Blackfriars

Looking through some photos for a picture of Miss Annie Smith I found a postcard sent to my mother in the 1930s signed A Westley.  This was mother's friend I called Auntie Alice.  We children were never allowed to call grown-ups by their Christian names as is the custom now.  That would have been considered extremely impolite.

Auntie Alice was completely blind as was her husband, Uncle Bert.  He earned his living as a piano tuner.  He was a small, slight man with a surprisingly strong bass baritone voice.   His singing of popular ballads like  "Asleep in the Deep" , "Because" and  "The Lost Chord"  were well received at the monthly concerts which the local Blind Club held at the Surrey Chapel in Blackfriars Road in Southwark, London  next door to the world famous boxing arena called The Ring.  I think both of these buildings were destroyed in WW2.

I went often with my mother to meetings there.  Sometimes we had a solicitor called Mr. Dettmer who would read aloud short stories from Dickens or some such.  I remember him because if someone had the temerity to cough he would stop reading, extract a tin from his pocket and ask a boy to take the offender a cough sweet.

Enter Baby Jack

Last Friday my first great grandchild was born.  Holly sent a picture of  Jack.  He is a beautiful little boy and why would he be otherwuse with two such good-looking parents. I look forward to meeting him.  The  birth of one little human being into a happy family  never ceases to be the most  wonderful, the most delightful and the most miraculous of events.

This was the highlight of a week of ups and downs that all ended happily. I seem to spend a lot of my time these days searching for things.  Perhaps it is because I can't see at once where I put things or more likely I am just careless.   After shopping for some shoes I could not find my debit.card. It was not in my purse I felt convinced it must be in the pocket of my blue jacket..  After fruitless searching' involving A & M,  I remembered I was wearing my pink jacket and there it was in the pocket!    An even more mysterious affair was the disappearance of my hearing aid.    I t vanished from the bedside table.    I was in anguish and set the whole house by its ears once again involving A & M who turned the bedroom upside down, moving all the furniture but to no avail.  Finally, last night as I opened an almost empty  small jar of skin cream  which was on my bedside table I heard something  rattle and lo and behold there was my hearing aid.  It had fallen into the jar.  You are never too old to learn.  I shall keep this vital aid to living in its box in future!

At the Doctors

There has been much talk about doctors prescribing too many antibiotics.  Taken too often they may stop being effective.  I was being given a short course after every eye in jection.  This is no longer the case.  Apparently some patients were demanding antibiotics for sore throats and colds.  They are not a cure for these conditions.

In the days before the National Health when one had to pay good money to see a doctor my mother said people felt cheated if they came away without a bottle of "physic".  She said the doctor had three cures.  White mixture for the stomach, brown cough mixture for the chest and green liniment for the back.  I once heard a little old man ask the chemist for a box of them head back and stomach pills.  That pretty well took care of everything.

Middleton

Re yesterday's blog -  out of the dim recesses of my ancient mind I dredged up the name  Middleton Home for the Blind.  I think it might have been more tan just one house and I think it might have been 42 Wantz Road.  I don't know who Middleton was or whether it is still there.   I know it was a jolly nice holiday.      

Maldon

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself when I remembered a lovely lady in her 70s who was totally blind and extremely  deaf. She could talk very well but to have a conversation with her one had to hold her hand and use the deaf and dumb alphabet.  She was Miss Annie Smith and lived in a residential home foe blind and partially blind people in Maldon, Essex.

I first met Miss Smith when I was 12 or 13.  My mother and I went to stay at the home for a fortnight's holiday.  The house was a small villa with a fairly large garden.  On either side of the paths round the garden was a railing at waist height so that a blind person could walk independently round  between the flower and vegetable beds. But the most exciting thing for me was the sight of three railway carriages in the garden.  Two of these were fitted up as bedrooms with twin beds while the third was a sitting room with easy chairs and a table on which were packs of Braille-marked playing cards and a box of large black dominoes with raised brass spots.  We were to sleep in one of the carriages and take our meals in the house.
Miss Smith and I had many conversations.  She had a great sense of humour.  It was Carnival Week and I told her about the floats and described the costumes.  She said no-one had told her about the Carnival.  When we left she gave me a present of a little gold cross and chain.

Now for one of my coincidences.  I was thinking about writing this blog and trying to remember the address.  I turned on the radio  and a man was talking  on "Word of Mouth  abot people who put messages in bottles and throw them into the sea.  In one bottle was found a message saying   "Send this message to my wife at 66 Wantz Road, Maldon, Essex".  It was as though a light had been switched on in my head!  I thought "That's it.  We stayed at 22 Wantz Road.  Well I'll be blowed!".

Thunder

After some very hot days I have been woken at night by great claps of thunder.  When I was small my mother would say "It is only the Angels having their coal delivered"  I imagined our coalman with his horse and cart up there sonewhere emptying the coal sacks.  It was my job to count the empty sacks as he threw them on to the cart when he brought our coal.
When we lived by the Thames we would watch strings of barges carrying coal going up the river to Nine Elms where at the plant of the Gas Light and Coke Company the gas would be extracted and the resulting coke  piled up.  This latter would be collected by boys as valuable fuel  for free.   They would fill old prams and soap boxes on wheels.  This all stopped when we started to use natural gas from the North Sea.

The Manor House

The  Manor House  stood opposite our house on the hill running down to the sea.  It somewhat belied its grand name as it had changed hands a few times and a part of its grounds had been sold off for housing.  At one time it was used by a London borough as a holiday home for Tower Hamlets residents.In the late sixties I remember it was full of young Italian students.  The Italian football team won a cup.  I don't think it was the World Cup.  It was, I think, the European Cup.  The youngsters came out in the garden shouting and cheering.  Somebody provided some music and they sang and danced for hours.  They were so excited.  At about this time we had acquired a rubber dingy.  Our children and their friends had great fun with it.   They were all strong swimmers but did not take the boat far from the beach.  My son and his friend would walk down the hill, single file, one behind the other balancing the boat upside down on their heads.  Once at the beach they would proceed to demonstrate their aquatic skills to a gaggle of admiring young Italian ladies.