Life savers, saving lives

Bradford, UK 1962

The kitchen door flew open and Carol from next door burst in. Rosemary was sitting at the kitchen table having her tea of egg on toast. She looked at Carol in alarm. Normally she knocked gently before walking in and calling out 'Cooey' like all the other neighbours in their street. Her mother turned from the stove, where she was preparing her husband's meal.

Carol took a deep breath; she looked in distress.

'It's smallpox again, Peggy, you've got to get Rosemary vaccinated straight away.'

Rosemary put down her fork and glanced at her mother, fear washing over her. She knew what vaccinations were, sharp needles, pain and a strong smell of disinfectant but most of all fear. She thought she'd finished with vaccinations so she wouldn’t get polio like Uncle John with his useless arm, or diphtheria like Auntie Betty's baby that no-one mentioned.

Rosemary ran to her mother and clung onto her, she didn't want any more vaccinations. Carol jabbed at Peggy with her finger; she spoke in rasps, her Scottish accent thicker than ever.

'It will be just like Glasgow again. You've got to take her tomorrow Peggy, promise me!'

Rosemary's mother was quite still. She stroked Rosemary's hair and held her close.

'Thank you Carol, I'll talk to Jim this evening. Would you like a cup of tea?'

'Thanks Peggy not now, I've got to go.'

As the door slammed Rosemary burst into tears. She felt frightened.

That night in bed she could hear her parents talking for a long time, they sounded very serious.

Italy 2015

Rosemary tried to concentrate on what the tall man standing in the middle of the room was saying.
Her son Fabio had asked her to come with him to a meeting about the dangers of vaccinations.
The room was full of parents of young babies plus a few grandparents like her who had been brought along for moral support. She heard the man say something about a politician who had refused to disclose whether or not he had vaccinated his son, the dangers of mercury and something about autism.

Rosemary and Beppe had had Fabio vaccinated without a qualm, fully confident in their doctor. 

Her mind kept wandering back to her childhood, how frightened she'd been by her visits to the clinic, but then how wonderful to be taken for a milk-shake afterwards.

Rosemary wondered what Edward Jenner would have to say now about his amazing discovery that had saved so many lives. 

Rosemary knew well the intensity of a parent's feeling, the desire to protect children from harm and bring them up to enjoy lifelong good health.
For her mother's generation vaccinations had been considered life savers.  For Rosemary's own generation, vaccinations were considered necessary to avoid diseases. Now things were different again.
 

She closed her eyes. An unbearable sadness came over her. In that moment all she could see was her neighbour Carol bursting through the kitchen door with her terrible pockmarked face.

Something worth celebrating

For almost a year now Dawn had been a regular customer at the sexy underwear store off the High Street. Once a month she had come in and walked around looking at the colourful display of exotic outfits.  She would touch the delicate lace, satin or fur trim of the bras, knickers or nighties, hold them gently up to the light and sometimes hold them to her face, closing her eyes against their softness. Then she might watch as  someone's purchases were wrapped in pastel tissue paper. At Christmas she had stood for a long time in front of a short red velvet baby doll with a matching hat.
The girl that worked there Jemma, always smiled in recognition. If she ever thought that a plump middle -aged rather plain woman had no use of such sensual underwear she showed no sign, sometimes even pointing out the new arrivals. Jemma felt sorry for her and imagined her going back to an empty house with an empty loveless life.

Today when Dawn entered the shop there was a new spring in her step and her face was aglow. She went straight to the display of nighties in bright sunshine colours. She picked up a yellow lacy bra with a polka dot trim and a long transparent black nightie with a red ribbon. She walked round the shop and picked up a box of heart-shaped chocolates, a feather duster and a French maid's costume then went to the till.
 Jemma tried to hide her surprise as she wrapped the dainty garments with the soft tissue paper and a satin ribbon.

'You look so happy today. Is it a celebration.'

Dawn beamed at her.

'It most certainly is. Today, after a whole year of treatment and appointments for problems down below  I've been given the all clear.' Dawn paused , her eyes looked very bright.
' By the way the chocolates are for you . This place has kept me going, helped to remind me that I'm a woman, given me something to aim for.

She picked up her parcel and waved happily.

Jemma watched her as she walked briskly out of the shop into the arms of a stout grey haired man. Her mouth hung open as she watched the couple embrace. Tears were streaming down their faces but they were laughing and kissing. Then they linked arms and walked into the new restaurant across the road.

