This morning I scanned seven more archived colour slides, this time from December 1968. A considerable amount of retouching was necessary, and most were out of focus, but given the subject it seemed worth the effort. Matthew was two days old when he lay in the hospital cot, and a couple of days older when Jackie brought him home for Michael’s inspection.
My wife, along with a number of other new mothers, wishing to be home for Christmas, discharged herself on 23rd December, thus incurring the wrath of the consultant who announced: ‘When you all come back with prolapses in your forties it won’t be my fault.’ At that time primigravidae, you see, were expected to remain ward-bound with their infants for ten days.
In ‘All Is Flux, Nothing Stays Still’, I described, among other changes, the disappearance of The Nelson Hospital in Merton. It was here that both Matthew and Becky, twenty months later, were born. According to ‘Lost Hospitals of London’ the facility was officially opened by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll in June 1912. ‘In 1924 it was decided a Maternity Department was needed. A dozen cottages on an adjacent site were purchased, with the Hospital paying compensation to the occupants for turning them out (including a brewery company who had to be provided with a new off-licence in lieu of the one sandwiched between the last two old cottages).
The Princess Royal laid the foundation stone in 1930 and the new wing was opened by Mrs Stanley Baldwin, wife of the former Prime Minister, the following year. It had 21 beds and included rooms for antenatal clinics, two labour wards, a nursery for the babies and an isolation ward. At the same time an upper floor extension was built onto the original central block. The Hospital then had 86 beds. An Infant Welfare Department was also established.’
This was the hospital of my own childhood. It is fascinating that just about 100 years after homes were sacrificed for the originally pre-NHS establishment, that has been demolished to make way for other residential accommodation.
The Nelson Hospital was named after Admiral 1st Viscount Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), who had lived in Merton. At the time of our children’s births, a bust of the great naval hero stood on a pedestal at the front of the main entrance pictured above. The sculpture was stolen in 1979.
Now, are you ready for the details of tonight’s Jackie’s glorious gourmet dinner? It was chicken breast fillets baked in a hot spicy marinade; sauteed potatoes and onions; and a melange of roast vegetables including peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and more onions. This was followed by custard tart. Jackie drank Kingfisher, whilst I drank Castillo San Lorenzo rioja reserva 2009.
P.S. This comes from Lesley O’Neill:
Amongst great posts this is one of the greatest and then you finish with that dinner! How good is life?
I love the way you are breathing life into slides and negatives. It’s the very stuff of creation and creativity – conjuring something out of thin air.
Thank you Alex. I never forget that you set me on the path, for which I am grateful
I have a Matthew too. And pictures like that when he was tiny. Ah, the memories – thanks for sharing yours. And Jackie’s dinners do sound delicious 😊
Thank you Jenny
The pictures in this one are just marvellous. Such wonderful memories.
I recently learned that the nursing home where me and brother were born has been torn down. I didn’t know the place, but it feels like I have lost something.
Also, reading about Jackie’s scrumptious meals everyday is making me want to invite myself over for dinner.
Thank you Sam. If you and Mr Pink ever come to England you must come and see us. We have spare rooms
Yay! It worked! 🙂
Thank you and when we visit England (which we are sure to do) we’ll come by. Mr. Pink loves everything about the UK, and there’s nothing I can say in that regard would be an exaggeration.
Also, you are welcome to visit us in Switzerland. We don’t have spare rooms though. We are a poor young couple but we cook, eat, drink and ramble well enough. 🙂
We will of course have to go to Mr Pink’s fish and chip shop
Thank you Sam. I may not have mentioned that my eldest daughter-in-law’s father is Swiss
:-O Great! See, we were bound to run into each other at some point.
🙂
Oh I concur with Jackie’s thoughts. How curious that for so long we treated pregnancy and birth as a medical condition that we needed to get all worked up about. It’s certainly a condition to be monitored and worked with, but for heaven’s sakes…10 days. My mother said that was the policy when she had me, too. She said she snuck out of her room and jogged up and down the corridors for exercise, but would get caught and sent back to bed because the 10 days were supposed to be spent lying down. Yuck.
I checked in at 8pm, had Tara, and left the hospital at noon the next day, with everyone’s blessing (particularly my insurance company).
P.S. Thanks for sharing so many intimate photos from your life. Jackie is so beautiful.
Thank you Crystal. I have read this one to Jackie.
Perfect. <3