My Grandmothers

Both my grandmothers influenced me, but at different times in my young life Granny was a tiny, bird-like lady, who had worn dresses of black or navy with a little white design, ever since the death of her husband in 1908. She wasn't jolly, like Gran, who loved music and dancing and noisy family around her, but she was gentle and loving. When I was about ten years of age, I liked to ask her what my mother had done when she was a child, and she could always think of something interesting to tell me.

One day she told me about my mother coming home from school and saying that there was a

new girl in her class. Granny had asked her whether the new girl was nice, and my mother

had said that she didn't know. "Daisy said we mustn't be friends with her, because she's

Irish, and all the Irish are dirty!"

My grandmother had been horrified, and yet amused

"Gladys! That's a terrible thing to say, and it's totally untrue. The cleanest person I've ever

met was the Irish housekeeper at the boys' boarding school where I worked when I left home.

Don't you remember me telling you the way she trained me how to check the kitchen and the

pantry?"

"Yes", my mother had replied, "but I didn't know she was Irish"

"Well," said Granny to me, "I told her that she must tell Daisy that, just as there are good

people and bad people in every country in the world, there are clean people and dirty people,

and we must judge each person on their own merits."

Many years later I had reason to remember my grandmother's views and to wish that everyone could be Judged solely on their own merits, rather than by race or colour or with bigoted views.

In 1958 I followed a year of working in Canada with six weeks of touring America, and bought a one month travel pass with Greyhound buses. These buses were so comfortable that on a

number of occasions I travelled overnight, so that I could spend the money saved on overnight accommodation on something more interesting. When I reached Los Angeles I took coach tours to the Hollywood Bowl and Universal Movie Studios, and had Just enough money to visit Disneyland. I worked out that if I took a bus that evening, instead of spending a third night at the YWCA, I could actually go on a ride in Disneyland. I walked around for about four hours before making my important choice; I had no idea that it would not be my only visit to that fantastic place.

The bus left Los Angeles at 11 pm for El Paso on the Texas/Mexican border, and after my tiring but happy day, I fell asleep almost immediately. Two hours later the bus stopped at a town for a half-hour break, and I got out, sleepily, and made my way to the large cafe area. I was shocked to realize that there were separate cafes for white and black people, and for the first time did not enjoy my cherry pie with ice cream and glass of milk. I felt as though I was still asleep, in a bad dream; how could all these people think this situation was normal? Worse was to follow. I pushed open large glass doors and found a hallway, on the right of which were two doors marked "White Ladies' Room" and "Black Women's Room". I wanted to tell people that they wouldn't find this happening anywhere in Britain. I felt ashamed - but this was not my country, I was a guest.

Back on the bus I eventually went to sleep, rousing only slightly when the bus stopped an

hour or two later, and then sleeping again. My shoulder was suddenly gripped and shaken,

and I woke to find the bus driver's face a foot away from mine. He said, "Move forward - I've

got black passengers to seat!"

As I tried to understand what he meant, I became aware of wide eyes in black faces, staring

at me in a line behind him. I frowned as I looked at the seats in front of me, which were

empty. "Why can't they sit there?" I asked, still sleepy.

"Don't give me trouble," the driver growled, "you know they can't sit in front of you - move!"

I gathered up my things and moved to the front of the bus

"I'm sorry", I said to each one I squeezed past, ashamed of myself and of all white people.

How could it possibly be bus company policy to separate white and black people this way?