The evening we arrived back from Madeira, still feeling like ‘bed would be the best option’, we went food shopping. Very good friends of ours had arrived from Devon and we were expecting them and two others for lunch the next day. I had no choice but to drag my annoyingly aching and pathetically sick body around the supermarket.
In a daze, clutching the shopping list I had made on the plane, I followed my husband up and down the aisles desperately hoping that I wouldn’t bump into anyone who knew me! My standards had plummeted and I hadn’t even bothered to repaint my lips. I just wanting to get back, have a long soaking bath and go to bed!
I need to explain that I have suffered many illnesses in the past. I have soldiered on throughout my significantly long working career sitting at my desk when I should have been at home. But I had never felt quite so bad! I can only presume that it must have been a particularly potent virus or, heaven forbid, I have become ‘soft? Is that what happens when one become a ‘Lady of Leisure’? No, it most definitely doesn’t and never will!
A couple of days later and moving on, (which I have!), the six of us ‘People of Leisure’ decided to spend a day at a National Trust working cotton mill. The engineers in our party would find the water wheel, that once drove the mill, fascinating. We girls, as good mates do, would wander around, catching up on family news and old friends (none of us at a loss for words!) while enjoying the sunshine in the early spring gardens. Lunch would be typical National Trust fare, which is always edible and saves any of us having to prepare.
The biting wind and my still ‘fuzzy’ head didn’t spoil the day. I have been to ‘Quarry Bank’ on a number of occasions and always found it thoroughly enjoyable. Wandering around the ‘Apprentice House’ on a guided tour gave us a sense of life in the early 1800’s before strict rules were introduced to protect the wellbeing of children. The owner of the mill treated his young workers significantly better than most and they were always well fed, but the lack of sunlight, the fine fibres and dust from the cotton, injuries from the machinery and long working hours certainly took their toll.
Life was hard but parents were desperate to get their children to work in these mills because they were taught basic literacy, even the girls, as part of their apprenticeship. If you were lucky enough to stay until you were eighteen your skills were highly acclaimed and there would be a ‘job for life’ either at Quarry Bank or any of the other cotton mills dotted around Lancashire.Thankfully times have changed!
Chatting to my friends as we put the world to rights made for an enjoyable day! We had similar upbringings and outlooks on life. However, being such good friends also allowed for occasional differences of opinion and these were respected and tactfully handled so as not to offend. Brexit was off the agenda! Thankfully! We now have an extension until the end of October so the debacle will go on and on and on …….
The sun is shining today. I need to get into the garden and get rid of the weeds before the ground cover, trees and shrubs take over. Oh the joy of being in control of my time and not have to leave everything for the weekend and hope for decent weather! I will never tire of this luxury! đź‘
Jenny Burrell 