Both my sets of grandparents were divorced (which I think was unusual at that time) and I only really knew my mother's mother. She helped my parents buy their first house and she lived with us. In many ways in my early years I was closer to her than my mother. Her maiden name and married name was Truelove (she married her cousin). I always thought it was a lovely name but pleased it wasn't mine after talking to my cousins who had that name and got ribbed at school. When my mother was just learning to talk she couldn't say Mama but said Baba instead and from then on my grandmother was known by everyone as Baba. She was born in 1882 and died in 1976.

From my earliest memories up until was about 5 or 6 Baba and I spent loads of time together. Thinking about it, that was probably only about 2 or 3 years but it seems much longer. We both woke early and regularly went for "before breakfast" walks over the downs. I loved listening to her tell me stories about her early life. She was brought up in a pub "The Hanover Arms" in Rye Lane, Peckam, which her grandfather owned and where she lived with her parents and many of her fathers brothers and sisters. Possibly this is how she became close to the cousin she eventually married. When her grandfather died, the pub was sold and her father, with his share of the proceeds, purchased another much smaller pub, which she ran with him for many years. Her mother had died some time before this.

I remember her telling me about times during the Second World War, how the cowardly German pilots would drop their bombs as soon as they got over the coast of England rather than face the guns further inland (I'm guessing that was mostly propaganda). We played cards, did endless jigsaw puzzles together and I was always required to help her wind wool for her knitting projects. Thinking back it seems that there was always an item of knitwear being unpicked and re-knitted. I remember sitting there patiently with my hands about a foot apart, while she wound wool round them before it was tied into hanks and the wool was washed. When I was about 6 or 7 she said that she would love it if she lived long enough to meet the girl I marry but said that she did not expect that to be possible. I didn't understand at the time why it was unlikely, I guess mainly because I hadn't experienced the death of anyone I knew and expected everyone to live forever.

As time went on I spent more and more time with my friends and we became less close. She was getting frailer, didn't walk so much and I was getting into the things that boys do! I now feel a little sad that I neglected her somewhat in her last years, however when I learnt to drive I did take her out in my car a few times. Eventually she had to go into a nursing home and again I feel ashamed that I only visited her a few times. I did take Barbara to see her once though before she died and therefore her wish to meet my wife was fulfilled.