Country Days by Taylor Alice

Author:Taylor, Alice [Alice Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1275057
Publisher: The O'Brien Press
Published: 2013-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

She was for ever tampering with her hearing aid, which caused it to do things that no hearing aid should do. Sometimes, when it was supposed to be turned off, it sent out ear-piercing whistles which would put the hair standing on top of your head. When this happened in the middle of the night, somebody had to get out of bed and go to her room to “turn Aunty Mary off”, while she slept peacefully through the whole racket. Despite all the trials and tribulations she inflicted upon us, one had to admire her because she had great spirit. When she arrived she took complete control of the kitchen and ran it like an army barracks. She laid down the law and we all fell into line.

She seldom stayed more than a week, because a week was as long as she could stand us. Then she donned her dark green velour hat and boarded the bus for home. However, as she grew older, her visits grew longer. Finally, when she became too old to be on her own, she came to stay permanently. We gave her a bedroom on the ground floor to spare her the effort of climbing the stairs. At first she came back and forth to the kitchen and lectured us when she felt we were getting out of hand, but gradually she became unable to do even that and stayed in bed completely.

In case we would not be able to hear her in the kitchen if she called, I gave her an old brass bell to summon help. I should have known better! Aunty Mary with a loud brass bell at arm’s length was in her element. My God, but she used that bell! She was like the bells of Shandon, but instead of ringing on the half hour she rang almost non-stop. Even my neighbour from across the street wanted to know what the blazes was going on. Aunty Mary was delighted with her clanging bell and having given it to her there was no way I could take it off her.

She became obsessive about colds and draughts. Her room, which was quite small, was warmed by a large heater and she had an electric blanket and two hot water bottles. When you opened the door you were met by a wall of heat and sitting with her was like having a sauna. Changing her hot water bottles became the theme tune of her days. The bell rang constantly with requests to change them. Even when they were too hot to handle she wanted them changed. One of the children who became tired from journeying back and forth to the kitchen with the bottles devised a plan to limit the journeys. He would take them out into the corridor, where he would sit down quietly. Then, when he felt that a sufficient amount of time had elapsed, he would take them back in to her again. She never noticed the difference. The windows had

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