When Jemma went to check her make up she saw the streaks of mascara running down her face mingled with her tears. She decided to make an appointment for her smear test.  She hadn't had one for a long time.

Please grant me a healthy digestion and something to eat

'He's gorgeous, really Barb drop dead gorgeous. He's never been married which makes a change and he's mad about me.There's just one thing though'.

Barbara studied the photograph that her sister Jeanie had put on the table.

'He looks like Jude Law. What's not to like?'

 Jeanie took a deep breath and let out a dramatic sigh.

'He's got bad breath, really bad, sometimes I just can't bare kissing him.'

Barbara couldn't help giggling.

'The Victorians used that as a means of contraception or for warding off unwanted suitors.'

Jeanie burst out laughing. 'Anyway he's coming to dinner at my place this evening so I've got to rush round the supermarket now.'

'Why don't I give you a lasagne? you know my rule, always have one in the freezer. Get some green salad, nice crusty bread and the best red on offer.'

Jeanie hugged her sister.

'Thanks Barbie, I'll ring you tomorrow.'

That evening Barbara told her husband Bill all about her sister's latest conquest.
Bill had one eye on the match and was only half listening. He only heard the bit about the lasagne.

'If you gave her one of your lasagnas he'll be smitten for good. A way to a man's heart is through his stomach and all that. Pity she's met someone I was hoping that she'd get on with George the new chap at work. He's just moved here and she could show him round. I've asked him to come here tomorrow evening is that ok? Maybe you could do your chicken tikka thing.'
Bill lunged towards her.' Come here you.'

Then he grabbed her and kissed her full on the mouth, the football match forgotten.

Afterwards while they were lying close and warm in bed Barbara tracing her finger across the hairs on Bill's chest spoke in a husky whisper.

'I wish my sister could have some of my happiness. She's had such rotten luck with men. An unbroken engagement and now a divorce, she' been so unlucky. Let's hope the Jude law lookalike is right for her.'

Bill turned out the light.
'Well I've got a good feeling about George at work. He's great, treated me to steak pie and ale yesterday.'
Barbara laughed,' Oh Bill you see everything in terms of food.'


The phone rang just as she was leaving for work the next morning. Jeanie sounded like she'd been crying.

'It's terrible Barbie, we had a nice enough evening and ate your lasagne, but he's just rung me and said he was up all night, he said it was my fault for giving him that lasagne. He sounded so angry. He said he can't digest garlic.'

Bill was tucking into a plate of bacon and sausages and turned to look at her, raising one eyebrow with a questioning look on his face.

Barbara looked him in the eye as she spoke to her sister.

'Would you like to come her this evening? I'm making chicken tikka.'



'

Its a Small World -Sing Along

It's Earth day today. Just like Mother's day and St.Valentine's day some people are muttering about it being just a commercial gimmick. Of course it should be Mother's day every day, we should appreciate our mothers and our partners every day. We should look after our planet earth every day, but of course we don't. We need to be reminded of all the nice things our mothers and partners do for us and show them how much we love them. Now it's the same thing with our beautiful planet, we need to be reminded just how precious it is and how it needs looking after.

To celebrate Earth Day I have chosen this song from Disneyland.  Walt Disney has arguably made the biggest contribution to America's cultural heritage. Undoubtedly he has brought great joy and happiness to many people all over the world.

So for Earth day I am going to sing a long to this song and send good vibrations around the world, to everyone everywhere.

By mistake I have written on my short story blog.

Just one person needed

A  bee was buzzing near the window desperately trying to escape into the beauty of the first warm day of the year. The  spring sunshine and soft breeze brought a scent of freshly mown grass into the room. Jessie felt her eyelids grow heavy and paused in writing her notes. The professor's voice droned on paused a moment and then boomed out.

'So that is why when you make a loud noise you can see if  these children suffer from what is known as Sensory perception deficit. '

Jessie broke out into uncontrollable giggles. Her shoulders shook and she bowed her head to hide her face. 

The young man sitting next to her leant forward and whispered in her ear.

'What's so funny? Share the joke.'

' I'm so sorry I've always had this problem. Something strikes me as being funny for no apparent reason and I'm off.'

It was true, she thought of all the times she had been sent out of class at school for giggling at inopportune moments, a teacher's bad breath, serious cello playing, a lorry backfiring on the road outside the school. It had caused her a lot of problems, offending people who were surprised by her reaction.

