Remembering Mum

Remembering Mum

One hundred and two years ago today, on 28 October 1919, Mum was born in Liverpool; it was her parents' third Wedding Anniversary, and my Grandma always said Mum's birth was the best Anniversary present she could have been given. 

Mum already had an elder brother, Austin, who had been born in 1917, so with a toddler and a baby to look after, my Grandma must have had her hands full! Exactly four and a half years later, Mum's "baby" brother, my Uncle John, was born - on 28 April 1923 - but Grandma always said my Mum was an easy baby, and as she grew up, once Grandma had got her washed and dressed and ready to go out, Mum could be relied upon to sit for a while and play nicely, until it was time to go - probably unlike her brothers, who could be equally relied upon to get themselves dishevelled within five minutes of having their hair brushed!   

It feels very strange not having Mum's physical presence here in the house, and we miss her so much; but we still feel her spirit and personality surrounding us, which will stay with us forever. 

We have happy memories of singing and talking, and of course our great trips to take Tea at the Ritz - how Mum loved those, and all the attention she was given on her special days. 

I am so glad Mum was able to celebrate her 100th birthday, with the card from The Queen on her table, and all of us singing Happy Birthday to her, and all the other guests in the Palm Court joining in with the good wishes. 

So: Although Mum is not able to be with us, we are all thinking of her; we talk about her, and remember happy days. 

God bless you, Mum.

Al, Wendy, Alexandra, Mum, Bob, Sydney (Mum's lovely carer)

BIRTHDAY POEM  

It’s not every day we celebrate

A great centenary year

And now that you’re one hundred

It’s time to raise a cheer

For so many things that you have done

You’ve travelled far and wide

To Africa in all its ways

With Grandma by your side.

You’ve worked in jobs demanding much

But the pinnacle of your career

Was to land a top post in Treasury

A male-dominated sphere!

There have been seismic changes

But you’ve coped with every one

And risen up to do your best

And come out well and strong. 

We’re a family small, but large on love

You’re our universal glue,

Helping and encouraging us

To stay steadfast and true.

So we can celebrate with love

And congratulatory cheer

This special gathering at the Ritz

Now that your birthday’s here.

Alexandra Wilde

Birthday Girl Mum!

A creamy, dreamy birthday cake

Evensong (3)

Evensong (3)

We had also been invited to attend Evensong at St George's Chapel; this began at 5.15, so presently we made our way back to the Chapel to find a pew. What an inspiring service it was; the congregation did not sing, but the choir was in magnificent voice, and it was such a moving and inspirational ending to a beautiful day. 

On the way to St George's Chapel

And we were very blessed with the weather: for an October day, it could have been pouring with rain, or "blowing a hooligan!" which would definitely have put a damper on the proceedings, but we had sunshine, with a little wind or a gentle breeze. 

Finally, we said goodbye to all the lovely people we had met, and returned to the car. All this excitement had made us ready for some dinner, and as I knew I wouldn't be very inclined to make anything when we got home, Wendy discovered a Beefeater restaurant in Bracknell, and we headed off there. That was also a good choice, and it was great to have the chance to relax, and talk about the day we'd had. We ordered pots of tea all round, and with  a good evening meal inside us, we set off for home at about 9.00  p.m.   

We had met such interesting people, exchanging ideas and experiences, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves; and how did I get on after all this walking, climbing, and non-stop concentration? 

Well: I was pretty tired - but so were we all - and I had muscles I had forgotten I possessed, protesting at the heavy demands I had made on them: All those hills, stairs and slopes (have I mentioned them earlier in this piece? Yup!) had provided the biggest work-out I have had for a very long time, but I came through it all. 

We have a couple of other days out planned - more about those later - but in the meantime, I felt really pleased with the way I had coped with everything.

Lunch In Windsor (2)

Lunch In Windsor    (2)

Cote Brasserie

We arrived at the Restaurant at 11.45, and as we went up the stairs, Wendy and I noticed a sign saying breakfast was available until midday. Before leaving home we had had only cereal, and the idea of a proper breakfast was irresistible! so we opted for that, instead of a lunch, and what a great choice it was, setting us up for the rest of the day.

I climbed up hills, stairs and slopes, and before going on to visit the castle itself, we were first treated to a personalised tour of St George's Chapel, with such a knowledgeable guide, who made even the lengthiest list of dates come alive.

