大象传媒

I was born in August 1944 so really missed the war, but my mother had a story.
We lived in Southampton. It was heavily bombarded, and all expectant mothers were evacuated to the country.
Shortly before my birth my mother was evacuated to a tiny village in Berkshire, near Reading.
She didn't know where she was going.
I was born in an old house called Folly Farm. All the expectant mothers were housed in out-houses. The actual delivery room was in the main house.
I arrived a couple of weeks early. My mother ran into the house telling the nurses that I was coming, of course they told here not to be ridiculous there was another couple of weeks.
They rushed her into the delivery room. As she was giving birth to me she looked up and saw an amazing ceiling. It was a scene of an Italian countryside. The whole room was painted. I think my birth was very fast. I remember her telling me she thought looking up at the ceiling and during the experience of giving birth she thought she was on drugs.
An amazing experience.

Strangely the house was not known for the painting but for the garden, designed by Gertrude Jukle.
In my later life I have been interested in that style of painting, very strange.

Even though my mother didn't stay there for long, the memory has remained.

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