Chapter 3
Ronnie’s first day at Saunders-Roe was much the same in many ways as Tilly’s at the Royal, a lightning tour of rules and expectations.
Ronnie received a series of lectures on the way he should conduct himself, safety procedures on the factory floor and introductions to the faces of seniority.
He soon realised how far down the pecking order he was and that he was very much on probation.
Expectations were high and he was left with no illusions about how many others were ready to step into his shoes if he didn’t come up to scratch.
There would be quarterly reviews of his performance and a yearly report from the education department regarding his academic achievements and test results.
‘Theory and practice go hand in hand,’ Mr Farthing said.
Mr Farthing was his mentor and had been working for Saunders-Roe since he left school.
He was a tall, thin man with not an ounce of extra fat on him.
His handlebar moustache was tinged with yellowish stains betraying a smoking habit and when he opened his hand to shake Ronnie’s, the same tinge revealed itself.
The handshake was firm, though, and when he held Ronnie’s gaze and smiled, Ronnie felt that he would be a dependable guide through the complex maze of being a trainee in an important industry.
‘For who knows where it might lead? You might even own your own company one day,’ Mr Farthing said.
Ronnie wasn’t so sure about that. Samuel had had the advantage of stepping into his grandfather’s shoes.
Ronnie had had no such start in life. His father, Albert Locock, was no businessman — he was a blacksmith.
But he was a good man, a skilled man, and Ronnie respected him, but he couldn’t give Ronnie the financial backing that Samuel had had.
‘So, how did the first day go, then?’ asked Dot when Ronnie came through the door looking exhausted. ‘You look a bit bewildered.’
‘There was an awful lot to take in,’ Ronnie replied.
‘I had a tour of the whole site. It’s vast. I didn’t realise how many different aspects there are to boat-building and it’s not just boats — aircraft too, flying boats.
The company is expanding. I was taken into this massive shed — the erecting shop it’s called.
All under the same roof, there’s the dope and covering shops, sheet-metal department, sewing and metal-wing assembly departments . . .’
Dot glazed over as Ronnie enthused about everything he had learned on his first day. She smiled to herself. It gave her a warm feeling to know that both Tilly and Ronnie were committed to their chosen careers.
* * *
Down in Ryde, Tilly was gaining more experience of what it meant to be a nurse.
She was settling into the daily routines and finding that she and Fliss got on very well together.
They were like flip sides of a coin. Tilly was adept at her studies and keeping Fliss on the straight and narrow, and Fliss brought the laughter and sunshine into their friendship.
She didn’t take life too seriously. Her ability to find the humour in any situation was refreshing to Tilly.
Being brought up in a home with two teachers did mean that there was a certain earnestness about getting down to the hard work of studying.
As the weeks passed, Tilly was moved around from ward to ward so that she could be introduced to the vagaries of each section of the hospital, all of which had their own peculiarities and seemed to attract a certain kind of individual.
Tilly thought of it more as a trial by fire.
She began striking each experience off as being ‘interesting’ but not quite what she’d expected.
She was keen to identify the particular aspect of nursing that suited her.
Fliss, on the other hand, saw things differently.
‘I just want to get through the training to satisfy my mother. Then I can concentrate on finding a man who will support me.’ Fliss often joked about her lack of a sense of vocation, but Tilly suspected that, secretly, Fliss was a little bit lost. She didn’t have the closeness with her family that Tilly felt with hers.
Despite being a family that was split up geographically, emotionally they were very much together and supported each other.
The need to please them, and have them be proud of her and her achievements, was strong.
Tilly hoped that, in due, course, there would be an aspect of the training that she would eventually feel comfortable with and kept an open mind.
There were some of the trainees who enthused about maternity and just loved bringing babies into the world.
Others saw themselves as being destined to be a nurse in recovery, helping with post-operative patients, but she just didn’t know.
She waited for the moment when she would realise that an aspect of nursing was for her.
Fliss, on the other hand, didn’t care. She saw it as a phase in her life that she just had to get through, as if she was in a waiting room, biding her time until her true vocation in life presented itself in the form of a husband with the required amount of income to support her.
Tilly berated her for having set her sights so low in life and tried to convince her of the mistake she was making not seeking a more independent path.
As far as Tilly was concerned, it was a waste of a woman’s talents and abilities to cast herself in the role of wife and mother and not seek any further fulfilment.
They seemed poles apart in their outlook on life, but somehow Tilly really enjoyed Fliss’s company.
She was fun and her devil-may-care attitude was a tonic after the seriousness of the day-to-day work on the wards.
If she had to rely on someone to get her through a difficult time, then it would be Fliss.
Tilly had been working hard at her studies as well as gaining practical experience on the wards and she needed some relaxation.
She decided to put the idea to Fliss and see what she could come up with.
There was very little in the way of entertainment and relaxation in Ryde, but if there was anything out there Fliss would find it.
Tilly could learn something from Fliss about how to enjoy herself, she thought, and she could also learn something about men, which Fliss seemed to see as her specialist subject.
