please allow me to introduce myself......
The CBB -> St Hild's Sitting Room
#1: please allow me to introduce myself...... Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:06 pm

A very large and rabid bunny was waiting for me at the end of the bed this morning. He wouldn't let go!


I’ll never forget how beautiful she looked on the day we were married.

I’m not much of a chap really. I’ve always viewed women as a pastime, something of a challenge, once explored never to revisit. I enjoyed conquering new territories, but never wanted to colonise.

I’d never thought I’d end up married let alone to someone so lovely and vivacious as her.

I knew she was a teacher at a school, because I’d seen her walking with a group of students in charge of them. It was obvious they loved and respected her, and she them.

I fell in love that day and vowed that if I ever married it would be to this woman and this woman alone.


It is a pity that I cannot remain faithful to her.

Last edited by tiffinata on Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:16 am; edited 2 times in total

 

#2:  Author: Katie, Location: A Yorkshire lass in London PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:09 pm

Looks good, tiffinata. Looking forward to finding out who our protagonist is. Very Happy

 

#3:  Author: Róisín, Location: Vancouver for now PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:16 pm

This sounds intriguing!

 

#4:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 1:23 pm

Oooooh new drabble....with infidelities!

Excellent - thanks Tiffinata

 

#5:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 1:32 pm

Well judging by his current reputation on the board does it not have to be Phil Graves...

 

#6:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 1:35 pm

I thought it might be Phil too, but he met Hilary during the Lake Lucerne drama didn't he and knew she was a teacher right away. Hmm - I don't know!

Thanks Tiffinata

 

#7:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 1:44 pm

Eugen Courvoisier? Vivacious/loved/respected sounds like Biddy ... just guessing!

 

#8:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 3:02 pm

I hope it is not Eugen - Biddy deserves better than that. Sounds like our one and only Phil Graves, though!!

 

#9:  Author: Josie, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 3:03 pm

Oooo - this looks good!

Thanks tiffinata! Very Happy

 

#10:  Author: Cazx, Location: Swansea/Bristol PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 3:09 pm

Oh a mystery! Very Happy
Can someone explain to me where Phil Graves reputation has come from?

 

#11:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 3:21 pm

Quote:
Can someone explain to me where Phil Graves reputation has come from?


He was the one who got Kathie pregnant in Nicola's drabble, 'The Other Side of Love'. I'm not sure what else he has been up to in other drabbles, though!

 

#12:  Author: Alex, Location: Cambs, UK PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 3:54 pm

Also he was a bit nasty to Kate the Pharmacist, and then Jennie had a few words to say on the subject as well...

 

#13:  Author: Rosy, Location: Gloucestershire-London-Aberystwyth PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:11 pm

Nell wrote:
Well judging by his current reputation on the board does it not have to be Phil Graves...


I thought so too!

 

#14:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:23 pm

Oooh very interesting, thank you tiffinata

*undecided on who it might be*

 

#15:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:25 pm

Mia wrote:
I thought it might be Phil too, but he met Hilary during the Lake Lucerne drama didn't he and knew she was a teacher right away. Hmm - I don't know!

Thanks Tiffinata


Actually, Phil and Hilary met in 'Carola' when Phil rescued a little girl from the river. Eugen met Biddy when he helped rescue Margot from Lake Lucerne.

Thanks, Tiffinata. That was a brilliant start - I look forward to more.

 

#16:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:25 pm

I immediately thought of Jem Shocked but may well be totally wrong.... (wouldn't be the first time! Wink )

Thankyou, tiffinata Smile

 

#17:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:41 pm

Chair wrote:
Mia wrote:
I thought it might be Phil too, but he met Hilary during the Lake Lucerne drama didn't he and knew she was a teacher right away. Hmm - I don't know!


Actually, Phil and Hilary met in 'Carola' when Phil rescued a little girl from the river. Eugen met Biddy when he helped rescue Margot from Lake Lucerne.


You're so right - it's just so hard to separate these gorgeous SLOCs and their heroic deeds! Embarassed

 

#18:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:38 am

Love the speculation!!
for some reason the words of a rolling stones number came to mind as I wrote

Fate played into my hands later that day.
It was the middle of winter and the school’s half term holiday. The school had come to Tenby to visit the Bosherston Lily ponds and I had been walking my dog.
One of the younger children ran away from the group, calling about a water –rat. I had no idea why she wanted to see it, horrible dirty bitey disease ridden things. If you’d had to treat the number of fishermen bitten by them and try to prevent septicaemia you’d hate them too.
The little girl fell into the pond and an older girl dived into it to rescue her and a teacher was frantically trying to raise her head above water.
Rough, (my dog) and I were close enough to be of help and luckily I never go anywhere without my knife. The girl was blue with cold and barely breathing. I began to apply artificial respiration but knew that if we didn’t get her warm quickly she’d suffer from hypothermia.
I glanced up and my own heart missed a beat. There was the woman I saw earlier, and I was so close. She was even more beautiful than I had thought.
I told my goddess that the little one was alive but would need to come to my house for treatment
‘Phil Graves at your service’
‘I am Hilary Burn’

Last edited by tiffinata on Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:46 am; edited 1 time in total

 

#19:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:39 am

So it is Phil Graves! Thanks for putting us out of our misery, tiffinata.

 

#20:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:19 am

Thanks Tiffinata

Seems Phil has fallen hard - but why can't he stay faithful?

Liz

 

#21:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:29 am

Awwww, he was a hero then - seems he has a flaw in an otherwise good character.

Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#22:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:17 am

Poor Hilary - she really has married a rotter!

 

#23:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:41 am

Thanks, Tiffinata. I look forward to finding out why he finds it so hard to stay faithful to Hilary.

 

#24:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:51 pm

I kept Hilary with me for couple of weeks. Her hands were cut from the weeds and she had developed a nasty cold. Sure, she was well enough to go back to school, but I having found her I wasn’t going to lose her so soon. An outbreak of German measles helped keep her away from school. With my sister Helen there to play chaperone she felt comfortable.

I didn't. I found my appetite for woman had increased and became increasingly frustrated.

After she went back to the Chalet school I found many excuses to visit and see how she was doing. I learned about the close relationship between the school and the San. I had attended many conferences and had met up with Jack Maynard and Frank Peters on a number of occasions.
Soon I had been offered a job at the San.

 

#25:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 2:52 am

He already sounds like a scheming rat!
Thank you tiffinata.

 

#26:  Author: Liane, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:25 am

Thought it must be Phil. Isn't he loved! I agree wiht Fatima though he already sounds nasty.

 

#27:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:13 am

my friends, he does have some redeeming features!
Or so my bunny told me


Thumper has insisted I not tell you until tomorrow. He didn't get the name thumper for nothing!
Ouch!

 

#28:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:57 am

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm really enjoying reading Phil's PoV.

 

#29:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:06 pm

I asked Helen to ask Hilary to stay one weekend before the Sale. She and I wandered around the town during the afternoon, enjoying each other’s company. I had to be near her, allowing my hand to gently brush hers in passing. Her scent was intoxicating. I recognised the particular brand of soap she used, the same as many women in my life had used, but none had had the same effect on me.

When we got home Helen was out. I made us a cup of tea and sat down next to her on the couch. I leant over and took her hand. She smiled and snuggled closer. I told her I had fallen in love with her and kissed her gently.

The tea was left to go cold.

 

#30:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:08 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm glad Hilary had a different effect on him than other women had had.

