Norma Thompson

I am going to tell you about my youth - the period of 1942-1943 this was a great year for me as I started work at Sands & McDougall printing factory. I used to ride my push bike from East Victoria Park to work every day, summer and winter, getting chilblains and falling off between the train tracks.

In summer we all used to go swimming and dancing, I learnt dancing then and also taught students. Well I learnt to dance with a record between our hips and if the record fell we were doing it wrong. I had some fun times going to dances. I remember putting sugar and water in my hair so that it would look nice for a dance.

Back then there was no hair spray and anyway being wartime, anything else was not available. So sugar and water is what I used, until one night I woke up to this crawling sensation in my hair. To my bad luck there was an ants nest in my hair. My mother thought I was stupid for using this in my hair, but dad understood and he put my bed legs in water tins so that it wouldn’t happen again.

I met my husband when he was teaching dancing and that was where I was learning also. He didn’t ask me out straight away -  one of his mates did. We knew each other for about nine months when he was sent to Sydney, then on to New Guinea. He was away for three years and when he came back he was eight stone - he was thirteen when he left. He had terrible nightmares all his life. I was engaged to my future husband and I still wrote to him.

I had some lovely times back then and four lovely children. My husband has passed away. I live by myself, but I still have fun and enjoy the company of my family especially my grandchildren. I also have a lovely friend Norm who I have known for years.