A Damn Fine Growth

Autobiography of a Cockney Kid

This Autobiography was written at the insistence of a daughter who was curious about my life . Far from a dreadful childhood I laughed as I wrote it, - realizing it was ripe with the richness of the ever-cheery Cockney. Born in London opposite the Houses of Parliament I was the last of 16 children. Poverty and war; evacuation; my home destroyed; war work where the first jet engines were flown and refueling in flight invented. Seven brothers, my father, and my husband whod served aboard RMS Venus on those horrendous Russian Convoys in U-boat-infested waters, all had served King and Country. My husband never got over living at fever pitch. We emigrated to Canada and New Zealand, finally to California. Settled now in the Santa Clarita Valley with my second husband, I have been a docent for 26 years at the Los Angeles Zoo touring school children; visiting schools to show slides on the plight of endangered animals; reading to children at a local school; attending college classes and ongoing programs at the local Senior Center. Our children and grandchildren live close by; 24 around the Christmas table keeps us all happily connected. Attending Tai Chi classes with my husband, I took up playing the piano four years ago. I keep busy singing with a Senior group, writing stories, knitting and crocheting. Together we have travelled much of the globe. I hope the reader will find parallels of his own. Life is never as bad as we think!