Chapter 3 Chapter 1 Fun childhood stories in border towns (1)

1925-1943: In Grantham The first clear memory I have in my life is that of traffic.It was a sunny day and I was in a stroller as people pushed me across our small town to the park.I think I saw the busy scene of Grantham town on the road.In my memory, it was an exciting scene, mottled colors, shuttle-like traffic flow, passing crowd, and thunderous noise, intertwined with each other.But, oddly enough, it was a pleasant memory and my first exposure to the outside world, and I probably felt good about myself. As for those less clear memories, many of us may have had a hazy childhood.My memory is an idyllic haze.The sun shines into our room through the linden leaves, and my mother, my sister, or people who work in the shop, come and hug me or give me a piece of candy to coax me from time to time.People in my family often say that I was very good when I was young.My political opponents may find it hard to believe this.But I was not born into a peaceful family.

Four generations of the Roberts family have been shoemakers in Northampton, which at the time was a huge center of the shoe industry.My father wanted to be a teacher, but the family couldn't afford him to go to school, so he dropped out at the age of 13.He went to work at the Odell School, which was a good public school (that is, a private school).Many years later, when I answered questions in the House of Commons, Eric Heffer, a Labor left MP, was my old opponent.In order to win the support of the working class, he said that his father had been a carpenter at Odell's school.But when I countered that my dad had worked in the school's grocery store, he fell silent.

My father held several jobs, mostly in the food business, until 1913 when he became manager of a food shop in Grantham.He used to say later that he was earning 14 shillings a week, 12 shillings were used for board and lodging, a shilling was saved, and the remaining shilling was used for pocket money.A year later World War I broke out.My father was a devoted patriot who signed up to serve in the military at least six times and was rejected each time for health reasons.His younger brother Edward joined the army, became active duty, and was killed at Thessaloniki in 1917.There are very few families in England who have not suffered such grief.Memorial Day was celebrated across the country after the war, both earnestly and mournfully.

Four years after arriving in Grantham, my father met my mother, Beatrice Ethel Stephenson, at the local Methodist church.She was a seamstress and opened her own shop, and they were married in the church where they met in 1917, and my sister Muriel was born in 1921. My mother was so thrifty that by 1919 they were able to use the mortgage to buy their own store in North Parade.Our home was above the shop and in 1923 my father opened a second shop in Hunting Tower Road.This store is just opposite the school where I went to later. I was born on October 13, 1925, above the North Parade store. That same year my father expanded his operation and bought the two houses that adjoined our store in North Parade.Our shop and home are located on a busy intersection, not more than 100 yards from the main railway line.Grantham is an important railway junction, and we can set our clocks accordingly as the "Flying Scotsman" locomotive whizzes by.My biggest regret is that we don't have our own garden.It wasn't until the end of the Second World War that my father bought a house with a strip garden further north in Parade.This is something our family has been looking forward to for a long time.

The life of "opening a shop downstairs and setting up a home upstairs" is hard to describe in words.Anyone who has been through this experience knows that this kind of life is unique.One of its characteristics is that you are always at work.Whether it's late night or weekend, whenever people are short of bacon, sugar, butter or eggs, they come knocking on your door.We all know we make a living serving customers and it's no use complaining, so no one complains.Of course, we have to meet the needs of the customers first, and my father or the guy will come to meet them and take their order when someone knocks on the door.We have 3 guys at the North Parade store and one guy at the Hunting Tower Road store.Sometimes my mother went out to collect orders, and she took Muriel with me, and my sister and I got to know a lot of people in town.

Of course, it is impossible for us to close down for the whole family to go on vacation for a long time.We usually go on vacation to the local thalassotherapy resort of Skegness.However, father and mother must take vacations at different times.My father took a week off every year to attend his favorite bowling tournament in Skegness.Living above the shop, children can see their parents more often than children of other classes.Whether it was breakfast, or lunch, or afternoon tea or dinner, I could see my father.We have more time to talk and for that I am grateful to my family. My dad was an expert at running a grocery store.He always strives to provide quality goods and the layout of the store shows it.Behind the counter there are 3 rows of spice drawers made of mahogany. The copper handles are polished and the cabinet looks resplendent.Large black lacquered tea pots stood on the cabinet.I was sometimes given the job of dividing bags or boxes of tea, sugar, or biscuits into one- or two-pound sachets.There's a cool room at the back of the house we call the "Old Bakery" where there's bacon hanging out to be boned and sliced.The pleasant aromas of spices, coffee and bacon filled the room.

