The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

Oh no Islandmaid. Your name tells the whole story. You even have braids on your head. No, I do not know why my mind thinks a girl who had never been anywhere near an Island must be the image of an Islandmaid, but there we are.

For the record, Mar wears an exquisitely knitted fair isle cardigan over leather biker trousers. The trousers have cargo pockets from which she whips out packets of jelly babies.

Nursemaggie obviously wears the chicest nurses uniform ever, that part designed by Dior after the war and looks like Jennifer Lee in Call the Midwife. Completely the wrong era but that is the era of nurse I like to picture so there we are.

Why yes, yes my imagination did and does get me into trouble. Why do you ask?

Hester, in my head you also have a fairy wand. I know, you'd prefer a whip, but wand it is.

FPK They have caught up with my era on call the midwife. I started as a Student Nurse in 1964. I was very slim and dainty then which made every male patient fall in love with me. I only weighed 6 stone.

We wore long dresses very wide skirts and high collars. The hem had to be 6 inches below our knees which in my case was just above my ankles. We had starched white aprons that almost met at the back with square bibs you had to pin to your dress. The dresses were a tiny blue check, we wore starched collars that cut your neck, we used to bang them with something' can't remember what, to soften them a bit. We had black stocking, tights had not been invented yet, and black lace up shoes. We had green cloaks with red linings which were turned to the red outside for the carols on Christmas Eve. Topped of with a large butterfly hat which took ages to fold from a large white starched rectangle about the size of a hand towel, not the little guest towels. It took weeks to get the laundry to starch them enough to be able to fold them properly. We wore them for weeks until we had another piece of cotton that stood up on its own.

We were all dying to get the frilly little hat when we became staff nurses. They replaced all starched white hats with paper ones about three weeks after finals.

So actually we were more old fashioned than on call the midwife. Now they don't look like nurses with their trousers and short tunics but they are more practical.

What a lovely description Nursemaggie! I love the pictures of those old uniforms, but I agree I'd much rather work in the contemporary ones!

mardatha wrote: »

Well I'm very sorry but I et the camel. It was a dreadful terrible tragedy. It wandered into my freezer and got lost in there, froze to death. So sad.

Polly is trying to catch up after the dreaded virus . Just skimmed through loads of pages .


Do you want me to quote all the confessions of guilt Mardatha or will one be enough ?


Look away Softstuff I don't want to remind you of the time nursie took up residence . Does anyone know if Nursie is still living in GQs cupboard with Henri du Vac ?
I think we should send her up the hill in Scotland to sort the wee wummin out once and for all .
To my knowledge Nursie has never killed a living thing but she can confine Mar to her wee hoose until she mends her ways .
Just think Mar she could run amok among the yarn stash and you would be too busy undoing all the knots to go hunting ever again .


I shall be back properly tomorrow just wanted a certain person to know I'm on the case........again .


Sleep well all , cooler here tonight .
polly x