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Tangier

Helen and Jim's relationship, the Great Waverley Wrench c.1937


Mary Adams

Transcript
They were very... obviously they were devoted to each other. They weren't well matched I wouldn't have said, at all. I think she had the thin end of the wedge, rather. I think she had quite a hard time throughout our childhood and growing up to the extent that she was compelled by him to leave her two children, aged 14 and 16 or something or even less, at a strange boarding school where they had never been just before a major world conflagration and go abroad and live in Africa. She had to do that and I think it broke her, really, it was... I remember very much... because I didn't feel the solemnity of this but she did and she was very distressed about it. Used to call it 'The Great Waverley Wrench' because it happened on Waverley station platform... Bye!... and she just thought, well that's the end of that. Nowadays, I don't think a woman would do it but in those days you had to follow your man.

Walking in Tangier, 1937/38, and Helen's love of literature


Elisabeth Swan

Transcript
Their house was up on the mountain and one got very fond of the scenery, I mean, it was really Mediterranean scenery with wonderful views of the sea. We went every evening for a walk round the back which was quite a rough walk and we'd go to the Mediterranean coast and Mummy was always quoting, 'Nobly, nobly Cape St Vincent to the North-west died away; sunset ran, one glorious blood red, reeking into Cadiz Bay'. You know, she came out with quotations at the drop of a hat. She was so familiar with English literature really and poetry. So we really loved those walks and then we often had a session of being read to from a nice book before we went to bed.