NOTES ON
1956 - Mum's
mother and father
http://comp.uark.edu/~dsears/photos/Eileen56
I
can actually remember very little about my grandmother and grandfather on my
mother’s side. We visited them often, they
lived at 8 York Road, Maidstone, on the Shepway estate. They often came for day’s out, and for
holidays, and they were always there for the many weddings. We had to catch two buses to visit them, one
to central Maidstone, and one to Shepway.
We visited them every three weeks, as regular as clockwork. One birthday, when our house was flooded,
Mum carefully explained that because the house was in ruins I would not be able
to have a birthday party. Instead, we
would visit grandma and grandpa. When we
got there, the house was decorated and made ready for a party. It must have taken hours to prepare. There was a table full of party food and
drinks, and there was a pile of presents, neatly placed at one of the table
settings. It was a conspiracy. Mum had organized a party after all. A very big party. There was grandma and grandpa, and there was Aunty Win and my
cousins too, who lived with them. I was
a bit overwhelmed with it all. I
remember Mum unpacking supplies. She
always took supplies when she visited family, and this time there were lots of
supplies.
Mum
was always aware that grandma had German blood in her veins. “Her name is really Grause, but she never
uses it”, she said.
Maybe
I remember more about grandma and grandpa than I thought.