Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

We had 13 days holiday, inclusive of everything from Newcastle to Oslo return
by ship, train to Lillehammer, the stay in the YH and a hotel one night, for £23
each! (The equivalent after inflation is £385 today). It was an interesting and
enjoyable holiday though the snow could have been better for skiing, especially
because of Maureen's limited skill, and skiing through the forest requires special
skills. We did a bit of ice-skating, which neither of us had done for years and she
tells me that I almost went off with a beautiful Norwegian girl who skated like an
angel! Of course I don’t remember.
In July, Ray Adie, an Antarctic colleague and close friend of mine who
Maureen had also known for some time, and Aileen, were married at St. John's
College and I was best man. Bunny and Joyce Fuchs and their daughter Hilary
were also at the wedding and other FIDS friends. Maureen had got to know
Bunny and Joyce well and we worked quite a lot in their garden at week ends,
ending up with a splendid tea for the workers!
Later that month I took her to the Lake District for the first time and we
stayed with my elderly Quaker friends, Freda and Cuthbert Woods, who had
looked after me during the war years when my school was evacuated from
Whitley Bay to Windermere. I loved my time there and knew the entire district
very well indeed. The Woods' house and garden were beautiful and overlooked
Lake Windermere. They had a small sailing dinghy, which we used; I had sailed
her many times in my younger days. Maureen’s first long walk was up Fairfield,
near Grasmere: this was a horseshoe ridge walk that went on and up, on and up,
on and then down and down, all day and without water. Maureen passed this
test and we did become engaged! She was wearing Joyce Fuchs' walking trousers
and jacket and wore heavy walking boots for the first time. (She only began to
enjoy my walks when she bought a pair of really lightweight boots some years
later). It was superb swimming in the cool rocky pools of the lovely river flowing
from Langstrath, near Stonethwaite, in Borrowdale, where we later came to
camp. There were little waterfalls to cool off under as well. She certainly fell in
love with the Lake District from that time on.
After six months or so working at Heyworths, she decided to try some
fashion modeling and went to London for an interview at Majorie Molyneaux's
Agency. It was a wet day so she was in boots and raincoat. All the other
hopefuls were in very high heels and little black dresses! In spite of her boots
striding the modeling platform, she was told that she walked very well and yes,
they would take her for training. So she moved to London, having found a small,
newly finished flat at 5, Emperor's Gate, Gloucester Road. Eventually she found a
flat-mate, Heather Watty, whose parents lived in Portugal, and for the next year
modeled in various fashion houses including Harvey Nicholls. She quite enjoyed
it, mainly because it was different, and she loved to put on the attractive clothes,
but it was very boring much of the time, so in Harvey Nicholls she used to help
sell the clothes. She enjoyed doing that and was enthusiastic and honest, in her
opinions! I would come down to visit, usually at weekends. I supervised her
when she was trying to cook a roast in the oven for lunch and I bought her a first
cookery book, the "Penguin Cookery Book", which she still uses though it is now
very tattered!
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