Memories of Frieda Sions (née Smith)

by Jeff Kutcher

I have very fond memories of Frieda. They come from when I was very young and it would have been when our family made a rare visit to London from where we were living in Swansea. We would make shortish courtesy visits to the homes of family members and so time spent together was short and sporadic.

Frieda was my mother's (Cissy) elder sister. To my very young eyes Frieda's home was posh. I mean, there were very thick, deep carpets for a start (we didn't have those in Wales) and very fancy furniture with all sorts of curvy bits to the settees. But here was a woman, mistress of the house, who was very jolly, down to earth, with no pretension or airs. She was always smiling and kind. She showed a keen interest in how we were and what we were doing and what our plans were. In between the chats she would be bustling around busy with something.

I probably met Frieda less than a dozen times in my life, if that, but I will always remember her with affection.