 

#31:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:36 pm

It has been fascinating reading all the comments.

Some believe 'give a dog a bad name and hang him'
Others believe maybe he has a good side after all.

nobody is pure evil all the time and even God rested on the 7th day.

Thumper the bunny has been joined by Bruiser the Bilby. Sleep was not an option last night. I think I need to set the cat onto them.


Andrea

 

#32:  Author: aitchemelle, Location: West Sussex PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:57 pm

Thank you Tiffinata!
I have only just found this and it looks great so far!!

 

#33:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 9:08 pm

Thanks Tiffinata

Wonder if Hilary knows about his other women?

Liz

 

#34:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:27 am

LizB, Hilary does indeed know!
I have read, marked and inwardly digested the many tales on the board. Some with Phil, some without.
Thank you to the people who inspired Thumper and Bruiser to borrow.


Hilary became a frequent visitor to my home. We spent many afternoons and evenings conquering new territories, (preferably while Helen was out) . Being a PT mistress had left her quite flexible. The only thing we didn’t try was swinging from the chandeliers – mostly because I didn’t have any. I was often tempted to hire the local ballroom for an afternoon but decided if anything went wrong it would be too hard to explain.

Hilary had told me she was having far too much fun to get married and give up half her life. She loved to live life as if every single minute of the day was her last and wasn’t going to give it up and settle down for anyone.
I was rather surprised and a bit shocked when she whispered to me one evening just exactly what it was she adored about the mailman –and it wasn’t his blue eyes!
She wanted to know about other women in my life in blow- by- blow detail. I was reluctant to tell her fearing she’d react badly or become jealous. After some not so gentle persuasion in the school gymnasium I told.
It was the beginning of a lifelong game for us

At this time I found I didn’t have a lot of time for other women. Still I found time to explore a couple (I shared the tale) and found they couldn’t hold a candle to my Hilary.
I realised I had found my soul mate. I wanted to marry her so badly it hurt but I didn’t push her, fearing that I might lose her, yet hoping she would change her mind.

Then came the day Hilary told me she was pregnant

 

#35:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:47 am

tiffinata wrote:
The only thing we didn’t try was swinging from the chandeliers – mostly because I didn’t have any. I was often tempted to hire the local ballroom for an afternoon but decided if anything went wrong it would be too hard to explain.


ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL

Thanks Tiffinata

*wondering whether Phil or the milkman is the father*

Liz

 

#36:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:35 am

Looks like Phil isn't the only one who's sampled!

And I'm trying not to grin too much about the flexible part! Laughing

 

#37:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:59 am

Quote:
Being a PT mistress had left her quite flexible. The only thing we didn’t try was swinging from the chandeliers – mostly because I didn’t have any


Poor Felicity (17 months old) is in the other room and must have been wondering what the strangled shriek was just then! Laughing Laughing Laughing

How interesting, Tiffinata - I certainly hadn't anticipated Hilary being just as bad as Phil!!! Shocked Very Happy

 

#38:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:35 am

Lol!! Laughing Laughing

A nice alternative side to Hilary too, they were obviously made for each other! Is that why they ended up in South Africa?

 

#39:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:04 am

Er, South Africa?

 

#40:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:18 am

Oh well, here's the last update for the evening as this little Aussie has to go to bed.
teeth Kiss ZZZZ

‘Marry me, darling’ I asked her again.
‘Phil, you’re a doctor, help me get rid of it. I don’t want to be trapped’.
I had performed terminations before, but never my own child. It wasn’t something I liked to do, but felt it was far better for me, a doctor, to do it safely rather than some back street job where the patient may just as easily die as live. I knew I could never do that for Hilary. I tried to convince her that our lives wouldn’t have to change too much.
Jo Maynard had confided to Hilary a few months earlier that she was expecting number 7 in the autumn. Jo enjoyed being pregnant and Hilary watched her with growing understanding.

Hilary began to tell me a little about the time at the beginning of the war when she had to flee the Nazis in Austria and how she hated the feeling of being trapped. As she cried it out on my shoulder I realised she had never told anyone this before. I held her in my arms and rocked her gently back and forth. I kissed away the tears. When the storm had subsided she lay quietly in my arms
‘Ask me again’
I looked into her eyes. ‘My darling Hilary will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’
‘Yes Phil I will marry you’. She smiled softly.

I loved her and I knew now she both loved and trusted me.

I was a happy man
Wink

 

#41:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:21 am

Thanks Andrea! Very Happy

 

#42:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:55 am

I was about to get all wibbly, but then it turned very sweet! Smile

Thanks!

 

#43:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:13 pm

Thanks for the update! Why does

Quote:
I knew now she both loved and trusted me


make me feel nervous?

 

#44:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:44 pm

Thanks Tiffinata - glad she decided to accept Very Happy

Liz

 

#45:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:14 pm

Glad she accepted, but shocked that she first asked Phil to get rid of pregnancy. Glad that didn't happen.

Thanks Tiffinata

 

#46:  Author: aitchemelle, Location: West Sussex PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:09 pm

Fatima wrote:
Thanks for the update! Why does

Quote:
I knew now she both loved and trusted me


make me feel nervous?

Me too Fatima! That can't be good!!

 

#47:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:37 pm

I hadn't expected all that about Hilary, but it's much better than her being the wronged wife!

 

#48:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:42 pm

Thanks to Ally for clearing up the 'South Africa' Query.
I only have the paperback of 'Barbara' and it is mentioned in the hardback.

Perhaps it could be their honeymoon?

*off to talk to thumper and bruiser to see if they can rewrite*

 

#49:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:52 pm

Lesley wrote:
Glad she accepted, but shocked that she first asked Phil to get rid of pregnancy. Glad that didn't happen.


I worked with a couple of women who used termination as their method of birth control and was present at a time when they were discussing it. The reaction Hilary felt was theirs.

 

#50:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:41 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm glad Phil and Hilary have their own understanding.

 

#51:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:50 pm

tiffinata wrote:
Lesley wrote:
Glad she accepted, but shocked that she first asked Phil to get rid of pregnancy. Glad that didn't happen.


I worked with a couple of women who used termination as their method of birth control and was present at a time when they were discussing it. The reaction Hilary felt was theirs.


Oh I know it happens - just didn't see Hilary as one that would have that attitude

 

#52:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:06 am

Hilary and I had our honeymoon in South Africa. There had been some changes proposed for the San. There were plenty of other doctors who could fill my role and we wanted some time on our own away from prying eyes. South Africa had some wonderful natural beauty we wanted to explore.

Jack Maynard cabled me there and asked me to join the new Swiss San. He offered me the tiny obstetrics department as part of my main job. I accepted
I admired Jack and looked up to him.
I had overheard Jo remark to someone that Jack was ‘a six foot two specimen of manhood’. I envied his height and good looks. I’m 5 ft 6, nondescript mousy brown hair that is inclined to look like it needs a cut the day after. I have a large nose and a face that Helen described to a friend as ‘a bit weaselly poor chap’. That’s why I became a doctor. So I’d have a bit of status and influence. Surely that would outweigh my lack of beauty?
It did. The doctor was always right.

 

#53:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:36 am

tiffinata wrote:
That’s why I became a doctor. So I’d have a bit of status and influence.


Certainly true as far as the Chalet School women are concerned! & how convenient for him to be in charge of the obstetrics department so he'll get to see the women patients. It'll probably be quite a busy department given the amazingly high birth rate on the Gornetz Platz. Thanks, this is great!

