Nancie accompanied Mimi and her Mother to London, where they stayed in Claridges Hotel. They had afternoon tea with Josephine Grove who had been Jean's companion and was the lady who originally interviewed Nancie for the job as Governess to Mimi. She lived at Branstone Lodge, 232 Kew Road, Richmond. This building has been supplanted by a block of flats.
That evening Nancie dined with her ex-employer and life-long friend, Eleonore, Marquise de Chabannes la Palice at an Indian restaurant in Swallow Street.
The following day Nancie had lunch with her Aunt Min who had come up to London for the day from Hampshire.
Nancie and Mimi left for Paris the day afterwards, the 8th July 1939 and had tea there with Mr Smith and 'Aunt Dolly' .The latter sent a telegram when Nancie and Jack got married on September 23rd 1939 in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire but I'm not sure who she was exactly.
Nancie and her charge, Mimi, travelled to St Jean de Luz by train but there is no mention of Mimi's Mother Jean being with them.
Nancie found her good friend Maureen already on the beach and brought her up to speed with all the recent events in her life. Maureen returned the favour by telling Nancie all the latest St Jean de Luz gossip. Unfortunately Nancie does not go into any details in her diary, other than writing, "Lousy people!" Maureen also remained a close friend and correspondent until her death.
You may wonder why Nancie married Jack in Lytham. We can blame Mr Hitler again for that.
He invaded Poland, causing war to be declared on September 3rd 1939 and Jack's school in Widnes was evacuated to Blackpool.Lytham is nearby.
Nancie used to tell us children the story of the bike ride. She and Jack rode their bikes from Hough Green all the way to Fleetwood to see my grandparents. They stopped at a farm and a man at the gate told them that war had been declared. They came home fairly rapidly on the train!
Soon after they married Jack and Nancie bought a house in Lancaster Avenue, Hough Green, Widnes, opposite where they were lodging with Don and Eva Wedlake. The war intervened and they didn't move in until a few years later. The house had a name but they changed it to something with a special significance for them both, to "Fairford." That was our happy family home until their deaths. (Jack died in 2001 aged 90 and Nancie in 2004 aged 92.)
The last brief entry in her diary, on July 23rd 1939, reads, "Jack arrives".
Marriage was a new adventure for Nancie. One chapter closed but another opened for her. My brother David and I owe a great debt to Herr Hitler. Nancie had seen such a lot of very rich and very unhappy people that she had sworn never to marry, herself. Thank goodness she changed her mind!
Fairford has a special place in all our hearts.
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