FAME, IF NOT FORTUNE
Dear FOG ( Friends of Gloria ),
This complicated story of my increasing fame starts long, long ago when Master Peter Ruffles, probably soaking up vitamin D for free in short trousers, was wandering around Hertford with his trusty camera and paused to take a picture of deserted Railway Street but, sadly, failed to write the details on the back.
More recently his friends at Hertford Museum printed it as a greetings card, with the note that it might have been taken in 1964 on Christmas day. (Why wasn’t he at home playing with his train set?)
Gordon looked at this and wrote ‘The shadows are wrong; they are much too short. It can only have been taken in mid-summer’.
So twice-times Mayor, County Councillor Peter Ruffles, MBE, forwarded this letter to the Museum for information. Attached, there also happened to be correspondence with some of my pics concerning Hertford Hospital about to celebrate 180 years in 2013. Got that, so far?
The Museum looked at the letter, said ‘What’s all this Gloria?’ and passed it on to the Mercury, our Hertfordshire pillar of the truth.
The Mercury said ‘What’s all this Gloria?’ and the next thing you know they are on the phone asking for an interview!
That very same afternoon, charming reporter Sara Greek came and shook hands with me.
When her report burst forth upon the market a week later she had done an excellent job, specially featuring me with plenty pictures whilst giving none of the usual reportage facts about Gordon!
Interestingly, the Issue for Hoddesdon and Broxbourne spread to three-quarters of a page, whilst the wider Hertfordshire version had exactly the same material condensed to half a page by overlapping the pictures.
Next day, Sara comes on the phone to say Danny from a National News agency has seen me on the web and is asking to take an interest! Now my fame looks like becoming country-wide!
However I doubt whether Danny is going to see his way to taking the same unconventional angle as Sara. And does it matter?
Gordon has just come back from the shops with a green dress.
He thinks from a book-cover that’s what all the girls with red hair favour. When he remarked on the higher price, the shop lady said ‘It’s by a named maker. If your wearer doesn’t like it she can send it back’.
Thus you find me contemplating all the old memories that Sara has revived, wearing my new green dress created by Monsoon (Oxfam, £7.99) chosen to go with my earlier red bob wig (Messages, £6.99) and matching red frame glasses (Market £2.50 each, £2 in bulk) whilst reading the Hertfordshire Mercury (8th Nov 2012, 70p).
Love, as ever, from Gloria.