 

#54:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:16 am

Alison H wrote:
[ Thanks, this is great!

Awww, you're so nice (blushing bashfully)
Thank you

 

#55:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:08 am

It's very good, I'm completely intrigued! Smile

 

#56:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 12:12 pm

Poor Phil - what a sad reason for his career choice.

Thanks Tiffinata Very Happy

Liz

 

#57:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 1:47 pm

What terrible self esteem - thanks Tiffinata.

 

#58:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:58 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. Thanks for showing us what goes on inside Phil's head.

 

#59:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:00 am

I flew out a couple of weeks before my wife to help get the San sorted and find a chalet. How I enjoyed saying ‘my wife!’
I found I missed Hilary more than I wanted to admit in those early days.

On the plane out I met a lovely young French widow with the most fascinating blue eyes.
We found we were in the same hotel.


She had no need to go back to her room that night.

 

#60:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:42 am

Sounds like he's turning in to a regular Jack! Smile These San doctors Laughing

Wonder what Hilary was up to while he was gone?

 

#61:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:04 am

Yes, I'd like to see what Hilary was up to as well Laughing Laughing

Thanks Andrea

 

#62:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:27 am

Mia wrote:
I'd like to see what Hilary was up to as well



Ahh, that's for her to tell!

Wink
I installed a new chandelier in our Chalet- along with some gym equipment, telling people that ‘once a gym mistress, always a gym mistress’.
In a bottom drawer were a few articled of horse riding gear- not that we planned to ever own a horse, let alone ride one.

Jack and Jo Maynard had arrived before me. Even so soon after the birth of her twins Jo was still an attractive woman. However I had my rules- don’t touch the boss’s wife. If Jo had shown any sign of being interested I would have been sorely tempted.

I found in the early days of doctoring that many women of poorer classes were prepared to pay for medical services for their families in other ways. I had often brought home gifts of food or been offered other payment.
I would take whatever was offered.

Switzerland was no exception.

 

#63:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 11:01 am

So does Jo show she's interested? And does Hilary reciprocate with Jack? Laughing

 

#64:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:13 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. The idea of Joey and Phil had never entered my head before just now!

 

#65:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:29 pm

Hey, they got the chandelier Laughing

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#66:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:58 pm

tiffinata wrote:
In a bottom drawer were a few articled of horse riding gear- not that we planned to ever own a horse, let alone ride one.


*splutters*

Thanks tiffinata! Laughing

 

#67:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:00 pm

Love the varied sex life! Laughing Laughing

 

#68:  Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!! PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:56 pm

*chokes at the gym equipment and horse riding stuff!*

 

#69:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:56 pm

Thanks Tiffinata - this is such fun! Laughing Laughing

 

#70:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:03 pm

I always wondered why the last daughter was called Phillipa myself! However none of the parties mentioned in the above posts were forthcoming with information.
Perhaps Annonybunny may be more successful!

Hilary arrived fairly soon after and our house became a home.

They were busy times waiting for our first child to arrive. We had to get the nursery sorted and the San was receiving its fair share of new patients. TB was our main concern, but we couldn’t turn any one away.

An outbreak of German measles kept everyone busy. Luckily my wife never caught it. I know it was the last trimester and the risks were different, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I was terrified.
I had seen back in England children who had been damaged when their mother contracted Rubella in the first trimester.
Many were seriously retarded and had been placed in institutions. The family was told to go away and forget they ever had this child.

This was another reason why I performed terminations.

I looked forward to the day when a vaccine was possible, to prevent such tragedies as these.


My neighbour's first child was one who was born after an encounter with Rubella. She is now 50 and has finally been put into an institution because her parents who are over 70 can no longer cope It was very hard for them.

Last edited by tiffinata on Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:30 am; edited 1 time in total

 

#71:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:36 pm

That's really sad. We're lucky that girls all get vaccinated at 12/13 nowadays.


Re Joey and Phil, there always seemed to be rather too many comments in the books about how there was "no monotony" regarding the Maynard children, i.e. how they didn't look alike. A bit suspicious methinks!

 

#72:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:39 pm

That's terrible Sad I had a friend who's mother had had rubella when pregnant with her sister - it seems she got off lightly by being profoundly deaf Sad

 

#73:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:41 pm

Thanks Tiffinata - glad Hilary escaped German measles.

Liz

 

#74:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:55 pm

I'm glad they got the chandelier...and the horse riding equipment Shocked

This is great Tiffinata - thanks

 

#75:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:03 pm

Thanks Tiffinata - I nursed a new born baby when a student nurse (circa 1982) - his mother had contracted german measles when in first trimester of pregnancy. He was blind and deaf, being fed by a tube. I don't think he lived very long. Crying or Very sad

 

#76:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:41 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm really glad the Rubecca vaccine is available now.

 

#77:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:46 am

Marjorie Edith arrived one snowy morning, in a rush of blood, yowling her head off. She was a good size- 8 pounds. Of course people did their nasty little finger counting and didn’t believe she could be premature. That’s their hard luck. We weren’t worried

I wasn’t the doctor who delivered her – Jack Maynard did that. It was frowned upon for the father to be there, like he had nothing to do with it in the first place!
Jack is a most understanding chap and had insisted that I be there.
Hilary was my wife and I was the obstetrician after all!.

I had delivered a number of babies since my arrival at the San, but had never experienced the same thrill as seeing my own daughter delivered.
I can only describe it as a miracle.
My hands were trembling as I cut the cord.

I took our little girl in my arms and brought her to Hilary.
I’ll admit I was so overcome I wept. Jack clapped me on the back and said he'd cried too when he saw his first son born
Hilary wanted to know if I was disappointed she hadn’t had a son.
I didn’t care.

I had my beautiful daughter.

I was the proudest man alive.

 

#78:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:48 am

How lovely Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#79:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:32 am

That was wonderful.

Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#80:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:40 am

Aw that is gorgeous, thank you. Very Happy And such a nice post to follow the rubella one which was so sad... Sad

 

#81:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:47 am

Awww Im glad he is so proud of his daughter. Thanks Tiffinata Very Happy

 

#82:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:20 pm

Awww... thanks tiffinata!

 

#83:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:08 pm

How unusual - Phil actually sounds likeable!! Thanks for that, Tiffinata.

 

#84:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:27 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm glad that Phil is so proud to have his first child and he doesn't mind that it isn't a boy.

 

#85:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:09 pm

Fatima, don't sound so surprised!
Almost everyone has some redeeming feature.....well maybe!

'fraid some timelines are all over the place. If my calculations are correct Marjorie would've been an 15 month gestation!

In due course Lois and Phillip arrived and I became prouder still. I couldn’t hope to compete with Jack and Jo’s large family, but found myself more content than I had been in years. I began to stay at home more and enjoy my family.

We shared the other half of our chalet with another couple, Biddy and Eugen and they proved to be great companions. Quite straight but got along well and they could often turn a blind eye if need be. Eugen was also an excellent doctor.

By this time I had become established among the locals as the doctor to go to when you don’t have money. A ‘trouble-shooter’.
Of course any other doctor wouldn’t have turned away a patient, but if the locals felt a need to pay then I would accept.

We were lucky in a way that we were so isolated The English colony was pretty self -sufficient. We tended to see the locals as second-class citizens, simple and often to be given the jobs that no one else wanted to do.
Often cousins married cousins, which certainly didn’t help improve the genetics.
There was a belief that doctors could do anything. Marriages were still arranged by the families and it was a severe blow to their status if the girl wouldn’t go through with it.
Status was everything. Without it you were nothing.

