A PRIVATE ARCHIVE OF MEMORIES OF
THE WORTHINGTONS
IRIS
As remembered .....
Iris had a very gentle nature and was kind and always cheerful. In 1950 her winning smile won her a place on the carnival float as Maid of Honour, attending functions and fetes throughout the year with Audrey and Francis.
Following education at Southaw Girls' School, her one and only job was at Horrocks in London where she became an excellent seamstress. She made most of her own clothes: her wedding dress, my wedding dress and Pam's bridesmaid dress, always happy to do so and certainly without reward. She taught me how to make curtains by making my very first pair. I was very surprised in later years when she told me she had never liked her job!
Iris had lots of friends. Her love of cycling kept her out of doors (probably a bit of an escape!) and it was not unusual for her and her friends to pedal all the way to the coast and back.
She learned ballroom dancing at Felix Ronga's classes at our local school. Saturday was the big night out with dances at the Orange Tree in Finchley, the Cherry Tree in Southgate or wherever we followed the Ace Band; always great fun. Following ballroom Iris joined me in jazz and often on a Friday night we rushed in from work to change into white shirts, blue jeans, white socks and pumps before getting the tube back to London to meet her best friend Margaret for a drink and then going to either Ronnie Scotts or the 100 Club.
There were quite a few holidays with the girls (Audrey and Sheila), favourites being the Isle of Wight and Jersey. In fact, they loved Jersey so much that they left the beach in their shorts and set about looking for work. The agency only had cleaning jobs to offer (too much like home!) but they certainly left an impression: the secretary said she would always remember them as the six brown legs! Once whilst on holiday a professional photographer asked to take their photos. He took lots of Iris saying she was beautiful and smiled with her eyes. He gave them his card but they left it a while before going to see him in London by which time he didn't know where to look for the prints.
It is inevitable in a large family not to have sibling rivalry, fights and rows but I can't think of one instance where Iris was involved in any of these. It just wasn't in her nature.
by Rene 2020
The six brown legs - Audrey, Sheila, Iris
Karen and Paul have their own special memories of their dear mother
We have always felt blessed that our mum was so natural, genuine, kind, loving, unassuming and unimpressed by material gain. She enjoyed the simple pleasures of life, especially being outside with the wind in her hair and the sun on her face.
Both of us have very happy memories of outings with mum to Polesden Lacey, a beautiful National Trust Edwardian House set in 1400 acres. We were allowed to roll down the hills and run free around the gardens without being told to mind our clothes didn't get dirty. Other favourite destinations were Shere Village, where we would roll up our trousers and paddle in the stream, and Gomshall Mill, where we were indulged in delicious cake selections. During the summer holidays, dad would purchase season tickets for the local outdoor swimming pool, where we would spend long sunny days diving off the boards and raiding mum's picnic basket.
Mum was brave! When she sensed that we were nervous of our riding school ponies, she thought nothing of gritting her teeth and mounting Fox, the biggest beast in the stables. It's a testament to the courage of our mother that we remember the name of that horse fifty years later!
From an early age we would accompany mum on trips to her favourite fabric stores, where she would pop us on a stool so that we could enjoy spending hours flicking through a seemingly endless supply of pattern books, cotton threads and materials. The background sound at home of her sewing machine going like the clappers was ever present, until Donny Osmond and Slade hits competed from our bedrooms.
Mum excelled at homework! She would sit patiently in the kitchen with us after our evening meal, testing our spelling and resorting to coins or matchsticks to help us make sense of maths. Unfortunately, once our teenage years kicked in, we would fake completing homework in our bedrooms.
Car journeys were approached with some trepidation. Whilst mum was extremely confident on two wheels, she never fully mastered four. Some friends would make a rush for a back seat, but to be fair, we always arrived safely at our destination, with the car in one piece!
In the same way that we enjoy happy memories of our family, mum cherished the memories of hers. Not even best friend, Margaret Munt, was spoken of with the same degree of affection as mum's brothers and sisters, who she adored, though Rene is right that Roy and John did keep her awake at night with their antics!
Mum's favourite sayings:
If you can't think of anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!
You can't put an old head on young shoulders.
