Six Questions and responses from Andrea’s Storyworth service.

Introduction for context

This is a service that collects your loved one's favorite stories and memories and preserves them in a beautifully bound book. The subscription sends questions via email and once you hit a certain number of responses, it will produce a book that tells that person’s story. Andrea had answered 6 of these questions and one of her son Daniel’s last conversations with her was that he would return the next day to the hospital and have her dictate the remaining responses needed in order to have enough to publish the book. Unfortunately that never happened

1. What was your first boss like?

Ha,what a question to start with!

I guess my first job must have been a holiday job. When we got to 15 yrs old we were allowed to work in the school holidays to earn some pocket money.

So, as we all reached 15 and the school holidays approached we used to trudge round all the nearest shops and offices saying “excuse me, do you have any jobs going?”

The answer was usually “not at the moment, sorry”. BUT luckily for me there was a jam (jelly) factory called Robertson’s jamworks about 400 metres from my house who would take on students for 6 weeks in the summer. A few of us got taken on and we had good fun as well as earning real money.

Our boss was a very large, very loud lady called Mrs Sweet (I kid you not). Of course she was the opposite of sweet and used to keep strict control over us. Woe betide anyone who was even one minute late…..she would then take 15 minutes off our lunch break as punishment. We had to wear tight hair nets to keep our hair out of the jam….if you had as much as a wisp of hair showing she would cut it off!!!!

Apart from her we had a great time at the jamworks.

2. How would you describe your Grandparents?

We all have 4 grandparents but I only knew 2 of mine, my mum’s parents who were called Nellie and Archie Andrews. My Dad’s parents died before I was born.

Nellie and Archie were very kind people, we used to spend Xmas Day with them and then they would visit us on Boxing Day. My Grandad was a very sweet gentle person and I was close to him. He had a nice singing voice and we used to make up little songs and harmonise together. My Nanna was a very small person but she made up for that with her forceful personality. Everyone was a little bit scared of her but her bark was worse than her bite.

They paid for my school uniform and equipment when I went to big school which was a very kind thing to do.

I remember them very fondly

3. What were your favorite toys as a child?

When I was very small, about 6 yes old, my favourite toys would have been my dollies and teddies. This was because I used to like to build a den indoors and pretend it was a school room. I would line up my dolls and teddies,make a register and timetable for the day and then act everything out.

When I was older, about 9, I used to love my bike. We had a large field opposite my house where we would spend hours racing and making tracks and setting challenges.

4. What were memorable holidays from your Childhood?

From the age of 3 to teenage years the week’s holiday my family took every summer was special to me. Please note ONE week only - that was all we got each year.

Because my Dad worked for British Rail we got free train travel which was a godsend as we didn’t have a car. It meant we could travel to the South Coast, Devon and Cornwall which we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to do.

My Mum and Dad were obsessed with Butlins holiday camps so that was where we went. Minehead in Somerset was one of our favourites.

The main attraction was that it catered for every age group so there was something for everyone. Also there were at least two fairground ride sections, two or three swimming pools and several ballrooms and stages for evening entertainment. Kids from 6 to 12 had their own club which kept them amused all day.

One of the main marketing points were the hugely popular competitions such as Glamorous Grandmother, Dad and his lad, Bonnie baby etc. These were the main ones although there were also competitive swimming and athletics, and the prizes for all these were well worth winning. I remember winning a free week's holiday and that was for coming 2nd in the junior talent contest! [We think it was for dancing as she was taking classes when she was younger]

5. What store did you love to go to as a child?

We used to travel into Manchester on the bus when I was little as we didn’t have a car. It was a trolley bus and used to take about 30 mins.The journey itself was part of the excitement as we would sit right at the front of the bus on the top deck and pretend we were driving!

The store I used to love going to was Woolworths, the first department store of its kind with 5 floors, a cafe and restrooms. There were lifts and escalators, all very progressive for the late fifties in North West England!

The actual goods on the ground floor were what we went for……all displayed out on the counter in rows for you to pick up and have a good look at before buying. There was a whole counter devoted to sweets and ice cream which we loved spending time at. Also books, cards and the new fad of small gramophone records, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard etc.

