‘And who did they marry?’ Sheila ventured to ask.
‘Dollie’s married to a bus conductor, Connie’s hubby is a motor mechanic, and Minnie did quite well for herself. In 1953, she was an usher in a cinema, and there she met our George, a crane driver. He was a great picture-goer; even now, you can’t unglue him from the telly when there’s a good film on.’ He laughed at his recollection of his kindly brother-in-law.
‘And what about you?’ Sheila’s eyes twinkled as she surveyed the fine-looking, middle-aged man.
‘Me?’ He reddened, and then said shyly, ‘Well, I’m courting. I’m a bosun now, earning well; but I wanted to be free of any domestic responsibility for a while…’
Sheila nodded. ‘But having nobody of your own is lonely, isn’t it?’
‘Aye, it is. I’ve finally realised it!’ He grinned.
This exchange between Danny and Sheila alerted Martha to her friend’s inner desolation, in comparison with her own joy. She broke in, ‘Aye, Sheila, love, you must be feeling lonely, like nothing on earth. But you don’t have to worry. You’ve got me. And Number Nine will keep an eye on both of us, won’t you, Jamie?’
‘Of course,’ he replied without hesitation and with a gentle smile towards Sheila. ‘I’ve already asked if I can be moved to a Liverpool parish.’
He had not yet realised that in addition to finding his mother, for which he was truly thankful, he had acquired an adopted Auntie Sheila.
Still less did he realise that a certain Great Lady, to whom he frequently addressed his prayers, was enlisting mortals to arrange that mother and aunt would, for years, look after him, and, often, his fellow priests, as they ministered to a Liverpool flock.
To be free to do his job properly, the Great Lady had argued to herself, even the holiest, most humble of priests needs a housekeeper. In a presbytery, with their pensions restored to them, so that they were not wholly dependent upon Number Nine, these two elderly ladies, between them, would do very well; over the years they would probably look after a number of priests.
And she would make sure that she motivated a handyman in their parish who could and would adapt a kitchen to a wheelchair.
Satisfied, that she had done her best as an interceder, she quietly blessed the little group around the bed in the care home, and equally quietly withdrew.
Martha and Sheila never forgot her. Regularly in their prayers, they thanked the Dear Lady and her Beloved Son for their extraordinary good luck, as they felt it must be, to have such a nice presbytery in which to live and such good men to care for.
About the Author
Helen Forrester was born in Hoylake, Cheshire, the eldest of seven children. For many years, until she married, her home was Liverpool – a city that features prominently in her work. For the past fifty years she has lived in Alberta, Canada.
Helen Forrester is the author of four bestselling volumes of autobiography – Twopence to Cross the Mersey, Liverpool Miss, By the Waters of Liverpool and Lime Street at Two – and a number of equally successful novels, most recently Madame Barbara. In 1988 she was awarded an honorary D.Litt by the University of Liverpool in recognition of her achievements as an author. The University of Alberta conferred on her the same honour in 1993.
A Cuppa Tea and an Aspirin is published exactly 40 years after Helen Forrester’s much loved book, Twopence to Cross the Mersey.
Praise for Helen Forrester
‘A writer of such affectionate understanding and unsettling honesty.’
Sunday Telegraph
‘Enjoyable… moving. The author loves her subject and writes with conviction.’
Sunday Times
‘Records of hardship during the thirties are not rare; but this has features that make it stand apart…should be long and widely read as an extraordinary human story and social document.’
Observer
‘An impressive record of what it is like to be very poor… written with a simplicity which is moving and memorable.’
Homes and Gardens
‘What makes this writer’s self-told tale so memorable? An absolute recall, a genius for the unforgettable detail, the rare chance of subject.’
The Good Book Guide
‘A fascinating autobiography which has also gained a new topicality… highly gripping and entertaining.’
Birmingham Post
‘The story of a young girl’s courage and perseverance against adversity… warm-hearted and excellent.’
Manchester Evening News
Other Works
FICTION
Thursday’s Child
The Latchkey Kid
Most Precious Employee
Liverpool Daisy
Three Women of Liverpool
The Moneylenders of Shahpur
Yes, Mama
The Lemon Tree
The Liverpool Basque
Mourning Doves
Madame Barbara
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Twopence to Cross the Mersey
Liverpool Miss
By the Waters of Liverpool
Lime Street at Two
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2003
Copyright © Helen Forrester 2003
Helen Forrester asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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EPub Edition © AUGUST 2012 ISBN: 9780007387380
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