I was born into a practical, serious, religious family.Both my parents were devout Methodists.In fact, my father was still a lay missionary in and around Grantham, and he was often asked to go on a mission.His sermons were charismatic and informative.When I asked him one day why he used a "demonstrative tone" in his sermons, he was taken aback.I don't think he felt it himself.It was a knee-jerk devotion to the Gospel, a far cry from the flat tone he used to hold meetings or discuss current events. Methodism is at the center of our lives.At 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, the whole family went to church for worship.Before that, I had to go to Sunday school, and also to Sunday school in the afternoon.From the age of 12, I accompanied the children who sang hymns on the piano.Back then my parents used to go to church for evening services.

I don't think too much activity is a good thing.I remember a few times I managed to escape.I said to my dad that my little friends don't go to church, they can go for a walk.My father replied, "Don't do it just because others do it." This was his favorite saying.He said that when I mentioned that I wanted to learn to dance, and he said that when I sometimes mentioned that I wanted to go to the movies or go out somewhere.Regardless of how I felt at the time, this sentiment served me as well as it did my father. However, my father's sense of responsibility always had a benevolent side, which is not true for everyone.Before the Second World War, the life of the poor was very difficult. Even for those who worked hard and saved a little, their decent life was in jeopardy and it was not easy.They live on the edge of a knife, worrying that once disaster strikes, or if they relax a little, they may be in debt and thrown into the abyss of poverty.A life of precarity often makes those who have the best of hopes hard and intolerant of others.I remember my father discussing a friend's "prodigal son" with a church member.He squandered his parents' savings, penniless, and brought his young family to his parents' house.The parishioner's point was clear: that kid was bad, would never get better, and should be kicked out of the house.My father's answer is vivid in my memory, he said: A son is a son, and when he comes to ask for help, he should be welcomed with all the love and warmth of the family.Even if the sky falls, people must have a home to return to.

It can be seen that my father was a man of firm principles.My mother always said, "Your father always stood by his principles." However, he didn't advocate the application of those principles to affect other people's lives.As a city councilor and later as a senior senator, he encountered a difficult problem, that is, the scheduling of activities on the Sabbath.In those days, in Grantham and elsewhere, cinemas were mostly closed on the Sabbath.But during the war my father took a pragmatic rather than a dogmatic approach.He favored opening movie theaters on Sundays so that nearby garrisons would have a place to go without disturbing those who wanted quiet contemplation on the Sabbath.At the same time, he strongly opposed (though unsuccessfully) the opening of parks for recreational and sports activities.He thought that would destroy the peace of others.He sees Sunday as a special day, but is flexible in how he does it.I'm a girl though, and I take these restrictions lightly.But now I can appreciate how far my father, a highly principled man, was able to concede, as long as it made sense.

The integrity of not changing my beliefs because others disagree or don't have support was instilled in me as a teenager. In 1936, when I was 11, I got a copy of Beebe's Annual.Joseph Bibby was a Liverpool builder.He had earned a considerable fortune and used part of it to compile a religious magazine, a curious combination of profiles, family philosophy, and beautiful reproductions of famous pictures.I was young at the time and didn't know that what he preached was Theosophy (Theosophy is a mixture of mysticism, Christianity and "Oriental wisdom, some of which makes sense, and some of which is nonsense. -Translator's Note ). But the yearbook is one of my most treasured possessions. First, I learned some of the ballads from it that I still quote in extemporaneous speeches, because as I grew up, many of my feelings were reflected in them.

A boat sails east.Another boat sails west, They rode the same wind; It's the sails, not the wind, determines the course of the ship. Ella Wheeler Wilcox Another example: The heights reached and maintained by great men, Not overnight, When my partner is asleep, They climbed hard in the dead of night. Henry Woodsworth Longfellow Whether it was from my early exposure to the Bibby's Annual or from instinct, I soon took a liking to poetry. I was very proud when I won the Grantham Welsh Poetry Reading Prize at the age of ten. (I read John Drinkwater's "Apple in the Moonlight" and Walter Drummer).One day not long ago, I went to a store to collect an order, and the person there gave me a copy of Milton's poetry.They know how much poetry means to me.I have always kept this book.In the early days of the war I went with a singing troupe to a nearby village and I recited poems from the Oxford Anthology of English Poetry.This book is still with me to this day.The Methodist Church also provides a lot of very beautiful religious poetry in hymn form. Religious life in Grantham was very active, and before the rise of ecumenism there was rivalry and hostility between factions.There are three Methodist churches in the town; there is St Wolfram's Anglican Church, which according to local legend is the sixth tallest church in England; and a Roman Catholic church, just opposite our house.From a child's point of view, Catholics seem to have the happiest life possible.The little girl attending communion for the first time wore a white gown with pretty lace and carried a basket of flowers.I'm so jealous of them.Methodists were much more austere, and old churchgoers would shake their heads and warn that anyone who wore a lace dress was "the first step to Rome." However, while Methodists did not wear lace, their lives were not as dull as people imagine them to be today.This sect emphasizes the sociality of religion and music, both of which are enough for me to enjoy life, though perhaps in a rather serious way.Our parishioners often come to our house for a cold meal on Sunday evenings; sometimes we go to theirs.I enjoyed hearing grown-ups talk about topics far beyond religion or Grantham, including domestic and international politics.An unexpected result of the asceticism taught by the Methodist Church is that the believers are very particular about eating and often spend a lot of time. "Make the table better" is a common saying, and many events are organized around tea parties or dinners.The church also often organizes activities, either to activate the lives of young people or to engage in various fundraising activities. Frankly speaking, among the various activities of the Methodist Church, my favorite is its music.On Sunday School anniversaries we sing special hymns.I was always looking forward to the Kestewin and Grantham Girls' chorus and the rehearsals a few weeks before the show.The choir at our church is especially good.We do a show every other year.The program has Handel's "Salvator Mundi", Hayden's "Creation" or Mendelssohn's "Elijah".We invite professionals from London to take on the difficult solo parts.I have learned that latent musical talent can be developed through rigorous training and practice.Our family is part of a music society that holds chamber concerts three or four times a year. Our family loves music. When I was 5 years old, my parents arranged for me to learn the piano, and my mother also played the piano.I played pretty well, and luckily, I was taught by a good teacher, and I won several prizes at local concerts.The piano I learned on was made in Northampton by my uncle John Roberts.He also made church organs. I went to visit him when I was 10, and he let me play on one of the two pianos he had built in a barn-like building in the garden, and I was delighted.Sadly I had to stop my music lessons when I was 16 to prepare for my university entrance exams.I haven't played the piano since then, and I still regret it.At that time we had concerts at home at night, I played the piano, my father (very good bass) and mother (also bass), and sometimes friends, sang some old songs they liked, such as "The Holy City", " The Lost Strings" and works by Gilbert and Sullivan, among others.Perhaps the most exciting day of my childhood was my visit to London when I