Page 9 - Through a glass brightly

Val Mulder neé Townsend (Val M.)
I happily went off to Exeter University straight after school to
study French, with Latin as an add-on. I absolutely loved
university life, never learned to love French literature, spent a
mind-expanding and growing up year in Avignon in my third year
as the English equivalent of a Mademoiselle, did some hair-raising
hitch-hiking around Europe at every opportunity and graduated
without any idea of what I wanted to do with my life. Knowing
that I absolutely did not want to teach French and did not want a
sedentary job indoors, a chance conversation with a friend led to
me deciding to train as a social worker, so I found a job at the
Whittington Hospital as a social work assistant while I applied for
training courses. This led to the two most enjoyable years of my life, living in Oxford and cycling around the housing estates helping ‘problem’ families combined with dinners in college, punting and balls and boat races. I thought that life would continue like that and that I had escaped from London for ever, but on both counts I was wrong. I ended up moving back to London with my then boy friend (later husband) who, having come from the Canadian prairies, wanted to see what life in London was like and to set up as an art dealer. That’s 50 years ago this year – he is still there. As for me, I worked in Southwark as a child care officer and later as a hospital social worker. Then came three children and I settled into the life in London I never expected to have. Wind on many years and, unwilling to face the stress and irregular hours of social work, I retrained as a primary school teacher and very happily settled into life in the classroom in a lovely school close to home. Some years later, retired, divorced and, having lost one son as a teenager and the other two children grown up, I finally escaped from cities – first to Wheathampstead for 12 years in order to be able to look after my very elderly parents in Barnet, and after their deaths down to Devon to join my children, who had both fortunately settled in the same place. Here I enjoy travelling, birdwatching, walking and follow many other interests and best of all, I see some of my grandchildren every day!
Margaret Peart neé Youngs (Mag P.)
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