A couple of prospective brides preferred other women. Sigmund Freud had many and varied theories about a ‘cure’ and these girls believed I could cure them.
I was happy to follow a couple of his theories.
Hilary understood. She sometimes initiated some of the younger men into the delights of the flesh and began to run an 'adult education' class

She was my soul mate in more ways than one.

Last edited by tiffinata on Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:46 pm; edited 1 time in total

 

#86:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:26 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. The 'adult education' classes made me laugh! Laughing

 

#87:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:42 pm

Bet those adult education classes aren't subsidised by the Government! Laughing

 

#88:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:41 pm

Laughing Am loving this! Thank you

 

#89:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:09 pm

Laughing

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#90:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:50 am

The bunnies insisted on a rewrite. At least it was raining and I had an excuse to stay indoors!

I wanted to be a good father to my children and husband to my wife.

I found myself looking back to my own parents and how they treated us.

Marjorie had been named after my mother. I loved her dearly. I was her baby and she always had a kiss and a hug for me. When I was 9 Mother disappeared from my life
Father refused to talk about her at all.

I overheard one day after church a conversation between 2 old harridans. ’Poor children. Do you think they know she ran off with another man?’ ‘Oh I doubt it.’ The other one replied ’ Walter (my father) wouldn’t dare tell them why she left’ I was devastated. Father became more distant over the years, and I could never make him happy.

‘Stand up straight! By God, we’ll make a man of you one day!
It was he who wanted me to become a doctor ‘Give the pipsqueak a bit of status!, he barked at my older brother Peter.
I remember one day soon after Mother had gone I fell over and grazed my knee. It hurt and I cried. It was Helen my sister who comforted me. Father told me to stop behaving like a ‘mummy’s boy’ and to ‘be a man’

The next time I cried was when my daughter was born.

 

#91:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:52 am

Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Poor Phil

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#92:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:55 am

Poor Phil indeed - wonder if he actually was his Father's son - or his Mother had already started playing away from home. Crying or Very sad

Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#93:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:10 am

Poor Phil! What a horrible way to find out!

 

#94:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:38 am

Gosh, can't believe I feel sorry for Phil after the other excellent drabbles but I do. Crying or Very sad

 

#95:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:23 am

Thanks, Tiffinata. Phil's father sounds really horrible.

 

#96:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:58 pm

[last bit for tonight! Cinderella turns into a pumpkin at midnight Oh, the time differences!
Father died in a drunken brawl when I was 15. I could never do anything right for him. In the end I stopped trying.

We found that Peter had been left our guardian. There was no money for either Mary or Helen, my sisters, but some had been left to me providing I trained as a doctor.

Peter offered to fund Mary and Helen if they wanted to train as something. Helen chose nursing and Mary dressmaking.

Helen and I worked at the same hospital for a while during the Blitz. We worked long hours, sometimes with little sleep. No matter how tired I was I kept going.
I was going to prove my father wrong.

 

#97:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:01 pm

Oh dear, poor Phil seems to've had a rather traumatic childhood.

 

#98:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:57 pm

Doesn't seem like he had much choice really!

The poor family.

 

#99:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 2:02 pm

Poor Phil

*pokes his father* poke

 

#100:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:55 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm sorry that Phil felt being a doctor was the only choice he had.

 

#101:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 4:26 pm

Poor Phil - I am glad he is so happy with Hilary now

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#102:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:58 pm

Phil has become my constant shadow. I almost thought he was going to join me and my SLOC in bed last night! It's unfortunate that I picture him somewhat like Monty Burns! uuurrrrgghhh!!

Our brother Peter got married fairly young.
He worked with the War Ministry in London, but when his wife Lois became pregnant he sent her to the family home to be with Mary, to be safe.

Peter died when the house he had been living in suffered a direct hit from a bomb.
Helen and I had to identify his body.

Lois went into premature labour from the shock of hearing about Peter.
She gave birth to a stillborn boy and followed him fairly soon after from massive haemorrhage and shock.
The neighbour and my sister Mary who helped to deliver the boy said ‘if only there’d been a good doctor round they might’ve lived’
I tended to agree.
It was that point I decided to become an obstetrician.

We buried Lois, Peter and the baby on the same day, side by side. Together in death as they had never been in life.

 

#103:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:01 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm sorry about Peter and his family.

 

#104:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:42 pm

How terrible Crying or Very sad

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#105:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:10 am

What a terrible tragedy!

 

#106:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:22 am

Oh dear, how awful.

Rather concerned to hear that Phil has become your constant shadow Laughing !

 

#107:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:59 am

Oh, how sad.

Intrigued by your constant shadow, but know exactly what you mean!

 

#108:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:42 pm

How terrible - yet it happened so frequently Crying or Very sad

Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#109:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:45 pm

Dunno why Phil wanted this told. Hopefully I can get back to what Thumper and Bruiser insisted on writing soon. Laughing

I met many women during my work. There weren’t nearly enough men to go round, with many of our best being killed on the battlefronts.
During my rounds I saw many sights.
Often frightened young women would come staggering out from cheap lodgings, having just been to ‘somewhere they could fix you up’

There were ‘women of the night’ who beckoned to me from alleyways. I learned from these wonderful women the many ways to wield my weapon.

And of course there were the nurses.

 

#110:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:58 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I laughed at the way Phil described it as a weapon!

 

#111:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 6:54 am

Well, it was wartime! Wink

 

#112:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:51 am

What sad things to happen, poor Phil Sad Thanks Tiffinata

 

#113:  Author: keren, Location: Israel PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:58 am

The story has unexpected depths.
Even though he likes his fun (or however you want to say it), he cares about people and wants to help them.
The terminations he mentioned were being provided when as far as I know, they were illegal, but preferable to any other consequences (back alleys etc)

 

#114:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:32 am

My sister Helen was in charge of a number of nurses. Rumours began to reach her about my activities.

She came to ask me to stop what I was doing.
I looked her in the eye and said ‘Helen I’ll do as I damned well please!’

Helen was a wonderful nurse and soon earned her promotion to Matron of the small cottage hospital near home.


I have no idea what made me review my life during the war.
Perhaps it was that Helen had come to work at the San as Matron.

Helen gave our oldest boy Phillip his nickname ‘Winkie’ She swore that whenever she smiled at him he winked back at her ‘Just like his father’

I hoped he would be better than his father. He deserved to be.

It was pleasant to be working with Helen again. At least this time she didn’t need to tell me to leave her nurses alone!

 

#115:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:46 am

I am really getting to like Phil, like someone said he had depth in this - thanks Andrea Very Happy

 

#116:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:54 am

Another liking this Phil - and thinking he and Hilary are good together.

Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#117:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:19 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I am liking Phil, as well.

 

#118:  Author: aitchemelle, Location: West Sussex PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:48 pm

Thank you! It's nice to see some depth to Phil! Very Happy

 

#119:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:50 pm

Thanks Tiffinata

Not sure I like Helen

Liz

 

#120:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:14 pm

Poor Phil - we have rather villainised him. Is that even a word? He's far more likeable in this.

Thanks Tiffinata

 

#121:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:53 pm

Hoping to get this finished by thursday morning as I 'm off to a botanic gardens conference and will be minus a computer!

Hilary was pregnant with our fourth child. I enjoyed making love to Hilary when she was pregnant. Not that I didn’t enjoy it the rest of the time, but it required more skill and we grew closer.