was 12 years old.I arrived at King's Cross by train under the care of a friend of my mother's.Reverend Skinner and his wife met me at the station.They are friends of our family and take care of me in London.My first impression of London was dizzying: King's Cross station resembled a gigantic, crowded cave;For the first time in my life I saw foreigners here, some of them dressed in local Indian or African clothes.The amount of traffic vehicles and pedestrians is exciting, and it seems that they are emitting some kind of electric energy.The architecture of London is magnificent and one of the reasons for the excitement.Blackened by smoke, London's buildings take on a black grandeur that reminds me at times that I am in the center of the world. The Skinners took me to the main sights of London.I fed pigeons in Trafalgar Square; I took the Tube - a slightly intimidating experience for a child; I went to the zoo and rode on the back of an elephant; I was scared by reptiles Gotta straight back - that might bode well for my relationship with Fleet Street.I was disappointed by Oxford Street, much narrower than I had imagined the main thoroughfare; I made a pilgrimage to St Paul's Church, where John Wesley prayed on the morning of his conversion; and of course I visited Parliament and Big Ben bell.These places really live up to the hype.I also went to Downing Street, but I didn't have the foresight of a young Harold Wilson, and I didn't take pictures in front of Number 10 Downing Street. I couldn't be happier about it all, but the high point was the Catford Theater in Louisham, where I was for the first time, where we watched Sigmund Romberg's famous The musical "Song of the Desert".During the 3 hour show I lived in another world completely, drifting away with the brave red shadow like the heroine of the play.I love this musical so much I bought the sheet music and played it at home, maybe too much. I am attached to London and the Skinners. Their hospitality and hospitality remind me of Talleyrand's words: how sweet life is. Our religious life includes not only music and social activities, but also stimulating intellectual activities.Missionaries have strong personalities and distinct points of view.The general political leanings of the Methodists in our town, as well as other Protestants, lean to the left, even pacifists.Grantham's Methodists were prominent in organizing the "Peace Vote" in 1935, distributing poll answers in the constituency and later declaring the overwhelming majority "for peace".There is no written record of how much this outcome played for Hitler and Mussolini.We, the Roberts family, have an opinion.A peaceful vote is a stupid idea and should be held accountable for the nation's failure to prepare in time for the eventual defeat of the dictator.On this and other issues, we are in the minority as a family because we are staunch Conservatives.Our friend Reverend Skinner is actively in favor of a peaceful vote.He was the kindest and most pious of men, and many years later he married Dennis and me at Wesley Chapel in London, but personal virtue is no substitute for hard-nosed politics. We heard sermons every Sunday and it had a big impact on me.The Congregational minister Childe was invited to preach in Grantham.He thoroughly explained a thought that seemed quite advanced at the time: no matter what sins the father (and mother) committed, their children should not be implicated.I still remember him condemning the Pharisees.This faction regards children born out of wedlock as "illegal."Everyone in the town knew that there were children without fathers.After listening to Reverend Childe's sermon we feel guilty for looking differently at these kids.Times have changed, and we've taken off the illegitimate child hat for these children, and we've taken the hat off for their parents as well.But maybe that's why there are more children left unattended.We need to find ways to tease out Christian charity with sensible social policy. When war broke out and death seemed closer to everyone, sermons were more touching.After the Battle of Britain, the pastor said in a sermon, "It is always the few that save the many." That's what Jesus and his disciples did.I was encouraged by the theme of another sermon: History has shown that people who are born into great