A Fickle Wind. Elizabeth Bourne

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      A Fickle Wind

       a novel by

      ELIZABETH BOURNE

      Published by Delancey Press Ltd

      23 Berkeley Square

      London W1J 6HE

       www.delanceypress.co.uk

      Copyright © Elizabeth Bourne 2015

      The right of Elizabeth Bourne to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Design and Patents Acts of 1988. All rights reserved under International Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

      A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

      This edition published 2015

      Cover by 1106 Design

      Typeset by BookType

      eBook conversion by www.vivlialtd.co.uk

      ISBN 978-1-907205-28-6 eBook

      Exclusion of Liability and Disclaimer

      This book is based upon some true occurrences. However, with the exception of world-renowned personages and international events, this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

      To my mother, who gave me the mettle to face the challenges of life and not only survive, but prevail.

      To my father, who gave me the unconditional love so essential to self-esteem.

       To my Auntie Lily, who was a role model of glamour and an inspiration for a brighter, freer, more colorful future in which I could dare to “look above my station.”

      And to Marion, whose stalwart friendship has consistently been my loving support when an adverse, fickle wind blew my way.

      Contents

       Preface

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Chapter Eighteen

       Chapter Nineteen

       Chapter Twenty

       Chapter Twenty-One

       Chapter Twenty-Two

       Chapter Twenty-Three

       Chapter Twenty-Four

       Chapter Twenty-Five

       Preface

      I wish to acknowledge with great appreciation two older cousins, Gladys and Les, who willingly raided their memory banks to provide me with their childhood impressions of what was happening in our small part of the world at the beginning of WWII.

      This book could not have been written without the help of a generous woman friend who wishes to remain anonymous. She unstintingly shared her most intimate feelings and difficult experiences to help me flesh out some of the chapters I produced here.

      I am grateful for the invaluable help and advice of Pamela McManus, along with her friendship, support, and encouragement as I worked toward the completion of this book.

      I am indebted to my artistic friend, K. J. Elliot, who guided my cover choices to help me convey the capricious nature of life, in which our plans sometimes survive but are often replaced by fortunate gifts.

      Last, but not least, my thanks and appreciation go to Philip Lansing, who read each chapter as I produced it, offering an occasional belly laugh or exclamation of surprise. His reactions and enthusiastic support kept me going and convinced that my little story actually had life!

      I believe that everyone has a story. In this book I have interwoven the important contributions of others with some of my own personal experiences, mixed in an active imagination, and produced the resultant narrative of one woman’s life not viewed from a couch.

      I would like to add that only the most unbelievable parts of what follows are probably true …

       Chapter One

      I have often been doubted when I have said that I remember events that took place when I was two years old. But I do. Isolated incidents, really, but I know I was two, as I remember living at my maternal grandparents’ old house in London, where I was born, and we moved from there when I was two and a half. It was a very significant time in British history—world history, actually—as it was the year that Britain decided to defy Germany and its plans to crush Europe in its quest for world domination. It was the beginning of World War II.