LOVE LETTERS

LOVE LETTERS

Most days I would have a letter – from family, friends or patients but the reason I dashed to the mail pigeon holes twice a day was to see if I could spot that bold, looped handwriting that was Jamie’s.  Meanwhile – as I had no address – the climbing club were wandering round Skye – I wrote to tell him what had happened with Andrew and anything else I thought might interest him.

On duty my six babies kept me happily occupied and at last there were two letters from Jamie and an address.  He had been upset when I didn’t turn up to see him off but realised it must have been impossible to get off duty.  We both had to take a lot of things on trust.  He had missed his footing on a climb called Bad Step Alasdair but the rope had held and he was fine.  This did little for my peace of mind.  I was touched that he asked me to send him one of my lipsticks – they were smaller in those days – so he could use it to stub down the tobacco in his occasional pipe.  Three times I sent one and three times it was returned so we had to abandon it.

On my day off Mum and Dad were still away on holiday so I spent it with Maddie and Paul.  Maddie told me that Paul reckoned he could tell if a girl/ woman had slept with anyone – he was certainly right about me.  They both said they were disgusted that the aunts hadn’t asked me to stay the night but the family next door to us were good friends and the daughter came to spend the night with me.

The next day Mum and Dad returned, Maddie and Paul came up and we were regaled with their adventures.  Dad would never let truth get in the way of a good story but we knew to take it all with a pinch of salt.  I had told Paul that Jamie had lost his mackintosh and he had brought up an old one of his which Mum promised to post to Jamie.  By the time Jamie received it he had been reunited with his own.  He had left it in a car whilst hitch –hiking and the driver had very kindly returned it – there was an address in the pocket - and told him to ‘look after that girl friend of yours’.

Most of my free time was spent writing to Jamie or thinking about him.  The word ‘soon’ was for ever in my mind like a mantra.  It was the word we used to comfort a child who wanted its mother or wanted to go home.  It would have to be my word now.  Soon, soon.

Diary entry August 1st 1949
Must remember to be happy, not to drip, mope or otherwise be wet.

I was made chairman of the Student Nurses Association and also as a member of the Dramatic Society was asked to put on a play for Christmas so there was plenty to keep me occupied.  I had a lovely trip to St Anne’s with the Miller family and we stayed at The Hotel Majestic and I showed them the Convalescent Home where I had started my training.  The children loved the beach and we had the usual car crisis with Hector driving back with no headlamps.

I missed Ginny – she was doing her stint at Fever Hospital – we all had to spend a month there as part of our training and I would be next.  As I planned to do General Nursing after Children’s it would be useful experience in dealing with adult patients.
Then there was a letter saying Jamie planned to return towards the end of August.
Yippee!