Greta Romaine

Illustration by Heather Hookey

When the War was over

When the War was over and we were getting back to normal at home, the younger folk began to  take up hobbies and activities.  By then I was a teenager and friends became very important.

We would go up to the High Street at Sidcup on Saturday mornings and for an hour my cousin (the same cousin I was evacuated with) and I would go in the big church and would clean the big gold cross and any other adornments on the altar.

Boys  

Feeling good after doing what we felt was a dedication to our religious principles- we rushed off to the high street buffet which served a good mug of tea and lovely buttered crusts.  Mind you, at that age, we did have an eye open to see if any boys we liked just happened by!

If I saw my favourite, I would be too frightened to speak but would think about him all day and when I went to bed at night.

He was in the boys' half of the school I went to.  We never had mixed classes then.  We did get to talking and the ultimate experience came when one day he passed me a note via one of his friends.  It began, 'To Nobby of 3A',  (my name being Clark, I was always called 'Nobby').

Despite its peculiar beginning, it went on to declare his love for me.  Although written in pencil on a piece of his exercise book, I managed to treasure the  now tatty piece of folded paper and I smile when I see it in my souvenir drawer.

Postman's Knock

In those days, we had birthday parties until we were sixteen and would invite the boys we liked because it was always accepted that we would play 'Postman's Knock'.  It was the only way we could make sure we had a kiss.  We would hold hands occasionally which was a treasured experience.  As the saying goes, we couldn't wash our hands or we might wash it away.

He was in short trousers at first, as lads then had to really mature, or start work, to be allowed to wear long trousers.  I had a photo of him but it was torn in half as he had to tear off the half which had another girl on it.

He actually jilted me in the end for a girl who made a great play for him- and won-  as she was much more forward than me.  I was devastated but it was a sequence of events which went on for a few years, as we fell in love with the next one - but you don't forget the first.