tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post4450903568738653562..comments2024-03-13T07:34:24.149+00:00Comments on The Age of Uncertainty: Mother DearSteerforthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-48438427706890806542016-01-08T11:03:01.621+00:002016-01-08T11:03:01.621+00:00I love your Mum's comments as reported by you....I love your Mum's comments as reported by you. Almost a haiku kind of feeling?<br />Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959624249031770681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-70876252502125485702016-01-06T22:17:04.860+00:002016-01-06T22:17:04.860+00:00And the patting of the ancient sofa's cushions...And the patting of the ancient sofa's cushions , "Never mind , it'll see me out ... " SmitoniusAndSonatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11210817141287881808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-67253573873341532172016-01-03T20:17:50.815+00:002016-01-03T20:17:50.815+00:00So glad you had a happy Christmas. You deserve on...So glad you had a happy Christmas. You deserve one. All well here, for the moment. Hope it lasts, the last quarter of 2015 was a bit frenetic, with med. issues, etc. And a very Happy New Year to you and yours as well. As our niece always says at New Year's, "Whatever you wish for yourself, I wish for you." Happy New Year! xoxox CarolCanadian Chickadeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12995693884248628958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-35755183874574427422015-12-31T08:53:59.419+00:002015-12-31T08:53:59.419+00:00Welcome to the mangle club! I don't miss them....Welcome to the mangle club! I don't miss them. I've been putting some random reminiscences about the past on a blog called The Way We Were. Yes, different anecdotes surface, or the same one in different form. At 50 you're old enough to hear the truth now, you see. ;-) Oh, Mrs Ollerenshaw and her pony... She was a totter who hired Mum a shed to do art in. Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-55887309009336574862015-12-28T20:53:31.766+00:002015-12-28T20:53:31.766+00:00What a hoot about the cat at the end of the story!...What a hoot about the cat at the end of the story! I remember radios powered by accumulators and taking the accumulator to be recharged - it was heavy to carry. And about the dates and figs etc. If you are interested in life as it used to be you might like to check out posts labeled Childhood memories on my blog.Marigold Jamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895195019277206960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-16500003282051867062015-12-28T20:20:45.185+00:002015-12-28T20:20:45.185+00:00Oh Christ, I laughed out loud at the punchline -- ...Oh Christ, I laughed out loud at the punchline -- I was not expecting that! Merry Christmas indeed!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-41020606879143736532015-12-28T18:34:28.526+00:002015-12-28T18:34:28.526+00:00Nell - It's easy to say that at 95, your mothe...Nell - It's easy to say that at 95, your mother has done well to get this far without needing to move to a home, but whatever the age, I think it's always hard to witness that transition, as they move further away from being the person you knew. At least she will be safer, now that the Alzheimer's is making her more vulnerable.<br /><br />Chris - If you ever bought anything in the Teddington branch of Woolworths, you might have been served by my mother. She worked there until 1989 and her updates on the local petty criminals were a constant source of entertainment. <br /><br />Peter - I didn't know anything about the sinking of the Prince of Wales, so I've just read about it. I see that a Japanese pilot dropped a wreath in the sea to honour the bravery of the sailors. Sadly, it sounds like one of many examples of British military incompetence during the early years of the War.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-53861742245138061612015-12-28T16:00:36.439+00:002015-12-28T16:00:36.439+00:00Good gravy! Sending a child out into an air raid s...Good gravy! Sending a child out into an air raid seems not very nice.<br /><br />I'm out in Seattle visiting my old man. Over Christmas dinner he told me the story of how, as a child, he met two sailors from the Prince of Wales. His late brother, who worked at the nearby naval yard, invited them home for dinner. My dad's a taciturn fellow, but I got the sense the news of its sinking was a real shock to him.Peter Sipenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-35584176892753959372015-12-28T11:05:44.799+00:002015-12-28T11:05:44.799+00:00This has been some of my favourite Christmas readi...This has been some of my favourite Christmas reading. Thank you. Chris xAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-7557476513070542102015-12-27T18:54:43.331+00:002015-12-27T18:54:43.331+00:00This is music to my ears; as you know my own blog ...This is music to my ears; as you know my own blog