Governor's Wife Tells of Joys, Problems of Diplomatic Life

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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.

See the article in its original context from March 1972.

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By MARJORIE DE LELLO I spent the best part of an hour last Thursday morning chatting with Mrs. Crook, our Governor's wife. It wasn't an interview really because I neglected to ask the usual questions. Instead I just let the conversation drift where it would. Soon I had a glimpse into the special joys and problems of the family of a British diplomat. Apparently keeping children in boarding school to maintain the continuity of their education is one of the hardships of being posted abroad. It is difficult for the children no matter how well they are prepared for it and it is also a great sacrifice for the parents, Mrs. Crook admitted. "You make enormous efforts to keep in touch. Both my husband and I always wrote to each of our girls once a week no matter how busy we were. I remember my husband writing to them at 2 o'clock in the morning. We found it also important to maintain a home in England. We didn't live in it very often but the children felt it belonged to us as a family. This is our house and when we are home we go back to it." The Crook's have two daughters, Susan Glyde, who is married, is a research chemist and a teacher. The younger girl, Sandra, is a speech therapist in London working with the London Education Authority in their clinics. Both girls were born in England. Susan was born just after the war when her father was still in the Navy and Mrs. Crook had just come out of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Mrs. Crook served in the forces for three years doing aptitude testing of men and woman recruits. Mrs. Crook told me that, "Susan was 5 and Sandra was 1 when we went to Australia for three years and they both came with us. (That was in 1951-54 when His Excellency was in the British Civil Service on a diplomatic appointment.)

Then we went to India. Susan stayed in England to go to boarding school but we took Sandra with us for part of our tour. Schooling was difficult in India as she got older so she went back to England to boarding school. They spent the rest of their school lives in England while we traveled around. They spent holidays with us in India and Pakistan.

The younger one is coming out here next Christmas for a few weeks holiday. We also hope the elder daughter and her husband will visit us while we are here. ''We loved Australia. I can't tell you how happy we were there. Canberra was very small and everybody knew everybody, which was fun. We liked to picnic at weekends and travel and see new places. You got in the car and traveled off to see the towns and cities. It is the custom there to 'boil your "billy" an Australian way of making tea. The "billy" is a tin can with a handle to it. You throw your tea in and if you do it the right way you add a couple of gum leaves (Eucalyptus). Then you kind of swing it to mix it you get so you don't spill a drop, and you drink it very hot and strong.

It tastes absolutely wonderful. It is a good Australian habit ask Mrs. Horsfall. Australians are very hospitable and Australian women work very hard and are good cooks. We just adored it really. It was our only overseas post where we had both girls with us. "We were also very happy in Pakistan. (1962-67) Mr. Crook and I are both fairly adaptable people. We are interested in people. The place isn't that important. It is the people you meet there. There are so many interesting places to go and so many interesting people to meet. We made a great many friends all over the subcontinent. We are particularly sad about the recent happenings there in both East and West Pakistan and in India too. It is sad when you leave good friends but it is extraordinary how often your paths cross again. I have a house guest staying at the moment whom we last met in Dacca in Bangla Desh. "There is only one thing I miss on Cayman and that is the mountains. I have had a great deal of kindness here and such a warm welcome. When you come to a new place, especially for a woman, a friendly welcome is tremendously important. A wife is left to cope with the new domestic situation, with new shopping patterns. If she receives a welcome from other women and help with the new pattern of living she starts to put down roots and then she is settled, and then she is happy.

Any woman in a new place takes a couple of months or so before she feels a part of the scene.” Asked if she likes to cook, Mrs. Crook thought that day to day cooking can pall and she is very happy when someone else will do it. But she does enjoy cooking for special occasions such as anniversaries.

She likes very much to sew. "I make clothes for myself and I used to make a lot of my children's clothes. I find it very relaxing to sit down and sew something but I like an uninterrupted couple of hours for it."