YOU MAY NEVER HAVE KNOWN THAT SWINDON EXISTED.....

…..but if you have listened to the News in the last couple of days, you will know about it now.  My Blip today shows the back of our Honda Jazz and is my contribution for Wide Wednesday - I realise it is not in keeping with the theme of “In the Country” but after hearing the news, it was interesting for me to relive some memories of when we were first married.

Many of you will know that I live in Swindon, a town of about 190,000 inhabitants, which is situated about 70 miles east of London, the capital city of the UK.

The news that the Honda factory, based at South Marston, on the outskirts of Swindon, is closing and moving its manufacturing to Japan in 2021 is a huge blow to the economy of this town and even more devastating to those who work there - many of whom have been there since it opened in 1985.  One man interviewed on the television last night said that at least ten members of his family worked at Honda and although a figure of 3,500 has been spoken of, there are many others who will be affected and of course, the wider community will also feel the knock-on effect.

Mr. HCB and I were talking about this after watching the News last night and it reminded us of the time that he was made redundant from British Rail in about 1972 along with about 850 others in his particular trade.  He said that they didn’t have two years’ notice though;  they were told in the July that the factory would close in December so with a wife, baby son and a mortgage, he had to find another job, which thankfully he did, and stayed there for about 23 years until he was made redundant again.  So we have first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to struggle, as I'm sure many others do too. 

When Mr. HCB was made redundant the first time in 1972, we could just about manage on his wages, because when we had applied for our mortgage, unlike today, they would not take my salary into consideration.  We learned to become very thrifty, both with money and food and just as he does now, Mr. HCB grew all our vegetables and I baked cakes and bread and I was particularly careful not to waste any food.  

However, I had left work in early 1971 to have our first child so we had another mouth to feed, which was another worry for us at the time.  I was able to claim maternity benefits, as I had always paid a full insurance stamp, but when our son was a year old, as I worked quite near to the Solicitors office where I had previously worked full time, I started to work at home, transcribing tapes.  

They provided me with an old Olympia manual typewriter together with all the necessary equipment and I remember the Office Manager used to bring four or five tapes with all the relevant files to our house after work, and then collect them the next morning.  Sometimes I worked until well after midnight and all for the princely sum of 50p an hour - but we coped.  

Our second son was born in February 1974 (it’s his birthday on Friday!) and I continued to work at home until he was 3 years old and eligible to Playgroup and by then our older son was at school.  I then worked for three mornings in the Solicitors’ office and two evenings from 5 until 9.00 p.m.  Computers had just “come in” and the partners wanted them to be working from 9 in the morning until 9 at night.  Three of us, who had previously worked full-time but who had, by this time, left to have our children, were able to work unsupervised during the evenings and it worked out very well because we could be at home with our children during the day and then hand them over to our husbands and go to work in the evenings.

It was hard work and I remember we didn't go on holiday for a few years, because we didn't have enough money, but I have some great memories of those days.  All those affected by the closure of the Honda factory will get through, just as we did, but it will be a struggle - and we feel for them.

“The truth is, 
     we all face hardships of some kind, 
          and you never know the struggles 
               a person is going through. 
Behind every smile, 
     there's a story of a personal struggle.” 
Adrienne C. Moore

P.S.  I think I have just about "kicked" this cold virus - apart from the hacking cough - but thank you all once again for your kind comments during the last few days.