Many women didn’t associate sex and pregnancy. It was like a miracle.

During my consultations as an obstetrician I found that many women and their husbands asked was it safe to continue normal marital relations while they were expecting.

I told them it was fine during a normal pregnancy, but they would need to change positions and find one where the woman wasn’t bearing the weight.

Change positions? What DO you mean?

God, these people must’ve been bored stupid with the ‘Missionary’.
I was so glad that Hilary... well, you know what I mean!

I always knew when they found out what I meant by the size of the smile on their faces the next time I saw them.

Last edited by tiffinata on Mon Oct 24, 2005 1:02 am; edited 1 time in total

 

#122:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:02 pm

Love that last line! Laughing

Phil is so nice here - so pleased that Hilary is happy.

 

#123:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:03 pm

*g* Thanks Andrea, so Phil is the adventurous type!

 

#124:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:04 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I love the 'descriptions' you give in these posts!

 

#125:  Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:04 pm

This is brilliant Tiffinata - I'm really enjoying it

 

#126:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:41 am

Brilliant! Very Happy

 

#127:  Author: Miss Di, Location: Newcastle, NSW PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 1:58 am

Just caught up with all of this Tiff.

(For some reason I'm not game to read St Hild's at work...)

You are certainly showing us a different side to Phil, funny and poignant. Thank you. Don't set the cat on the bunnies just yet. And don't let it anywhere near the bilby!

 

#128:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:47 am

Will post some fairly innocent bits until the board becomes restricted
Wink

Joan Bertram wouldn’t leave me alone. She’d ring at odd times and pretend to be sick so I had to call on her.
There’d be hang ups on the phone whenever Hilary answered and her requests became stranger and stranger and began to frighten me.

I broke it off.
I’ll admit I liked things slightly bizarre but she really was a sick woman and I didn’t want to be around her.
She wanted to be degraded, to roll in the filth and what she wanted to do was disgusting and perverted.

I’m sorry, but I do have my standards.
Even Hilary disliked her – and my wife liked most people.

 

#129:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 9:57 am

I didn’t like to leave Hilary while she was pregnant, but had to go to this medical conference in London.
I caught up with some old friends. The boys and I got to reminisce about the ‘old days’ during our training.

Tony, and David were married ; George and Kevin were still chasing nurses
‘Well Phil’, Tony Longbottom had said, ‘what’s it like to be an old married man?’
‘Fantastic. I have a wife in a million and a wonderful family’
‘Bet you stay at home more now you old dog! I bet we could tell your wife a thing or two!
What about that night in 1948 with that redhead nurse, eh? I bet your wife would be shocked , eh what!’ Kevin elbowed me in the ribs.

‘My wife’d kill me if she knew half the things I’ve got up to’ said David.

‘So would mine’ Tony grimaced.

‘Well actually Tony, My wife already knows about the nurse, plus the afternoon in 1949 with the three prostitutes and the morning when we graduated and hadn’t slept for 2 nights!
I shared those with her years ago. We have a very open relationship’

George muttered ‘Er, well. Shall we go to somewhere else for a drink?’

 

#130:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:11 am

Hehehe! Good to see he can shock ;)

So Miss Bertram was faking them all? Laughing

Thanks tiffinata!

 

#131:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:10 am

Ha ha, love seeing Phil with his medical school mates! Brilliant!

 

#132:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:36 pm

I bet they're jealous about his relationship with Hillary!

Thanks Tiffinata

 

#133:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:43 pm

*giggles*

Thanks Tiffinata Laughing

Liz

 

#134:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:30 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I enjoyed seeing Phil's reactions to his and Hilary's relationship.

 

#135:  Author: Sophoife, Location: down under Down Under PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:23 pm

I like this. If it's not finished by the time you leave for Hobart Andrea you may use my shiny new broadband connection Smile

Just thought - mini-Gather Friday evening??

 

#136:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:01 pm

I have no hope of getting this finished before I hop on the plane! I looked at the notes and realised I was only about halfway.

Broadband? Hmm. Sounds like a good excuse to see the rest of the plot Anna!! Laughing
Actually I DO have a scene where I need your particular area of expertise.

We went out to a couple of nightclubs. In the few years since I had been in London the scene had changed. Some had become ‘men only’.
Even the drugs were different.
It had been with these men that I had some of my earliest adventures. It was with them that I’d first tried Amyl nitrite- Hence the story of the three prostitutes.

It was originally developed in the 1800’s as a drug to treat Angina. It tended to relax muscles and change pain to pleasure.
It also made the user less inhibited. The drug had become popular in the gay scene.
Tony had introduced it to me during my training and had I sometimes used it after a very hard day when I was exhausted and had a heavy date.
It turned me from sloth to stallion. In 0.2 seconds flat.

I found myself wandering around the docks one wet and blustery afternoon.
The streets had a mean hungry look to them. People scuttled around like ants.
My old stamping ground towards the end of the war had changed.
Yet some things never would.

There were still prostitutes in the alleys and frightened girls leaving cheap lodgings. The only thing that had changed was they were younger.

I walked back towards the underground past a small shop selling records. I stopped to listen to a folk song playing inside:

I’m sitting in the railway station
Got a ticket to my destination
On a tour of one-night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And ev’ry stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one man band

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought’s escaping
Home where my music’s playing
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Ev’ry day’s an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And ev’ry stranger’s face I see
Reminds me that I long to be

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought’s escaping
Home where my music’s playing
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Tonight I’ll sing my songs again
I’ll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought’s escaping
Home where my music’s playing
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Silently for me.

I undrestood what Paul Simon felt when he wrote this.

I couldn’t wait to get back home to Hilary

Last edited by tiffinata on Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:07 am; edited 1 time in total

 

#137:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 9:41 pm

I've always liked that song. This is a really interesting picture of 2 sides of the same person. Hope your conference goes well!

 

#138:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:26 am

I've always liked it too. Fascinating three posts, and most intriguing view of Phil.

Have a good time in Tasmania.

 

#139:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:48 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm glad Phil will be pleased to get home.

 

#140:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 7:51 pm

Love that Phil can stun his friends with how open his relationship with Hilary is. And that he so obviously loves her very much.

Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#141:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:32 am

I'm also glad they're so close Smile

 

#142:  Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire PostPosted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:10 am

Well, this Phil is a vast improvement on some of the others on this board.

 

#143:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:06 am

Hi there from sunny Tasmania folks!
Many thanks to Anna for hosting me today - and some helpful suggestions.

Yes, I have pinched Kate.

When I got back from the conference Joan was still making a pest of herself and I became increasingly worried as her mood altered.
This also affected my mood and I became increasingly snappy with everyone -including Hilary.


Jack introduced our new pharmacist to us - a young woman by the name of Kate. She was rather attractive and completely on the ball.
After a few days I could see that she would be an asset to the San.
She was frightfully well organised, but I felt resentful of the fact that I couldn't go into the Pharmacy whenever I liked.

Initially it put a severe drain on my ability to access prophylactics or the occasional dose of Amyl nitrite. Prophylactics were not kept in the pharmacy. They were in the supply cupboard on Men's Surgical.
Every time I wanted to take some Kate was there.
Soon she decided there was nothing in the supply cupboards that concerned her and I was free to take what I needed.


