An Interview with my Granny

The following interview was conducted with my 90-year-old Granny in June 2012 by Style magazine.
A wee bit of background on my Granny: She learnt to drive at 14-years-old and used to drive to school in her dad's car, where the only cars were hers and the headmaster's. She was a WREN during the war, moving from a tiny village to London to work. She gave birth 8 times. My favourite story about her involves two of my uncles looking out the window when they were young to see my Granny chasing their brother round the garden with a carving knife - one of two occasions she threatened him with that knife. I will write more about my Granny another time.
Ps. As far as I'm aware, she wasn't quite as bitter as this interview makes her sound!


Q.1 How would you describe your life in 1953..what were you doing

A: Not easy. I was a wife and full-time mother


Q.2 As a woman, what did you feel that your role in society was at that time?

A: I still wanted to be at work rather than have to stay in the home.


Q.3 Were you married or did you have children? How many and what age?

A: I was married with three boys all under four years old.


Q.4 Did you have access to contraception? If so how would you go about obtaining it?

A: No, the men looked after that side.  That's why I got pregnant so often.


Q.5: Did you work and if so where? Did you feel that you had many rights in the workplace?

A: I gave up an office job  in 1950 when I got married and had children. I worked for the National Coal Board and we were treated well but most of the bosses were men.


Q.6  What did you read? If you read books or women's magazines which ones and what were they like?

A: I read 'The Lady' and sometimes a bit of the newspaper (The Daily Mail, a paper my parents and my husband's parents had read). 'The Lady' was a bit posher than other mags. and I liked it.

Q.7  What did you spend your leisure time doing?

A: I belonged to the Women's Institute. My mother in law was a member.  Otherwise I was too busy at home to go out that time and the children were too young to leave.

Q. 8 What sort of clothes did you wear and where did you buy them?
Ha

Q.9 Do you feel that there is more pressure on women now than there was back then? ..or did you have some anxieties about your career, your body, your diet as women have now?

A: I think it's probably easier now for women than it was back then. Its much freer now.  Girls can all go out together.  I would never dreamed of doing that.  It would have meant my husband would have had to stay in on his own.  Men went out more in those days.