Shirley Bland (24 Sep 1931 - 21 Aug 2022)

In loving memory of Shirley Bland who sadly passed away on 21st August 2022.
Her own youth occurred during the war. When she was in Hornchurch, she remembered the V1 bombs cutting out, and then landing - a house down the road ended up with shrapnel in the front door! She was evacuated to the countryside before she was 10 - she told me that she actually quite enjoyed it! Nowadays, she would have gone to University - back then it was straight into work. She became the PA to the MD of a shipping line, with typing speeds of 90 WPM, and Pitman dictation speeds of 120+. I still remember how she effortlessly took down notes when on the phone, as quickly as anyone could speak.
Even as Mum got older, she remained very active, walking her dog, and then mine, and playing tennis into her 70s and doing line dancing and keep fit into her 80s. She loved having John round, watching football and having dinner together. Whenever I spoke to Sky, I think they always found it surprising that my octogenarian mum wanted the Premier league in her subscription, so she could see what was happening with Man U.
She was always generous - when she went shopping, which she loved doing, she usually bought more for other people than she did for herself. She loved animals (particularly dogs!), and always insisted on me bringing my dog down to see her - she then usually gave him bits of digestive biscuit as they watched TV together.
She was very supportive of me, and Jennifer in whatever we were doing. She was the best Mum and Nan, and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace.