.jpg "Mary at CofE St James") |
This is a picture of me in the Junior School, St James CofE. I am at the front first on the left. This was taken before Les left home. I must of been about 8 years old at this time. Photo provided by Shirley in 2010, 2nd from right. Shirley and I met up and she was good enough to give me a copy of our school photograph.
Something I don't ever remember seeing. I look happy and healthy here. It must have been at a time when I had some clothes from the catalogue. You wouldn't know about my life from this picture, which goes to show how I became invisible to the authorities and social care.
The teacher here was a lovely woman. She was very good with our class. This is described in the Kindle book "Begging".
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Can you see me in this photograph? In the middle row of seats, 4th from the left. Taken 2 years later than the one above. Notice that now I am looking very much slimmer. Again this photo was donated by Shirley, who is sitting in the front row, 5 from the right. Things were getting difficult at home at this time. My clothes not so nice, and the look of worry on my face. I must have been about 10 years old, although I was trying my best to hide it, and act normal. This teacher was very strict, perhaps reflected on the serious nature of the childrens faces. There were children from another class with us in this group. |
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This is where we used to live. In the middle of this block. The railway is to the right, and we are looking south. Picture taken from Google Street view. It looks a lot tidier today. |
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This is Hilda's wedding. I am on the left, Marion is at the back, and Carolyn is to the right.
This was a lovely memory for me, because I was all dressed up. Hilda was a lovely woman, so kind and very generous with her words. Carolyn was a little snooty I seem to remember, but Marion was nice. |
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This was the Library that I discovered. My heaven was to go there and just read book after book. The smell of polish and wooden floors. |
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This was the Launderette where I took my washing and chatted to all the grown up ladies. |
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This was the corner shop, in Somerset Road, still there after all these years. This is where I begged for food from the shopkeeper. The one in chapter 3 where I wet myself. Looks smarter now, with vegetables outside, but in my day it was just a shop. |
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This is Joyce's brother Tommy aged about 8 with me here about 16. I seemed to remember that I made my skirt by hand. The blouse I altered to fit me. I was good at needlework at school and I found it useful. I guess nobody would make a skirt without a sewing machine these days. I had just started work and could afford to look after myself better by now. We are standing up against the wall around the back of Joyce's maisonette. She took the picture, I never had a camera. Her family lived above the Heralds Department Store, now a Weatherpoons pub The Gilpin Bell. They never locked the door in those days and Joyce and I would just let ourselves in. Sometimes Tommy would be home and we would make hot chocolate and chat in the kitchen. Described in the chapter Meeting Joyce, |
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Joyce here is seen on the right in a pink dress. She must have been about 16 years old here. We were so much the same size that we often swapped dresses. |
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Joyce here about 18 with Tommy about 10 years old. Notice the locket around her neck. This is a watch. We both bought one, each matching. The picture was taken around Joyce's house. Joyce took to wearing a hair extension which is hidden under the headband, but otherwise she had short hair.
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| Joyce is the 2nd from the right. This was when she was working for RCA the recording company. She had obviously said something cheeky, because the girl next to her is embarrassed. She was always full of chat and such a bubbly person. So full of life and fun to be with. The person standing up is Freddy Star, a British comedian. |
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This is a picture of Joyce with her son Peter, before she gave him back to her ex husband also called Peter Curtis. She so loved her little boy, he would be looked after ever so well. Always smartly dressed, and cared for, she lived for him and you can see it in the photograph how cuddly they both were. A few years later she would be dead. My little boy, Colin was 6 months younger, and as best friends we loved the two boys playing with each other when we met. This was the happiest time for us as young mothers. I don't know where Peter is today, but he would be about 50 years old. I have tried to trace him, to reunite him with his uncles, but we have not been able make contact. He was born in September 1970. |
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This is the day of my marriage to Terry. From left to right, Jane (my sister), Me, Terry ( my husband), James Phelge, my brother from The Rolling Stones, and Lin (Terry's sister). |
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This is me sitting on our Hillman Minx. This was stolen whilst I was in hospital with appendix operation, after I got married to Terry. This was taken just after we arrived in Torquay, on honeymoon. We slept in the car under a blanket - some honeymoon! This was luxury, and fun. We did actually enjoy it. We would go down to the seafront and get washed in the wash rooms there, and get a hot pasty for lunch. My dress was purple and cream edging. Sadly it's a black and white picture. The car was in a bit of a state becuse it was stolen whilst I was in hosptial when I had my appendix out, and they dumped it having removed the grill and bumper. |
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This is Jane at Langhedge Lane, aged around 12 years old. She is sitting on the back gate. |
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This was Terry just after we got Married. Taken on our delayed honeymoon in Minehead, before we arrived at Torquay. I was just pregnant with Colin, 2 months. |
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This is me outside Minehead House in the park with young Colin. He didn't want to sit still for the photograph. I got someone to take the picture for me as Terry would be away working at Maplins. |
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47 The Paddocks, Brandon, Suffolk. This was our first house together after we married. Thought that we had made it after all the effort that we had made. It cost £9500, and stretched us to the limit. It was a 3 bedroomed corner plot. We thought that buying the largest one was the best thing to do, in hindsight perhaps we shouldn't have been so ambitious. Corner plots have a lot of extra expenses, with longer runs of fencing, lawns and so forth. Yet we were very happy here, Colin, Terry and I. It made all the hard work worthwhile. Even harder to lose it. |
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47 The Paddocks, As the house is today 2011. That's me standing by the gate, as I am now. Mike took the picture. |
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Colin's Primary school at Brandon as it is today. |
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I felt an overwhelming sense of anger—I could have prevented it! Of course, if I had known, I would have done things differently. I am not sure what, exactly—but, for one thing, I wouldn’t have let her steal the gun. And she had shot herself on my thirtieth birthday! It was as if she were trying to tell me something, although I tried to convince myself it was nothing more than chance. This is the Romford Recorder for Friday 3rd November 1978. |
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The Romford Recorder reported the news: ‘Shot Divorcee Inquest Opens.’ This was published on 24th November 1978. It published on a Friday. They called her a divorcee. Her life didn’t matter. The column was crammed tightly between Pete Murray’s DIY kitchen equipment and a complaint about the National Front outside the Town Hall. I missed her by ten minutes. Ten wretched minutes before I had arrived at the hospital, she passed away. |
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This was Glamis house, Brentwood. The flat that Terry and I shared at the time Joyce died in 1978, and later when we split up. It was a come down to rent a flat after owning our own house. It was a housing association, but even so. This is where I walked out of the flat and made the call to the Samaritans. See the last chapter of the Kindle book "Losing Me".
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Cheshunt Station, where I made the call to the charity Refuge. This is described in the Kindle Book "Breaking Free". |
This was taken for modelling agency.