One of my dominant memories of Mum and Christmas is her visits on Boxing Day. I think that after Dad passed away in 1986, and the subsequent family holiday at Christmas 1986, Mum alternated Christmases between one sister in Wallasey and the other in the London area. Both had very young children, and this provided an opportunity for her to see them – something I hope that they will treasure in future years.
My first wife and I rarely saw Mum on the day itself, but began to invite her round on Boxing Days. These seem to have begun in 1991, when we were living in a terraced house in New Brighton. I recall the pattern – after a busy day when she was helping out, or indeed hosting, for my Wallasey sister. She had a restful day in each case, when we insisted that Mum would not have to do anything.
In 1992 we had moved to a new house (the one in which I was still living when Mum passed away), and took Mum to the Boat Inn in Erbistock, in what had been the detached part of Flintshire. Ironically, this was north of Overton, near Knolton, where the family would visit Dad’s Aunt Amy, Uncle Rowland and Uncle Ron. I’m not sure when these visits ended, but we seem to have made the last one in 1983, after which Uncle Ron had died at a young age.
The Boat Inn is a dining one that we would visit later – including one visit with Mum – and I have visited recently since the place was extensively altered and refurbished. It is located by the River Dee, down a cul-de-sac lane, in a very rural area, and the “boat” in the title relates to the ferry across the Dee, that operated into the twentieth century. There are still remains of both landings, and historic photographs of the ferry inside. The main focus then and now, is on dining, and I recall a pleasant lunch there in 1992, and indeed later. On the way there we took a long diversion via Llangollen, following the road that descends via the World’s End. When we got back to Wallasey we also provided Mum with supper.
I have traced a later Boxing Day visit, to our home, in 1995. We had a fireplace in the front sitting room at the house, and this was the one day in the year when my wife set a fire there, which burned all day. We sought to provide something of a haven for Mum, and she always seemed to be very relaxed. It has provided a fond memory, although, checking back, it was not as frequent as I had recalled; the last was probably in 1999, or possibly in 2001. Sadly, there was no revival after my first wife had died in 2002, although I did take Mum on days out after that awful time.
27 December 2020
Joan Boughey Recalled 