The young man held out his hand.

'I'm Jake. Pleased to meet you.'

'Jessie, nice to meet you too.'

They smiled at each other then turned towards the professor.

Jessie looked sideways at Jake. He had such a kind face and his voice held a gentleness that warmed her heart.  She looked at the hairs of his arms curling over the cuff of his blue shirt. She wanted to stroke his cheek.
 She was surprised at where her thoughts were going. She shook herself and tried to concentrate on the lesson.
 Her attention was caught when she realized that the professor was talking about the average six year old.
This was the reason she was on the course. She was determined to be a good mother.



'In spite of his demonstrations of self sufficiency the six year old is sensitive to his surroundings. If his mother is ill or he finds her weeping, he is a pattern of kindness and comfort.'

Jessie fought back the tears. She pinched her nose hard and took deep breaths. Jake's hand found hers and she looked up to see him smiling at her with such warmth and sensitivity she found herself smiling back.

The seven year old on the other hand generally takes a more realistic view of his surroundings. His imagination is more reflective. The gravity of reality is entering the child's life.  I would just like to point out here that it has been demonstrated that it just takes one person at any stage to either heal or harm.'

Jake's eyes didn't leave her face for a moment and his hand gripped hers.

'Right everyone that's all for today. Next week we're going to be talking about the significance of the mother and her fundamental role in the child's ability to pass through the various stages of development without profound disturbances.
A child shows early its need for human company, and the old view of the mother's significance in this aspect is being confirmed all the time.'



There was a scraping of chairs as everyone prepared to leave. The professor raised his voice.

'I'd just like to wish you all success on this course. It's not always easy for mature students who have  a family or a full time job. Please don't hesitate to ask me for any help.'

The professor walked towards the window and opened it then waved his papers so the bee found his way out into the sunshine.

Jake stood up and gathered his bag. He held out his hand.

'Would you have time for a coffee Jessie?'

Jessie grasped his hand as a life line and nodded through her tears. The professor's words rang in her head, Just one person to heal or harm. Her world shifted  on its axis, she felt a lightness in her heart and a weight lift from her shoulders.

There would be time to tell Jake about her little son Ben and about his father who ran off and left them taking all their money for his drug habit, about the mother she had never known who had given her up for adoption and the foster families and the bullying. But she'd tell him quickly, she wanted to get on with life now, a life full of kindness and love, laughter and fun, where resentment, bitterness and regrets were unwelcome guests.

'I'd love a coffee Jake. Please let me treat you.'






'



'

Fairy tale endings and new beginnings

If you've ever been very poor or very lonely you never forget it. It's a feeling that will accompany you all your days. No matter how much money you make or how many people surround you, deep in a hidden place you will always be poor or lonely.

Sam turned over onto his side and punched the pillow so it moulded  itself to his cheek.  He shivered and pulled the rough blanket over his shoulders. The morning sunlight was trying to find a way through the shutters and a stray sparkling strand pierced his eye lids like a laser. Sam sat up and looked at Jo's sleeping form, her breathing was regular and slow and it soothed him, calming his nerves. He leant across and stroked her cheek. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. She reached up and pulled his head down to meet hers and kissed him full on the mouth.

'Ready for another day in Paradise?' Her voice was low and husky. She smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

'You stay there Sam and I'll make our coffee.'
Jo went to the kitchen area humming.
Sam lay and watched her, taking delight in the way she moved so gracefully in the confined space, like a dancer.

It was the first day of their honeymoon and Sam felt confused. He knew he loved Jo and wanted to spend his life with her but he hadn't been sincere and was afraid.
Jo bounced on the bed carefully holding the tray with the coffee cups high above her.

'What would you like to do today Sam? There are some lovely walks round here along the cliffs. I used to go with my dad.'
 She paused and Sam put down his cup and drew her towards him.

'You've got me now Jo, you'll never be alone again. I'll look after you.' He smiled down at her.

'A cliff walk and a pub lunch sound like a great plan, and then back here for some you know what. Start as we mean to go on, I say.'

Jo giggled, finished her coffee and went to grab her washing things.

When she'd left Sam lay back looking at the ceiling of the camper van and listening
to the sounds of the camp site. The bed was hard and his back hurt. He thought of his sister's favourite fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. She'd make him read it to her every night. It was all her idea not to tell Jo the truth. He sighed, what had he done? What was Jo going to say when she found out? Maybe he'd gone too far with the camper van plan. They could be in a five star hotel.

