Saturday 30 January 2010
Saturday 9 January 2010
Not Such A Happy New Year
My mother died sometime between 06:30 and 06:45 on Sunday, 3rd inst, after a long illness. Had she lived for just another eighteen hours we could have celebrated her eightieth birthday, an occasion she looked forward to.
Mother Gruff knew far more than I how to be disagreeably disagreeable but it was still something of a surprise to hear an answerphone message from her on my mobile on Monday: 'This is your mother ... ', as she approached her end, was nothing less than true to type.
She believed in discipline and dedication, and harsh punishment for defaulters, and I was never less than a disappointment. We had no contact for many years but I'm glad that we were reconciled before she died. If only I'd switched on my phone.
She served with the WAAF, in Singapore, during the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Typically, her retailed memories of that time were mostly stories of the trouble repeatedly caused by Scotch soldiers from the barracks adjacent who were allowed to use the NAAFI on the RAF base. They seem to have been nothing but trouble and unnecessary expense.
I've just taken a call from a friend on The Mrs Gruff's mobile phone in which one of my very few friends told me something I should have heard sooner had I left the bloody thing switched on.
Mother Gruff knew far more than I how to be disagreeably disagreeable but it was still something of a surprise to hear an answerphone message from her on my mobile on Monday: 'This is your mother ... ', as she approached her end, was nothing less than true to type.
She believed in discipline and dedication, and harsh punishment for defaulters, and I was never less than a disappointment. We had no contact for many years but I'm glad that we were reconciled before she died. If only I'd switched on my phone.
She served with the WAAF, in Singapore, during the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Typically, her retailed memories of that time were mostly stories of the trouble repeatedly caused by Scotch soldiers from the barracks adjacent who were allowed to use the NAAFI on the RAF base. They seem to have been nothing but trouble and unnecessary expense.
I've just taken a call from a friend on The Mrs Gruff's mobile phone in which one of my very few friends told me something I should have heard sooner had I left the bloody thing switched on.
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