Nineteen forty-four was a busy year for Mum. My sister Emm was getting married, and had decided the ceremony would be held in our village church. Because of the lack of money and clothes coupons, it was hard for Mum to buy something to wear for the wedding. There was no money for the rest of the family to have new clothes, and so we could not go to the church. We were very disappointed when we heard this, as it was the first marriage in our family. Although there was only a few friends and relatives coming, it was a problem for Mum to cater for them. She wanted the table to look nice for Emm’s wedding, but food rationing and the shortage of money made it very difficult.
Emm’s wedding was a week away, and she wrote to say that she and Fred would be down a few days beforehand. Anne had managed to get a few days leave and was bringing Bill, her boyfriend, with her. The day of the wedding dawned. Mum was up early, and Lil – who had taken two days holiday – was helping her prepare the food. Mum’s best white tablecloth, which was only used at Christmas time, was spread on the table, and Lil had picked some flowers for the centre of the table. When Lil’s employer heard that her sister was getting married, they had kindly given her a small fruit cake covered with white icing. Mum had cut the cheese and paste sandwiches small, and arranged them on plates. Lil had put some pickles in small bowls, and made some sausage rolls and jam tarts, and although the plates and glasses were all odd, it looked quite posh to my family. Emm just looked at the table without commenting, and going by the look on her face she was not very impressed. Fred and Emm had brought some beer and wine with them from London, no doubt obtained from the flourishing black market, and it certainly made the table appear more festive.
We were surprised when Mum came downstairs at how nice she looked in her new clothes, as all Mum’s clothes were getting quite shabby. Emm looked lovely in a smart suit with a fur collar, and she had pinned a small spray of flowers on the front. Later she left the spray of flowers to be put on Dad’s grave.
Fred, Bill and Anne wore their uniforms and looked very smart. Emm had somehow managed to hire a car to take them to the church, and we waved them goodbye as it started down the lane.
Mum’s last words as she got into the car, was a warning to us not to touch the food or we would be sent straight to bed when she arrived back. It was too much temptation for the boys, and they helped themselves to sausage rolls and some tarts. Everyone was in a good mood when they came back from the church, and luckily for the boys the missing food was never noticed.
We all enjoyed the reception, especially our Mum who loved company, and was still missing Dad. There were some friends of Emm, and Anne and Bill had invited a few friends from their camp. Mum’s friend Kit was there, and with our large family there was quite a crowd.
Lil made some tea, and handed plates of sandwiches and pickles around, and as there were not enough chairs, most of the men had to stand. The table was soon empty of food, and Emm cut the cake into very small pieces so everyone would get a slice. Fred poured wine into the glasses, and made a speech thanking everybody for the presents, and best wishes they had received. Then he thanked Mum and Lil for their hard work. Lil was pouring us some lemonade so we could join in the toast, and when she heard Fred mention her name she went red and started to cry.
The rest of the evening we spent singing and dancing, and Mum played the piano. Kit sang some of her songs, but the trouble was once she started it was very hard to get her to stop. Emm, in a vain bid to get her to stop singing, offered her a cup of tea, but Kit said that she would have a drink later and carried on singing. I could see Emm was getting cross, but luckily Kit had to leave to catch the last bus. Emm and Fred thanked her for coming, and said how much they had enjoyed her singing. After waving goodbye to Kit, Emm came back indoors and said: “Thank goodness she’s gone, I thought we would have to listen to her bleedin’ singing all night.” Mum looked a bit cross, and said it was nice of Kit to come as she was always busy entertaining people in Merthyr Tydfil. Emm replied: “With a voice like that, it’s a pity she didn’t stay there.” It had been a lovely day for us, but now it was time to say goodnight to everybody and go to bed.
