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NB: I tried to get it down verbatim but was hand writing.

"I can remember the holiday when we went to Brodick in the holidays. It was Edith Forrester - She was with me. And two girls from Hamilton - I can't remember her name though. There were two sisters - Sheila and I can't remember the other wee girl. You can tell them one was shy and reserved and the other one was flirty (laughs).
They came from Whitecraigs - a posh area.
We went to Ardrosan in Ayrshire and we crossed on the steamer to Brodick Bay on the Isle of Arran. We stayed at the Invercloid Hotel - now I can't remember how you spell it - Inverclyde?
Anyway, it was just the stage where you started to want to go to dances, you know? And we wnt to go along to the local hall and we were just walking along the road. There was a dance being held - it was the weekend you know. We were walking past these marines practising on the beach. They were practising landing on the beach for D-Day you know.
I don't really take much notice you know but they were practising during the day and all went to the dance at night.
They were an English regiment. They were up training. Och you never knew where they came from - Scotland, England, Northern Ireland.
It was quite scary to see them land on the beaches. The poor souls that had to land on D-Day after that...
Brodick was so beautiful - you know a circular bay.
The people from Gwydr Lodge Hotel were out on their bycicles doing well because they were good cyclists and I was hopeless! Nearly everyday they would pass us. On the flats I was good but not so good on the hills. When I was walking the bike up the hill, she came over laughing and said,"It's really very nice of you to take the bike for a walk." Och I was so mad at her but I laughed it off as though it were a joke. It was so embarrasing!
It's funny all the things that happen to you. They're good memories of fun times. It was really fun times - The jokes we had!
We were in a circle round (on the dance floor) doing the hokey coky. You did slow fox trots and walzes and that. We were taught them all at school. The flirty one fell in love with a young lieutenant. We were going on our bikes round Loch Ranza and we were passing and they (soldiers) were all whistling at us and a young sargent asked us if we knew an 'Eileen' and I said "I do - she's staying at my hotel at Brodick Bay," and then I said that I thought she was interested in a lieutenant and he said, "Never mind about that - just tell her I was asking after her." NB: (Loch Ranza is a name of a place on Isle of Arran - not a loch.)
When you go to these big dances - that was my first dance after school, one more year and I was going to college. I danced with this young soldier - I can't remember his name. Frank - I think his name was Frank. I thought he was a good dancer but if I think about how dry I was to him - but I wasn't ready for anything. Some girls were ready...
Anyway, we went out the door - it was a veranda thing - and stood looking at the beach. Then we went back for another dance. It was the end of the night and everybody had gone and he asked me where I was staying and - Oh yes! It was the Invercloy Hotel and he said he'd walk me back to the hotel.
I didn't know what to say to him on the way back - I didn't want any fuss! And we were just approaching the gate of the hotel and he said to me, "I don't think you've got a heart, I think you've got a swinging brick." (Laughs alot). And the girls had been looking for me and were standing behind the hedge. They heard everything and burst out laughing. Oh Sally it was so funny!
And the next day I was walking along with my suitcase - you know a fortnight's case is a little heavier than normal and he came up and said, "I suppose I should be a gentleman and carry your case." He carried my case all the way to the steamer!
All the people who were on holiday for that fortnight were going home and all the soldiers who were staying there came to see the steamer off. You know, it was a small place, there wasn't much to do and all those who were still staying from the hotels and all those who were just coming came out and it was like a celebration. They threw those coloured streamers that you got and were blowing horns and waving flags and throwing toilet paper like streamers and I don't know what all.
I'd been so dry to him and he came and carried my case!

(Date: Approx. August 1940)

NB: Not quite finished talking...

"It was a terrible time. You heard bombers flying over. You'd sit there scared stiff. (She imitates the noise) HOOM HOOM HOOM HOOM. We were out in the country and you could hear them going over to Clydebank. It was very eerie. We'd just be in the sitting room.
At night, there were no lights. You weren't allowed lights. There were black-out curtains and he (her father) moved one a bit and looked out. My dad said, "Oh my gosh! He's dropped a stick of bombs." He thought they were one of ours. It had hit rubarb park. The houses were over on the other side of the river. It was like the pilot dropped his remaining bombs before flying back to Germany, but he didn't hit anything! He just got the rubarb park! Farmer's fields and rubarb park (fields of rubarb).

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