Gerry's Story

Long Distance Coaches
Weren’t Designed For
Overweight Priests!!

Gerry’s story from before we met
until shortly after she died

This book is dedicated to my wonderful, but sadly departed, beautiful girl
Gerry who, for 38 short years, was my friend, my soulmate, my wife, my
companion, my lover and my life.
Also to our dear, but sadly departed, friend and island priest Father Avraam
who unknowingly and unwittingly gave us the title of this book when he got off
a KTEL bus with us at the Café 90 comfort stop between Agios Konstantinos
and Athens in September 2009 and the title of the book is exactly what he said.
Last, but not least, to Dave’s ‘Angels of Mercy’; Jan, Jane, Lizzie, Lyn, Marion
and Netty who made it possible for Dave to keep a promise to Gerry to she
would stay in Villa Aliki and on the island of Alonissos until the end of her life.
The ‘Angels of Mercy’ cared for her every day and gave her comfort, dignity
and quality of life during the last and very difficult few weeks of her life before
she passed away. To them I am, and always will be, eternally grateful.

Dave

“Every time you walk into a room you light up my life”
“I’m not afraid of dying I just don’t want to leave you”

Gerry



Chapter 1 The Childhood Years

Gerry was born Geraldine Ivison on 7th September 1950 in Lewisham Hospital
to Frederick Arthur ‘Fred’ and Alice (née Lamey) Ivison, their 3rd and last child.
Gerry (Gerry or Gel) had two older brothers Laurence (Laurie or Lol) around 8
years older and Nicholas (Nick or Nik) around 4 years older. Alice had an idea
that she would name her three offspring so that their names weren’t able to
be shortened. As you can see this idea worked perfectly!! Up until Gerry’s
birth there had been a dearth of females born into the family so Gerry was
right royally spoilt by all of her grandparents.

When Gerry was born the family lived in a World War Two prefab on Hilly
Fields in Lewisham but with now 3 children in the family the council moved
them, shortly after Gerry’s birth, to 163, Reigate Road, Bromley where they
stayed, and Gerry went to school locally, until she reached the age of moving
from junior to senior school.

Gerry Aged 4 with Brothers Laurie and Nick

Gerry shared the same date of birth as her father Fred, who was born on 7th
September 1922 and the spookiness continues because Dave’s father Sid was
born in 1915, the same year as Gerry’s mum Alice and Dave’s mum Eileen was
born in 1922 the same year as Gerry’s dad!!

Gerry with Dad Fred and Mum Alice and Brothers Laurie (Left) and Nick (Right)

Gerry loved animals and when Fred and Alice met he had a German Shepherd
‘Rinty’ and when he died they got another German Shepherd ‘Finette’. Finette
had a pedigree as long as your arm but was the runt of the litter and very
nervous so she couldn’t be bred from. She was frightened of her own shadow
but this worked to some advantage because is anyone came cold calling
around the house they would take Finette by the collar to the door and is her
desperation to escape the people thought she was trying to attack them.

One year when the family went away they put Finette into kennels and when
they went back to get her they were told she had run off and couldn’t be
found. Gerry’s dad Fred was having nothing of this and investigated around
the area of the kennels and found her tied up and in a terrible state because
they were going to try to breed from her because of her pedigree!!

Gerry always loved German Shepherd dogs but when we first got a dog
together it was a black Labrador.

Gerry with her Pedigree German Shepherd Dog Finette

Gerry Aged 5 in the Garden at 163, Reigate Road, Bromley with Finette and
Brothers Laurie (Left) and Nick (Right)

Gerry started schooling at the age of 4 in 1954, the same year that Dave was
born, at Downderry Infants and Junior School.

Two of Gerry’s Early School Photos

Gerry with her best Friend Marion

Gerry at a Sports Day at Downderry Junior School
Gerry’s parents Fred and Alice spent their summer holidays mostly in the UK
and eventually bought a caravan in Nyetimber near to Bognor Regis.