SO, after paying for our collection of mixed items, it was a visit to the top floor for a soft drink and a cake before the bus journey home, what an exciting afternoon!!!

6. What's the first major news story you remember living through as a child?

It was the Aberfan mine disaster which was when the slurry pit collapsed onto a Welsh primary school. It happened in 1966.

Because it was on TV rolling news and I was at a friend’s house in the school holidays we were gripped by it and watched all day.

I won’t go into the details as it was all about death and wounded numbers but the conversations with parents at the school gates particularly stayed in one’s head afterwards.

Other Family Members’ Memories and Recollections

1. David Jones, (Andrea’s brother)

Dave’s abiding memory of his sister when they were growing up was her love of the Beatles and most things Motown. He recalled them as the soundtracks of their youth and he also mentioned her fashionable lean towards Mary Quaint and Twiggy and all things 60’s. He explained that she also went to the first recordings of the Top of the Pops when it was from the old church on Dickinson Road in 1964. And of course, he referenced her trip down to Wembley in 1968 to see United win the European Cup, as well as their time together attending matches in the early to mid 60’s.

Additionally:

“She worked at Belle Vue in the Fish and Chips shop at the side of King’s Hall, that will have been when she was 15 or 16, a summer job in the school holidays. I can remember turning up for free chips on several occasions, when I was 10 or 11. Then a year later she got a job at Belle Vue dog track in one of the Tote booths, again for a season I think. I remember we’d go there with Mum and Dad, it was a good night out.

Saturday afternoons we’d be dragged along to Nanna (Ellen Snape) and Grandad’s (Archie Andrews) house in Surbiton Road, Newton Heath. This was every Saturday until we could be trusted on our own. Andrea was very fond of Auntie Chrissie, who lived next door at Number 24. She would spend a lot of time with her. I think she felt sorry for her living on her own, or it could have been because she had a piano”.

2. Tamar Koch (daughter-in-law)

“Andrea gave us such reliable and regular support when our children were young, firstly to me when I had Orli - stepping into my mum's role in helping me - as my mum lives abroad, and then offering huge amounts of support when Romy was born too. She always wanted to help us, and seemed to thrive by being around the children. In fact, she was so into kids, that she always wanted to hear the latest news about my nephews and nieces in Israel, even though she never actually met them. 

Andrea, Robert, and our family were lucky enough to go on holiday together to various parts of the UK and abroad, a couple of times with my mum, with whom Andrea forged a good friendship. Her wackiness made her ability to entertain the kids with silliness and imaginary games endless. I will never forget her willingness (at the age of 68) to make the video for Louise's 40th, taking on the role of Louise and happily doing a forward roll and yoga poses, and in a disco scene inviting a little Orli, who was playing me, to go back to hers for a coffee. I will also always remember what she said to me about having children, after Orli was born: "they are only ever lent to us, you know". And we can say the same for her. May she rest in peace.”

3. Kimberly Miller (daughter-in-law)

“My fondest memory is really just her enthusiasm to play with the kids. Even in her 70’s she would get on the ground and play. I’d look in the back yard and she would be standing strong like David De Gea. The boys had so much fun with her and it was always so sweet to see.

It was common to see her in front of our TV, decked out head to toe in United gear yelling and occasionally cheering them on.

And I can’t skip over our trip to Disney World. That really was for her and you could tell she was in her happy place. To see her vibrancy after two weeks in Croatia and then reminiscing about old times in Florida with the family was really touching.”

4. Megan Jones (niece)
Megan referenced the day all our family was together in Southport this summer. Megan described it as a treasured memory and felt that everyone was happy and relaxed.

5. Andrea’s Grandchildren: Dylan, Orli, Austin & Romy

Andrea’s 4 grandchildren all came up with 3 words each as a memory for their Nanna:

Dylan- Nice, Merry and Considerate
Orli- Playful, Firm and Fun
Austin- Loveable, Caring and Exciting
Romy- Kind, Cuddly and Angry (when Grandad did not let her do what she wanted :))

6. Daniel Miller (son)

“We encourage you to keep this order of service and reflect on it from time to time, in order to ensure that the story of my Mum, our flower of Manchester, is never forgotten. 

We’ll keep your flag flying high Mum and take some comfort in the fact that you have found peace.”