Mary and I forged our friendship, aged seven , by walking and bussing to and from school together, returning to our very different families in houses across the road from one another - 131 and 132. Over five decades later, living in different cities, we remain strong friends with some treasured shared history, lots of shared interests, providing care and support at times of change and trouble. Mary is not a dog lover, but Merry wins her over and I was able to take a photo we would not have expected to see!
We shared my daily visit to the hospital and she was a well remembered and cheering figure at the bedside. Mary reminisced about my dad . She had always rather envied me having a father with a young, smart , slim look and Chelsea boots in the early sixties ! Now he cuts a different dash , cradling Merry on his bed top and proving a magnet for dog loving staff and visitors!
And on Tuesday we took a joyous trip to Pallant House Gallery and the Evelyn Dunbar ( 1906-60) exhibition (third time for me) , bringing my newest friend along to meet my longest standing friend ( not my oldest one!) and delighting in the wonderful work , and a pleasure shared .
I digress but can you see a resemblance between Mother Hubbards dog and my brother's dog, Audrey below?
My newest friend Amanda, is also one of my brother's longstanding friends , till recently separated from us by land and sea , very recently returned to these parts ; we had such a laughter filled day .
Pleasures shared are so much richer, and that's what I found when my friend , Richard , and I visited Komedia on Wednesday to hear the Wainwright sisters. Martha and Lucy are daughters of the marvellous Loudon Wainwright 3rd , and are part of a musical family dynasty , which boasts two sister acts - the McGarrigles and the Roches . Their mothers were each a key part of these groups, and now Martha and Lucy are building on the tradition, with a "dark" set of collected lullaby songs . They were superb in their Rufus Wainwrigt-gifted dresses , providing marvellous harmonies and intriguing songs. I already had the CD and had to work hard not to sing along !
For my father, it's family and friendliness that he is reliant on now. On Wednesday he experienced the rather marvellous and unexpected gift of an actor visiting his bedside . Her name was Heather Deaville and she comes from InterAct, a stroke support charity whose actors come to share stories and jokes with the patients, if they would like it. My dad and his neighbour Derek enjoyed the joke in the story of Edna and Fred . And then Heather, picking up on dads love of dogs, told him about Endell the Millenium dog of the year - a dog who gave a badly injured serviceman some independence , becoming his family's lifeline and hero. I am so grateful to Heather and InterAct.
And to add to our delights, Thursday brought a glimpse of blue sky and sunshine, and Merry for one was very happy!
But back to friends , and thanks to Linda for coming down from London for a night stop on Friday . We enjoyed a tasty meal and traded remembrances of working together 40 years ago as young and enthusiastic social workers in Tower Hamlets. Our shared experiences of motherhood, daughterhood , emotional partnerships and work , provided serious solace and lightening laughter .
And the treats of visiting friends didnt end there. Bearing an ice maker with more than a whiff of a Moomin about it , Tracey&Dave arrived yesterday to share food, wine and laughter. This morning we suffered the agony of an Andy Murray losing Australian grand slam final and commiserated over the sad death of the gentle generous broadcaster Terry Wogan. And then they speeded off back to the bright city lights of London and Merry and I took a soggy seaside walk . Now it's back to the hospital , to appreciate the unfailing care of all the staff on the stroke ward and to wish that I could be shaking those ice cubes into a G&T for dad at home, just as we were doing over the festive season.
No comments:
Post a Comment