Category Archives: Family History

I have an eclectic mix of music favourites and these go back to my childhood. Those of us born in the 1950’s, myself only 13 years after the end of WW2, were shaped by the ‘make-do-and-mend’ way of life when we didn’t expect, or ask for much. We were talking today that having a coffee out would have been an anathema to our parents, in fact eating out only happened on very special occasions and maybe once while when we were on holiday on the south or south-west coast on England, and as far as a take-away was concerned, it was a treat to have fish and chips once or twice a year. I didn’t eat Chinese food until I was 18 and thought pasta were just the bits you get in some soups!

As a family we saved up for records by collecting 3d pieces, you know those multisided bronze looking ones, and took it in turns, my sister or myself choosing a single, or my parents choosing an album. Thus the moments listening to these precious possessions were enjoyed by the family altogether in the evening or on an inclement Sunday afternoon.

Thus, Nat King Cole has always been a favourite of mine:

Unforgettable, which always reminds me of my parents and sums up true love in my opinion

and Catch a Falling Star by the unforgettable Perry Como, which Dad used to sing to Mum. precious memories!

My parents, enthusiastic dancers, would travel all over on dace holidays. I have a memory of the last time we shared a cruise with them on their favourite ship, The Oriana. Even though Mum’s feet hurt at times and Dad was having trouble with his memory, they were praised for their dancing by several folks.

Here they are at a venue near Bedford.

Family legend has it that my Great Grandmother Harriet, was said to be able to turn on a sixpence!

Romantic love is never far from my writing, from my initial Riduna historical fiction saga influenced by the story of Harriet, to my more recent mysteries. There’s even a hint of unrequited love, a bit tongue in cheek, in The Healing Paths of Fife!