Hazel interview

I used to go to evening classes for art I loved drawing flowers and leaves and birds Found that I could do leaves and cross hatching really well The a little bit of watercolour on then, so now its really frustrating I cant do anything like that anymore, because I planned to do all of this in my retirement.

Its very rewarding isn’t it. I did used to do oils at one point but I haven’t the room to do anything like that now in my little flat So are your portraits recognisable? You don’t do one eye in one corner and another in another - I can’t do with that type of art! I like me to be recognisable as a human being!

Older faces have a lot more character haven’t they?

I mean we all have a few wrinkle, I mean otherwise we'd all look like wave had a face lift, and wear a mask!

Born in Workington My dad was the harvamater their Lived in a hamlet of 24 houses Hadn’t have any electricity or anything like that till I was about 15 - people can’t imagine it nowadays We sound like dinosaurs don’t we a bit!

But we just lived like that, we had candles and things like that and gaslight, but it was really very save for us, there was no roads round there, we had a very happy childhood in that sense there was no danger really.

But these days you wouldn’t like the children to go out on there own a full day. We used to go out with a couple of sandwiches.

Went to school in Wigton When I passed my 11+ I stayed at that school I really shouldn’t of done, I should of gone to the grammar school, if my parents had been more forceful I would of perhaps got more qualifications.

I wanted to do something along the medical line; I wasn’t clever enough to be a dentist so I decided to go in for chiropody, which was 3 years training 1959 Went to Salford University Methodist ministers manse a huge place him and his family lived in it and I had a room I shared with another girl and we had the old butlers pantry to

use, although we did have our main meal at the collage- which is now a university, everybody who qualifies now gets a degree but we didn't, we did the same things as they do now but it sounds a lot better if you have a degree.

I really liked it Salford then was quite different We used to be able to go to the university, I our second year we did Anatomy, physiology, pharmacy and various things like that, people don't think all of that is involved but you've got to do it in relation to the whole body you see.

I used to love going into uni to direct limbs, as people used to donate their limbs you see. Its the most wonderful way to learn you see, theirs no blood involved, you learn so much better, you can trace nerves to one place to the other and know about all the muscles.

Theirs lots of muscles in the bottom of the foot, theirs 3 different layers, theirs only one on the top and that’s just a little one which makes the toes spread.

So after that we had oral exams - terrifying really aren’t they exams!

Then we went into clinics and treat people I was always very fast, very fast at doing everything, I’m slow now.

My nickname there from all the staff was FLASH. Their was day clinic and evening clinics, evening was for younger people who worked, I thought it was always good to see the young people so I used to offer to so the evening clinic.

I had not done much in the way of science before hand.

We used to do things I Salford and Manchester you wouldn't dare do now, like travel around on your own, there was no problems of all.

Those days will never come back, but of course those days will have never of known about it.

I remember ones I was out with my boyfriend who subsequently become my husband, and he said I meet you at the corner on Piccadilly outside Lewis’s, so I stood on this corner and their was all these woman up and down and giving me such looks, and then he came and he said, I’m terribly sorry but this is where all the prostitutes stand.

So I never waited there again!

We got engaged on 21st birthday, and his father was a chiropodist as well, and his brother become one too, and they had a practice in north Manchester Harperhay and I went to work there in the private practice. Lived in orchington I loved my father in-law, he was an absolute delight, and he died when he was 57 unfortunately We decided we wanted out of it after a while and my husband got a job in Cheshire, to be a chief chiropodist to take up a rather larger area and staff.

We went to live in sandbatch in Cheshire and had a nice house their.

His dad died, and his brother took over the practice there.

Husband found someone else he preferred, and off he went and married her. He sold the house and I was homeless, I hadn’t got anything.

Worked in a hospital near olderlyedge and I asked could I have one of the nurses house. - Had to rent it. It was the most horrendous experience some of those nursed were absolutely appalling, they were filthy, filthy habits, you know they had police cars driving up and come in and do what they wanted to do with the nursed and then drive back on duty.

I stayed there for about 4 months and found a little house in a place called homes chapel, not far from nutsford in Cheshire. It was new and I loved it. I had to take on another mortgage though which set me back a long time really. But it was mine and I did what I liked with it.

Then I had bad health, I had breast cancer, I had to have a breast replacement and all sorts of things, and I decided that, well I could tell there was something wrong with my eyes even then.

So I had a word with my boss and I said I don’t think ill be able to make it till retirement age because I had been off so long. And they cut your pay off by half if you've been off for so long. And your pension is calculated on the last 3 years.

So he managed to pull a few strings and I retired when I was about 59.

Which was a shame really because I enjoyed my job and made a lot of friends there.

So I used the lump sum to pay off my mortgage. I wanted to pay it off so then I new exactly how much I wanted to spend.

Had some nice neighbours, I took up balling went to evening classes, still had my car, used to go round garden centres at weekends

And then I got to a stage where I didn't think I could drive much longer, and the village at the time was not the best for bus services, so I thought I would have to go back to Cumbria.

So I sold my house overnight. And that was the nest investment I’ve ever made, it was a beautiful house, lovely garden Bought it in 1983 for £28,00 sounds impossible now, sold it 18years later for £92,000 I came up to Kendal and rented a flat on watsfield lane in Kendal, very nice there, whole I was looking round for houses.

Found a house on Anam road which was very dilapidated, it was number 59.

It had started off as number 12 So I only stayed their a couple of years, I realised it needed a lot of looking after, I had it all beautiful I really enjoyed having a house full of workman Then my eyes really started to deteriorate, and the house needed someone who loves it and could look after it, young people bought t, I was terrified of someone making it to modern! But since then they've been flooded so I’m so glad I wasn’t still there.

I found this retirement apartment on blackball road, that’s where I am now.

Very safe, Useful for town The gentleman who lives their and I are really good friends, he's my companion and we go out and about together. And its lovely.

How long have you been coming here?

About 10/11 years I’ve been coming to the group.

We used to play bowls, none of us could see very well but we still had fun!

Ha-ha Then in the winter we played indoor balls and Burniside cricket club Then we moved here and it’s really good.

I do voluntary work for sight advice I try and make little cards with pressed flowers, but I find them very finicky now, I love creating things and I miss being able to draw.

Help in the kitchen on Friday, chapel on Highgate let us have the church hall, and I go their and help in the kitchen and talk to them and I absolutely love it because theirs some real characters, and I mean some really bad addicts.

Mark himself, who is the cook now called himself a really bad lad he was a drug addict, been in jail, and he’s transformed himself and he's such a good man now.

People need that chance, I used to think if you were passing a shop doorway and there was somebody kipping in there you would think 'fancy letting yourself get like that' but it isn't their fault always.

Some of the people that go there have been abused and abused as children by their parents and they never loose that.

I find it really nice; now when I’m out shopping some of the chaps will come up and say hello and I think aw bless them you know.

We have a little pray service 12-half past, they don’t have to go but its there if they want to go and they can tell people things in there that are not discussed with anyone else, and people come talk to me because they know that I’m not going to blab it out, they just want to unburden themselves, you might here the same thing every week but it doesn't matter.

I feel then despite my disabilities, I can still be some use to somebody.

I mean you know your self-if your having a bad day, to whinge at somebody can make it better!

Even if you've got disabilities there’s still things you can do for others.

I like to think when I wake up in the morning there is something I can do for someone else.