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I was now the sole tenant of the flat in Balham: buckets lived permanently on the stairs to catch rainwater dripping from the leaking skylight. The landlord wanted to put up the rent. My ex flatmates all had homes of their own. I was still smarting from a broken relationship years before. I had saved £2,000 pounds for a deposit, found a two up two down terraced house in Streatham (with garden) priced at £11,000, so took the plunge and applied for a mortgage. The building society valued the house at £9,000, which meant taking out a bank loan for the remaining £2,000. My own home was within my grasp. In the summer of 1975 I moved in and, while the vendors were still moving out, I washed some clothes and hung them out to dry for the first time in years. What joy – no more laundrettes.
I can't leave my 'broken relationship' as a throw away remark. It profoundly affected my attitude towards men. Whilst at college I met Hugh, a lieutenant in the Navy (submarines); he was on a course at Greenwich Naval College. We hit it off straight away, our friendship grew and we communicated when he was away at sea. There were numerous social occasions, parties at friends’ flats, a wedding in Portsmouth, events on H.M.S. Aeneas, and a memorable Summer Ball in the painted gallery in Greenwich Palace – full length ball gown and elbow length gloves, the men in Naval dress uniform. It was magical. Hugh met my mother and brother, I met and stayed with his parents in Shropshire when he was on leave (his mother was a primary teacher so we had something in common, his father was the vicar of a rural church). After a couple of years Hugh asked me to marry him, a formal announcement of our engagement was made in the Times, and a party was arranged at our flat for when he was next on leave. The day came, guests arrived bearing engagement gifts, but there was no sign of, or message from Hugh that day, or any day since. I was utterly devastated and humiliated. No reason given. I can only assume that his parents thought I wouldn't be a suitable match for their Naval Officer son, and that he was too cowardly to explain.