Tag: Memories

100 year old city.

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Old pottery factory

On the 5th of June 1925 City status was bestowed on Stoke-on-Trent. So today we celebrated it’s Centenary.

A few years before on 31st of March 1910 it’s six towns of Longton, Burslem, Hanley, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent joined to gather to become the County Borough of Stoke-on-Trent.

Notable for living in the city were Oliver Lodge, inventor of the spark plug. Josiah Wedgwood inventor of different types of fine pottery. HG Wells lived here for a while in 1888. And Arnold Bennett, the author of the five towns novels wrote many books about the area.

On 5th July 2025 our area of Penkhull will be putting on a Mystery Play about a reimagined story of how the six towns were named.

Happy anniversary Stoke-on-Trent.

Lilac flowers

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I’m not OK this afternoon. A bit shook up. I  saw someone climbing up my garden gate through my side window, so I decided to confront them. I’m afraid I swore at them very loudly  (along the lines of “What the EFF do you think you’re doing?” ). Then I realised it was a couple of teenage boys from the local school. They were shocked and so was I. They explained they were trying to get some of my white lilac for their mums which is about 8 foot up off the ground. I told them they should have asked permission. I explain it shook me up because we were burgled 18 months ago and caught burglars climbing over the gate…  I still feel rough (high. BP). I let them get some flowers as I was also shocked by shouting at them! They were OK about the shouting and apologised to me.

Mystery

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Hubby played a prophet in one of the Mystery Plays a few years ago. It was outside but his big booming voice could be heard by the audience sitting on the green. He could project his voice over the traffic noise. If he had been bought up in a more middle class environment I’m sure he would have been an actor. But mental health meant he struggled to remember all his words. We also did the local amateur panto together. He got a pretend Oscar one year for most enthusiastic entrance (or something like that). He was a marvellous, memorable man.

VE celebrations

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80 years ago, on the 8th of May 1945, Hitler was defeated in the second world war. But that was only in Europe, the war actually ended on 2nd September of the same year when Japan surrendered.

It’s significant that it is the 80th year as it is  probably the last time that many veterans from the war will be able to celebrate it because if they were 21 (start of adulthood) when they joined up they would be 101 or older now.

Memories fade but this is a way to remember the joy of the ending of the conflict, although not for everyone. We should remember those that were injured or wounded, either in the military or civilian. Those that were made homeless or those that lost relatives and friends. I’m glad and sad in equal measure.

Friends?

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Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently?

When I eventually found out a so called friend had tried to have an affair with my hubby I was shocked. My hubby told me about it because we had had an argument about the way she spoke about him ( clearly because he had rejected her).

It took a while to sink in, and we broke off the friendship after that. But the signs had been there before. She was always round our house when I was at work, ostensibly because she had commuted back on the train and called at our house on the way home for a rest (she would walk back from the station). Often I would give her a lift from our house, and we would chat. She kept saying that she was not a good person, but I reassured her. Now I think about it she was probably trying to confess about her behaviour.

When hubby died a couple of years later she rang me up and asked if we could be friends again! I don’t know if she was aware of my hubby telling me what she had tried to do. But I could not bare to say anything and just hung the phone up on her!

Stock photo

Playing the kazoo

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My purple kazoo

During one choir performance we all had to get out a kazoo and play along with the song we had been playing. I’ve had it in my bag ever since and when I fished out my sketchbook today I found it again so I seranadedvthevart group with tunes like the starwars theme, Dr Doolittle, the Bare necessites and a few others. I had everyone in stitches.

By the way I looked up the spelling of kazoo. AI SAID:

The correct spelling of the musical instrument is “kazoo“. The word refers to a simple, handheld musical instrument that produces a buzzing sound when the player hums into it, according to Dictionary.com. 

G-loss

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I’ve joined a small writing group in my home town and we are being given prompts to write about. I’ll write up another one later but here’s a poem I did on the spur of the moment when I misheard the prompt Loss as Gloss:

Gloss over your loss

Hide it behind your mind

Don’t let it take hold

Your thoughts must not fold

Into a melancholy way

So be quiet and say

My life will be OK?

If I can find my way.

Kiss!

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Six years ago I played the Mock Mayor of Newcastle under Lyme and hubby played my mayoress. It was based on the idea of having a fool in charge for a day. Like the idea of the lord of misrule. We had fun playing with the idea of being able to order pies for everyone, or ale and cakes. The crowd would have been let in the local pubs for free. The point was that ordinary people were given the power that they normally lacked for a short period of time. Hubby loved the day. He always enjoyed acting. His great booming voice grabbed the attention, and he could be heard above the crowd. The photographer took a picture of us kissing, me in a massive white wig and staff and cloak and him in a straw hat and a psychedelic tee shirt and one of my dresses. We had 43 years together. This shows our love.

His hat

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Macro shot of part of my hubbys flat cap from a few years ago.

It’s another one of the photos I found in Facebook memories. It reminds me of how he used to dress. More like a Lancashire farmer than someone living in a modern town. With a tweed jacket and old working mens trousers or jeans. A plaid shirt and boots or black leather shoes. His hair was usually escaping from under that flat cap. He sometimes got called the mad professor because his hairstyle was much like Einstein’s or other times curly when what was left of his hair was uncovered.

A big man, strong. He loved cycling and science. He knew such a lot of things but was often troubled. Bad memories of childhood. Our partnership was of mutual support. Mutual love. I remember his cheeky grin and the twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

Yes this photo bought back many memories.