Strictly Ballroom
Jim and Mary Brookshaw were good neighbours and we became quite good friends. There was a gate from Cyril’s garden through into the yard at the rear of Forge Farm house drive which we would use sometimes. Having tea, homemade fruit cake and a chat in Mary’s farm house kitchen was something special. One day, I told her that Marlene and I had first met at the Gee School of Dancing in Wigan, Easter 1951, when we were just seventeen. We had learned ballroom dancing and proudly, I told her that we had got our Bronze Medals. We had, I said gone on to Silver, had done quite a bit of work but had not taken the exams as it had all got a bit advanced.
Mary listened attentively and her response was totally unexpected.
‘Oh’ she said, ’Jim and I used to do ballroom dancing.’
‘We have our Bronze as well.’ There was a pause….
‘We also have Silver, and Gold, Gold Bar, and Latin American.
That’s farmers for you. They had a room upstairs which they used as a Dance Studio and the most amazing collection of ball-room dresses.
Jigsaw pieces of history do not have any respect for chronological time and the next piece I have concerning Jim and Mary happened quite accidentally on Thursday 4th March 2004.