LOCKDOWN POEM FROM THE HEART
FOR STAND UP TO CANCER
We have a special poem by 79-year-old reader Marion Parry in Aberdare, Mid Glamorgan, to mark today’s lockdown anniversary.
Things are looking up for Wales after their convincing rugby win at the weekend, and even more importantly, the hairdressers are open. But Marion’s words are a reminder of the hard times her community have endured.
The memory of how Covid tore through the valleys has left Marion unable to talk about the past year without getting upset. She says: “In all of my 79 years I never thought that I would experience times like these.”
But it was Marion’s love of words and books that have kept her going – a passion for books that began in the little mining village in the South Wales Coalfields where she was born in 1941.
She says: “I was encouraged by my mother to read and write at the village school, while my dad was away in the Army. Education was of prime importance – and that’s where my love for reading began.”
Marion left school at 16 but found a job as a library assistant. She says: “I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be surrounded by so many books, and I found time to write my own short stories.”
Later, married with one daughter, Marion became a civil servant, and also proudly had her own book published about her great-grandmother who lived in 1760 in West Wales.
She says: “Now I am a grandmother and a great-grandmother of four little ones whose interest in stories hopefully will give them a reason to follow in my footsteps – that would be the greatest gift of all.”
Dear Coleen
I’ve found myself in an awkward situation with my husband’s ex-wife. Their daughter is 15 and a great girl – we hit it off straight away the first time we met when she was only 10 years old. She stays with us a lot and I love it as I don’t have children of my own and we’ve become very close.
My problem is, she has started to confide in me about things rather than go to her mum. She’s talked to me about everything from friendships and boyfriends to sexual health and what she wants to study at university in the future. I love that she feels able to talk to me.
However, her mum isn’t comfortable about it. She called me last week and was furious that I’d helped her daughter decide what she was going to study next year. She said I’d overstepped the mark and that it was up to her and her ex to guide their daughter when it came to schooling. She then rang my hubby and gave him both barrels down the phone.
Her reaction really upset me – did I really do anything that bad? My stepdaughter asked me for advice and I gave it to her.
I don’t want to cause problems because, generally speaking, we all get on fine. Please can you help?
Coleen says
I think it’s great if your stepdaughter wants to open up to you about personal stuff like boyfriends and sex and, let’s be honest, we all had that relative or friend when we were young who was easier to talk to than your mum.
However, maybe when it comes to education, it’s better to leave it to your husband and his ex. If your stepdaughter does ask for advice about school or college, tell her that’s something you think she needs to chat to her mum and dad about. They’ll be the ones funding college or university.
Because your relationship with your husband’s ex has been good, why not just call her and say, “You’re right, I should have told her to come to you about decisions to do with her education”.
It’ll instantly take the heat out of it and keep the peace, and it’s worth it because things are working well.
I’ve often been that person whom my daughter’s friends have come to for advice, simply because they find it hard to talk to their mums about sex, boys or whatever.
It sounds as if you have a great relationship with your stepdaughter and are a very important figure in her life. If I were her mum, I’d be happy she had that type of relationship with a step-parent.
I’m sure a few conciliatory words would smooth things over.
She said I had overstepped the mark after friendly chat
THE GREAT CELEBRITY BAKE OFF
Channel 4, 8pm
THE beauty of the celebrity version of this show is that the baking skills can range from appalling to expert, which makes for excellent telly either way. Plus the contestants are all natural born performers.
In this episode, the four stars are all quite competitive, all eye-balling each other throughout. Host Matt Lucas welcomes Hollywood actor James McAvoy, pop star Anne-Marie, comedian David Baddiel and Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes. “This is pressure,” says Dame Kelly. “It’s like being on the start line.” Their first challenge is to make deep-filled decorative tarts. James gets going on a lemon meringue pie, telling an anecdote about a food fight in Montreal while filming “X Men… er, one of them”.
David makes a tart called “Revenge for mother’s disappointing desserts”, with a tin of mandarins as the star of the show.
Elsewhere in the tent, Anne-Marie has burst into a rendition of Castle on a Cloud from Les Mis as she attempts a banoffee pie.
There’s a lot of panic, yelling and occasional violence, not helped when Prue gives the following advice for the technical: “You need a really gentle touch and pray.” They must make six buttermilk cheese and chive scones, with their own butter.
“What the hell is a cheese scone?” asks Anne-Marie. Finally, the celebs must make a 3D marble cake that represents themselves in animal form. There is much piping of icing fur, some over-marbling and it all gathers frantic pace. They all want to win, but will they even reach the finish line?