Gladys Bailey 1911 -2009

My Grandfather's sister Gladys died on Monday 13th July, she was in Moulton, the village where she was born.  My usual memory of her from when we were children was at Cogenhoe Mill where she had a chalet with her husband Reg.  I think they used to bowl on the beautifully cut lawn at the front of the chalet.  She had worked at Bletchley Park managing the club there when she was younger and was always well groomed and incredibly tall and smart with never a hair out of place.  This photograph is of the May day celebrations in about 1922/1923 in Moulton Northants. Gladys has her name marked on the photograph.  

Off to John Clare Country

Took my Mum over to the John Clare festival in Helpstone, near Peterborough / Stamford.  It is a lovely village and we spent plenty of time poking through the books and looking at Carry Ackroyd's work in a local print/art sellers shop.  The house where John Clare was born is now open to the public although there are other interesting houses all through the village.

We walked across to St Botolph's church where John Clare is buried. As part of the festival, local children had brought decorated turfs and placed them around the grave. Apart from the lavender, they were the brightest things in the churchyard.

The church has several windows but my favourite details were of the lilies and clothing on the older window.

To celebrate John Clare, we walked through the village in an occasional drizzle and followed the footpath across the bean fields looking at the butterflies in the lanes and listening to the skylarks above the cornfield.