Foreword

‘One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another. To read is to voyage through time.’ Carl Sagan [Adapted]

Many books have a foreword, especially academic books. A foreword is an introduction written by someone in the know, someone who perhaps knows the author or who can write expertly on the content of the book. My old school friend, Tracey, is best placed to write this foreword as we went to all three schools together.

But first a note. Anita is my first name and Tracey knows me as Anita. I changed my surname in January 1999 after my divorce. Mum and dad had given me my first names, so I didn’t want to change those, but I did need something different, so I used my middle name. I still get called Anita by my family and friends who knew me before, but after that it’s Catherine.

So, here goes!

“In April 2023, I received a message through social media from an old school friend who I hadn’t seen for years. That message was from Anita, or ‘Spog’ as I used to call her; no idea why, I like to think of it as a term of endearment between school friends. Anita had been looking at some old school photographs and thought of me. We had a really good catch up that lasted for hours and laughed incessantly about our shared memories of growing up in the days when we still had milk monitors, and the often loathed, but perhaps necessary, nit nurse.

I’ve known Anita since the late sixties when we were at school together. My impression of her was she was this small girl with a loud voice and a big personality to match. She was a right ‘bossy knickers’ and you could always hear her laughing from miles away. Fast forward more than 50 years and nothing’s changed!

Some 30 years may have passed since we last met for coffee, but that time hasn’t rendered us voiceless; quite the opposite; we just caught up from where we left off.

Anita still has so many plans and ideas for her future. I wish her all the very best and look forward to being part of those future stories in the sequel entitled ‘Retirement’.”

Tracey xxx

Spog – ‘to brag; to boast; to show off. Not at all like me!