大象传媒

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We seemed to move schools rather frequently. I remember the first school that I went to as a little girl, and then moving to a school in Stretford, and then of course the bombing and then being moved to a school in Mottram St. Andrews, which was an awful long way away. We walked from outside Prestbury, but we had to walk about a mile and a half and probably a little more than that to there. Then we moved to another farm and that was slightly nearer. My brother was too young and he didn't speak for a year, but he did go to school when he was four, they agreed to take him and we were there until I was 10. I bitterly resented coming home, because I knew I was going to go to the grammar school, but my aunt's husband died and my Mother said "No we need to go home, I need to look after them - the four of those children" - that was the closeness of families in those days.

We made friends, well I don't think we thought about friends as much. I went home every lunchtime for lunch anyway to my Grandmother's, so I always felt deprived because I could never stay for school dinners! Friends that I made when I moved to Prestbury because I was older and those friendships were important. Some of them with children, that had been evacuated who had gone through similar experiences, and at first I suppose we used to cling together a little because we were different we didn't belong to the village. I think they were from all over. There were only about half a dozen chidlren. Then I moved to the school in Prestbury, which is not a school any longer. It was a very old school, it only had one hall and three classrooms, because of course Prestbury then was a village and was lovely.

Food was different. Because I had been an only child for a lomg time for four years so I was really very spoilt. I was a very privileged little girl. I can remember "Don't leave that because you really must try and eat that, because you will be hungry. We can't give you any biscuits or anything like that until you sit down at teatime."

It was so different when we moved to Prestbury because the hens laid eggs. So we noticed the difference there.

Friends of my Mother and Father who had friends had said they would offer half the farmhouse to us. The first farm was incredible bacuase there was no proper sewerage system. There was no water in the house, you pumped it. My Mother's cooking was done on a calor gas stove, which was heated by paraffin. My Father, because he was an engineer, made a square very similar to the size of a microwave out of steel and put four legs on it and that stood above where the heat came from the calor gas, that made an oven.

Rationing caused many problems. I can remember my mother falling out with her sister-in-law. My fault - I was having breakfast and I said "Could I have some more marmalade on my toast?" My Aunt said "It's rationed". I remember we left very quickly after that. My Mother wasn't going to have that happen to me. But it was rationed, and children had to be taught that. Sweeties were - you knew you had so many sweeties and they had to last or you ate them all and there were no more.
Rationing was difficult. Silly things that I remember - it was no makeup. Mother going to the chemist in Prestbury frequently and saying "Do you have any makeup?" and occasionally she would be lucky enough to get some, then she would give it to her two younger sisters, who were in their teens.

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