Mark’s Birth

Eileen and I have to settle down together in our new home with the new car and she with the new job. There was a lot to do in the garden. This plot of land had included  a stone  quarry and had also been used for waste disposal from our local hospital. Close to the rear of the House was a drop of some 15 feet which revealed the quarry face. From the rear windows of the House we looked out at the tops of  acacia and silver birch trees. These trees grew up from the lower part of the garden 15 ft below. Indoors there was still work to be done. Decoration was not complete and tiling in the bathroom.Meanwhile we advertised for tenants for all the rooms upstairs. But due to the shortage of accommodation we had many applicants. All seemed worthy tenant’s but when a top sergeant in the American Air Force arrived with his wife we finally made up our mind.Mike worked it in the control tower at  Brize Norton aerodrome. We became firm were friends and were sorry to see them go when, much later, his posting back to the States arrived.

We were both anxious to be blessed by children and two years later arrangements had to be made for new arrival. There was a last minute anxious time.  Arrangements had been made with the local midwife and with our the GP to ring them when the birth became due.  At that time because of shortages of telephone lines we were sharing a line with another.  When I picked up the telephone to make the calls it was engaged by the person sharing the line.  I therefore had to cycle along to the nearest phone box and telephone from there.The local midwife had a very good  reputation and our  GP specialised in childbirth. Mark was born at home but I was a ushered out of the room for the new arrival.