St George's Chapel 

After bidding our guide at St George's Chapel farewell, we went straight on for a tour of the Castle itself. Everyone was given a personal audio guide, which took me a while to get to grips with; but once I had mastered the technique of scrolling to the relevant segment for the next room we were in, I was well away. 

It was extremely interesting, but there was so much to take in, we all treated this occasion as a "taster" for future visits, and the great thing about the tickets we were given is that they were stamped "complimentary readmission for a year"! allowing multiple visits to the castle. We shall be back!

After walking round the beautiful rooms - Wendy was especially impressed with the Crimson Room - we went out into the fresh air, and I was really glad of the chance to have a rest for a short while. Out of my capacious handbag (no, not a Mary Poppins' sized carpet bag - but large enough!) I produced a supply of Twix bars, and we all tucked in, sitting on a bench in the sunshine.  

We Are Becoming Quite Adventurous! (Part 1)

We Are Becoming Quite Adventurous!  (Part 1)

Whatever can be going on?! We have now all received our booster inoculations, and whilst we are still continuing to be careful, there is a feeling of a sea-change in our lives: a hope for a more normal way of life, and we are making more plans and looking forward to social events. The latest one came around last Thursday, with a memorable afternoon spent at Windsor Castle; Wendy took many great photographs, some of which I'll add here, and they bring back good memories of a lovely time. 

Visiting the castle involves a lot of walking; for a start, visitors have to climb up the steep hill to the castle area, which is quite demanding, and I was a little apprehensive - not so much about having to decide whether or not to wear a mask (most people didn't), but because it promised to be a very strenuous afternoon; and would I have the stamina for it? As it turned out, yes, I did!

First of all, we had a good drive to Windsor. As we pootled along, Wendy recalled an occasion when she was about four years old: her Grandma and Great-Grandma had been staying with us in Portsmouth, for about 6 weeks - Mum made so much effort to organise her and Grandma's regular visits back to England, and they would spend as much time with us, as they possibly could, although it was always sad when the time came for them to return to South Africa. We would all go to the airport to see them off, and on this particular occasion, Wendy said she remembered going to Heathrow with them, but then, on the way back to Portsmouth, she had fallen asleep, only to wake up much later on, to hear her Dad remarking, "Well, that was a nice little drive around Windsor!" She was quite miffed to have missed it, especially as after that, she had only ever seen Windsor from the air, whilst the planes are still climbing after take-off from Heathrow. Whenever we fly off somewhere, Wendy always manages to get a window seat, and is usually glued to the unfolding view of the towns and countryside below. 

Windsor Castle Parade Ground

Arriving in Windsor, we found brilliant parking in the Alma Street car park. We had been worried about this, because spaces were not pre-bookable, but it turned out there were so many free bays available, we had a great choice of spaces.  We walked through to the High Street, to find the Cote Brasserie, where it had been arranged we would meet the other people who would be with us on the day, and enjoy lunch together.

Windsor Royal Shopping

Alexandra and Wendy and Bob

My Thoughts Turn To Christmas

My Thoughts Turn To Christmas

"What!" I hear people exclaim, "we're only just in the first week or so of October, and you're talking about Christmas?!"

Well, yes. The days fly so fast, and although it's been only about three weeks since the autumn equinox, before we know it, we will be celebrating Christmas again; and I do love the Festive Season! 

So I have got myself organised even earlier this year, with my 2021 Christmas card list all written out, and presents ordered from Fortnum and Mason, to be sent off to dear friends and loved ones.

This year, with so many people having been vaccinated against the dreaded virus, there is hope in the air that things are improving; we are still being careful, and wearing masks in public, but with most folk now at least double-vaccinated, and more having had their booster inoculation as well, perhaps it is time to relax a little and allow ourselves to be joyful.

Most of the major London stores have already unveiled their Christmas windows - I love the imaginative displays and decorations so many of them produce, some themed to a specific "story," whilst others just rejoice in all the excitement and anticipation of happy times to come - and I am having a great time, wrapping up all the gifts.

This year, we also hope to be able to drive to visit friends and relations; it will be so wonderful to see them again, after nearly two years of having just phone calls and letters to keep in touch. I write enough letters anyway to keep the Post Office going single-handedly, but having that personal contact again will be wonderful. 

