Thirty years ago my stepfather died very suddenly. He was sixty one. 14 years later my mother followed him. In this photo they are in front of Sheffield City Hall just after my graduation in 1976. He is forty five. My mother is 47. He is the slimmest he’s ever been. That day was one […]Read Post ›
Our plane was delayed. We had sat in it for an hour before it moved off. Then it did. Fast. Up and down. Too much turbulence for me. We were in business class. I was looking forward to my delicious meal. Instead we got something they called afternoon tea. But no tea. Little stale sandwiches. […]Read Post ›
I received this book last Friday. Every spare moment this weekend was spent reading it – I finally finished it this morning. A fascinating insight into the mind and mores of a man whose life and experiences could not be more different from my own. Time, place, customs and the law all played their part […]Read Post ›
When I was eighteen I went to Poland for six weeks. It was a great turning point in my life, as up till then I had been very shy, very nervous, lacking in confidence and with very few independent skills. I was clever and well read, but that was about it. I left school after […]Read Post ›
Maja is my one of my oldest and best friends. I have known her since September 1965 when she started going to my school. I knew her father before then, as he worked with my mum, and her brother, Tom, and I knew of her- but had never met her until she started at my […]Read Post ›
I wonder who remembers this face. If any of his family ever come across it then please get in touch. David’s birthday was on 15th March. He used to joke about the portents and then one day his worst fear was realised and he sadly died in May 1990, a very few weeks after being […]Read Post ›
Today is the first day I came out of my almost voluntary six week incarceration. Apart from three days over Christmas itself I have spent the last few weeks writing a souvenir ptogramme for the upcoming Golden Jubilee Polish ball. A big event to be held at the London Guildhall so worthy of a nice […]Read Post ›
We walked from the bus station to our apartment up the hill. We had been warned by the tourist information lady that a taxi would take a very long route because of the one way system, so up the hill we trudged. We found the street. But not the house. I’d chosen to stay here […]Read Post ›
George Sand has always been a very romantic figure in my imagination. Ever since I was at my boarding school in Ealing, when Mother Mary Dominic swore me to secrecy not to let the other nuns know that I knew, she divulged that Chopin’s lover, that very wicked woman, had actually been a pupil at […]Read Post ›
I like being a tourist and doing touristy things. I don’t go as far as wearing a kissmequick hat, but I like to see the sights and take the photos. Most of all I like quirky forms of transport. This holiday has been no exception. Now that we’ve settled in to our charming hotel, we […]Read Post ›
Life Through Basia's Eyes 