Simply..not the Blitz....

25/2/2021

I watched a most interesting programme on BBC One called Blitz Spirit With Lucy Worsley in which she explores the lives of six ordinary real people who lived through it, using their own words. Cleverly put together, fascinating on many levels and sometimes harrowing to watch, it nevertheless left me aware that my personal experience (and I only speak for myself here) of this pandemic is a picnic in comparison.

Our restrictions and difficulties are at least because we are trying to help one another, not to kill one another.

I am humbled and not a little ashamed of feeling sorry for myself.

Worth watching. The link above is to YouTube.

6 Comments

Gail

26/2/2021 02:29:26 am

I have RA and some level of pain is my constant companion. Most days I can put into perspective, like you in covd world compared to blitz people. However, when I can’t sleep at 3am, I give myself grace to grumble, not caring about where I am compared to others
Pain is pain. Social isolation is awful. And the blitz was horrendous. In the meantime, I live in a safe neighborhood in a nice house with glimpses of Spring coming

Freda

26/2/2021 02:00:23 pm

I am sorry to hear that you have that painful condition. The grace to grumble it’s such a good expression! Social isolation is the defining factor of the situation, and probably very different from the Blitz. So thankful to be seeing a way out and to be safe and well.

Mary

26/2/2021 05:11:15 am

In US so cannot access the program, but then my British mother drove an St Johns ambulance during the Blitz (and the rest of the war while also holding another job--a secret one she wasn't allowed to talk about), lost her Royal Navy brother when his ship was torpedoed by a U-boat in the Irish Sea and had her home bombed by the Luftwaffe. I've never been under an illusion that my life has ever been as difficult or harrowing as hers. My mother was one of the strongest people I've ever known and while she didn't talk a great deal about the war, what I did learn from her was heartbreaking.

One memory that will stay with me forever is the day we visited the Imperial War Museum in London. She was in her 80s then and thought she wanted to see the special program on the Blitz that had just opened. There was an elderly gentleman selling tickets for the exhibit who looked at my mother and asked if she had lived through the Blitz. When she said, yes, his reply was, "Luv, don't do it." She took his advice. A good thing as it turned out because as soon as we entered the large area where the enormous V-2 rocket stands, she wavered. She'd experienced the V-1 and V-2 rockets, too. She briefly looked around the room and quietly asked if we could leave. Of course, I said yes. The look on her face in those moments still haunts me.

Freda

26/2/2021 02:03:17 pm

That generation were amazing, and so many of them stoical. Thank you so much for sharing your mothers fascinating story with us.We have such a lot to be grateful for.

Gillian Thompson

27/2/2021 01:24:18 am

I also watched the programme, and thought it was excellent. Up until recently there has not been enough exploration of the war time experiences of those at home, as opposed to those actively engaged in the conflict. The Mass Observation project is a wonderful resource for finding out about people's day to day experience. I have often imagined what it must have been like for those involved in the blitz. Where did they go when their homes were destroyed? How did they replace their possessions, how did they live day to day without a home, how long did it take for them to get another home, and how did it happen? So many questions - all domestic and "trivial" but so important.

Freda

1/3/2021 04:26:34 am

II too thought they made marvellous use of the archival material. My grandmother took in a girl from London during the Blitz to head home in Scotland. They became lifelong friends. I’m sure many families did this. Amazing times.

Simply..not the Blitz....

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