When I was 11 I received a pair of sheepskin mittens from my auntie Maureen, those mittens were very special to me. Every winter as temperatures drop,some 40 years on I still put on those mittens and think of my auntie Maureen So thank you Maureen for making me feel special

Mau was very reserved growing up. One might describe her as shy but she was more quietly confident. Her confidence came from a thirst for knowledge. I remember her always with her nose stuck in a book. Bearing in mind our household was fairly chaotic and noisy, it was no mean feat that Mau was able to study in spite of everything. Mau was 6/7 years older than me and when I was quite young I began to notice how different she was. I used to look at her school books and think how beautiful her handwriting was and how skilled she was at writing. She was the only one in our family who left school and with her qualifications went on to further education at Portsmouth Polytechnic where she studied sociology (I think that was the course or, part of it.) At some point Mau went to London and worked for BOAC. I think she had a personnel role but not sure. When my father was ill she came home and worked in the Library which she loved, of course. Eventually she worked for Portsmouth Health Authority and passed the personnel professional qualification with an outstanding pass mark.( A piece was published about her in the hospital magazine.) Mau was a committed socialist from quite a young age. I can remember her having heated, political discussions/ arguments with people; she was so eloquent, and brilliant at debate. I was truly in awe of her. When I was about 12 years old I mentioned to her that I had a history exam coming up. I never did any homework and wasn't really interested in any subject except English. However, Mau started questioning me about what I had been studying. When I said Henry V111 Mau just lit up with joy. She spent the next three evenings telling me the whole shebang about Henry and the Tudors. It was the first time I'd ever taken any real interest in school and when I did the exam, I th I'm sure I knew more about the Tudors than the teacher had actually raught us. I ended up with the top mark in the class, much to the surprise of the teacher. I'm sure he thought that I'd awoken from some sort of coma. When Mau was working in London she would sometimes come home at the weekends and she was always dressed so beautifully with all the latest Mod gear that you could only buy in London. One particular outfit, that I always remember, was a mini kilt with a mini Shetland pullover, black, knee high socks and loafers. She also had a beautiful military coat ( a nod to Seargent Pepper). I absolutely loved her style and I'm ashamed to say that I sometimes used to borrow her clothes without her knowing. Mau also had great taste in music. She used to listen to people like Pete Seger; artists whose protest lyrics made a social commentary, which, naturally, Mau would be interested in. Ken and I went to stay with Mau in London. It was the summer of '67 and she was living In a bedsit which she had made so cosy. When we arrived she made us fresh coffee in her Russell Hobbs percolator. That flat epitomised Mau: shelves full of books, her record player and LPs, and everything orderly. The three of us had a brilliant time : going to different places at night,listening to music, and having a great laugh. I have so many other memories of times we spent together. Great holidays in France and little snippets like the time when she lived in Chetwynd Road and ,together with my late brother Terry, would make burgers a la Hellmans Mayonnaise (Helmans was new on the market and this was before the Macdonald's invasion). I dont know why this simple act stays in my mind but I think it's simply because of the happy times we shared as a family. Best of times, Mau XXX

As an ‘adopted’ child of the George family, my memories of Mau are from the times June and I spent with her in Cardigan Road and visiting her in London, but also those memories are mixed with June’s stories before I arrived. Mau was a sister to me and when she recently spent time with us in France we spent a lot of time talking about the past including when she was a youngster; all under the influence alcohol. Before I arrived on the Portsmouth scene, Mau had already survived the rock and roll years of Cliff and The Shads, high heels, pencil skirts and of course the beehive hairstyle. During her time at Portsmouth Poly, she developed her taste in music and was listening to blues legends such as Jimmy Reid and John Lee Hooker. She introduced me to the Congolese Mass album which was quite ‘ niche’ for its time. Mau was so cool. She even got to see the legendary Paul Simon on his 1963 UK tour as well as other musicians on the Portsmouth Folk Scene. Mau not only listened to Pete Seeger and other artists who wrote protest songs, she also stood up for her beliefs, joining the CND and marching. During one of our reminiscences in France she told us that she attempted to join the Women’s Peace March at Greenham Common but ended up being arrested outside of Portsmouth and sent home by the police. Inevitably, during this period her dress code centred around the beatnik persona I.e. duffle coat and jeans. As I understand it, the beehive survived intact. This short lived period ended abruptly with London calling, and she moved to the big smoke to find a proper job. Her time at BOAC brought about a radical change in her wardrobe, she soon became a mod girl, typifying the swinging sixties. With her mini kilt , fairisle jumper and Mary Quant bob, she confined her beehive to the dustbin of time. By now June and I were spending time with Mau both in Portsmouth and London. We had some brilliant times together and really enjoyed Mau’s company. Shortly after June and I were married, Mau was homeward bound , returning to Pompey and working at the city library. As I worked around the corner from her, our paths would often cross in the morning. She always went to work looking immaculate and now she had moved into her Biba stage with her hair cut a la Farah Fawcett. Mau always moved with the times and her next adventure would be in Bolton with Dave, my old mate.