Stella

Stella has a great sense of humour. As I attempted to take her photo, she said, "Take your time and hurry up." She then told me in a whisper, "I'm 89 but don't tell anybody." 

Stella came to England from Guyana in 1955. She enjoyed the journey across the Atlantic. It took 2 weeks, and every night, they would show movies in the lounge. On board the ship were families, single men and women and many children. Everyone was excited about starting a new life in England.  Her husband, Cecil, had already come to England. He was working as a carpenter and living in Tooting. Stella left their son with his parents until she got settled.

Stella wasn't sure about England at first but it was her sense of humour that helped get her through those early years. A white woman once looked at her hands and said, "Oh, look at that, you wear a wedding ring just like us". Stella replied, "We normally wear our rings through our noses but put them on our fingers before we get off the banana boat."

Stella and Cecil lived in a single room in Tooting. Cecil worked, and Stella trained to become a nurse. The couple also had a baby daughter called Wendy

Stella then sent for her son, but her in-laws had grown attached to him and wouldn't let him come. Stella joked that although many English people think that people in the Caribbean lived in mud huts, her in-laws had a big house with 6 bedrooms. They argued that there was no way that they were going to send their grandson to live in a single room in South London. So Stella's son remained in Guyana with his grandparents and still lives there. 

Once Stella passed her nursing exams, she worked in the infectious disease ward at St Georges Hospital in Tooting.

She said that the hospital had a strict hygiene policy. You'd scrub your hands, go into the ward, put on overalls, and then scrub your hands again. There were no disposable surgical gloves in those days. She said you had to go through the same process on the way out. She said that all the hand scrubbing made her hands sore. 

The nurses were given castor oil cream to soothe their hands, but it had a strong smell that Stella was self-conscious about on the bus ride home. The whole time Stella was a nurse, there was never any cross-infection. 

Stella's daughter Wendy became a teacher. When she was in her early fifties, she started to get stomach pains. Because she was so dedicated to her work, she wouldn't visit a doctor until the school holidays. When she finally went, it turned out that she had advanced liver cancer, and sadly, she passed away shortly after.

Wendy had five children who often visit Stella. Stella feels blessed that she has all her grandkids around her. She says when they leave the house after a visit, 'The silence is deafening.' 
Cecil passed away in 2009. He loved gardening. He'd grow vegetables in the back garden and flowers in the front. Stella told me everyone was friendly on the road where she lived in Tooting. Back then, people were always popping in and out of each other's houses. Everyone grew vegetables and cared for their gardens. The neighbours would share plants and seeds. 

During this time, Cecil planted two beautiful roses in the front garden. Now that she lives alone, Stella got the garden paved because it was too much for her to look after. She ensured that the builders left Cecil's roses untouched. Every summer, without fail, they always burst into bloom.