Lately I hear the pundits talking about a New Cold War. They have no idea how frightening the first cold war was. I spent my teenage and twenties expecting to be blown up by an Atom Bomb and never thought to reach my seventies as I have.
This was enhanced for me by the fact that while in the Air Force (18 to 23) I was sent on an Atomic, biological and gas warfare defence course. We were shown films of the devastation of the cities in Japan hit by the two atomic bombs. These were not shown to the public until decades later, if then, and the images have remained with me all these years. All the 'duck and cover' and get behind mattresses left me cold because I knew neither would make a bit of difference. Atom bomb - sooner or later your dead!
I was horrified to find my son had equally thought that he would not have long to live as the rulers of atom holding countries either made a mistake of or went mad and pressed the button.
Politicians - do anything you can not to renew the Cold War!
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Princess Margaret's Hat
True to my blurb at the side I now remember something I wanted to write about yesterday. It was about Princess Margaret. A TV programme reminded me of the only time I saw her and her mother, the Queen Mother. Now over fifty years ago I was in the W.R.A.F. I was part of the women’s forces display team on The Royal Tournament show in Earls Court , London.
I had been picked out to be in the guard lining the route for them to the Royal Box but I had caught a bad cold and the officer could not risk me sneezing at the royal pair. So I stood just behind my mates with the general public. Now I have a loud voice having been trained as a PTI and Drill Instructor and prone to speaking without thinking. The Queen Mother and the Princess came serenely along the line smiling and nodding (long before the informal royalty days) and Margaret wore a large flowered hat which looked as if a huge hydrangea flower had been put on her head.
“Ooo,” says I, who loved dressing up in fashionable clothes, “Ooo, look at Maggie’s hat!”
“Shhush!” said a nearby officer. A gasp from the crowd and direct freezing look from the Princess herself. Thank God I was not on the official guard or I would have been charged with insubordination. As it was I was just told off.
What do I remember about what they looked like? All I remember beyond the hat was the china plate make-up on their faces that must have been a quarter of an inch thick. I always respected the Queen Mother for her fortitude along with her husband during the war but I lost respect for Princess Margaret in later life.
I had been picked out to be in the guard lining the route for them to the Royal Box but I had caught a bad cold and the officer could not risk me sneezing at the royal pair. So I stood just behind my mates with the general public. Now I have a loud voice having been trained as a PTI and Drill Instructor and prone to speaking without thinking. The Queen Mother and the Princess came serenely along the line smiling and nodding (long before the informal royalty days) and Margaret wore a large flowered hat which looked as if a huge hydrangea flower had been put on her head.
“Ooo,” says I, who loved dressing up in fashionable clothes, “Ooo, look at Maggie’s hat!”
“Shhush!” said a nearby officer. A gasp from the crowd and direct freezing look from the Princess herself. Thank God I was not on the official guard or I would have been charged with insubordination. As it was I was just told off.
What do I remember about what they looked like? All I remember beyond the hat was the china plate make-up on their faces that must have been a quarter of an inch thick. I always respected the Queen Mother for her fortitude along with her husband during the war but I lost respect for Princess Margaret in later life.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Deer in the Wheatfield
Not far memory today as nothing has really hit me. So before I forget I'll relate a small but beautiful happening I saw this morning while out with my husband and dog for a walk. The road home is up hill and so narrow a path has been made the other side of the hedge. There is a path with grass beside it and a fence before it becomes a wheat field. It stretches away down the valley and is quite large.
Suddenly my husband saw something in the middle of the field. It was a fallow deer, a large one standing quite still about a hundred yards away. It is quite rare to see them in an open field in the daytime. It took off down the field past us in great leaps and bounds over the wheat. Pausing only once to look at us it bounded off again until it disappeared into the hedge row.
It was beautiful and a memory I will have to keep in my head rather than on a camera.
Suddenly my husband saw something in the middle of the field. It was a fallow deer, a large one standing quite still about a hundred yards away. It is quite rare to see them in an open field in the daytime. It took off down the field past us in great leaps and bounds over the wheat. Pausing only once to look at us it bounded off again until it disappeared into the hedge row.
It was beautiful and a memory I will have to keep in my head rather than on a camera.
Monday, 11 August 2008
The 1948 Olympics
Hello everyone and anyone finding this page.
I always find something everyday that pushes a button in my memory and I find myself mentally writing it down. I decided to have a blog where I would do exactly that.
Today a British girl won a gold in the Olympics in China. The first Olympic swimming races I ever saw were on an pre war TV in 1948. I was absolutely fascinated. I was staying with the well-to-do side of the family who owned this wonderful box. I watched everyday and, already a good swimmer, I went on to become a school champion swimmer. Later I did quite well in the Air Force. Today I might have gone on to train to be a really good swimmer but that didn't happen in my day. Congratulations to the girl that won today. Go Girl!
I always find something everyday that pushes a button in my memory and I find myself mentally writing it down. I decided to have a blog where I would do exactly that.
Today a British girl won a gold in the Olympics in China. The first Olympic swimming races I ever saw were on an pre war TV in 1948. I was absolutely fascinated. I was staying with the well-to-do side of the family who owned this wonderful box. I watched everyday and, already a good swimmer, I went on to become a school champion swimmer. Later I did quite well in the Air Force. Today I might have gone on to train to be a really good swimmer but that didn't happen in my day. Congratulations to the girl that won today. Go Girl!
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