May 5th 1979, I am at my mother’s flat in Elm Park Gardens, getting myself ready for my wedding. The flat is teeming with people. My mother, my stepfather, a friend who is sewing me into my headdress – we thought it would be so easy – my father who is wearing two vests very […]Read Post ›
It seems that this page though published once has disappeared. So here it is again Yesterday I had many occasions to weep. A lot of nostalgia. Some misery. Some anger. Some joy. All for love. I was searching through a bag full of my daughter’s ancient cameras which were lurking in a corner of my […]Read Post ›
O Very enjoyable and fascinating story of espionage and derring-do. I would have enjoyed it more if it had been pure fiction. As it is a mostly true tale I could not stop thinking about all the gruesome death and destruction that occurred leading up to and around the operation. Of course, things could have […]Read Post ›
A review of the year that is. But actually I wrote at length before Christmas so I am not going to repeat myself. In many ways this was a fantastic year for me and amy family. For the world not so much. I am incredibly sad at what is happening in Ukraine. I have no […]Read Post ›
For all my family and friends. To write, or not to write. A Christmas reflection or newsletter, that is. This year has been so busy that I have sadly neglected many people – I’m sorry. I think of you all when I wake up in the small hours, and am consumed with guilt. So, I […]Read Post ›
Today would have been my parents’ seventieth wedding anniversary. I just found this rather lovely photo of them with their nearest and dearest. From left to right: My father’s eldest brother Gustaw. (36) He looks a lot older Not long after he emigrated to Australia. My aunt Alice. Here she is 17 and clinging to […]Read Post ›
Today would have been her 93rd birthday. In this photo, taken on her little sister’s fiftieth, she was fifty six. That smile remained with her to the end. I can’t remember the actual sound of her laugh, I’ve just realised, but the smile is unforgettable. And she smiled a lot. That radiant lipstick. Dior no […]Read Post ›
I have always loved poetry and the sound of my own voice, so when I was asked to read a poem as part of a national poetry reading event I didn’t hesitate to agree. It was supposed to happen on my birthday in September, and I was tempted by the thought that there would be […]Read Post ›
Robert Edward Gordon; my godfather. Of course he wasn’t born Robert Edward Gordon 104 years ago today. He was born Zbigniew Szczepański, in Poznań, I believe, 6 days after Poland regained her independence after 123 years of partition. I imagine his mother must have been thrilled to give birth to her first and I believe […]Read Post ›
Originally posted on Europe Between East And West:
For an American, the war in Ukraine is difficult to comprehend. Though the United States has often been involved in wars, the experience of warfare on American soil has been extremely limited. The last large conflict to be fought on United States territory was the American Civil…
Life Through Basia's Eyes 