Was it really St Swithin's Day yesterday. Facebook said it was so I suppose it must be true. It remained dry here all day, with just a teeny tiny amount of drizzle late afternoon so we thought we would be safe for the next 40 days and nights...but around 11 p.m. last evening down came the rains! But, you know what they say, the gardens and the farmers need it so all is not lost!
You may have noticed I have not been around for a while, that is because of the little one in the picture!
This is my gorgeous little grandaughter, Lucy, at MY HOME when she, her equally gorgeous big sister, Alice, and my daughter, the giver of said gorgeous children, came to from Sydney to visit us for the whole glorious month of June. Lucy looks as if she has been on a Pitman Typing Course! Having them all here for so long was fabulous, exhausting and amazing and such a treat to be a real Granny instead of a virtual one. I think I was a good granny but you will have to ask my daughter that!
Pitman Shorthand and Typing courses will not mean anything to my younger readers. I am of an age when girls like me had only a few obvious choices of career. Nursing, Teaching, working in a shop or working in an office... No point being ambitious because you would meet a man, and very soon after leave work and have children. This was the general attitude in the circles I moved it during the early 60's. I took a course at Secretarial Course at Salisbury College when I was 17 and passed with good grades. I loved shorthand but was not that keen on the typing, which was a shame as there was not much call for a Shorthand Secretary!
So many things have changed in my time and not all for the better. I do feel sorry for girls who feel they have to go back to work to continue on their career path when they would much prefer to stay at home as full time Mums. Not all of us are destined to be Leaders of Men! There I go again showing my age....
That is one of my little soap boxes aired and as I have not had my first cup of coffee yet I think I will love you and leave you to enjoy the weekend.
Lovely picture of Lucy, and I'm sure Karen and the girls would say you are a great granny (in the sense of being great, rather than a generation older than you are, if you see what I mean!)
ReplyDeleteAll I ever wanted to do with my life was to get married and have a family - well I've done it twice now, but I dont think a third time is on the cards, but I do remember teaching myself to touch type on an old smith corona portable typewriter that my dad bought me, just in case I ever needed to work in an office. Shorthand though was like a foreign language - too much to remember!
Hope you enjoy your coffee, and the rest of the weekend xx
Oh the memories - we of a certain age. I was taught typing at school and clearly remember a metronome click click click to make sure we all kept to a constant beat. Glad you had a fabby June with your daughter and grandchildren. It is not easy being a virtual nana is it? My daughter lives in Canada - no children yet tho. Hubby took me for a flying visit - literally, a long weekend cause I missed her so much. It is hard, but we have them, bring them and let them fly the nest to make their future - we made a too gooder job of it Jean as they are smart and confident to make their future on a foreign shore which must have been a hard decision to make. Thank goodness for skype - although it is not the same, it is better than a letter once a month or so.
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely post jean and what a fabulous reason for not blogging, it must have been wonderful having your girls there for a whole month.
ReplyDeleteon the typing front my old form class at school was the typing room with typewriters that lifted out of the desk a bit like a sewing machine!! although i never took typing at school, probably would have come in handy now if i had with all this blogging...
seeing your post jogged something in my memory about an apple fabric bag is that right? did you still want one i know it was some time ago so don't worry if not just thought i'd ask as it was in my mind (before it disappears again!)
What a cute little Granddaughter! You are a lovely Grandma...have to be as you are a lovely person.
ReplyDeleteI too feel sorry for young women these days who feel that they have to go out to work rather than stay at home and be a full time mum, unfortunately I think women have themselves to blame for wanting equal rights and equal opportunities. It's a double edge sword.