Mums are often special people and my my was no exception; she was born in March 1933 in a small fenland village, she was the youngest of three children,many of her early childhood memories are of W.W.II. She was full of interesting stories about village life, of friends and a freedom we only dream of today, including a tale of scrumping apples from the vicarage garden!
Mum was a keen sports woman, and ran and cycled competitively, she also played hockey. One tale from cycling days was of covering for my Uncle Dennis who was supplied to be her chaperon ( she would not have been allowed to go without him). They would leave together but mum would return home alone leaving Dennis to escort his fiance to her home! Mum would open the gate twice and make enough noise for two as she returned, even stomping up the stairs hoping to fool my grandparents who were in bed when "they" returned! She was never quite sure that they were convinced, as they didn't let on either way...
My mum was clever too, and passed her eleven plus exam which took her to Peterborough Girls Grammer School. From there she went to work in the offices at Baker Perkins. She joined the company hockey team which is where she met my dad.
Mum and dad moved from Peterborough to Derby, and fro there took the huge step of moving to Singapore and then Malaysia. Mum found herself in a very different culture fro the one she had been brought up in but her sense of fun and adventure enabled her to thrive, even through the sadness of the infant death of her first child, my brother. Mum made sure that my sister and I were kept busy, we swam everyday, took ballet lessons and were encouraged to develop interests of our own.
Mum coped bravely as my dad descended into alcoholism, we returned to England and she helped Becca and I to adjust as she adjusted herself and although she lived through a painful divorce she continued to help us to look on the bright side of life and to make the most of the opportunities that came our way. Mum took on work as a florist during this time, a skill she had picked up in Malaysia.
She married again in the 70's, Steve had been a friend in her younger days and his first wife had died of cancer, mum went to help as Shirley had been her friend too, and a new love affair began. Mum, Becca and I moved to join Steve on his pig farm in Essex, and I can safely say that I have never seen her happier than when she was living with and working with Steve.
Farming brought a new challenge, and mum rose to it, and then to working with horses as the economy demanded a change of emphasis, and a move from Essex to Northumberland! This move brought new changes too, and mum began working for the NHS first as a Domestic Services Supervisor, and then managing the whole department.
Grandchildren soon arrived as we ( mum and Steve had 5 children between them) all began to pair off and get married, and mum and Steve rose to new challenges, when they were old enough they would take all of the grandchildren away for a week together- more impressive when you realise that they had 11 grandchildren in total!Christopher once gave them some trouble with a habit for getting "lost", mum came up with the idea of tying a helium balloon to him so that they could see where he was!
When mum and Steve retired they soon left Northumberland for Essex again, buying a small bungalow with a large garden they were soon growing vegetables and embarking on new adventures. The adventures included a caravan which they took exploring, this was traded for first a small day boat and then a small cruiser with these they explored the River Blackwater. When these became difficult to manage they decided to purchase a sea kayak and took great delight in exploring the creeks and marshes nearer to home.
Mum loved animals, wild and tame, her love for dogs saw a new enterprise emerge when their own much loved dalmatians died. Wanting to be able to travel and not be tied to finding kennels for a pet mum hit upon an idea that funded some travel and gave them the fun of having a dog to care for at times. She set up a dog sitting business, the dogs were welcomed as family pets and she soon had regular clients!
Travel took them to Italy, Turkey, and many other locations, they enjoyed snorkeling, and swimming, and generally exploring....
My mum wasn't perfect, but she had a zest for life, and loved fun, she made friends wherever she went, and was loved by many. Last Friday she was admitted to hospital for tests, throughout the week she deteriorated. Tim and I went down to stay with Steve on Tuesday and visited mum everyday. Yesterday I helped to wash her face and put cream on her hands, the doctors report sounded hopeful...
Mum's health had been a concern when in the late 70's she was diagnosed with Coeliac disease, she stuck to a strict diet and this helped her to live well. In later years however she had to take a number of different medications and these introduced complications of their own....
... at 3am this morning we were called to her bedside, she had weakened and was finding it hard to breathe... at 6am she died as peacefully as possible with Steve and I at her side. Mum was 76.
The details of this post may not be exact, but they are my memories in no particular order.
I will miss her terribly, and want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Steve for making her so happy....
Mum and Steve at my son Paul's wedding this year.