The door opened and Jo appeared bringing in a sweet smell of her favourite white musk perfume and the fresh Spring air.

'Your turn Sam, there's no-one in the showers now. I'll get the breakfast, bacon and egg ok?'

She put on an apron and turned round. She'd tied her hair up in a pony tail and he kissed the base of her neck. She turned to him and pushed him back on the bed, smothering him with kisses and hungrily reaching for him.

Later when they were walking along the cliff path and stopping every two minutes to take photos of the twinkling blue sea and the wild flowers growing along their path, Jo stopped and then hugged him hard. Then she ran ahead shouting into the wind

'I love Sam, I love him!'

Sam ran after her and catching hold of her pulled her onto the soft grass. A dog appeared and joined them thinking it was a game, they rolled over and over and then sat up breathless and gazing at each other. Then they both spoke together.

'I've got to tell you something.'

'You go first, no you go'.

Neither of them was laughing any more. Jo took a deep breath.

'Sam you are the whole world to me. When my dad died I felt so completely alone. I never knew my mother and had no relatives, just me and dad. The people at work were kind and everything but I knew I was on my own, a loneliness crept in my heart and has never really gone away. That feeling was so terrible and frightening and then when I met you , well I couldn't believe it, still can't Sam. I love you so much.'

Sam held out his hand to pull her up.

'Can't see any problem there, I love you too.'

'It's just been so quick and your sister and her husband helping us with the wedding and everything. She was so kind to let us have the reception in her house and do all the catering. I'm just afraid you'll feel sort of too responsible for me or something. I mean I've got no-one'.

'You've got me.' Sam shouted into the wind. 'You've got me! and you've got my sister, she thinks you're great.'

Sam and his sister Anna had been brought up in a children's home. They never really knew what had happened to their parents. When they were old enough Anna had become a hairdresser and Sam had trained to be an electrician. Anna had married Jonathan the owner of the salon and Sam had gone to live with them. Jonathan was so kind and like a brother to Sam

Then about six months ago Sam had met Jo in the queue at the Post Office. She'd been there to sort something out for her boss at the Estate Agent where she worked. They had waited so long in the queue, something had gone wrong with the computers, that they started to talk to each other and he had asked her out for a drink. He later told her that it had been love at first sight and she had looked at him with such tenderness and cried with joy and delight.

She was looking at him like that now, with such trust and love. His heart leapt.

'What did you want to say Sam?'

He sighed and took a deep breath.

'It's difficult Jo, please try and understand. It's, well it's that Anna, Jonathan and me, we did the lottery  and well we won. A lot.'


An expression of panic appeared on Jo's face.

'What are you trying to tell me Sam? Have you changed your mind?'

Sam started to laugh, a nervous high pitched sound.

'Oh no, no no Never. I just didn't know how to tell you, I didn't know what you'd think.'


'Sam I married you for love and that's all I want, you can keep the money.' She looked confused. Sam grabbed her by the shoulders.

' That's not what I meant, I felt bad about keeping it from you. It's your money too. It was Anna's idea, She thought we'd be like the Princess and the pea.'

Jo thought of Anna growing up in the children's home, with no father and mother, she thought of the lonely nights and the hurt deep in her heart. She looked at Sam, his face pleading with her to understand. then she started to giggle.

'Well maybe you can be the Prince and the Pea Sam.'

 The wind was blowing her hair away from her face and he pulled her to him. It was like coming home. He looked up at the sky and for the first time in his life felt at peace with the world around him.

They ran back down the cliff to the camp site and arrived at their camper van just as a silver grey car drew up beside them. It was Anna and Jonathan. They jumped out of the car and Anna ran to hug her sister-in-law tears streaming down her face

' I'm sorry Jo it was all my fault. I just wanted Sam and you to be like a fairy story.'

'Oh it is Anna, it's the best fairy story ever, it was my favourite too. Come on , let's make sure we all live happily ever after.'

Cupid goes on a picnic

The sound of raised voices woke him up with a start. Cupid had never been able to deal with harsh or cross words. He trembled and almost fell off the branch he was leaning on.

Cupid had been enjoying his day so much, the warm Spring sunshine on his skin, his curls bouncy and glossy, his little wings fluffed up in the breeze and the cherry blossom floating around him.  The park was full of  people enjoying the beautiful weather. He had used a few of his baby pink arrows on the young people with excellent results.

