.
Firstly on went the cleansing fluid, gently wiped off with what looked to me like tow.
Then foundation was applied, a strange orangey coloured stuff, this was followed by the caking on of a deeper orange powder.
With fanatical verve on went the eye treatment. Each eye was cleansed, then the outer upper eye was subjected to a pale coloured streak, of I'm not sure what, then a darker one,then the end product of a really dark line applied to the lid.
The lashes became a work of art with a thick black mascara application.
The lips were first lined with a pen-like devise, followed by the brightest red lipstick you could find in the forties, and bought from Woolworth's, was perfectly aligned.

  "Oh. Auntie Peggy,you look like a film star" I said.
She replied, "Well I could have been you know"

The whole process took 25 minutes.

Auntie Peg.

There are so many amusing stories connected with this intrepid lady.

As a young women she worked in Pinewood studios as a waitress. She still has a large collection of photographs of the older stars, such as Margaret Lockwood and John Mills.
When I was a child I would listen intently to all her tales about the famous on screen celebrities. That's when I decided to become an actress.
Mother always told me I was a drama queen.

Sadly the only acting I did was in the amateur dramatic society of Folkestone and Hythe and in the reviews I also produced at my local hospital.

My Auntie Peggy.

Went to see Auntie Peggy today. She is 88 and living in a wonderful care home.
She always did enjoy her whiskey, and here she is allowed 3 tots each day.

She also smokes, it used to be roll-ups,now its the posh packs.
She is only allowed 3 each day and under supervision outside in the gardens.
She told me that she only gets 2 or 3 drags, because the wind blows all the enjoyment away.

Long live Auntie Peggy.

My new book.THE LIBERTY BODICE

It won't be long now before the new book is ready.
It is entitled The Liberty Bodice.
It describes the adolescence of Gloria growing up with her family in England and Ireland.
As she matures she is determined to join the S.O.E.[Special Operations Executive}
Her life as an agent in W.W.2 is nothing short of heinous.

Her intrepid journey after escape from a concentration camp, must be read to be believed.

What a day!

Good afternoon, yesterday I tried to get to the hospital, it was a nightmare. No one bare the few were able to get to their post on time.

Sadly a man had jumped from a relatively new bridge in the early hours and part of the motorway was closed.
My clinic began at 9 a.m. the Consultant was unable to arrive until 10 a.m. A few Patients had managed to get in as they had set off very early, and amazingly all bare one turned up for their appointment.
However, as expected we were running very late.

Nevertheless some still managed to complain about the length of time they waited, even after we explained the reason why.