Kate made friends with Hilary and one of my patients, Anya.
Anya was dying. She was a young girl and her parents had insisted that she not be told.
I didn't like that but had to accept heir wishes.
Kate found a way around that. I suppose I should have been grateful, but i felt she was interfering in everything.
I wondered why I resented her so much.
Perhaps it was because I found her so attractive.

There was no way I was going to bed her, no matter how attractive she was.

 

#144:  Author: Nicola, Location: Derbyshire PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:59 am

Prophylactics on the surgical ward? Tsk, I can't think what they'd be doing there. Does this mean the authorities at the San condone Phil's activities?

This is a beautifully judged mix of surreally funny and serious, such as Anya's parents refusing to tell her what's coming.

Thank you.

 

#145:  Author: keren, Location: Israel PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:57 am

What was he doing with "prophylactics or the occasional dose of Amyl nitrite"?

 

#146:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:37 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. It's nice to see Kate mentioned and it was interesting to see things from Phil's point of view about Kate.

 

#147:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:52 pm

tiffinata wrote:
There was no way I was going to bed her, no matter how attractive she was.

*wonders if he'll keep his resolution*

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#148:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:30 pm

*g* Norty Phil! Thank you

 

#149:  Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 4:03 am

Lovely to see Phil shocking his friends at the conference and to understand more about his attitude to Kate

 

#150:  Author: Sophoife, Location: down under Down Under PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 12:23 pm

Laughing Inside Information (i.e. tiffinata told me!) is that apparently In The Olden Days (i.e. the time we're reading about) condoms were used to...er...protect the digit used in rectal examinations. More than you wanted to know? Shocked

I didn't believe it either Wink so I checked with my dad. He says they are often still used, either instead of or over the top of a glove, and it is Perfectly Realistic to have them kept in a cupboard in Men's Surgical.

 

#151:  Author: tiffinata nearly home,  PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 4:41 am

And also used with a hole and tube inserted in the end to drain urine from a bed ridden male with little bladder control

 

#152:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 6:55 am

Hey hey, back home again and completely exhausted.

Our fourth child arrived soon after Anya died.

Hilary had a hard time with Frank’s birth and I was so afraid I’d lose her in the same way as Lois.
I knew I loved her, but it had never been shown to me how much. I couldn’t leave her side.
In the end in order to get me to rest Jack had to sedate me. I completely went to pieces.

Jack sat with me during those dark days.
I knew how strong his faith was but had never found the strength in religion myself.
Jack understood this and invited me into his private office.

He poured me a whiskey and we sat quietly for a while.

‘Phil, may I share with you something that my mother gave to me when I graduated?’
‘If you like’

Jack opened his private drawer and brought out a beautifully illuminated and framed quote from the book of Ecclesiastes.
As he began to read his gentle voice filtered through my numbness.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to break down and a time to build up;
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain and a time to lose;
A time to keep and a time to throw away;
A time to tear and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence and a time to speak;
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time of war and a time of peace.

I broke down.

I remembered the vows we had made
‘in sickness and in health till death do us part’
I cried until the tears would no longer fall.

 

#153:  Author: Rosy, Location: Gloucestershire-London-Aberystwyth PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 8:00 am

*actually feels sorry for Phil*

Thankyou for the nice drabble.

 

#154:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 8:50 am

Love that quote - so apt. Have I missed something though - Lois?

Thanks for this Tiffinata - a far more sympathetic view of Phil.

 

#155:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:00 am

Thanks Tiffinata - this is lovely and Jack is lovely!

 

#156:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:30 am

Oh poor Phil!

 

#157:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:55 am

Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#158:  Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 12:14 pm

Well done Jack


Poor Phil and Hilary

 

#159:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:59 pm

Oh poor Phil Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad

 

#160:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 7:28 pm

Lesley, Lois was his sister in law mentioned in an earlier post.
Keren, Amyl nitrite is briefly explained also in an earlier post.
As for prophylactics, well, he is a doctor and practices safe sex Wink

Also many thanks to Anna for some rewording and useful points.
Once Hilary had turned the corner she went ahead in leaps and bounds.

She came home 3 weeks after Frank’s birth and I carried her over the threshold. I had filled the house with all kinds of flowers and hearing her laugh again was delightful.


Reg Entwistle was 28 and 2 years out of medical school. He was a nice young lad. And had the makings of a good doctor.
He was over the moon when he and Len Maynard got engaged and we were all pleased.

Reg came to me soon after to ask some professional advice.
I’d never pictured Reg as a virgin.
He wanted to know whether Len would expect him to have any experience or not or should he save himself for his wedding night.

Erm, how do you answer that one?

By the time I was 28 I’d been through half the nurses in the hospital and then some!

Reg wanted to know what it was like.
Each experience was different and certainly varied from woman to woman.
I told him about my early experience with prostitutes and suggested it was a relatively safe way to learn if he chose to go down that path.


I accompanied him to Interlaken early one evening.


The brothel was dimly lit.
Dark red velvet curtains provided a backdrop for the richly furnished room.

‘Phillip! How nice to see you. And you’ve brought a friend’
Geraldine was neither in her first bloom of youth, nor a classic beauty. Despite this she held a certain attractive charm. We had known each other quite well for many years.

I introduced Reg and explained what we wanted.

‘But of course! Allow me to introduce my girls’

Seated on the plush couch and antique chairs were four women.
Although heavily made up the girls were naturally very attractive
Emilie was a petite blonde with sparking blue eyes and a decidedly French look.
Seated next to her was Marinella, a dark Spanish beauty with long blue-black hair.
The third woman was Susannah, a tall willowy brunette with a peaches and cream complexion (‘she’s very flexible’ whispered Geraldine).
Seated on the antique chair tucked into the corner was Annette.
Annette looked shy and quite young. Her skin was pale and translucent. She had long reddish hair and eyes the colour of wood violets.

Each of us chose our woman.
I smiled to see that Reg chose one who looked very much like Len. ‘Be gentle with him’, I murmured in German.
I held myself back from making any lewd jokes, but it was hard.

We met back for coffee about an hour later.

Reg looked like he’d been hit by a bus.

As we drank our coffee we discussed the scenery and what was happening at the San.

‘Hey Phil’
‘Yes Reg?’
‘ Do you reckon Len would …..you know’

Reg was indeed a changed man

 

#161:  Author: Rosy, Location: Gloucestershire-London-Aberystwyth PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 7:38 pm

*chokes*

Shocked

 

#162:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:00 pm

Hmmmm, Len's in for a shock! Wonder if she'll ask her Auntie Hilary for advice..... Wink

Love that Tiffinata - and thanks for the info - I'd forgotten! Embarassed

 

#163:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:54 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata.

 

#164:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:08 pm

Oh that's brilliant! Laughing

 

#165:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:11 pm

For a moment I thought it was Len there Shocked

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#166:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:24 am

Heh heh heh!
Snicker

Short post today

I had to find excuses not to go to the school.

I was having problems still with Joan. Frequently I’d find myself pushed into a stationary cupboard with her overheated body hard against me.
It was exceptionally hard to get out in one piece.
It was odd. In the past I used to accept anything that was on offer, but not with Joan.

I always felt like I needed a good shower after being anywhere near her. It was horrible.
I’d never touch a woman from the English colony usually.

The boss’s wife, an unwilling woman, a minor, or a member of the same colony without prior agreement.
Hilary and I had our rules.

 

#167:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:32 am

Thank you for that, tiffinata. Short and sweet! It's odd how Joan Bertram comes over as a villainess, when I can scarcely even remember her from any books.

