Mum
122 stories, organized by theme.
Beginnings
My first 'words' were probably the usual baby 'babble'..... but my Mum used to tell one story about when I was beginning to string…
BeginningsI honestly do not remember learning to ride a bike… but I do remember getting my first tricycle. We were up in Alyth during…
BeginningsMum only ever said they chose my name was because they liked it…... no links to family history at all. The ‘Elizabeth' I think…
BeginningsYou all know that both Dad & I have both spent much time digging and delving into our respective family histories, and in some…
BeginningsThe story I hear about when I was born was that, some two weeks before I was ‘due’ my dear Mum had some bleeding…
Beginnings'As a child....' covers such a long period of time from when you are quite small to when you are building the interests which…
BeginningsIt's really hard to pick a 'best'memory... I honestly had such a very happy, loved and secure childhood. Probably a memory that pulls a…
Beginnings'Going to the store’ immediately raises memories of tastes and smells and of the heady sense of empowerment and independence that comes with being…
BeginningsWell, I know I wasn’t an easy baby…… Mum said I refused to breast feed and she had to switch me onto a bottle.…
BeginningsI always shared a bedroom with Sheila, in Glasgow, In Whitley Bay and in Beckenham, until Sheila left home and went to Nursing School.…
Family
Well that’s a wierd kind of question…… I was always told that I LOOKED like my Dad - to which he always replied that…
FamilyIt's hard to find a definitive answer to that one. As a young child you inevitably spend more time with our mother, so there…
FamilyI think we got along.....I don't remember any arguments although I am sure there must have been some. Sheila is almost three years older…
FamilyI have so many things that remind me of my Dad...... many of them he brought back from his travels in Eastern Europe, some…
FamilyOh yes, many…… I was fortunate to know three of my four grandparents. My Dad’s father, David Currie, died in 1936 when Dad was…
FamilyThe answer to this one is, 'of course'. When we were younger I looked to my older sister as an example. We shared a…
FamilyI was trying to think, there MUST be some family 'traditions'... but Curries never were ones for always doing things the same way just…
FamilyI have two recollections that involve hiding something... The first was when I was five and had just started school at Langside in Glasgow.…
FamilyI like how when you get together or chat on the phone,you can always pick up as if you saw them yesterday, even though…
FamilyI remember sitting with my Dad, when I was teenager, in the kitchen, while he concocted a late night snack for Mum & I.…
FamilyFunny really, my parents were not prone to giving me advice…. I think they probably knew me well enough that unsolicited advice/ suggestions would…
FamilyMy dad laughed a lot, and sang and whistled. He had a lovely singing voice and used to sing silly songs to us [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rpBAZEVHmI](http://www.…
FamilyI suppose we need to define first of all what is meant by 'as a child'.........I will take it as being up to about…
FamilyMy grandparents were known by their family names. I never knew my Grandpa Currie as he had died in 1936, before even my Mum…
FamilyI think there IS a short answer to this one......probably my cousins. That said I am in close enough contact that I know that…
School Days
HIgh school friends drifted off the radar after we graduated. In high school our curriculum was such that everyone had a different combination of…
School DaysIt is kind of wierd thinking back to my grammar school experiences, in the context of the ongoing teacher's strike here at the moment.…
School DaysI was always middle of the road when it came to athletic activities, so never made it to the school teams. I did play…
School DaysIn elementary school we all walked to school, I have no idea of the distance but…. it was down the road, over the rail…
School DaysGoing through school in the 50’ & ’60’s we didn’t have to take a lunch to school as ‘school dinners’ were provided. We did…
School DaysIt's never straightforward......... Putting it into context, I know dad has talked about this but it also applies to me. In the 1950s' the…
School DaysYou know, I don’t really remember having a lot of ‘friends’ in high school. School was for work and learning and homework, and that…
School DaysWell, this is easy....we didn't have 'prom'.......I went to a girl's school and when we left school there were not even graduation ceremonies.We took…
School DaysI have to say that Miss Rabson, my French teacher for ‘A’ level French Language and Literature was the best teacher I had. Who…
Growing Up
Having raised our own family I can see how personality traits that are apparent at a VERY young age, persist through childhood and into…
Growing UpNo, as a child I didn't break any bones or even have anything that needed stiches. I do remember one spectacular fall off a…
Growing UpHmm....... is that 'job' or 'real job'? My first paid employment was in a cafe in Bromley that was owned by the leader of…
Growing UpI was always very 'independent' as a child, so what might have been interpreted as 'rebellion' was to me just an expression of being…
Growing UpOK, it’s been ages since I tackled one of these Storyworth questions……..Yes, I think mostly I would have been considered well behaved. It was…
Growing UpI don’t think my twenty year old self would be very thrilled to have my advice, and certainly wouldn’t have sought it! But if…
Growing UpI am pretty sure I have answered this before in another post…. but it was a Ford Popular circa 1955, like the picture below,…
Growing UpMy first car was a 1954 Ford Popular the old 'sit up and beg' model which got such bad rap for being so unstable.…
Love & Marriage
