Mum was blessed with a long retirement and after all the physical demands of the hospitality industry, she was ready to take things at a gentler pace. Or that's what she thought?! Grandchildren Margaret, Maddie, Jim and Charlie were toddlers and babies and mum couldn't resist helping out and taking them off for day trips. Fairs and tractor rides, days by the sea, nursery playgroups and school concerts..
Betty was always happy around the grandchildren and genuinely interested in their welfare. The extent of her protective instincts was illustrated very clearly once when my sister and I accidentally caused a fire in the upstairs bedroom of our friend's house! We were jumping on mattresses next to an electric fire (only 7/9years old! ) that clicked on without us knowing. As we all sat down for dinner with the family, (mum and Toni stayed friends for many years after luckily!) the smell of smoke wafted down the stairs. Before anyone had time to finish the sentence 'is that a fire?' Betty was already halfway up the stairs and straight into baby Christians bedroom! Grabbed him and was out the door..
Mum & Dad enjoyed their life at the Regency Court flat, not far from Preston village and the Preston Bowling Club where they would socialise and meet up with family members too, Uncle Mike & Carol, Sally & Barry. Betty would be in contact with her sisters, Pat, Queenie & Mary on a weekly basis and they would often rendezvous in cafes, restaurants and shops. As the years passed and they lived a little further away, Mum & Queenie moving to Worthing, they still made the effort to meet up every week just the 4 of them, at a garden centre or fish&chip shop restaurant. They had all grown up by the sea with their father serving in the Royal Navy and then a keen fisherman with his own boat, so their love of the beach and fish/seafood was clearly in their blood. Often we would ask mum in her later years 'Where would you like to go for a birthday dinner?'. Her reply usually was a Fish&Chip Restaurant! And mum became a connoisseur of all the decent ones in Worthing!
During Betty's early retirement, mum & dad spent a lot of time exploring England and abroad in their caravan. Favourite spots were Heaven's Farm in Sussex, a beautiful spot with views of farm animals and bluebells and Chatsworth Stately Home in Yorkshire, which mum absolutely loved. They also travelled down to Alicante, Spain and parked the caravan up for 4-6minths of the winter on a lovely site, next to Orange trees and with a fantastic social life. There they met Sven and Mona from Sweden, who became really great friends and they returned each year to Spain and even went to visit them in Sweden too. Sometimes mum would come back from Spain before the winter had passed as she began to miss the grandchildren, and eventually the caravan was sold when mum&dad made the move to Worthing.
Living in Worthing really suited Betty and she continued to enjoy it even after Ernie's passing. It is fitting that we are having the Wake at Marine Gardens Restaurant as mum had very happy times there, watching dad on the bowling greens and playing with the 2nd batch of granchildren! Sam, Amelia, Georgia and Darcy..