--oxXxo--
Olwyn on the other hand went through a much less happy period during our early years in that house. She developed pneumonia and for some days everyone was very worried about her. The doctors had developed early medicines, precursors of antibiotics, called sulpha drugs, and it was one of these, used to assist wounded servicemen, that they treated the pneumonia with, and Olwyn recovered and seems to have been healthy ever since.
--oxXxo--
It was during those years that our parents extended an invitation to a cousin of Dad's, Alice Grover, to come and share our house; she occupied the large lounge and the front bedroom. Alice was a daughter of Charles Albert, the eldest son of Charles and Alice Gaze, and so a first cousin of my father Noel. Years later she married Alf Pearce, widower of another cousin. She was a lovely lady who looked after us when our parents went out in return for sharing the house.
--oxXxo--
I was continuing to learn to play the piano. Miss Campbell, a dour Scottish lady of uncertain age, lived just across the road from us and I would trot over once a week in the early morning for my lesson, and practise, somewhat reluctantly, most afternoons. Miss Campbell coached me more or less successfully through the Royal Schools exams each year, and on one occasion arranged for me to play on the children's programme on 1YA (National Radio). I had to turn up at the building at the top of Shortland Street and meet the "Auntie" who ran the programme and then play the piano, live, for all of Auckland to hear.
--oxXxo--
Two special times are etched on my memory. the first was the annual garden party which my parents hosted to raise funds for some church activity. Our garden was large, something more than half an acre (2000 square metres), and there was plenty of room for games, entertainments in the lounge, and white elephant tables. We were allowed to sit at the gate and collect the entry fee.
--oxXxo--
The other was holidays, especially Christmas holidays, when our Bird cousins would come and stay. Soon after Barbara was born, Uncle Doug had died suddenly and the family moved to Auckland. They lived in Mt Albert and we used to visit them often. Auntie Win had the big job of raising four children on her own. The nearest to my age was Derry, and when they all stayed with us he and I used to top and tail on the window-seat in the lounge. We developed a system of communication by pulling each other's toes; it was similar to the keyboard of a cellphone as used for texting, and enabled us to carry on talking after our parents had called out for the umpteenth time, "If you children don't go to sleep....."
--oxXxo--
For my tenth birthday I was given the best ever present by my parents: a second-hand three-quarter sized bike, which had cost $5. I soon learned to ride it, by going around the garden many times each day, and then set out to explore the district on the roads. As it was still wartime there was not much traffic, so I was able to keep out of harms way.
--oxXxo--
For Years 7 and 8 we used to travel to Otahuhu School each week for Manual Training, which meant woodwork for the boys and Cooking for the girls. In one such lesson I rammed a one-inch chisel into the base of my left thumb. There was blood everywhere, and the teacher read the riot act, and applied a methylated spirit-soaked rag to the wound and then bound it up with a bandage. When my parents removed the bandage next day they were horrified to think I had not been taken to a doctor for stitches. However with the help of a course of a new sulpha drug the wound healed quickly.
--oxXxo--
In August 1945 the war ended; everyone stopped work and the busses home were free. Dad arrived from town to find us still standing in lines being harangued by the teachers about the end of the war, and was not impressed, because he was going to have to go back to work in the morning, while we were getting off for the holidays.
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