 

#168:  Author: keren, Location: Israel PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:21 am

Sophoife wrote:
Laughing Inside Information (i.e. tiffinata told me!) is that apparently In The Olden Days (i.e. the time we're reading about) condoms were used to...er...protect the digit used in rectal examinations. More than you wanted to know? Shocked

I didn't believe it either Wink so I checked with my dad. He says they are often still used, either instead of or over the top of a glove, and it is Perfectly Realistic to have them kept in a cupboard in Men's Surgical.


And what do you think they use when doing internal ultrasounds (sonic scans) for ladies?

 

#169:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 10:58 am

Thanks for the update! poke Joan

 

#170:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:20 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. It's interesting to hear their rules!

 

#171:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:30 pm

I have really enjoyed reading all the comments. This is fun to write!
Hilary and I were encouraged to make an exception to our rules in Matey’s case.
Gwynneth had a liking for leather and rubber in many forms, but had recently discovered the delights of PVC. After all, it had the added practical advantage of being easy to keep clean.

Gwynneth looked disturbingly attractive in her black stilettos and her fishnet stockings.
And so did Hilary- but in a different way. Having an additional woman, particularly one with a medical background, delighted me. Playing 'Doctors and Nurses' took on a new meaning.

I had been a very bad boy and needed to be punished. Gwynneth's discipline was very good.

Hilary was the one who had initiated the contact and was pleased to renew her acquaintance with what she called 'the sisterhood. '
She began to increase her ‘at home’ days and resumed her adult education classes
I hadn’t realised at the time she had become bored. Having so nearly lost her I had padded her in cottonwool

One day a visitor arrived in the shape of Kathy Ferrars

 

#172:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:11 pm

What's so worrying is that I can so see Matey like that! Shocked

Thanks Tiffinata - BTW Think it a pity that Phil's rules mean that Joey is out of bounds. Wink

 

#173:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:22 pm

This is brilliant! Matey with her starched uniform and the constant descriptions of how no-one dared argue with her! Laughing

 

#174:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 11:23 pm

"What's so worrying is that I can so see Matey like that!"
A pov shared by some other people...if Anonybunny is indeed a person? Wink

Thanks Tiffinata - this is very cheering!

 

#175:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:55 am

This is definitely the point from where Nicola's and my Phil differ. Mine insisted he wasn't a wife beater! Laughing


Kathy was a beautiful spirited woman. She fell in love with Nancy Wilmot, another of Hilary’s old friends.

I don’t know why I did it. Maybe it was because there was a young doctor who told me he’d like to get to know Kathy better. Maybe I was drunk.

Maybe I had developed an over inflated ego and wanted to see if I could ‘cure’ Kathy.

Sigmund Freud would have had the answers.

I certainly don’t.

 

#176:  Author: Rosy, Location: Gloucestershire-London-Aberystwyth PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:08 am

Shocked

Mesmerised and yet slightly scared.

 

#177:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:31 am

My colleague just asked what I was laughing at, how can I tell her 'Oh just the thought of Matey in her dominatrix outfit!'

Laughing Laughing Laughing

 

#178:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 3:36 pm

Mia wrote:
My colleague just asked what I was laughing at, how can I tell her 'Oh just the thought of Matey in her dominatrix outfit!'

Laughing Laughing Laughing


Waiting for reports that Mia has been carted away to nearby asylum!

Thanks Tiffinata. Laughing

 

#179:  Author: KathrynW, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 4:00 pm

oohhh...I've been enjoying reading all of this but that last post was really chilling, especially the last line.

Kathryn

 

#180:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:36 pm

Thanks tiffinata - lots of posts for me to catch up on.

*slightly worried by the last post*

 

#181:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:09 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I was also worried at the last line. I am Shocked at the thought of Matey and Phil.

 

#182:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 9:06 pm

Kathy came over one day when Hilary was out.

I offered her a drink.
A little Schnapps was taken.
Then some more.
Pretty soon we got talking about her and how long it had been since she’d had a man.

A few more drinks and Kathy and I were on the floor.
She wanted me, that I’m sure of. Her moans of passion left me in no doubt at the time. Still, I felt there was something not quite right.
‘Yes’, ’More’ and ‘Please’ means exactly that doesn’t it?
Perhaps the alcohol had clouded our judgement. All I knew was I had made a mistake somewhere.

It was the first time Hilary was angry with me. I mean REALLY angry. She was so angry that I was banished to the couch for a week.

Now Kathy has left the Platz and some of the mistresses’ whisper as I go by ‘Lothario’

I know now that was the beginning of the end. I had broken one of my rules.

 

#183:  Author: Rosy, Location: Gloucestershire-London-Aberystwyth PostPosted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 10:56 pm

Goodness.
This IS getting interesting!

 

#184:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:16 pm

Wow! Almost Nicola's Phil, yet not, with this one you can feel some sorrow for him.

Thanks.

 

#185:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:51 am

"beginning of the end"? For whom? Oh dear...

 

#186:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:48 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. Phil doesn't seem so callous in this drabble but I'm surprised Hilary only banished him to the couch for a week. I thought it would have been longer.

 

#187:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:32 pm

Thanks Tiffinata.

*wibbling muchly*

 

#188:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:38 pm

Thanks Tiffinata, some very interesting developments occuring.

 

#189:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:00 am

I was tired of being followed by Joan. I simply could not get away from her.
I began to feel haunted and had many nights of poor sleep.

Ever since the episode with Kathie she had been turning up at odd times. I'd find roses on my car windscreen or chocolates on my desk.
We'd get phonecalls with nobody at the other end. I couldn't take the phone off the hook. I might be needed for an emergency.

In the end I spoke to Jack and he suggested to call in a psychiatrist.
Both Hilary and I felt a great sense of relief as the day grew closer.

Then a patient arrived who had the most beautiful daughter.

 

#190:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:03 am

Ooh, wondering who this is! Thanks for the update.

 

#191:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:04 am

*also intrigued*

Thank you Very Happy

 

#192:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:17 am

Thanks, Tiffinata. I wonder who the beautiful daughter is.

 

#193:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 7:10 pm

Eleanor told me she was 21.

She’d come with her father and mother to the San because her mother was undergoing treatment.
Mrs Rutherford was a good patient and we felt we had caught the disease early enough to cure her.
Mr Rutherford spent most of his time with his wife or chatting up the nurses, leaving Eleanor free to do what she liked.

She had finished school and been presented, her father told me, and was planning a grand marriage to Lord Anthony Commadore -Ford when she returned to London.

Hilary said there was something untrustworthy and fake about the girl.

Eleanor confided to me that she was frightened of the proposed marriage and had no idea what to expect on her wedding night.
She asked me to initiate her into the arts of love. I arrived late one afternoon complete with a handful of prophylactics taken from the San.

She needed very little instruction.
This was no frightened virgin.

We made arrangements to see each other again.

I had forgotten my wife’s warning.

 

#194:  Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 8:51 pm

He's just asking for trouble, isn't he

 

#195:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 9:41 pm

Silly man. Shocked

Wonder what Eleanor's game is...

 

#196:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 9:59 pm

Oh dear, oh dear! I odn't like the sound of her telling him she was 21!

 

#197:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:32 pm

Oh dear, this is ominous!

 

#198:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:49 am

uh-oh!

