Stalin's Children
“They took the bus to Victoria; a taxi would have been too expensive. As they drove down the Westway London struck Mila, she told me, as being 'very poor, very down-at-heel'. When she saw old women in woollen coats and headscarves she told her new husband that they were 'just the same as our Russian babushkas'. Mervyn's little one-bedroom flat on Belgrave Road in Pimlico was an ascetic place, with a tatty carpet and barely warmed by large brown electric storage heaters, set low to save money. My... mother remembers that Mervyn's single bed was just two foot six inches wide, and covered with thin army surplus blankets. When the newly freed Gerald Brooke called round to ask if there was anything Mila needed, the first thing she thought of was proper woollen blankets. After the overheated apartments of Moscow, Mila found the flat desperately cold. In order to warm up she would go out for brisk walks through the streets of Pimlico. Her abiding memory of that first winter in London was 'the terrible damp chill which penetrated your bones - much worse than the Russian winter'.My parents went for walks in St James's Park, and visited the House of Lords for tea with Lord Brockway, one of the dignitaries whom Mervyn had persuaded to help his campaign.MoreLess
Read book Stalin's Children for free
Write Review:
Guest
Read Also
7 / 10
10 / 10
User Reviews: