Looie in Great Houghton

Here's another of the scanned negatives. It's Looie Drinkwater, who lived in Great Houghton (near Barnsley). I met her in 1970 on my first-ever night in the UK, at a B&B in Eastriggs, Scotland (near Dumfries). I was 25 and a little frightened to be traveling alone (as always, never with enough money to make it through the trip), and she was in her fifties, traveling with her husband, who was a miner, and another couple. We remained good friends, writing letters regularly till suddenly her letters stopped in (I think) 2009. In 1993, Looie had no car and seldom had a chance to leave Great Houghton, so during the July break between my first and second years in Lesotho, I flew to the UK and rented a car so I could take Looie to Whitby one last time. (Long story, Whitby held many memories for her.)

The abstemious way Looie lived, and the cosiness of her home, touched my heart. She had barely enough pension to live on, ate tiny meals, kept the house cold, and was nearly blind, but as warm and kind-hearted as she'd ever been. Closer portrait in Extra.

Yesterday (I post this Feb. 17, 2021) my used copy of Penelope Lively's Moon Tiger was delivered. I'm glued to it. My appreciation to PaulaJ for suggesting it. An old woman historian writing the history of the world and her life: perfect.