Anna, your mother lived through some 'interesting' times and raised, at the very least, one fine daughter. Losing a parent is rough but to have her for so long is a blessing. Much sympathy to you and all who loved her.

<img src="/images/emoticons/glasses10.gif" alt="glasses8">

My mum was 15 when war broke out and 21 when it ended. She lived in London in those days and, for a while she worked on Tooley Street in the very heart of that great city. For a time she also worked in a factory making parts for Lancaster Bombers. She always spoke of that time with a great fondness and of the friendships she made but never one once mentioned air raids. Either she didn't see any, which I doubt, or they were such a part of her life back then that she didn't think it worth mentioning. <img src="/images/emoticons/dontknow.gif" alt="dontknow">
She married my Father in 1949 after meeting him through her office work. He also came from London but spent most of the war in Egypt with the Royal Air Force. Sadly, he passed away suddenly, aged just 68 some 36 years ago and now they are together once again. <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="icon_smile">

Thank you all so very much for your kind words of comfort. I do celebrate the time that I was blessed to be with my Mum and that she didn't suffer at all but passed naturally at a time when she was ready.
I shall probably be away for the next week, having so much to do and think about but rest assured, you will all still be with me. <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_study.gif" alt="study"> <img src="/images/emoticons/Lwinking.gif" alt="Lwinking">

I am sad to announce that my Mum passed away tonight. She wasn't sick or in pain but, at 95, she had a good life and was loved to the very end by all that knew her. She has been slowly fading for the past three months so the sadness is eased with a little relief that she is now at peace and with her beloved husband, my dad, who was taken from us thirty-six years ago. He was only 68.
I am sure that you will understand if my presence here over the next few days is somewhat scarce but I will be back to normal when everything is settled. <img src="/images/emoticons/sad1.gif" alt="sad1"> <img src="/images/emoticons/sad10.gif" alt="sad10">

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Richard Thomas

A new suit so that I can introduce him to my dragons. https://5.imimg.com/data5/LC/VB/JN/SELLER-1018603/difr-approved-aluminised-fire-proximity-suit-500x500.jpg

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I've actually enjoyed The Lord of the Rings Trilogy a lot. I've read it more than once. Now when Tolkien moved on to The Silmarillion he lost me completely. It was incredibly boring.

I agree entirely, Larry. I love Lord of the Rings and have read it many times, although not recently. The Hobbit I also enjoyed but not to the same degree. Farmer Giles of Ham is a good read too but, Silmarillion? No. I also found it very boring. In fairness, the tale was incomplete and was edited and published by his son but it reads more like a history study book rather than a tale.

Innsbruck, December 15 th 1943   The night wore on. Huddled together for warmth in the now freezing carriage, Katarina and Maria dozed fitfully. The hours seemed to pass by so slowly but, eventually, the cold, grey dawn began to push away the darkness. As the light grew in intensity, a few white snowflakes began to fall past the window. Maria wiped her hand across the...

Added 27 Nov 2019 | Category Drama | Votes 2 | Avg Score 5 | Views 665 | 5 Comments

Sunday morning, cold, damp and miserable. The dark rain-clouds which had, less than an hour previously, let fall a deluge of freezing rain upon the fields and hills surrounding the small Pennine village, were beginning to break. Their stark edges becoming wisps of pale grey. For the men and women who had gathered around the well-kept war memorial, the weather was a mere inconvenience....

Added 04 Nov 2019 | Category Flash Fiction | Votes 7 | Avg Score 5 | Views 646 | 10 Comments

Brenner. December 15 th 1943   For the first time in many months, Katarina and Maria found that they had a little time to relax. The Army began to dismantle the compound, beginning with the damaged huts at the far end. The first two huts remained in use. One for accommodation and storage, the other for minor injuries and ailments. As the time to depart approached, the two...

Added 30 Oct 2019 | Category Drama | Votes 4 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,557 | 4 Comments

Rome. November 28 th 1943   As the sun began to set, Katarina and Maria continued with the task of ensuring that the patients were ready for the big move the following day. According to their orders, ambulances would be provided at first light ready to begin the transfer to the railhead where two hospital trains would be waiting to take them on the long journey back to Germany....

Added 13 Oct 2019 | Category Drama | Votes 3 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,333 | 4 Comments

Back in the spring, my husband and I went to visit a 1940s Weekend. There were many people there dressed in the fashions and uniforms of those days. There were vehicles and stalls and it really was a wonderful weekend. An escape from the humdrum repetitiveness of my daily life. As I walked, arm in arm with my husband, Philip, I took in the sights, sounds and even tastes of the Forties....

Added 07 Oct 2019 | Category Mystery | Votes 6 | Avg Score 5 | Views 770 | 6 Comments

“Morrison!” “Yes, Sister?” “Your skirt is too short. Kneel on the desk!” Sister Bernadette, The Carmelite Nun who was head of discipline and religious studies for the girls of St. Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic High School, tapped the desk in front of me with her wooden ruler. Obediently, I climbed onto my chair and knelt upon the flat wooden surface of the desk as commanded. Without...

Added 25 Sep 2019 | Category Musings | Votes 11 | Avg Score 4.91 | Views 280 | 14 Comments

Rome. November 21 st , 1943   “Maria, I'm troubled.” The two sisters were sitting by the window in their room, watching the rivulets of rainwater cascading down the other side of the glass. Every now and then, a gust of wind would divert the flow, creating new tracks. Without taking her eyes from the fascinating scene, Maria asked why. “It has been a week now. Larry is...

Added 24 Sep 2019 | Category Drama | Votes 3 | Avg Score 5 | Views 2,027 | 5 Comments

Erika Hoffmann was afraid as she walked through the dark, rain-soaked streets of Eisenach, a small town just inside the border of East Germany. She should not have been out at this hour, ninety minutes after the curfew of ten o’clock which had been imposed in January. The Soviet rulers had been worried about people attempting to escape to the west and if she was caught by the Stasi who...

Added 22 Aug 2019 | Category Drama | Votes 4 | Avg Score 5 | Views 972 | 5 Comments

Rome. November 03 rd , 1943   The revelation that Staff Sergeant Lawrence T. Bowman was Jewish was a shock to Katarina. To her, it mattered not a bit but, for some reason, she had never really thought about the religion of anyone outside of her own world. Americans, English, all those whom Germany was fighting were just people but, suddenly, this young man was in mortal danger....

Added 12 Aug 2019 | Category Drama | Votes 4 | Avg Score 5 | Views 2,251 | 7 Comments

I awoke with a start. The trumpets were still sounding! Astrid, too, was awake and sitting upright. What was going on? Was that an alarm, were we being attacked? I leapt immediately from my bed and donned my cloak. Grabbing my bow and quiver I ran out of the chamber and into the courtyard. The trumpets were blowing loudly and urgently and men were lining the city walls. I ran up the steps...

Added 23 Jul 2019 | Category Fantasy | Votes 3 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,042 | 3 Comments

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