distress are capable of coping with another crisis.This demonstrates God's benevolent providence and grounds for optimism about the future, no matter how dark the present may be.These values ​​instilled by the church are faithfully reflected in our home. Likewise, our family emphasizes hard work.We never slack at home.This is partly because idleness is a sin, and partly because we always have a lot of work to do.Of course, there's another reason—that's who we are.As I said, as long as the store is busy, I will help at any time.At the same time, I also learned from my mother to do housework.She works long hours at the store, but still manages to keep her family life organized like clockwork.Before the war we had a maid, and then we had a maid who cleaned the rooms a few days a week.But most of the housework is done by my mother herself, of course, much more than the housework in modern families.She taught me the proper way to iron men's shirts and how to iron them without damaging the embroidery.She heated a large, flat iron over the fire, and told me a secret of putting a dab of wax about the size of a sixpence piece on the iron, so that the linen would be extra shiny.In middle school our school had a home economics class, which was unusual at the time.We learn about all kinds of housekeeping, from proper laundry methods to household finances.So I do have two hands when it comes to housework.Our home in North Parade is not only cleaned daily, weekly, but also spring-cleaned every spring to get rid of the dead spaces that are not normally cleaned.We hoisted the rug and whipped it.The mahogany furniture my mother bought from the auction house was of good quality, and we scrubbed it with a mixture of warm water and vinegar and then polished it.This is the season of store inventory, and I am so busy that I don't even have time to catch my breath. Our family never wastes anything and always lives within our means.There is no worst sarcasm you can throw at a family than to call them "stingy."But since we've always been frugal, wartime rationing is out of the question.We listened to the radio and jotted down frugal recipes such as "Sir Wootton's Potato Pie," a frugal dish named after the wartime food minister.My mother is an excellent cook and very organized.She bakes bread twice a week and also bakes pies, cakes and other pastries.She's famous for her homemade breads, but so is her ginger bread.Before the war we roasted meat on Sunday, sliced ​​meat on Monday, and had nothing but meat left on Tuesday.During the war, Sunday roasts became little meat-less soups or cheesy soups. Back then local towns had their own networks of private charities.On the eve of Christmas, our store prepares more than 150 small packets, which contain canned meat, Christmas cakes, puddings, jams, tea, etc. These packets are purchased by the Rotary Club, one of the most powerful social charities in Grantham, for poor families .After baking bread on Thursday or Sunday, we always give it to the elderly or sick.We deal in groceries and understand where our customers are going. We had no problem getting dressed, my mother used to be a professional seamstress and she sewed most of the clothes we wore.At that time there were two very good patterns of clothes, one called "New" and one called "Butterick".In the discount markets in Grantham and Nottingham we can get good quality cloth at cheap prices.So our clothes don't cost much, they're good quality, and they're stylish.When my father was mayor, my mother sewed new clothes for my sister and me, my sister's dress was blue velvet and mine was dark green velvet, and my mother sewed a black moiré silk coat for myself .But thrift prevailed during the war.A friend of ours told us that she never throws away old cotton but reuses it.We were very surprised to hear that."I think I have an obligation to do it," she said, and we've since done the same.We believe in Methodism, not in name only. I have less free time than other kids.But I like to go for long walks, often alone.Grantham is set in a small valley surrounded by small hills, unlike most of Lincolnshire, which is flat.I love the beauty of the countryside and revel in my own reflections.Sometimes I go out of town along the Manthorpe Road, and then cut into the north of town and come back on