Marion Braley (7 Jan 1936 - 9 Aug 2018)

This poem was on the wall in Marion’s Kitchen

Warning by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Rest in Peace, your nephew Nic xxx

Marion had a NHS career that spanned almost 40 years. In 1954 at just 18 years she began her training at The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children, Brighton, and by 1957 she was a staff nurse. After a 4 year ‘baby break’ she continued in this post at Hove General Hospital. Another ‘baby break’ followed and then a move to The Royal Hospital in Portsmouth, until 1969. Then she was offered a position as a ward sister at St Marys, Portsmouth. We will never forget those Christmas days on L.E. Ward! In 1980 there came another move, this time to Nottingham, to take up the position of nursing officer at The City Hospital, Nottingham. Finally in 1985 she became a clinical teacher and the circle was complete……from nursing trainee to nurse’s trainer.