Adieu Frances
ADIEU Frances, mon amie despuis que 1954, il y a 62 ans.
We met at Manchester Ringway Airport, she was the glamorous ex Wimbledon player,and ground hostess for Sabena Belgian Airlines, I was on the information desk. One day Frances said Sabena were starting the first daily flight to New York ,and required another ground hostess, After visiting the commercial manager Mr Jack Davis in Manchester, he asked if I spoke French?, no, but willing to learn, did I type?, no willing to learn, was I willing to work late shifts? Yes.
Frances and I worked together for Sabena for the next four years, we both enjoyed every day it was great fun, even when we spent all night sleeping with a head on the desk awaiting the next flight from New York, DC7s had many technical problems in the early days before the Boeing 707.
Frances then Joined B.O.A.C. as a stewardess in 1960.and was based at London airport, she came back to Manchester often to see her mother. While in the training school she stayed in a house in Isleworth where she met Carole and Annetta. When I joined B.O.A.C. in 1962,the four of us shared a rented flat on the top of Richmond Hill we had a very happy maison a quartro, all flying off to different parts of the world, it was great fun, we certainally enjoyed ourselves.
Annetta married ,and went to live in Kingston Jamacia, we all visited her often when on stopovers in Kingston.
Carole, Frances and I decided to buy a maisonette, 5,Popes Court Strawberry Hill it cost £4,000. The purchase was quite amusing, Mr Palmer the solicitor in Kingston Middlesex, sat Frances and I down in his office, first question, How much money did we have for a deposit? Frances had £60.00 in deposit account, I had nothing, Carole had unit trust shares….. Mr Palmer took up the challenge ; three single girls wanting to buy a house together, and he made the whole thing happen.
We moved ourselves in with three beds , a bamboo bar and stools. We loved our new home.
Frances went off on a flight to Australia, she had a stop over in Karachi, Geoffrey was a passenger on this flight who was given special attention, he decided to also get off in Karachi, they even walked together from the airport to the nearby B.O.A.C. rest house.
The rest is history you all must know: Hong Kong, Gregory , and then Stephen. Carole and I flew often to Hong Kong so saw the family grow up. The original four of us met every year at 5, Popes Court., and later when Frances brought the junior tennis team from Hong Kong to play at her old club The Northern Tennis in Manchester, they all stayed with Julian, Xavier Zoe and I in Northenden. Gregory insisted on changing the hen run in the garden into a rabbit run , Frances was very frightened of Gregory damaging his tennis hand when he had the hammer, or when he rode off on the bike in the park. We bought two dwarf white rabbits, one lived happily for the next ten years with Guinee pigs.
This is my pocket addition of the years Frances and I have been friends,
To Geoffrey Gregory and Alex Stephen , Your Wife and Mother Frances was a very special lady.