Orkney, Many Ports Of Call, To Perth – A Life Well Lived

Dedicated to my Mum, Lenore Elizabeth Zoha (nee Harcus) x

I grew up on this (relatively) tiny little island –
Orkney, 1940s, with my elder sister Jean, wartime daughters;
Hairdresser father, George, away in the army logistics,
Nurse and mother Elsie, working hard raising bairns;
Running with pally gang, initiation rites, Bambi the pet ram,
Family outings, watching breakers crash high on Birsay cliffs.
Artistic, bright as button, top/near top of Kirkwall Grammar class,
English Lit, English language, Art, French, athletics cups won –
Orkney Inter-island Games; left school, exam certificates in hand,
Applied to Edinburgh Uni, history of art degree course, city life.

Applied to Bank of Scotland on a whim, impromptu interview and in,
Successful customer-facing career, Edinburgh Princes Street, popular/
Professional, promotion called, move to Oxford Street, London!
Mid 1960s, vivacious/vibrant; met handsome young Naj, army leave;
Germany posting; budding romance: Crail, Fife wedding, March '66.
Son called Erik came along in '68, (spelled with a 'k', the Viking way);
A quirky character with an artistic bent, reading age of 12 by age of 5 –
So, artistic in a way; also autistic syndrome, moderate-severe spina bifida.
Naj left army, various jobs; settled on Trueform shoes managership,
Gave up my burgeoning banking career to care for/bring up my son.
Needles and pins, strange hot/cold sensations, diagnosed with MS...
Moved to Staffordshire, by Lichfield 1975, Naj promoted area manager;
Home schooled Erik when he was laid up at home post-ops 1978,
Got him ahead of his class peers in English, French, history...

Orkney, Many Ports Of Call, To Perth – A Life Well Lived

Back to Scotland '81, Perth, Naj relocation, education, nearer the sea.
Occasional trips back home to Orkney, visits to friends and family –
Sacrificed a lot, lost piece by piece parts of what made me 'me'
A remission here and a relapse there, cruel MS progressing...

Erik got his Higher grades, went to Dundee Uni, MA joint honours
Degree gained, a stint at RBS bank in Perth unsuccessful –
He moved to Aberdeen in the 1990s, journalism plus admin/IT;
Me, the MS worsened; mobility hampered, walking to walking frame;
Mobility shattered, broken hip meaning wheelchair – it wasn't for me,
But I carried on stoically, keeping my independence as long as possible.
Carers came and went, the best ones I called the A Team, bonded with;
Weeks turned to months and years, in this damn electric wheelchair,
Outings to Perthshire of a Sunday morn once holidays became hard work.
1990s, 2000s – Erik back in Perth again, then Dundee; 2010s, MS on-goes
Came through pneumonia, flu viruses, many major setbacks, resilient/
Positive as possible, determined to the last; damn fatal infection, sepsis.

I like to think her spirit survived, spread wings and is at home in Orkney:-
Running with pally gang, initiation rites, Bambi the pet ram,
Family outings, watching breakers crash high on Birsay cliffs.