the North Park Road.Sometimes I wandered up Mount Hall, where we gathered briars or blackberries when the school was out for a week during the war.In case of snow there can also go sledding. I didn't play much sports, learned to swim shortly after entering school, and was an active hockey player while in school.At home we played generic games like "Monopoly and Trap," a noisy game based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.I later visited this kind of trading market when I visited the United States.This is the end of my fate with commodities. Grantham has a movie theater, and that really adds to the fun of my life.Fortunately, one of our customers named Campbell owns 3 movie theaters.Sometimes they invited me over to their house to listen to the gramophone, and I got to know their daughter, Judy, who became a famous actress and starred alongside Noel Coward in the wartime comedy "Smiley Faces," which made "The Nightingale" Singing "Become a Famous Song" in Berkeley Square. Since we knew the Campbells, my parents were more receptive to the movie theater thing. As long as I went to see "good movies", they were satisfied. Luckily, the movies included Fred Astor and Ginger Rogers musicals and Alexander Korda films. They seldom went to the movies with me, but we used to go to the Nottingham Theater or a big cinema together at the Bank Festival. So The friends who watch movies or dramas on normal days are all my peers. Even so, there are restrictions. Generally, there is a new movie every week, but some movies are so boring that they can’t be shown for 6 days, and a new one will be shown from Thursday Movies. Some people move on to a second movie, but our family is very frowned upon. This limitation may have been beneficial, after all, it was the golden age of Hollywood, and I had already been exposed to the dream world of Hollywood.For 9p, you can sit comfortably in a dark movie theater and watch the new movie preview first, and then watch the British talkie news accompanied by lively and funny commentary.This was followed by public educational shorts, such as "Crime Has No Gains," and finally the real blockbuster.Films run the gamut, from imperial adventures like The Four Feathers and the Drum to modern comedies (with nearly all the female stars in the show) to today's sad tragedies like Barbara Stanwyck "Stella Dallas," starring Ingrid Bergman.I didn't completely forget about my political education while watching the movie.My vision of the French Revolution is proudly affirmed in Leslie Howard and the admirable Merle Oberon in The Scarlet Sea Green.My dad has always been emphatic about sticking to your principles, and it shows in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starring James Stewart.When, in Ninochga, a no-nonsense Soviet commissar is seduced by a woman's hat, people laugh out loud.Robert Donat as William Peter Jr. and the charming French actor Charles Boisner as Napoleon in Marie Valewska both helped me understand history. I've often thought how lucky I was to be born in 1925 and not 20 years earlier.Before the 1930s, girls living in small towns in England could not have had access to such a wide range of talents, theatrical performances, the world of human emotions, sexual charms, such spectacular and extraordinary demeanor.These things are indeed commonplace for young people born 20 years later, and they think they should be.Grantham is a small town, but whenever I go to the movies, I feel like I'm roaming in a dreamy realm of the imagination, which makes me determined to travel in the real world someday. For my parents, the reality was out there, and it wasn't romantic at all.They do not form their opinions because they dislike various pastimes, but strictly distinguish between group entertainment and self-amusement.This is relevant, and perhaps even more necessary, even in the age of frequently performed radio plays and rodeos of all kinds, where varying degrees of participation are considered better than being a passive appreciator.Sometimes I get tired of their point of view, but I can understand its central meaning. Sometimes I go on vacation with my mother and sister, usually to Skegness Beach.At this time, the same emphasis is placed on actively participating in activities in person, rather than sitting around