In one group a young girl  had been  glancing at one of the boys, but he hadn't noticed.  Cupid could see the strings of her heart tugging towards him. The boy had looked up suddenly and caught the girl's eye. Cupid thought he'd help a bit. He raised his bow and pointed his arrow carefully towards the boy. There was a ping and the boy swatted his face, confused. Then he stood up and went towards the girl, his hand outstretched, inviting her to join the group.

The raised voices had calmed down, there was laughter now and he relaxed back into the safety of the tree to observe the newcomers. There was a man and a woman and they stopped right underneath him. They were admiring  the primroses and the carpet of cherry blossom.

The woman was wearing a pink top and matching trousers. Cupid loved pink and he sat up to get a better look. The woman was  busy laying out rugs and opening up a basket. The man sat down to help her. He took out some bread and ham  and poured wine in paper cups. Cupid smiled, he always liked to see team work in a couple.

The couple sat down and Cupid lay back and listened to the way they enthused over their picnic meal and raised their paper cups of wine. He liked that, he'd always liked simple pleasures.

Cupid took out one of his arrows and rubbed at it until it shone. He was so proud of his arrows. The pink ones for young love, tender and full of hope and joy. The silver ones that shone so beautifully, they were full of excitement and adventure, the glossy gleaming red ones full of passion and intense deep emotion. Then he had the pale blue ones. He felt a bit sad when he thought of these. He used them when Love was weakened  to  heal the wounds of the heart. Right at the back of his pouch were the gold ones. His heart swelled at the sight of them. They were the most powerful of all. Sometimes he was quite overwhelmed by them. They were for the desperate cases. The ones who had almost given up.

There was an angry shout from the couple.

There were more harsh words, the wine had been spilt on the woman's trousers.

Cupid covered his ears. He hated that sort of talking. It made all the hard work he did seem like a waste of time.

He looked more closely at the couple. He recognized them, he remembered using specially nice arrows on them. He had used the pink ones when the woman was a young girl.  He had  followed up quickly with the silver and then the red, full of enthusiasm at the wonderful results. He hesitated and looked again at the couple. They had had a lot of challenges and life hadn't been easy for them, but  he could still see the places where his arrows had hit.  He thought sadly of the time when he had had to use the pale blue ones, to heal the pain and hurt. Perhaps they hadn't been enough.

 Maybe the couple needed to be reminded of what it was like when their love was young. The way the sun  had caressed their skin and the sweetness of their breath as they drew close . The way hands reached out and got comfort and strength just by holding tight, fingers interlocking,  the soft touch of lips and the gentle sweep of hair brushing over a shoulder that had sent shivers of pleasure rolling over them.

Cupid took out one of his golden arrows. He caressed it lovingly and placed it in the bow. He hesitated. Then he drew back and aimed.

Journeys full of dreams

Every day she would go on a journey. At the beginning she had just gone for walks across the fields near her childhood home, breathing in the fresh clean air, the wind gently lifting her soft auburn curls. Later she had gone cycling with her cousin, sandwiches and a flask of tea in her rucksack. They would lie down in the freshly cut hay and see what shapes they could see in the clouds.They loved the country lanes, the green fields and the little streams. They loved stopping at tea shops or sharing a flask of hot chocolate and telling each other the secrets of their hearts.
One day she had been taken to a new shopping centre and had bought a book on Pub walks. She had done one a day. Climbing steep hills, cutting through heavily forested hills, paddling in streams, stopping to pick wild flowers and then relaxing in a country pub by a roaring log fire.
Her son and his wife organized a whole series of holidays. They brought back beautiful books full of glossy photographs of the places they had visited. They called them coffee table books. So far she had visited Prague, Stockholm, Moscow, Paris, Amsterdam, Australia, Budapest and Rome. She only saw the best parts. They went to America to see the beautiful Autumn colours. It was everything she'd hoped it would be. the red leaves of the sugar maple filled her heart with passion and hope. They went to South Africa and lay in bed watching rhinoceroses bathe. They went to New York to do their Christmas shopping.

Today they were returning from Vienna. They would be arriving any moment. They'd be offered tea and biscuits and push her into the garden. Only then while leafing through the latest coffee table book and seeing the photograph of the famous ferris wheel featured in one of her favourite films, The Third Man, would she look down and be reminded that she was forever trapped in a wheelchair.