Well there's a good question... and like all good questions there isn't an easy or quick and simple answer! So... when I came to…
Love & MarriageI am sure you have heard this story before........ Ann, the girl I came to Canada with, and I were going on a camping…
Love & MarriageDad & I were married at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bromley, Kent on April 28th. 1970. I think it was a Tuesday. Dad &…
Raising a Family
Choosing a name for your baby while you are 'expecting' is always exciting.There is so much anticipation of all the wonderful things ahead. When…
Raising a FamilyI have a problem with this question, ‘cos I don’t think parents actually get to ‘raise’ chldren. That seems to imply to me that,…
Raising a FamilyTwo parts to this one... firstly the story that I most enjoyed reading to all of you as pre readers would be a close…
Raising a FamilyI have never felt that it was my place to give advice….. sharing experience, perhaps. Years ago, before we had a family I had…
Work & Career
When I was growing up there was not a lot of choice when it came to careers for women. I went to a 'Grammar'…
Work & CareerIf I think about it, for the most part, the changes in my career came about because of the other things going on in…
Work & CareerI had to stop and think about this one....my jobs over the years have always afforded me a great deal of autonomy and quite…
Home & Place
We moved from Glasgow to Whitley Bay in Northumberland in January of 1952 when I was almost six. I had started school in Langside…
Home & PlaceWe have never been very systematic or organised when it came to choosing a house. Our first home was a town house in Deep…
Home & PlaceWhen I think of where I consider I 'grew up', I think of Whitley Bay, in Northumberland. We moved there in 1952 when Dad…
Travel & Adventure
It is hard to pick a single favourite.... but for relaxing in summer sunshine up there on my list would be sitting in the…
Travel & AdventureI remember two occasions....once when I was lost and another when I felt lost. I felt lost when my Mum and Dad went to…
Travel & AdventureI’ve thought about this quite lot as I can’t quite decide in my own mind whether an adventure is ‘planned’ or whether it just…
Travel & AdventureI don’t know how much any of you will remember of this, but we were all there on a camping trip to Alice Lake,…
Travel & AdventureThe simplest answer would, of course, be: 'Business Class'...... but for me it's not so much a style preference as what it takes to…
Travel & AdventureAs you know, we are so lucky to have been able to travel all around the w orld, but I think that one of…
Travel & AdventureI imagine the actual furthest we have travelled from home would be the South Island of New Zealand when Dad & I spent a…
Travel & AdventureWe have done so much travelling over the years and always look forward to something new and different. For somewhere that I/ we would…
Travel & AdventureWhen we were small, living in Scotland, we travelled on holidays from Glasgow to Perthshire to stay with my Granny & Grandpa Walker, Mum's…
Travel & AdventureWe spent almost all of our vacations visiting my grandparents in Alyth and having short seaside breaks in the summer at Carnoustie. When we…
Food & Traditions
Well, that's an easy one...... brought up in Britain we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving as it is celebrated in North America. I imagine the closest…
Food & TraditionsFood has so many memories...I suppose the 'favourites' are the 'comfort ' foods... the things you would choose over and over, that have a…
Food & TraditionsHave these changed over time? I don't think there are any foods that I really dislike. That said there are some things I would…
Food & TraditionsHolidays give you the chance to step outside of the day to day. Different holidays evoke different kinds of memories. We have been fortunate…
Food & TraditionsThis is beginning to sound like a broken record ( now there's another expression that has probably done the way of the dodo.... does…
Food & TraditionsWhen I was little, in Scotland, we celebrated Halloween on the 31st. October. I only remember being big enough to go out 'guising' once.…
History Witnessed
When the moon landing took place on July 20.1969 I was firstly staying at the Newport Beach Hotel in California and then flying from…
History WitnessedWhat news interests you? News delivery has changed so much...it used to be morning, and also evening, newspapers, the radio and TV. For me…
History WitnessedI feel a little schizophrenic about this one.... because part of me thinks how much has changed in the UK where I grew up…
History WitnessedChange evolves slowly over time as it is absorbed into daily life. It is only when you look back that you realise how much…
History WitnessedVeteran's Day means remembering the sacrifices men & women and their familied have made in the name of working towards a world that is…
History WitnessedSo many inventions in my lifetime! which would I prefer to not do without? Easily enough …. it would be the PC. Where would…
History WitnessedBefore I can think back to life in the 60’s I should recall who I was back then. It was a decade full of…
History WitnessedSheila and I used to walk to school together when we lived in Whitley Bay. I went to Bygate Infants School while she walked…
History WitnessedDad & I took off on our honeymoon after our ‘wedding breakfast’. We were married at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bromley, Kent by the…
History WitnessedWhen JFK was assassinated on November 22 1963, I was in Grade 12 my last year at Beckenham Grammar School for Girls. I was…
Hobbies & Joys
Definitely not a morning person......tho' once I am up, I probably get my best work done in the morning. Actually getting up out of…
Hobbies & JoysWe certainly like to shop locally and support our local businesses, though not exclusively. The businesses where I feel we have a 'relationship' and…
