YesBut It's Mother's Cupboard Love - Part 2

Continued from yesterday.

For YesBut’s Image on 10th August 2007 Chewy suggested the caption -

"Old Mother YesBut went to the cupboard to get her poor dog a bone."

The photo suggested the following story to me, (continued from yesterday):

I had put £20 aside to give Terry his monthly pocket money, but I hadn’t bought the chocolate biscuits. I had had to pay the gas and the electricity bill, so I was short of money. What was I to do? Terry would have been so disappointed if he didn’t have biscuits. I thought of asking Mrs Frances, next door, to lend me a few pound to tide me over until the next pension day. But she’s such an old busybody always pocking her nose in where its not wanted.

Honestly I’ve never done it before in my life, and I wouldn’t have done it now, but I was so desperate. When I went shopping in the supermarket, I slipped a packet of chocolate biscuits into my bag. I thought no one had seen me. But when I got to the checkout desk, a child started to shout “Mammy, mammy . . . chocolate biscuits.” I could have died on the spot. My head started to swing, and I thought I was going to faint again. I realise now the little boy was asking for a biscuit, but I thought he was saying I had stolen the biscuits.

The Supervisor saw something wasn’t right and took hold of my arm. I thought she was arresting me, and I just broke down and cried. But she was the woman who had called for an ambulance before and thought I had been taken ill again. She was very kind. Took me to the manager’s office and gave me a cup of tea with plenty of sugar.

They told me to forget about the biscuits, and I should start looking after myself. They wanted to know if I had children. I told them about Terry - it so happened the Assistant Manager knew him. As I said, they were very kind, even got a taxi to take me home.

The next night Terry came around, right away I could see something was wrong. Before I could open my mouth; he told me the Supermarket Assistant Manager had seen him in the pub, and told him what had happened. He was furious with me, said how ashamed he was that his mother was a criminal, and how he was so embarrassed he wouldn’t be able to use that pub again. He wanted to know whether I had any consideration at all for him and his family. How was he to explain to his children that their Grandmother was a thief. Told me never to try and see him or his family again. With that he left the house, slamming the front door behind him.

I’ll write a letter to him, perhaps he’ll forgive me.

YesBut It's Mother's Cupboard Love - Part 1

For YesBut’s Image on 10th August 2007 Chewy suggested the caption -

"Old Mother YesBut went to the cupboard to get her poor dog a bone."

The photo suggested the following story to me:

In the summer you can save some money, there’s no need for heating or lighting. Actually to say save, isn’t accurate. When you’re living on a Widows Pension, you need every penny to survive. So in the summer I can buy myself some more food, and importantly give Terry a little bit more.

Mind I’m not complaining, there are a lot of people a lot worse off than me. If you’re careful you can survive. I normally buy my vegetables on Saturday afternoon. If you go late enough to the market, when the stallholders are packing up, they sell things cheaply. And there’s always a shelf in the supermarket where they sell things, close to or past their sell-by-date, cheap.

I get all my cloths, except for my underwear from charity shops. Now the winter is about to start I’ll have to put on another layer of cloths. In the middle of winter I spend a lot of time in the shopping centre, it’s nice and warm there. I normally go to bed early and that saves heating costs.

When my friend Mabel died her son said I could have her television. That would have been nice, but I couldn’t afford to pay for a TV Licence every year, its over £100. So I told him I didn’t want it. But I do have my little radio. So that allows me to keep in touch with what’s happing in the world.

But it doesn’t matter how short of money I am, I always make sure I got coffee and chocolate biscuits for Terry’s visits. Terry, that’s my son, he’s a good boy and without fail comes to visit his mum every month, on the day I collect my pension money. Well he’s a good boy and the £20 helps him buy cigarettes. Though I do wish he’d bring his children with him, but he says their stuck in front of their computers playing games. But, one time he did bring me a photograph. I should really send them some money, but I can hardly make things meet as it is. Sometimes I’m tempted to eat one of the chocolate biscuits myself, but I send them with Terry to the children, as a little present from me.

Last week when I was in the shopping centre I fainted. I told them I was alright, but they insisted on getting an ambulance to take me to hospital for a check-up. I told them not to fuss, but they insisted. They said I was suffering from malnutrition. It’s easy for them to talk, but it’s not so easy to stretch a pension beyond its breaking point.

I don’t think what happened was all my fault.

To be continued tomorrow - Bookmark this page