The Guersey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society: Goodbye to my beautiful mother

Pardon my absence. I haven't blogged since my mother's death last Friday; I'm posting this picture for Saturday snapshot hosted by Alyce on her blog, At Home with Books. It dates back to World War II.  Some of you may recall my mum had been ill recently; she had pnuemonia and had been in the hospital. When she was released back to her nursing home, she seemed to rally a bit but ultimately she didn't make it. She passed away last Friday, Friday the 13th! She was 86 and prior to developing Alzheimer's about a dozen years ago, had a rich and wonderful life. I will miss her; I will especially miss the real Enid Maud Good (formerly Hayden). While her faculties diminished and language faded, one thing that stayed was her lovely English accent and her use of the word 'love'.
It was so comforting to have the nursing home care givers tell us how she used to wheel herself up and down the halls all day and how much they loved her English accent and how she would call them all "Love".

She was part of that great generation who came of age in World War II. Coincidentally - or not? I've been reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, the post- World War II book that deals with the German occupation of the island. I can't help but think of my mother when I read or hear about life in England during the wartime years. Like the children of Guernsey, who were sent to the British countryside in hopes of keeping them safe from the bombing, my mother's brothers were evacuated from London--- thousands of children were evacuated in 1939 - -( see the video below); she escorted them with her mother's instructions to keep the boys together which turned out to be impossible. She was just 14 and was housed briefly herself. I grew up fascinated with her stories of rationing, painting on stocking seams, running from bombs and hiding in her family's Morrison shelter. She met my dad, an officer in the British army, when he was home on leave.
Anyway,  my mother is a bit too young to have been Juliet Ashton - she was 21 in 1946 - but I couldn't help but think of her throughout this moving and poignant portrayal of strength. I think Kate Winslet will be wonderful. I'd like to see Aaron Eckhart as the American publisher who pursues her, perhaps the lovely Colin Firth as Dawsey. A proper review is forthcoming.

Goodbye Love, I will never forget your stories, your strength, your love.