is full of tales and pictures about my parents and their lives. You are absolutely right about how important it is to preserve their memories and anecdotes. My own Mum was taken to hospital over Christmas and is currently in a care home for assessment. I sense her winding down, and as she is 95 that is something I’m OK with. I’m very glad that I started the project a few year ago, especially as Alzheimers is now robbing her of clarity of thought. My children, whether they appreciate it now or not, will have something far more tangible and well-documented to refer to when their real curiosity kicks in.Little Nellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11862657943846727987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-65030845751021454702015-12-26T12:46:22.516+00:002015-12-26T12:46:22.516+00:00Roger - I Hope you had a very pleasant Christmas D...Roger - I Hope you had a very pleasant Christmas Day. Best wishes for 2016.<br /><br />David - Yes, she reminds me of Alan Bennett's mother sometimes, now that she's older. My favourite Mrs Bennett quote comes from a time when she'd forgotten the word for a car: "What's that thing you're on your own in?"Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-86143296946449836032015-12-26T10:39:20.941+00:002015-12-26T10:39:20.941+00:00There's a wonderfully Alan Bennetesque ring ab...There's a wonderfully Alan Bennetesque ring about some of your mother's one liners.<br /><br />I agree about preserving memories. For example, my mother (b. 1935) says that the first time she saw the sea (the east coast during the war) she assumed that all the anti-invasion measures - barbed wire, etc - were just things that were always found at the seaside, like breakwaters and rock shops.David Gouldstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446150522362785974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-52053010832461320462015-12-25T14:32:43.297+00:002015-12-25T14:32:43.297+00:00Lovely post Mr S. Hope you have a very happy Chris...Lovely post Mr S. Hope you have a very happy Christmas.Roghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09430706557035189147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-27616691739518854962015-12-25T14:02:28.154+00:002015-12-25T14:02:28.154+00:00Kid - I've accidentally deleted your Christmas...Kid - I've accidentally deleted your Christmas message thanks to my inability to use a smartphone properly, but a very Happy Christmas to you!Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-2578577764348331132015-12-25T14:00:19.287+00:002015-12-25T14:00:19.287+00:00Annabel - A very Merry Christmas to you too.Annabel - A very Merry Christmas to you too.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-38662911713279052332015-12-25T09:32:00.026+00:002015-12-25T09:32:00.026+00:00MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family. xMERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family. xAnnabel Gaskellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12210341270502698508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-63551431263044601762015-12-24T23:18:53.098+00:002015-12-24T23:18:53.098+00:00Happy Christmas Dale and John! I've just found...Happy Christmas Dale and John! I've just found your email on my work account - sorry to read about your late computer.<br /><br />The world of mangles is also familiar to me, as I had a rather strange grandmother who refused to have her house altered in any way after she moved there in the 1930s, so there was no indoor loo, hot water, washing machine, fridge, bath or any other mod con. The milk was kept cool outside, in an earthenware jug full of water.<br /><br />Eventually, after much pleading from my father, in 1974 she agreed to abandon this spartan existence and an extension was built with a loo, bath and boiler for hot water. She died soon after the work was finished. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-33080622223823580462015-12-24T23:01:14.965+00:002015-12-24T23:01:14.965+00:00We will indeed miss them when they are gone. And h...We will indeed miss them when they are gone. And hope someone will miss us in our turn.<br /><br />I am only a spring chicken -Steerforth knows all- but I too grew up without television, and remember mangles, Sunday best, and one or two horse-drawn carts (including the old-timey rag and bone man that used to clip clop through Amsterdam in the 1960s crying "Orduuuuure!"). <br /><br />The anecdote I make my mother repeat is the one of her own grandmother (who was born in Bournemouth in 1870 and had many salty brothers) exclaiming: "You wonder?! You'll wonder till the rooks fly up your arse and build a nest, and then you'll wonder where the twigs are coming from!"<br /><br />Always had an admirable feel for the rhythm of language, my relatives....Those Victorians were not as prim as we delude ourselves they were. <br /><br />A Merry Christmas to you from New Zealand, where we are about to sit down to Christmas Dinner.Dalenoreply@blogger.com