and thinking wildly.We stayed in a self catering room which was more economical.The first thing I do in the morning is go out in the garden with the other kids and do morning exercises.There are many fun things here, there are buckets, shovels, and of course the beach.In the evening we went to watch various juggling shows, including clowns, magic tricks, acrobatics, old-fashioned singing, and ventriloquist.These shows are pretty innocent by today's standards.There was a good audience and we attended Henry.A rendition of Hall's hit "Guest Night."My parents thought this type of singing was perfectly acceptable.The incident itself speaks to a change in attitudes: When Stephenson's grandmother was alive, we never went to such shows.She lived with us until I was 10 years old. Saying this might make it sound like my grandmother was a very rigid person.Actually not.She makes us feel warm in our life with my sister.She dressed in the style of her grandmother's generation at the time, always wearing a long black satin gown studded with beads.She used to come to our room on hot summer evenings and tell us stories about her girlhood.She also told stories that old grandmas liked to tell, which made our skin tingle with scares, like how earwigs will get under your skin and you will get carbuncles.Grandma is a free person and spends a lot of time with us.She was 86 years old when she died, and it was the first time I encountered death.According to the custom at the time, I was sent to live with a friend, and I didn't return until the funeral was over and my grandmother's belongings had been cleared away.In fact, to a child, life is nothing but the memory of a day's experience.My emotions quickly returned to normal.But when our store was open for half a day, my mother and I went to visit my grandmother's grave.I didn't meet my grandfather and maternal grandfather, they both died before I was born.I only met Grandma Roberts twice, when she was on holiday in Linstead, Northampton.She wasn't as grand as Grandmother Stephenson was, but she was a busy, very active little old lady who kept the family garden in good shape.I still remember her stocking up with orange-flavored apples in the upstairs pantry and letting my sister and I pick the best ones to eat. My dad was a pretty good bowler, he smoked (it was bad for him, he had bad lungs), and his other hobbies and recreations were combined with his job.We didn't have alcohol in the house until after the war when my father became mayor, and only sherry and kirsch.For some reason our family thinks this is more respectable than serving guests with just brandy. (Years of later campaigning taught me that cherry brandy is good for the throat.) Like the other leading businessmen in town, my father was a member of the Rotary Club.The creed of the Rotary Club is "Service First", which is engraved in his heart.He spoke often and eloquently at the meetings of the Rotary Club.We can read long-form reports of his speech in the local newspaper.The Rotary Club regularly raises funds for various charities in town.My father not only participated in fundraising sponsored by the church, but also participated in fundraising as a city councilor or in his own name.My favorite thing to do is the Christmas Children's Rescue Corps fundraiser, when I put on a beautiful dress my mother made for me to go to the party and raise money for children in need. Besides family and church, the center of my childhood was naturally school.I was lucky that Hunting Tower Road Primary School, where I went to school, was well known in the town.The school building is very new and the teachers are excellent.My parents had already taught me simple reading when I started school, and I loved learning from a very young age, and I think I'm like any other child, and I still have vivid memories of that time in my mind.I remember when my teacher told me to read the word WRAP when I was 5 years old, my heart almost stopped beating.I read it right, but I thought "they always give me the hardest".Later, when I took general knowledge class, I first came into contact with the mystery of "proverbs".At that time, I had already formed the habit of logical thinking and literal thinking, and I am afraid that this point has not changed much since then.I really don't understand the "think before you act" analogy.It literally means looking at the terrain before jumping.I think it is better to look at the road before talking about the street.It's more pragmatic to say that, because my way to school was dangerous.And, as other kids have done before and since, I point out triumphantly that this proverb is contradictory to "he who hesitates gets nowhere." I first encountered Kipling's work in the upper grades of elementary school.He died in January 1936.As soon as I read Kipling's work, I was attracted by his poetry and novels.When Christmas rolls around, I often ask my parents to buy me a Kipling book as a present.His poetry is very popular, taking children into a wider world, many wider worlds in fact, including the British Empire, people's daily work, British history and the animal world.Like the Hollywood films he was exposed to later, Kipling revealed to people the fantasy of life outside the small town of Grantham.By this time, my reading range was wider than most of the class, no doubt largely due to my father's influence, which showed at times.I still remember once, writing about Kipling, I used the word "nostalgia" and I was accused of plagiarism, and I was childish and furious.In fact, I picked it up at my fingertips and used it randomly. 离开亨廷托尔路小学后，我到凯斯蒂温和格兰瑟姆女子学校读书。学校在镇的另一部分，我中午回家吃午饭，比在学校用餐节省些。我每天来回走４英里路。我们的校服颜色是海军蓝，所以人们称我们"穿蓝校服的女生"。（当伦敦的卡姆登女子中学的学生在战争期间撤到格兰瑟姆时，人们称她们"穿绿校服的女生"。）我们学校的校长是威廉斯女士。她个子矮小，为人正直，头发灰白。她于１９１０年创建了这所学校并任校长，她为学校立了一些规矩，例如，所有的女孩子，不管学业多么好，都必须在４个学年中学习家政。到我上学时，她的不动声色的权威已经在学校里主导一切。我非常羡慕她在重要场合的特殊着装，例如，每年一度的校宴或颁奖仪式。这时她穿着漂亮的丝绸衣服，做工很细，看起来极为高雅。但是，她很讲究实际。她告诫我们，用同样多的钱，宁可买质量好的棉制品，也不要买质量差的丝制品。"不要贪便宜买一件皮毛大衣，其实买一件剪裁得体的毛料大衣更合算。"需要坚持的一条原则是在自己的支付能力内追求好的质量。 我们的老师具有真正的敬业精神，受到全体居民的高度敬佩。我们的学校不大，有３５０个女生，我们认识老师，在一定程度上也相互认识。女生们一般来自中产阶级，但家庭职业相当广泛，有的在城镇，有的在农村。我的一位好朋友每天从１０英里以外的一个村庄来上学。她的父亲从事建筑业。我有时到她家去住，她的双亲如同我的父母一样，也非常希望自己的女儿多受教育。他们带着我们到野外散步，熟悉各种野花、小鸟和鸟的歌声。 我们的历史老师哈丁小姐讲课特别引人入胜。她使我领略到历史课的韵味。不幸的是我在这方面没有得到充分发展。多年以后，我在担任首相期间曾到充满悲苍的加利波利战场上散步，这时我又想起了她讲述的达达尼尔战役。 但是，在学业上对我影响最大的老师还是化学老师凯女士。后来我决定专修化学。即使在战前，至少在女校中，攻读自然科学的女生也并不少见。一些关于科学突破的报道助长了我对自然科学的夭生爱好，如原子的裂变，关于塑料的研究开发。我清楚地意识到，一个崭新的科学世界正在展现。我想成为其中的一员。而且，我知道，我必须自己谋生，看来从事自然科学是一条激动人心的道路。我的父亲１３岁时辍学，他决心弥补这个损失，要我抓住每一个受教育的机会。我们一起去诺丁汉大学听关于当前国际事务的课外讲座。这类讲座在格兰瑟姆经常举行。讲完课后有一段活泼生动的提问时间，我和其他许多人参加。我特别记得驻在当地的空军中校米林顿的提问。他后来在战争结束前的一次补选中从丘吉尔的联合政府中为一个中产阶级抗议政党共同富裕党夺取了切姆斯福德选区的席位。 我的父母非常关心我的学习，作业必须按时完成，为此甚至星期天晚上也得作作业。战争期间，卡姆登学校的女生撤退到格兰瑟姆后，学校实行倒班制，因此周未需要加班，但要按照宗教的要求做。我的父亲是一个自学成才的学者，他喜欢阅读，经常与我讨论我在学校读过的东西。有一次，他发现我不懂沃尔特·惠特曼的诗。这一点很快得到补救。惠特曼至今仍是我最喜欢的作家之一。他还鼓励我读古典作品，如布朗特姐妹、简·奥斯汀，当然还有狄更斯。政治色彩很浓，我也最喜欢。我的父亲订阅一份哲学杂志《希伯特》。我尽管努力去读，仍觉得很费劲。 在我的生活中除了家庭、教堂和学校还有格兰瑟姆镇的居民。我们为我们的镇感到无比自豪，我们了解它的历史和传统，在这个镇上生活感到非常高兴。格兰瑟姆始建于萨克逊时代，而丹麦人使它成为一个重要的地区中心。在１２世纪期间，北大路改道，从镇中穿过，从此地图上标明了格兰瑟姆的位置。交通运输一直是该镇的生命线。１８世纪时开凿了运河，把焦炭、煤和石头运进格兰瑟姆，把玉米、麦芽、面粉和羊毛运出去，但格兰瑟姆大规模的发展还是在１８５０年修建了铁路之后。 我已经提到过我们镇上最宏伟的建筑，那就是圣沃尔夫拉姆教堂的尖塔，在镇的各处都能看到。但是最具特色和对我们最有意义的建筑还是金碧辉煌的市政厅以及耸立在它前面的格兰瑟姆最有名的儿子伊萨克·牛顿爵士的塑像。这里地处圣彼得山，阵亡者纪念日的游行队伍就是从这里出发，向圣沃尔夫拉姆教堂行进。我通常是在市政厅的大厅里从窗口观看游行。走在前面的是救世军和机车厂的乐队，后边是市长、高级参议员和市议员，他们穿着长袍，佩戴着徽饰。跟在他们后边的是女童子军、幼年童子军、男童子军、互济会、扶轮社、商会、工人俱乐部、工会、退伍军人协会、士兵、空军、红十字会、圣约翰急救中心以及各个组织的代表，他们依次行进，使我们的市民生活丰富多采。圣诞节后的次日是合礼节，这一天我们到圣彼得山上观看穿粉红外套的贝尔瓦狩猎俱乐部会员的集会表演，他们退场时我们为他们欢呼。集会后他们有喝烈性酒的传统。 １９３５年对格兰瑟姆来说是个不寻常的年头，特别值得纪念。我们庆祝了乔治五世国王的银婚和格兰瑟姆建市１００周年。还有布朗洛勋爵当选市长。他的家族（卡茨家族）和曼纳斯家族（拉特兰勋爵）是该镇最为显赫的赞护人。镇上的主要街道都用鲜艳的蓝色和金黄色旗子装饰起来。蓝色和金黄色是当地喜欢的颜色。各条街道竞相争艳。我记得，有一条住着最穷的人的街道叫沃里·考特街，那里的房子最差，但大家出力，装饰得最为引人注目。管弦乐队和格兰瑟姆的"狂欢节乐队"全天演奏，他们大胆吸收并革新美国乐曲，称为"格兰瑟姆姜汁面包"的乐曲增添了庆祝活动的欢乐气氛。各学校参加了一场大规模的露天表演，我们排着整齐的队列前进，男生文法学校校长的夫人出席观礼。我们组成格兰瑟姆这个字，我正好是Ｍ这个字母的一部分。 我的父亲先后担任市议员、市财政委员会主席、高级参议员，最后于１９４５——４６年担任市长。这意味着我会听到大量的本镇发生的事情以及有关的人。参与政治是市民的义务，而政党的重要性是次要的。工党市议员受到尊敬，他们也很友好。不管在市政厅或竞选期间斗争多么激烈，他们都到我们店来买东西，没有党派之间的嫉恨。我的父亲懂得，政治是有限度的。这种高见在政治家中是少见的。把他的政治观点描述为"老式的自由主义"也许最为贴切。要有个人责任感，这简直是他的口号。保持良好的财政状况，这是他追求的目标。他非常推崇约翰·斯图亚特·密尔的著作。像其他许多商人一样，他看来似乎不能接受自由党的集体主义。他是作为纳税人的候选人竞选市议员的。那时，在综合性学校成为一个有争议的问题之前，在工党政治进入地方政府之前，人们认为地方市政会工作没有党派性。但在我的记忆中，他一直是一个坚定的保守党人。 我仍然记得，１９５２年工党在市政会选举中获胜，父亲作为高级参议员候选人落选，我很伤心。这件事当时受到严厉谴责，认为是置政党于居民利益之上。我仍然记得他当时不失体面的表现。市政会选举结束后，他站起来说："自从我荣幸地穿上市议员的礼服，已有将近９年的时间，现在当我脱下礼服时，我仍然荣幸地寄予信任。"此后他收到朋友、盟友、甚至老对手给他的信。他发表声明说："尽管我摔倒了，但我并没有趴下。我的自我感觉是，进入市政会和离开市政会，我都处之泰然。"许多年以后，类似的情况在我身上发生了，那时我父亲已经去世多年。我把他离开公众生活时的做法作为我的榜样。 但这是后话。当我还是个女孩时，我和我父亲的共同兴趣也许是对政治知识和公众事务的渴望。我认为我们家的消息比其他家庭灵通。我们每天都阅读《每日电讯》，每周都阅读《卫理公会纪实》、《邮画》、《约翰·奥伦敦周刊》。当我还是孩提时，我们阅读《儿童报》。有时我们也阅读《泰晤士报》。