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A view from next door
BY JOHN
BUCKLAND, who once lived next door to Mr. and Mrs Swaine. I only knew Mrs. Swaine after 'the Boss' had died but we did share many memories about Central School and the one over-riding thing that came out was the total dedication of the Swaines to the school. Mrs.Swaine used to like to sing the school song with me and our conversations always centred around the school. As she became ill I recall one occasion when, whilst my wife went to 'phone for an ambulance, I knelt at her feet to massage them as she was complaining that her feet were cold. She was quite lucid and able to talk and we joked about the fact that, all those years ago when Mr. Swaine was whacking my backside for being late back at lunchtime he couldn't have guessed that I would, one day, be kneeling at his wife's feet in her bedroom. She really was a lovely lady and a sad footnote is that her sons gave my ex-wife and I some china as a memory of our friendship with their mum which was later stolen in a burglary. Please send in your stories about Boss Swaine. |