A Letter to Sally

Dear Sally,

I am so glad the dress that my Mum has made fits you well, you do look so pretty in it.  I have worked out that you are my cousin for sure, it has to be true as I so want a lovely little sweet cousin like you so we can keep in touch with each other.  

A while ago I wrote to Rosey who I am sure must be another cousin of mine and told her all about where I came from, although I have very few memories, and how I came to live in England.  I have been promising to write about where I live now for ages.

My home is a bungalow, a single storey house and it is detached which means it isn't attached to another house.  Lots of places over here are attached to at least one other house and are called semi-detached, or if to lots of house, a terrace.  We are lucky as we have a big front and back garden with lots of trees planted which means there are lots of birds around which is nice as unfortunately we are also quite close to the big motorway called the M25, which roars away in distance.  My Mum tries to pretend it is the sea roaring sometimes, but I'm not convinced.

We live in the county of Hertfordshire which has a fascinating history and I still have much to learn.  So far I have learnt that it was an area originally assigned to a fortress in Hertford in 913 and was under the rule of Edward the Elder.  Isn't that amazing?  The name Hertfordshire first appeared in 1011 in the Anglo-Sazon Chronicle.  I just can't imagine anything that old.  When you drive into Hertfordshire you see signs with the emblem of a deer on it.

Apparently they have found evidence of humans in Hertfordshire from even earlier than that, since the Middle Stone Age.  Goodness, it almost makes me feel giddy thinking about that. My Mum has told me that the Romans also settled here and that one day she will take me to see the Roman ruins in St Albans which used to be called Verulamium.  St Albans takes its name from St Alban, the first British martyr who was an Anglo Roman soldier who took the place of a Christian priest and was then beheaded.  I don't like to think about that sort of thing and don't want to scare you so won't say any more about that, except to say it was a very very long time ago around 293.

On to nicer things...we live close to London and can catch a train there, although I haven't been on a train yet.  Mum has said she will take me up there one day when her shoulder is feeling better as I am quite a heavy girl.  (giggle)

It gets dark here really early now.  It didn't when I first arrived but they change the clocks.  Not really sure why they do that, but they do, either forwards an hour or backwards an hour in summer and winter.  So that means now it is dark at a bout 4.30pm which is horrible and soon it will be darker even earlier!  It has actually been quite dark here all day, which is why there aren't any photos today and I decided to write my letter instead.  It has been wet and miserable and feels very damp outside.  I have kept busy reading my books.

Well it is going to be dinner time soon and as Mum has been helping me with some of the bigger words in this letter I have to go now so she can cook our dinner.  I might see if I can help her, although I thinks she wants to make me an apron first.

Love to you Sally,

Anne-Marie

PS I hope you read this as well Rosey.

A letter to Rosey

Dear Rosey,

I hope you don't mind me writing to you.  I thought we that we might be related in some way and that it would be nice to have a kind of cousin, even if somewhat distant, to share things with.  Adventures, memories or simply just every day life.

My name is Anne-Marie, or Annie and I live near London in England.  I can't remember exactly where and when I came to live but I do know it was a long time ago - somewhere between 1914 and 1924 I believe - gosh it could be almost 100 years ago.  The time certainly flies by.

My last memories before arriving here in the United Kingdom are of sitting in an auction room in Maryland, USA.  Do you know where that is?  I'm sure you must do having lived in the USA.  Just in case you don't, I thought I would tell you what I have found out.  I have discovered that Maryland is in the mid-atlantic region of the United States.  Apparently it was the seventh state to ratify (not quite sure what that word means yet) the United States Constitution and it even has some nicknames!  Funny thing is though, they are not the sort of nicknames you usually think of.  These nicknames are a bit strange, such as 'Old Line State', the 'Free State', and the 'Chesapeake Bay State'.  Hey, I think I have herd of that last name before.  The Hittys in Rose Cottage often talk about the 'Chesapeake Bay Hittys'.  Anyway I digress...that means I've been distracted.  I've also discovered that out of the 50 states, Maryland is the ninth smallest, the 19th most populous (this word confuses me) and would you believe the fifth most populated.  Wow, there must be an awful lot of people that live there!  

I do hope I'm not boring you Rosey, as I know some of this is very confusing, but I am fascinated about finding out about things, places and the history of everything!  The most populated city in Maryland is Baltimore and the capital is Annapolis.  Gosh, I wonder if that is how I came about my name?  Maryland, the state, was named after Queen Henrietta Maria.  There are even similarities to my name there as well!  Anne-Marie, Anna-Maria; see, what do you think?  What a coincidence indeed as my person said that her 15 years old son named me, and yet he didn't know any of this!

Anyway, back to that auction room.  It was certainly very busy in there and I really can't remember much of it as it was all very confusing and I kept getting all muddled up trying to follow everything that was going on. I was so hoping that my next home would be a permanent one as it had seemed to be so long since I had felt loving arms around me.  But no, at the end of the auction I was bundled in a box with a lot of other things and travelled in a car to yet another place where I was photographed and put into another auction, although this time it was a rather different type of auction as I didn't have to go anywhere during the actual auction.  Instead it was an 'online' auction called eBay.  On what line I wondered?  Well before I knew it I was wrapped up in  a lot of tissue paper and this plastic stuff called bubble wrap, placed in a box which was sealed with lots of tape and bound for foreign shores - a place called England.  Gosh I hadn't ever been out of the US before so this really was quite an adventure!  To my greatest disappointment though I never got to see anything, just heard a lot of engine noise, felt a kind of motion and froze.  It was just so cold on that aeroplane.I can't remember a lot more of the journey I am afraid as there seemed to be lots of different noises and movement, like doors opening and closing and being carried from one place to another.  Finally after 12 long days of travel I arrived at my new home.

I waited anxiously to see if my new person would like/love me.  I was worried I was going to be shifted on again.  I have quite a few battle scars that I have accumulated over the years, my hair was messy and so I wasn't quite sure what response I would get and what she would think of me.  I needn't have worried.  She unwrapped me carefully but with enthusiasm that I could sense and when my face popped out she gave a huge smile and gave me a wondrous hug.  She exclaimed how lovely I was and talked to me about how much I was wanted while she looked me over and admired Amelia, my little wooden doll I had brought with me.

Well I really have written quite enough for now.  I do hope I haven't exhausted you dear Rosey, and that someone has been able to read this letter to you.  I will write again soon.

With kindest regards,

Anne-Marie


Copyright 2012 Lorraine Tyler