Once upon a long time ago I lived with in a small town with my parents and sisters. I had three Grand-Parents (one Gramdma was dead), plenty of Uncles, Aunties, cousins, and many friends - but my elder sister Nellie was my very special "friend". We were learning lots of new things together, making several voyages of discovery, when she had to go to school to learn newer and stranger things, leaving me, lonely, to long days with my own devising.
Nellie was two years older than me, so I accepted - as she was first to be born that she had to try to do things first. She managed most things unaided; warning me of things hard, and teaching, in her turn, things easy at first, then gradually, the harder ones. I was warned of lessons like History and Geography, which were to come and which I would find hard, particularly if I didn't listen, or "pay attention" - a new term brought to the two of us by school and teachers. Because of Nellie's new and affected mannerisms I knew how a Teacher behaved, long before I met her. Nellie was my advance-guard and part-guardian-angel. She was to serve, willingly, in that capacity until the war came. The days were long without her, and games and adventures on my own did not seem to be worth the effort. Losing marbles, and throwing another to find it wasn't as good as the two of us having a thorough search. I waited a lot, and waiting, I missed her the more.
I would anticipate her mid-day break and afternoon ending by waiting just inside the front gate - even though there was not much traffic about, and everybody knew everybody in "Skem".

Mother wanted to be able to see me from the window whilst Grandma always did, and would tap on the pane and "mee-maw" (exaggerated actions and mouthing like Hilda Baker the comedienne used in her act - a northern practice used originally when the voice couldn't be heard above the clacking of the looms), she would do this just to entertain me and while away the boredom of waiting. Grandma understood my pride just as she understood most things, and explained the difference between watched and watched over ie. Uncle Fred watched me form the round vowels I liked to write, whilst she watched over me to see that I would come to no harm or miss Nellie if I was chatting to anyone. Because of that start I'm convinced I have been watched over ever since.

Waiting for Nellie enabled me to make many casual friends - but one of the special ones had been a small plump lady with dimples in her cheeks and chin, and lovely bright eyes that laughed with you. She talked with a brightness and sparkle matching her lovely eyes, and I felt the love in both. I think she was the first 'strange woman' I ever loved. She was to be a big influence in my life and still is. Nellie said she had taught her at school 'all - last year'.

Once I was waiting for Nellie who was late, and spied her lower down High Street - skipping by the side of this lovely lady. Nellie introduced me to her and, oddly enough it is because of Miss Ecclestone I can work out that it was about 1918 or 19, our Dick and the other two had not been born yet, and I would be three or four and unable to read or write properly, though Uncle Fred was showing me how to write first, and to read that which I had written afterwards. It was interesting and done entirely separate from Nellie - though later I wrote with Miss Ecclestone's guidance and used the same letters and figures, even if she had taught me in a different way. If I could meet her in the High Street again I would like to tell Miss Ecclestone that I still use the same letters and figures she had taught me - and they had earned me a living for many a year and have given me a great deal of pleasure all my life. All teachers past and present, having read so far should think on this, but I over-run my tale. Nellie was coming up the High Street with Miss Ecclestone and I was about to tell her that I would like to join Nellie at school. The long and short of it was - I would have to wait until I was 'older'. It was always so and I always quickly grew tired of waiting, apart from which, heaven only knows what items I missed in the interim. Miss Ecclestone suggested Sunday School - I could go if I went with Nellie and if Mother would sanction. I would - she did - and we eventually went!
What a crowd there was! I never imagined so many people in Skem - leave alone Sunday School. It was a crowd - but Nellie battled for the two of us.

We all assembled in the bigger room of the Mission Church first, then after a hymn - sang from a chart that Nellie could not read fast enough, and I could not see at all - we went into vestries and anti-rooms, Nellie was to keep with me at first. Week after week we climbed the staired room - the stairs being the seats when we settled down - and Miss Ecclestone, now below us, told us splendid stories of Moses in the bulrushes, Moses coming down a mountain, Joseph and his coat of many colours and many, many others.

We liked the Mission Church, and though we sang the same hymns often, still could not see the chart. Sometimes Nellie sang - she had learned the words because of them being sung so often. I mouthed them because of difficulty in understanding grown-up hymns. I had noticed that sometimes we sang "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild" instead of saying it like Dad had taught us to, and I liked the Christmas hymn "Away in a manger" - and other hymns that made me 'feel' the season, emotion or weather, two little hymns and songs that Nellie taught me from her advanced knowledge. Some of the grown-up hymns sounded so sad and made me feel so. A hymn we sang often was about Rosie Peril on the sea.

I supposed I would hear about Rosie Peril as I got older. I did hear - from Miss Ecclestone - about Grace Darling, Florence Nightingale and later - from Nellie - of Joan of Arc and other brave and kind ladies. I even heard about Lord Ullin's daughter and Mary on the sands of Dee, and thought I was getting near - but of Rosie Peril - not a word!!! Nor did I read of her when I could read and see the chart.
Rosie Peril would have been lost in the realms of time but for one or two things that happened afterwards, I asked Nellie first - she just smiled and told me I would learn when I was older. Another time when I was much older and a soldier, I was on Church Parade and we didn't have any hymn-books, so they chose hymns we had sung many times before - like 'Fight the good fight', 'Oh God our help in ages past' and, of course 'Eternal Father, strong to save' - and as I listened rather than singing (because the hymn had made me sad again) I could have sworn that they sang for "Rosie Peril on the sea".

I can't sing now - because of shortage of breath - but I mouthed the words and sang them in my heart when we were on television. And, sometimes when Alan chooses "that" hymn - I sing the refrain for Rosie Peril as a sort of duet - in my head and in my heart - making Rosie Peril like "The Unknown Soldier" - like 'Everyman' or 'Everywoman' and nobody knows but me - and you NOW!