Monday, October 22, 2012

A SCHOOL FRIEND

Hi Mum

I am just addressing this to you as I doubt Dad would remember friends I had years ago.  I am sure you would remember Hilary Moore that was with me at Perth College.

She did stay at our place in Coronation Street and I stayed at their place on the other side of the railway line in Mount Lawley just under the Lord Street subway.

Hilary, Pam and Betty and I formed a little group at PC and had lots of fun together including creeping down and eating our lunch under the fruit trees near the Intermediate school.  We knew we shouldn't be there which made it much more fun but we were doing no harm and fortunately never got caught.  I lost touch with the 3 girls after I left PC at the end of 1945.

The reason I mention Hilary is that my physiotherapist mentioned her mother's maiden name and I said I'd gone to school with a girl of that name and when I explained who she was and where she lived Jenny realised Hilary was actually her mum's cousin.  Talk about a small world!

I was given Hilary's current address so I wrote to her.  She is now a widow and lives in a retirement village in Cooloongup (near Rockingham) and she eventually telephoned me. We had quite a long chat and it turns out that neither she nor I enjoyed being at Perth College one little bit.  I know it cost you and dad quite a lot to send me there but you also know I couldn't wait to leave and after just 2 years I did and went to commercial college.  I have always appreciated the fact that the two of you must have gone without a lot to give me a good education.

Whether I will ever get to see Hilary or not I don't know and it hasn't been discussed.  She rang me recently when she had a really bad cold and I've written back to her but perhaps we are both too old now to really renew a very distant friendship.

Hilary has 5 children and from what she tells me they are a very close family and look after her when she needs it so perhaps she doesn't need more than an occasional letter from me or she may ring me again.  I hope she does as it is difficult to telephone her as she said she is seldom in her room.

Whatever the outcome it was just so great to talk to someone I'd not seen for about 67 years and we both remembered each other so well.

4 comments:

  1. How lovely to catch up with someone you had not seen in so long. And how lovely that times have changed and you could ring her or she you. I remember when long distance calls were kept very, very short and really only used in times of emergency.

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  2. Yes it was nice to chat with Hilary again after so long. Where she now lives is only about 30 minutes drive from our place but would be an STD call I think but if you have the right telephone plan you can talk for up to 2 hours for only $2 (or even less with some plans) and I would think that is the plan she would have with her family being spread through the metropolitan area.
    Thinking back I know we didn't have a telephone back in the 1940s (until we owned the corner store a year or two later) and not many people did have 'phones so communication was certainly not as easy as it is today.

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  3. How nice to catch up with someone after such a long time!

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  4. Yes Anne it certainly was but not sure how much contact there will be but can only hope. Welcome to my blog. I hope perhaps I will see you here again.

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