Worsley

Barbara was an intelligent woman who sufferred a most terrible accident when in her teens. She was working (possibly) at the Meccano, Liverpool. At the end of a particularly hot and sunny day the event occurred. A youth (unknown) was horsing around with a bicycle pump, dipping it into a bucket of water and spraying his fellow workers. Unfortunatley, he drew liquid from a vat and sprayed this directly into Barbara's face. It was not water, but bleach.

She did not suffer facial scars, retaining her good looks. But the retinas of both eyes were severly damaged, and she remained almost permanently blind. Later, she had a fall and a retina became detached. This was sewn back. Her sight returned, but she told of being able to see the stitches - regular black spots. Later still, she contracted glaucoma, and her eye was removed.

She lived at home, providing a stable base for her aging mother, and for her two younger siblings Margaret and Bob, neither of whom married.

She was an excellent swimmer. She knitted gollywogs for all the families children, using bright colours. She used to ask Mavis to examine her work for dropped stitches etc. Her sister Margaret sewed them up. Each gollywog would have a red waistcoat, black trousers, white shirt, and hands and shoes and socks.

She learnt to read braille, and had books delivered once every two weeks or so. However, Barbara did all the cooking, with special braille dials on the cooker. She did all the heavy house work, but without modern aids, her hands become rough - with her fingers becoming too rough for her to be able to read the spots of the braille books. She learnt how to read Moon, where the symbols are bigger.

A lovely gentle woman with a generous personality, I think of her life as a sad tragic waste.