Recently, I visited Anne's step mother in Wincanton - Beth is a force of nature, fearless, indomitable - I am very fond of her -
Last year, in her mid eighties, Beth emerged, bright eyed, in the Arrivals Hall of Istanbul's Ataturk Airport - Ken and Jane showed her all the sights of the ancient city - Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace -
Later, I read Jane's e-mails about Beth's Turkish adventures - Ken said she raced around like a two year old -
Beth trained as a nurse - she witnessed the coronation procession - a policeman hoisted her onto a pillar box so she could get a better view -
In the Gorbals, Beth attended women in labour, bustling up verminous stairways, calming unshaven husbands -
On board The Oriana, Beth sailed round the world - once she dangled her feet in a river full of crocodiles - over lemon drizzle cake, in Beth's house, you hear rare stories -
I'd walked with Anne through the dream filled streets of Wincanton - I thought of Beth and her adventures - how she's seen places I've only read about -
The stone houses gave away none of their secrets - they were like life stories as yet untold, full of small wonders -
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