annanotbob2's Diaryland Diary

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Angela

Today I found out that my friend Angela died this morning. She was well into her eighties, if not a bit older. I met her when I first started teaching. She was on reception, a tall, majestic woman with a definite presence. Her hair was already white and she had a deep, posh, booming voice. She was kind to everyone. She called us all darling till she had our names fixed and quite often carried that on, even when she knew who we were. She could read me like a book, so knew I was right out of my depth at first, giving me good practical advice. Once she found out I had teenage kids at home as well as at school she said, ‘Darling, you do have a cleaner, don’t you?’ Of course not, I used to be a cleaner, I couldn’t have one. ‘Nonsense. You can’t have all this all day and then do housework as well as preparation and marking – I expect you do the food shopping and cooking as well, don’t you?’ I asked around and it turned out all the women teachers with families did employ someone to whizz round with a hoover and a damp cloth once a week. I was rubbish at employing anyone – they all took the piss and did less and less each week till I had to let them go, one after another. In the end I paid my kids or their friends to do specific tasks when it got too sordid. “Anyone want to clean the kitchen for a fiver?” There was usually someone. I missed it when they all grew up and earned proper money.
Angela was always the friendly face I saw at the start of the school day and the one I chatted to on my way to and from my car for a smoke during free periods. When my teenagers turned into wild beasts (not Sammie, she was always easy going), Angela confided that one of hers had been an absolute nightmare. “You have to keep loving them, that’s the only way. If you keep loving them, they’ll come through, they’ll be fine in the end. They’re lovely kids, just having their troubles at the moment.” She was right and I really appreciated her telling me so often not to worry, that Son was a delightful young man, a credit to me, and he’d be back to being himself in no time. Which he was. It took longer than I hoped, but he did, he made it.
We kept in touch after I left that school – yay for Facebook – and I sometimes went to her house for tea and gossip. She never gossiped while she was at the school but once she retired she did share some choice tidbits about some of the less pleasant members of staff.
Later, when Sammie had all those kidney stones and went into the hospice for end of life care, who was on reception at the hospice but darling Angela, a volunteer role she’d taken up for a day a week during her retirement. I’ve never been so glad to see anyone – she came round the desk, enveloped me in a big long hug, and held me while I cried and cried and cried.
And now she’s gone. I don’t know any details but I hope it was gentle and peaceful, surrounded by her loving family. We called her Treasure, because she was. She touched many of our lives, dropping little nuggets of kindness and thoughtfulness. Rest in peace, darling. Rest in peace.

12:25 a.m. - 02.02.24

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