1) GUARDIAN ANGEL
Not everyone believes in guardian angels. I do, and I have done since I was fourteen, when, one day I was walking though a jitty on my way back from the dentist and a large Alsatian dog appeared at the other end. For some reason I have always been scared of dogs. In fact, my mother used to have to work out her route to the village when I was small, to make sure we didn’t have to pass any that might bark through a gate or a window. Anyway, this Alsatian began to walk towards me. I stopped, too afraid to continue, but knew that if I ran away, it would chase me, and I would be worse off. I began to pray, saying to my guardian angel, "Please, make the dog go away." Amazingly, it turned, and sloped back out of the jitty. That was the first time I had ever directed a prayer to her, and now I do so every morning, asking her to look after me through the day and, at night, thanking her for taking care of me. And, if that surprised you, that I called the angel, ‘her’, I think a female angel would have more insight into my needs than a male. But who knows? I’m sure I shall find out one day. But not too soon, I hope, if my guardian angel continues to watch over me so splendidly.
2) Orphanage
When I was nine we lived on a farm, and my father worked long hours as a herdsman. We couldn’t get to school when my mother became ill, so three of my sisters and I spent a year in a convent orphanage. It wasn’t as bad as the image it conjures up. One recollection I have of that time was having to wear little white shifts when we had a bath, so that when a nun came in to check on us, she couldn’t see our nude bodies. It sounds so odd nowadays when youngsters walk around half naked, leaving nothing to the imagination, although, I suppose I wasn’t much better. In the sixties I wore mini skirts. In fact, my friend and I made one each out of a yard of material. I still remember it, pink and flowery, it was. I was wearing it the day I met my husband and, forty five years later, he would probably still like to see me in it. Not that the legs are so good any more. But it shows how fashions can turn full circle. Long dresses are all the rage now. I wonder if we will ever go back to the bustle, and the prudery of the Victorian age where it was considered wrong for ladies to even show an ankle. Personally, I can't see it happening..