Hobbies & JoysI don’t think I am particularly gifted in building or constructing.... but I do like conceiving a task and seeing it through to fruition,…
Hobbies & JoysEasy… summer…… I hate the cold, have no desire for any winter sports and dislike the short, dark, grey days of our northern hemisphere…
Hobbies & JoysSevere storms seem to be very topical at the moment, with all the talk of global warming… I have fortunately never been really impacted…
Hobbies & JoysI don't recall ever winning anything... either by sheer luck or through my own efforts.. that sounds a bit sad doesn't it!? My Scottish…
Hobbies & JoysI have always liked to write, I remember back to elementary school when I first found out the excitement of putting your thoughts onto…
Hobbies & JoysNever a straight yes/no answer is there? When we were children we did not have the huge amount of media coverage of all sorts…
Hobbies & JoysOK... this is going to be a short one..... Smells can be so evocative, they can transport us back years in an instant......so three…
Hobbies & JoysI don’t know how old I was when I learned to read, but I do remember loving books from a very early age. My…
Hobbies & JoysI have what could be described as eclectic musical tastes. Favourites? it could be AC/DC, the Beatles, Andrea Bocelli, Yo Yo Mah or Jimmy…
Hobbies & JoysSo what are we talking about here? is it the sort of 'songs' that we like to hum along with or even sing? or…
Hobbies & JoysHmmm.......well, as you know we do not have cable TV so the programs that we watch on the TV screen are things that Jim…
Hobbies & JoysI don’t remember learning to read, although I do remember being read to as a small child. Once I could read, I was a…
Hobbies & JoysI have a bit of a problem with this one... Today the cult of the 'celebrity' is so pervasive and the media 'hype' surrounding…
Hobbies & JoysWhen I stop to think about it, the games we played were the same as children still play, tag, hide & seek, dressing up....…
Hobbies & JoysThere are so many possible responses to this question… ‘best’ play…classical concert….rock music… ballet….. musical. When I think about it, I have been to…
Hobbies & JoysIt never seems like there is ever a straight answer to these questions..... If by funny it means doing something that makes other people…
Hobbies & JoysAside from the obvious, like house…. or car…..there were a couple of purchases that I made many years ago that filled me with a…
Hobbies & JoysAsk me…… I don’t want to commit it to paper……:-) Auntie Sheila is one of my favourite sources of jokes ………xx
Hobbies & JoysEasy..........Abba 'Dancing Queen' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s&feature=kp......AC DC 'You shook me all night long'https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=Lo2qQmj0_h4&feature=kp.....Sister Sledge 'We are f amily'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo2qQmj0_h4&featur e=kp Good times! great weddings.... xxxx
Hobbies & JoysPleasures of life.....I imagine you have to think of the five senses.... I love to see the ocean looking different every time you look…
Hobbies & JoysTelevision was relatively new in the 50’s and not many people actually had ‘sets’. The big push to get a television for many people…
Hobbies & JoysWe didn't have a lot of toys. In the post war years things were not available. We lived in Glasgow until I was nearly…
Hobbies & JoysI regard my musical tastes as being fairly eclectic, so this could be a fairly wide ranging answer. As a student in London we…
Hobbies & JoysI think I have loved Picasso for the amazing simplicity of line and probably El Greco for the passion in the images. If you…
Reflections & Wisdom
I’ve had a bit of time to think about this one, which hasn’t really made it any clearer …… A higher power? if we…
Reflections & WisdomI can't say as there is anything that I really miss. Now that we are retired, to wake up in the morning and have…
Reflections & WisdomGosh, these questions get harder.............does 'faith' mean a belief in or affiliation to an organized religion of some sort? I was brought up to…
Reflections & WisdomLife is a series of surprises, isn't it?...so it is hard to pick the 'greatest', and by and large I am not someone who…
Reflections & WisdomTwo important things.........how you think about yourself does not depend on what other people think about you. and....what you think about other people when…
Reflections & WisdomFor any woman I think the biggest physical challenge she will ever face is that of childbirth. No matter how straightforward the actual event…
Reflections & WisdomI think my ‘magnum opus’, the book we have just published would have to take the prize for this. Jim had worked on the…
Reflections & WisdomOh, what a question to someone who never listens to her own advice........ The standard response is to leave work at work... but that…
Reflections & WisdomMaterial possessions, personal achievements? There is no contest - I am ( we are) for sure proudest of the adults our kids have become…
Reflections & WisdomI was 40 in 1986 - Expo year in Vancouver where we lived, an amazing summer that lasted from May through until November. Jennie…
Reflections & WisdomWell, you ‘kids’ were 20, 18,17 and 14 when I was 50. I wonder if you remember what YOU were doing in 1996? I…
Reflections & WisdomIn Edinburgh 1968 in the flat we shared while both working at the Western General Hospital as newly graduated physiotherapists, Ann Leitch said to…
Reflections & WisdomI am going to change this question around a bit…….as it is difficult to pick one single person who has been most important in…
Reflections & WisdomInspiration.. OK, back to the dictionary definition….. 'the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.’ That…
Reflections & WisdomIf you are talking about the person whose values you share or shared the most, in relation to your own, I think for me…