A Bit Of A Disappointment

A Bit Of A Disappointment 

The next day, Friday, had been earmarked for a special jaunt to the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway, with the trip booked on the Mountain Prince option; we were especially looking forward to this, and being able to travel round The Spiral, and to the place where we could disembark for an hour and have a cream tea, before the return journey to Porthmadog.

The following is a brief quote from the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways' own description of the line:

"The restoration of the Ffestiniog Railway took almost thirty years before returning to Blaenau Ffestiniog. One of the major hurdles was a reservoir which had flooded the line during closure. A major project to raise the railway up to enable it to go round the side of the reservoir was ‘The Deviation’ involving a new tunnel and a great spiral of track being built around Dduallt station, a remote halt in the mountains. 

This heritage style service will take you above the treeline beyond Tan-y-Bwlch to Dduallt, including a trip around the spiral, the amazing volunteer project built in the 1970s with huge cuttings, high embankments and a bridge over the top of the line along which you have just travelled. There are some great views beyond Tan-y-Bwlch over the delightful Vale of Ffestiniog and towards distant mountains."

Our trip was booked on the 13.40 service, and we had been asked to arrive at 13.00, so that we could meet our host, and choose which carriage we would like to travel in. We knew that once you leave England and enter Wales, it is a two-hour drive to the Station; the roads are interesting, and we didn't want to be in any hurry, so we left early and arrived at Porthmadog at about 12.30 p.m. 

Well, we must be fated to have this trip delayed! We had already cancelled an earlier reservation in June, because of concerns about the virus, and I'd rebooked it for September - reckoning, rightly, that restrictions and worries would be lessening by now. However! this had not taken into account the fact that steam locos are mechanical beasts and liable to failing; and this is what had happened earlier that morning, leaving one loco stranded up the mountain. 

Everyone was terribly apologetic about it. Of course, we understood completely: engines fail, and there would be no steam on the Mountain Prince today.

We sat on the platform for a while, and had an ice cream; I went for a wander to see the other loco in steam, that was running with a different service that had started out from Caernarfon. This was an ex-South African Railways/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorwee Garrett loco, and looking very smart indeed. Alas for us, that particular service was fully booked! and in any case there was no chance of us boarding an alternative trip to Caernarfon, as there would have been no train to return us from there to Porthmadog; but I did get up on the footplate with Wendy, and the Guard took a couple of photos of us. 

There is very little space on these footplates - Wendy and I really had to squash up together and lean forward to be in the frame:

Wendy and me on the footplate - and that isn't a plaster on Wendy's arm, just the sunlight!

I remember the Garretts in East Africa, and the times when we travelled overnight, and the steward would come in to make up our beds for the night. He (I remember them as always being stewards) would come in, laden with a couple of "bedrolls", and transform our compartment from the day-time seating arrangement into a two-berth cabin. When everything was secure, and the upper bunk locked into place, he would undo the straps around the bedding, unroll it all out, in two minutes turning the bunks into beds with crisply starched sheets (and equally crisply starched pillow slips over the pillows!) and fresh blankets. I can only remember drifting off to the gentle lullaby of the clicketty-clack, clicketty-clack of the carriages rattling down the track; and not stirring until morning. 

Well, the lack of steam this day was a disappointment; but it had to be accepted, and we have got an "eternal" credit note to use for our next booking. Let's hope that it will be third time lucky!

So, an interesting day after all, and then the drive back to England, followed by a welcome dinner at the Beefeater Restaurant attached the hotel where we were staying. 

Again, all the staff made us so welcome, it was a real "home from home" feeling, and after we got home from our break away, I was inspired to write a sonnet for them, which also formed part of my very favourable review on TripAdvisor:

A Poem For Preston Brook (A great place to stay and eat!)

 by Alexandra Wilde

 

We took the chance of a few days away

To a place where we’ve stayed before:

At the Premier Inn at Preston Brook,

With the Beefeater right next door. 

All the staff are terrific, 

Charming, courteous and kind

They all pull together, as of one mind -

We couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

 

The welcome's so warm – they remember us, 

And fulfil every wish without any fuss. 

With Caren and Molly, Toni and Fran

Kathryn and Abi, India, Jo and Rhian.

They’re all five-star ladies, scoring 10 out of 10, 

And we can’t wait to return to Preston again!

(...And that last rhyming couplet says it all!)