Let's see now..what did my Mum do in the war? Well, she was a nurse mid-wife in Glasgow, cared for the men who were rescued from the battle for the heavy water plant in Narvick, Norway, cared for men from torpedoed French ships(despite the fact that they did not want her to touch them because they decided she was a witch because of her flaming red hair). She delivered babies in everything from a circus to tenements, going out in everything from bad weather to bomb attacks.
Despite a fear of heights, my mother spent the Blitz firewatching from the roof of the Odeon, Leicester Square (where she worked). Knowing what she was like about clothes, she probably added a few glamorous touches to her firewatching uniform. But I've often wondered if she still insisted on wearing heels when she had to scramble up the ladder ...
Linda Grant is a novelist and journalist. She won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000 and the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage in 2006. She writes for the Guardian, Telegraph and Vogue. Her latest novel, The Clothes on Their Backs was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. For further information including upcoming literary festivals bookstore readings etc see her website at www.lindagrant.co.uk
The People on the Street (Winner of the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage 2006)
Still Here (Fiction 2002)
When I Lived in Modern Times (Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2000)
Remind Me Who I Am Again (Non-fiction 1998)
The Cast Iron Shore (Fiction 1996)
Sexing the Millenium (Non-Fiction 1993)
This blog believes
'A good handbag makes the outfit.'
'Only the rich can afford cheap shoes'
'The only thing worse than being skint is looking as if you're skint.'
'A new dress is a great help in all circumstances.' (Noel Streatfeild)
'The only true and lasting meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual, in his modest peculiarities and his right to these peculiarities.' (Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate.)
3 comments:
Let's see now..what did my Mum do in the war? Well, she was a nurse mid-wife in Glasgow, cared for the men who were rescued from the battle for the heavy water plant in Narvick, Norway, cared for men from torpedoed French ships(despite the fact that they did not want her to touch them because they decided she was a witch because of her flaming red hair). She delivered babies in everything from a circus to tenements, going out in everything from bad weather to bomb attacks.
Despite a fear of heights, my mother spent the Blitz firewatching from the roof of the Odeon, Leicester Square (where she worked). Knowing what she was like about clothes, she probably added a few glamorous touches to her firewatching uniform. But I've often wondered if she still insisted on wearing heels when she had to scramble up the ladder ...
My grandma was a nurse in an American Army field hospital in France, World War One.
-- desertwind
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