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#199:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:19 pm

A few days later there was a knock on the door. Eleanor and I were in her bed.
I slipped under the bed to hide.
‘Who is it?’ Eleanor called.
Lucky for us it was the maid with some fresh towels.
She placed the towels on the chair and gave Eleanor a funny look and left.
‘Whew, that was close!’ she giggled.
Too close for me, I thought. I’ve seen that look before.
I did not wish to be caught. I’d have to be more careful in future.

Later that night Hilary reminded me to be more careful.

Unfortunately the damage was done.

I found a visitor in my office 2 weeks later.
Mr Rutherford was waiting to talk to me.
About his wife, he said. I closed the door and found myself pinned up against the wall. ‘It’s about my daughter’ he hissed.

I knew then that the maid had told him.

 

#200:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:42 pm

Oh dear - looks like Phil could be in for some bother! Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#201:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:48 pm

Why did Mr Rutherford wait two weeks? And how did the maid know Phil was there, he was hiding.

Intrigiuing - thanks Tiffanata.

 

#202:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:54 pm

Why do I have a feeling Eleanor isn't really 21?

Thanks Tiffinata

 

#203:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:15 am

‘She’s 17’ he said,‘a minor’
17??
‘But she told me she was 21’
‘Eleanor has always looked older than she is. She will be 18 when she is married.
Looking older than you are can sometimes be a useful asset.'

He smiled.

'How do you think we got Lord Anthony to agree to marry her?
He couldn’t afford a scandal. And I’m sure you can’t either.'

'Eleanor switched the ‘Do not disturb’ sign to the ‘maid please make up this room’. Originally we had quite different plans for you my friend, but this trap was so simple it was worth a shot to see if you fell into it.’

I had.

After a fairly painful discussion I was given a choice - pay money or he’d have me arrested.

I have 48 hours to make a decision.

Now I don’t have the kind of money he wants, and I know how people feel about sex with a minor. What was I supposed to have done? Asked to see her Birth certificate?
Either way, I’m stuffed. Those wagging tongues will take delight in whispering.
Hilary and the kids will be outcasts or, even worse, treated to suffocating pity. No matter what happens I love my wife. And now, for her sake, I wish I’d stuck to the rules or learned to keep it in my pants.

Hilary knows there is something wrong. She tried to get me to relax tonight.
I usually love it when she makes love to me in that special way.
But not tonight.
When she had fallen asleep I got up to make a cup of tea.

I don’t know what to do, or where to go. How will I tell Hilary? What will I tell her? Will she understand? Will she stick by me knowing that there is about to be one huge scandal? I love her; she’s always been my darling girl. I don’t know what to do anymore. I know I have to tell her.

The phone has rung. I’m wanted at the San.

A light mist has come up outside. I think I need a little walk. It might help clear my head.

I’ll tell Hilary when I get back in the morning and we’ll make a decision together.

 

#204:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:22 am

Oh dear. I actually feel sorry for Phil now. What will Hilary say? Hope Phil doesn't have any mishaps walking in the mist.

 

#205:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:27 am

That is not at all good! And what a low ploy! Shocked

 

#206:  Author: Katie, Location: A Yorkshire lass in London PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:39 am

Ooh, it's all looking a bit serious now! I hope the mention of the mist wasn't as ominous as it sounded...

 

#207:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 12:57 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I'm sorry that the family have tricked Phil. I hope he can find a solution soon.

 

#208:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:51 pm

Yes, I can't believe that I am actually feeling sorry for Phil the Rat! (Not that sorry though, because I actually hope that Hilary chucks him out!)

 

#209:  Author: Elle,  PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:27 pm

Momentarily freaked out due to the fact that Eleanor is my full name...

 

#210:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:56 pm

Oh dear - more than mildly concerned that Phil is taking a walk in the mist

 

#211:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 5:07 pm

eeeek!

*wibbles*

Thanks Tiffinata

Liz

 

#212:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 6:40 pm

I thought that was what was coming - I think it's known as the Badger ploy - it's a known criminal method of extortion. Maybe Hilary would be able to help? I'm sure she could think of ways to get back at the Rutherfords.

Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#213:  Author: Lucy, Location: Leeds PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 6:49 pm

Wow Tiffinata this is FAB!

Just read it all through in one go and am loving both Phil and Hilary and their relationship.

Thank you

 

#214:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:44 am

For those wibbling at what might happen a short interlude....

Mick Jagger once said that Sympathy for the Devil was about the dark side of man- not Satan. Judge for yourselves.

Lyrics by Jagger and Richards.(partially reproduced)

Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long years
Stole many a man’s soul and faith

And I was ’round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

I stuck around st. petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tank
Held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah

I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made

I shouted out,
Who killed the kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached bombay

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what’s confusing you
Is just the nature of my game

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me lucifer
’cause I’m in need of some restraint

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste


Continued tomorrow.
Hilary is being persuaded to tell her tale too.

 

#215:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:49 am

Looking forward to hearing Hilary's story. Thanks Tiffinata.

 

#216:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:46 pm

Thanks, Tiffinata. I would love to hear Hilary's story. Thanks also for sharing the poem.

 

#217:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 5:03 pm

Poor Phil! How awful for him. I think this might have a sad end too Confused

Squee for Hilary's story!

Thanks Very Happy

 

#218:  Author: nikkie, Location: Cumbria PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:10 pm

Mia wrote:
Poor Phil! How awful for him. I think this might have a sad end too Confused

Squee for Hilary's story!

Thanks Very Happy

and Joans Twisted Evil
Thanks Tiffinata
(Nikkie going back to lurking now!)

 

#219:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 2:04 am

nikkie wrote:
Mia wrote:
Poor Phil! How awful for him. I think this might have a sad end too Confused

Squee for Hilary's story!

Thanks Very Happy

and Joans Twisted Evil
Thanks Tiffinata
(Nikkie going back to lurking now!)


Nikkie, I might have to do some research into mental health issues first! Laughing

 

#220:  Author: tiffinata, Location: melbourne, australia PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:09 am

GRAVES, Dr Phillip Albert

Born 10 January 1923
Died 5 September 1970
Aged 47 years.
Loved and loving husband of Hilary.
Adored father of Marjorie, Lois, Phillip and Frank.
Brother of Helen, Mary and Peter (dec)

Phil, you were my soul mate. My prop and stay. I’ll always love you.

Rest in peace

 

#221:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:20 am

NOOOO! Haven't you forgotten to tell us what happened??

 

#222:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:08 am

Oh no! Please tell us what happened - was it an accident in the mist? Not suicide, surely ... wish I hadn't just had that thought.

 

#223:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:10 am

*swallows lump in throat*

Thanks Tiffinata Crying or Very sad

Liz

 

#224:  Author: keren, Location: Israel PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:30 am

tiffinata wrote:
GRAVES, Dr Phillip Albert

Born 10 January 1923
Died 5 September 1970
Aged 47 years.
Loved and loving husband of Hilary.
Adored father of Marjorie, Lois, Phillip and Frank.
Brother of Helen, Mary and Peter (dec)

Phil, you were my soul mate. My prop and stay. I’ll always love you.

Rest in peace



That is very sad.

 

#225:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:30 am

Poor Phil and poor Hilary.

Thank you Tiffinata.

 

#226:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:38 am

Oh no!

I admit... when you mentioned the walk in the mist, suicide was my first thought, but I'm still hoping I'm wrong!

 

#227:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 4:52 am

How splendidly ambiguous....
Thanks - this was a fascinating drabble.

 

The CBB -> St Hild's Sitting Room


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