”Pastime” – utdrag från en kunds memoarer

Most of my friends at the time were not so much from Bedford college itself, but the Hall of Residents, where there were a mix of people that I was friends with. We played quite a bit of tennis, we went to concerts, and I was an absolute ballet fan.

   Not that I had much money. Pa, who was absolutely obsessed with the three of us all being given equal rations, gave me the same allowance as Birgit had been given four years earlier in Edinburgh, because “she managed to cope perfectly well with that money,” while I argued that London was more expensive and that times were different now. He then asked me to send him a list of the things I spent money on. He could have easily just extended my allowance, but I had to give reason for it.

   During this time, I had my first sort of half serious boyfriend, who was a friend of Birgit’s. His name was Roger Medill, he was rather older than me and taught English at King’s Canterbury. Roger was a rather ascetic young man, and he loved Henry Moore, the sculptor. I remember going with him to the Henry Moore studio in Hertfordshire. On the way there he said: “I think I’ve got enough money for a maquette”.

   Often sculptors did little mini ones before they did maxi ones. He had made an appointment with the guy running the studio. We looked around and there was the offer of about three or four maquettes. Roger picked one and asked what I thought of it. I told him I knew which one I’d choose, but that it mustn’t influence him.

   He said to the guy “I love this one, but I mean, Henry Moore’s so well known for his women and this isn’t a woman.”

   “Oh, but it is,” the guy said. I thought this was so funny!

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