What Presents Did You Get?

As Bertie is only two he got up early to open his presents. Sixty years ago I did the same.

Here are mine.

As a child I was dumb until I was four, then compensated by speaking too fast and my machine-gun rattle was hard to de-code. A speech therapist was summoned to interview me. She wanted us to be on our own so we walked to the Kitchen Garden and back chatting. I suppose she asked me about things, I forget. What I remember is I did not want speech therapy. I was careful to speak slowly, enunciating clearly, and I passed the test. It was a formative experience in preparation for all the exams that lay ahead.

The inaugural Chairman of The PG Wodehouse Society (UK) was Norman Murphy. When he conducted Wodehouse walks and tours he had so much to say it came out in a torrent. Members whose first language was not English struggled at times but the rest of us were simply kept on our toes by his staccato delivery.

Here are three presents I was given before Christmas.

Norman’s umbrella, his One Man’s London and a handy shopping bag. I am mighty pleased with this haul but especially touched that Elin bestowed Norman’s umbrella on me. Next year I will put on a trilby, wield his gamp and try to find the quirky things Norman noticed and wrote about. By the way, it is a book for an armchair walker as much as one with feet on the ground.