Editor’s Diary: Sharing Memories

In the Editor’s Diary this week, I thought I’d share a glimpse of lockdown life in my small Fife town.

It has long been famous for its fruit, and one of the many lovely things about that is our community orchard! It’s lovingly tended by local volunteers, with everyone welcome to harvest the fruit for their own use when it ripens.

Right now, the apple trees are in full bloom. My picture doesn’t really do them justice. And it doesn’t convey the heady scent, or the buzzing of the bees. But it’s still a lovely image of spring.

Nature carries on regardless of the lockdown. And as the weeks at home pass, I’m finding I’ve settled into a new routine.

I’m enjoying working with the kitchen window open and birdsong drifting in. I can have the radio softly playing all day without disturbing anyone else.

Which reminds me of my long-ago days on Jackie magazine. We always had the radio on back then, though the volume was anything but low!

I’m missing seeing the people I care about, though. My mum lives in a care home and I haven’t seen her since early March.

We chat on the phone, however, and last week, the VE Day commemorations got us talking. Mum was just five years old back in 1945. I asked her if she remembered much about it.

“I remember a big party in Pipe Street,” she recalled. (She grew up in Portobello, near Edinburgh). “And afterwards, I remember seeing a picture of my granny at the party. It made an impression because she never usually went out. But she did, that day.

“And she only had one coat, with a fur collar. It was much too warm, but she kept it on.”

Such simple memories, but a brilliantly detailed glimpse into my family history.

I’m sure almost everyone has had similar conversations with their loved ones recently.

A reminder that we might not be able to get together in person right now, but we still share so much.

For more from Angela, click the tag below to read her Editor’s Diary.

Read more from the team over on our blog.