Taking advantage of the better weather and making an early start, we finished the planned planting and the new bed by the pergola. The morning was fine, but as we set off for Helen and Bill’s barbecue in Ringwood, raindrops began to fall. In fact they didn’t amount to much although they did force the party indoors. The gathering was a small one including the hosts; their sons David and John and their partners Jen and Stephanie; Jackie’s other sister, Shelly, her husband Ron, and their daughter Jane. We were fed substantial ‘pickings’ and drinks all afternoon and had a great deal of fun swapping stories. All this was rather poignant for me because I had known Jackie’s sisters and Bill when we were so much younger. We had spent most of a lifetime apart and yet in many ways I felt it had been no time at all.
Bill was fascinating in talking about his wartime evacuation as a six year old. This was in the days before Local Authority Social Services Departments or the Child Care Departments which preceded them. Vetting was minimal if it took place at all, and some of Bill’s stories reflected that. I was reminded of a time in 1967 when, as an Assistant Child Care Officer, I had advertised for foster carers for a set of twins. One of the applicants, a no doubt good-hearted elderly woman, had written: ‘If you put labels on them with their names on them I will meet them at the station’. This, no doubt, had come from her knowledge of the evacuation process from 1940. It was exactly Bill’s experience.
At one point I managed to spill a glass of red wine all over my beige linen suit. As I mopped it up and Helen ‘confiscated’ my glass because I had ‘been a naughty boy’, I told the group of another occasion on which I had had to mop up alcohol. Some thirty odd years ago in a pub by Wandsworth Bridge I had been sitting at the garden picnic style table/bench with some friends. This was in the days when you could smoke in public places in England. On that hot summer evening there were several drinks on the table, as well as two very large, very full, heavy, industrial style ashtrays. As I sat on one side of the bench, two of the others opposite me got up at once. This upset the table which toppled in my direction, tipping me backwards onto, fortunately, the grass. There was I, on my back, legs trapped between the seat and the table, covered in sodden dog-ends and other people’s beer. The one drink that had not been spilt was the upright pint of Guinness which I still clutched in my right hand. On that occasion I had been wearing a track suit, so no harm was done. I have yet to see what the dry cleaners will make of today’s disaster.
I am grateful to Helen and Bill for their having preserved an extremely precious drawing. In 1966, when Jackie was 17 and I was 23, I made a pencil portrait of her which I gave to her mother. Unbeknown to me Veronica Rivett kept that drawing all her life. When sorting out the house after my former mother-in-law’s death, Helen offered to take care of this for Jackie. When Jackie and I got together again she asked for the picture for the home we share in Morden. Unfortunately it could not be found. By Jackie’s birthday last year we were reluctantly giving up hope. On that day she received an e-mail from Helen attaching a scan of the portrait which had obviously been unearthed. Bill delivered it to Elizabeth’s a week or so afterwards.
Our evening’s drive back to Morden was in pleasant, sunny weather, although clouds did seem to be gathering. We had no need of more food when we returned.
Not so harsh – I poured him another glass of red wine when he was sitting up at the table like a ‘good boy’!! It was indeed lovely to see everyone, wasn’t it? Glad you got home OK.
You did indeed. It was indeed. X
I wonder if Helen was a Remedial Gynnast trained at Pinderfields in Wakefield. We shared rooms at that time. I’ve been in Garmany for many moons ! Sandra. Davidson-Becker@t-online.de
She was. I have alerted her to your comment
Sandra Davidson-Becker. Sandy! Yes it is me and I would love to hear how things are with you. I still have our diary from those days. Derrick says he tried to email you but the email failed. Do please check it is OK and I’ll try again. Helen (nee Rivett)
I hope you manage to catch up with each other
You’ve done well here! I didn’t know you could sketch! Such a precious memory.
PS: Loved the beer-spilling anecdote. Ha! 🙂
Thank you Sam. Had my parents not needed my income, I would have gone to art school
I love that you managed to fall and keep your Guinness from spilling! Haha!
The sketch is really lovely. How wonderful that you were able to retrieve it after believing it to be lost. Do you still draw?
Thank you Robin. I draw on and off, but at the moment my creativity is focussed on the blog and its photos.
First of all I saw you are in love with your garden 🙂 So, you clutched the beer, ha? I like how you tell stories, Derrick. I like it a lot. You draw her at 23. Wow! And the draw still resist. That’s so nice. memories are so beautiful.
Many thanks, Monica
A talent you have hidden, for the most part, here. May be that it’s time to share it more now and again…!
Thank you, Cynthia. You might like to see what was in the back of the frame: https://derrickjknight.com/2013/12/29/toytown/
Fantastic. Love the photo of you two–such characters, clearly, you both were!-and the story explains a few things. Your assisting art work is fascinating. Good stuff!
Many thanks, Cynthia
Great story.
Many thanks, Quercus – you can imagine it was quite something for me
Thanks, Derrick, for sending me the link to this delightful post. I love the sketch of your beloved Jackie. Your story of the Guinness reminds me of the time I was carrying two Pyrex glass casserole dishes containing freshly baked Brownies out to the garage refrigerator. Unbeknownst to me, Bob had left his boots in the walkway. The dishes in my hands/arms hid my feet and the path I was walking. I tripped on the boots, and fell flat on the cement floor. I chipped a front tooth, dislocated a jaw, and required 10 stitches in my elbow, but I saved the Brownies!
Thanks very much, Jan. Your fall story not so funny
Derrick, what a treasure! I had no idea you were an artist, and how meaningful to get this sketch of Jackie back in your life. Were you and Jackie a couple in your younger days, then reunited years later? I’m trying to read between the lines, but I figured I would just ask.
I have a client who reunited with his college sweetheart after 50 years. He was widowed and she divorced. They married and share a wonderful life together.
Very similar, Alys. After a 40 year gap, we have been together again for 10 years. This post should help: https://derrickjknight.com/2014/01/05/my-branch-of-the-family-tree/
Thank you for your comments and for asking.
It’s nice to understand all the connections. It gives one a broader connection to the writer and their subject matter.
🙂
Oh dear! That could have been something I’d have done!
Great minds 🙂 Thanks very much, Leslie
Lovely drawing and delightful stories, Derrick.
🙂 I’m pleased you like them, Dolly. Thanks very much
The pleasure is mine, Derrick.
An interesting collection of anecdotes and a delightful portrait, Derrick.
Thank you so much, Anne
I think you captured the shape of her profile well. It is recognizable even today. And I am so proud of you for keeping the pint of Guinness intact.
Thank you so much, Crystal.