Sunday 30 August 2009

Three weeks to go and about my Mam.


Hello Strumpets,

I would like to tell you some stuff about my Mother, whose battle with Cancer was the main reason for getting up and doing something to try and help supporting those caring for people affected by this awful illness.

Mary Lydia Davies was 73 when she died, but if you`d met her up to six months before she died, you would have put her early sixties, definitely. She was born in Blackpool, and as a result we were brought up understanding Lancashire phrases such as "raight Gradely" (really good), "jedabong" (lovely), and the acronym G.Y.P.H, which meant time for bed, (she never knew what the acronym stood for, her Mother had just always said it to her).

She`d met Dad, a Boro lad who was on a jolly boys, in Blackpool, and they were married within three months. They had Four children, I was number 4, and were married for forty seven years. This year would have been their Golden Anniversary.
Mam was a talented artist, who always encouraged me to explore any field I could. She told me the fable of the wind and the sun at an early age, and would often remind me that bluster would get me nowhere, and just to be myself. When i told her I was thinking of becoming a nurse, she just said learn about the game, not just the rules. Advice I still give to students assigned to me.

She was the type of person who never wondered whether the glass was half full or half empty, she just enjoyed the drink. She was the person who made me feel safe, who made me believe there was a Santa Claus and a tooth fairy, and the person who at the end, needed me to change roles and become the parent. She was and still is, along with my Dad, my inspiration as a parent. And I know she would have been so proud watching Harry and Grace grow up.

This is why I`m doing this. As my ever pragmatic wife has mentioned to me, it`s not what she would have wanted (another twenty years would have been the answer to that), it`s what she would have done.

Mary Lydia Davies. 2/12/1932 - 7/11/2006.



Well I`ve just completed a 20K walk with the banjo on me back, in it`s case of course. Thats about half a mile short of the 13.1 miles required for the Great North Run. I now really believe that I can do this. I`m recovering quite well at the moment and not walking like an incontinent John Wayne for three days following.

This Blogspot business is quite the thing. It`s getting quite a global viewing. People from Countries visiting the Blog include, America, New Zealand, Australia, Dubai, Spain, Canada, The Netherlands, and Germany. A massive thank you, and greeting to the overseas visitors. Hope you`re enjoying it.
Till the next one, keep smiling,

Mark.

2 comments:

  1. MY GAWD Mark, you nearly had me in tears and I already know that story! how much do your kids look like your mum? always thought it was lou they looked like till I saw a pic of your ma and the kids together!keep plucking hun.x

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