The attractive doctor she had noticed on the wards recently did distract Tilly from her tasks sometimes and she wondered if Fliss, with all her experience of the opposite sex, might give her some clues about how to attract his attention.
She began daydreaming about bumping into him in the corridor, spilling items off her bed-bath trolley and he helping her pick them up.
Their eyes would meet and he would instantly fall in love .
. . She stopped herself. What are you doing, Tilly?
That sounds like the worst women’s magazine story ever.
She didn’t believe in love at first sight.
She must be starved of male company if she was resorting to such idiotic ideas.
Time to do something about it. She would get Fliss on the case of the search for male companions at the first opportunity.
It wasn’t that she was desperate to find a boyfriend, but she wasn’t averse to a little romantic adventure either.
All work and no play, and all that, she thought. Time for a little fun.
‘Are you listening to me?’ Deirdre Miles, her duty companion said.
‘What? Did you say something?’ Tilly mumbled.
‘I said, pull the under sheet tighter,’ Deirdre repeated. ‘You know what a stickler Sister is for properly made beds.’
‘Sorry. I’ve got things on my mind,’ Tilly said, not wishing to disclose what it was that was distracting her. A young doctor had been accompanying Mr James, the consultant gynaecologist, on his rounds for the past few weeks. He was the reason for her not being entirely focused on her work.
Tilly and Deirdre finished making their patient comfortable and were on their way to take their tea break when Sister Harrison called them over to the empty bed they had made up previously.
‘What do you call this?’ Sister Harrison said, tugging the under sheet.
Tilly blushed and Deirdre glanced at her with an ‘I told you so’ look.
‘Did you not listen to any of your training?’ Sister continued. ‘The comfort of our patients is paramount. They are suffering enough without having to put up with a badly made bed.’
‘Sorry, Sister, it won’t happen again,’ Deirdre replied.
‘I’m sure it won’t, Nurse Miles, especially after you have emptied all the bedpans and then thoroughly cleaned the sluice room. Off you go now, both of you.’
‘But, Sister, we were just off to tea,’ Tilly protested.
‘And now you’re not,’ Sister replied. ‘Not until you’ve finished the sluice room.’
‘Actually, that side of the bed was Tilly’s, not mine,’ Deirdre piped up.
‘It makes no difference, Nurse Miles. Being a nurse involves teamwork. Any joint task is the responsibility of both of you. Now that’s the end of the matter.’
Sister walked away from them and they made their way to the sluice room.
‘I told you that you should have paid more attention,’ Deirdre said.
‘I told you so is not making it any easier, Deirdre. Look, I’m sorry, all right. I’ll do the sluice room by myself. You go off and have tea.’
‘And run the risk of another dressing-down, no fear,’ Deirdre replied.
‘Just remember that you got us into this. If I’m paired with you again, you better have your mind on the job.
I’m not getting into trouble for your lack of concentration.
I intend to pass all my assessments and I don’t want you dragging me down. ’
The punishment duty was carried out by the two of them with very little further communication. Tilly didn’t mind that; she’d had enough of working with Miss Perfectionist Miles.
When Tilly got back to the nurses’ home later that day, Fliss took no time in commenting on Tilly’s appearance.
‘You look as if you’ve lost a pound and found a penny,’ Fliss said. ‘Bad day?’
‘You could say that,’ Tilly replied. ‘I’ve been on gynae for long enough.
Sister Harrison is a harridan and my partner is a highbrow snitch with no sense of humour.
We got sluice-cleaning duties today and she blamed it all on me.
I don’t know what she’s got against me, but she seems to do everything she can to make working with her difficult.
The thing is that she’s not that good a nurse — she’s always relying on me to make decisions when we’re partnered together.
I’ve got her out of a sticky situation more than once. ’
‘Sounds like there’s a bit of jealousy going on there. What’s her name? I’ll look out for her on the duties list,’ Fliss said.
‘Deirdre Miles,’ Tilly replied. ‘Not that you could avoid her. The duty list is like Sister Harrison, immoveable.’
‘Useful to know, though,’ Fliss said. ‘Now, cheer up. Let’s not dwell on the more tedious side of nursing like awkward nurses, bumptious senior staff and whingeing patients.
Let’s get out and spend some of our hard- earned money.
It’s Saturday night, and we deserve some relaxation and fun.
There must be something going on in Ryde on a Saturday night. All we have to do is find it.’
‘I don’t know anything about the night life in Ryde. If we were in Whippingham, we could go to the village hall. There’s always something going on there on a Saturday night. I was never allowed to go, though — my sister said I was too young,’ Tilly complained.
‘Well, your sister’s not here now, so you’re free to choose what you do.
Unfortunately, at this time of year, the Pavilion is closed.
I know. How about a fancy cocktail at the Hunter’s Den.
There will probably be a trio there on a Saturday night.
Or at the very least, a pianist. Come on, let’s get on our glad rags and hit the town. ’
Tilly wasn’t sure about cocktails. It all sounded like an expensive night out to her but once Fliss got an idea into her head there was no stopping her, so the Hunter’s Den it was.