Gerry with Mum Alice and her Brothers on Holiday in Hayling Island



Chapter 2 Gerry’s Teenage Years before Leaving School in 1967

The council at the time had a rule that families with boys and girls and a girl
heading towards puberty had to be moved if their current accommodation
wasn’t appropriate, so they moved the family, when Gerry was around 10, so
she could have her own bedroom to 66 River Park Gardens, Ravensmead Road,
Bromley.

This was a new estate and the house that the family occupied was a two
bedroom house with another two bedroom house on top. The area was very
quiet but had a local bus service and Ravensmead, a nearby train station,
which linked to Bromley. There was a small brook nearby and across from the
brook was a huge playing field where the children used to hang out.

Gerry in the Garden at 66 River Park Gardens

Gerry’s dad was a keen gardener and filled the garden with roses and always
meticulously kept the lawn in perfect condition.

Gerry with her dad Fred on the Outside Balcony at 66 River Park Gardens

Gerry Aged 17 in the Garden at 66 River Park Gardens with the Mary Quant
Look

When Gerry moved from Downderry School she went to Malory, a brand new
custom built comprehensive school with a capacity for 1,400 students, in
Bromley. Gerry went for an interview at the school and she always said that
the outcome of the interviews, in the school library, was that the headmaster
said that he was prepared to accept any student that had a desire to come and
be taught in his school. Gerry loved Malory so much that she often said that
she would never have left there had she a choice.

The school houses were based on the Knights of the Round Table and Gerry
was allocated to Merlin house. Although, by her own admission, a quiet and
shy child with pigtails and plaits, she possessed a very fearsome temper and a
very short fuse, and after a few attempts to bully her by her peers, the amount
of injury she inflicted on her tormenters meant that she was left alone and
identified as someone never to get involved with.

Gerry said that on one occasion a girl who used to bully many of the girls in the
school was sat behind Gerry in a class and started to pull her pigtails during the
lesson. Gerry got totally pissed off and turned around and buried all her long
fingernails in the back of the girls hand and then twisted them around. From
that day onwards that girl would never come near Gerry or any of the girls that
were Gerry’s friends. Gerry never lost that fierce internal spirit till the day she
died but she allowed Dave to teach her how to channel the aggression and
anger into a more focussed way.

Gerry was quite athletic in her youth and loved to play hockey. She always
thought it hilarious that one of their teachers, who was also their hockey
coach, used to run along the side of the pitch shouting “have it away Merlin”.
Gerry said that for an all-girls hockey team the banter in the changing room
was far less about the hockey and more about the sexual connotation!! The
best hockey game she remembered was the pupils versus the staff and Gerry
played in one of the games which turned out to be less of a game of hockey
and more of a vendetta. Needless to say the pupils won the game doubly by
more points and more injuries!!

Gerry also won school certificates for swimming and ice skating at Streatham
Ice Rink. During these years Gerry took part in events at the church hall and
also joined the Brownies and the Girl Guides in Bromley and eventually
became one of the leaders of the guide troop.

Gerry was a bridesmaid at her brother Laurie and Myra’s wedding in 1964 and
even after so many years since Laurie’s death, Myra is still in touch and has
remarried to a wonderful man Allan.

The family were a very close knit group but Gerry always held a special place in
her heart for her eldest brother Laurie who was very attentive to his little
sister, whereas her other brother Nick tended to be a little solitary in his teens.
Sadly Laurie died of cancer at the age of 26 after a short illness and, losing her
eldest son at such a young age, was one thing that Gerry’s mum Alice never
ever got over. After his death Gerry always had a feeling that she would get
cancer and how prophetic was that.

Gerry on the Left as a Bridesmaid at Laurie and Myra’s Wedding in 1964

Gerry Aged 14 with her Elder Brother Laurie at a Family Party

Gerry was an extremely intelligent young woman but totally and completely
incapable of knuckling down to studying, writing essays or even vaguely giving
the impression that she had any understanding of what was going on in the
various subjects. However, much to everyone’s surprise, Gerry passed six ‘O’
level exams at the age of 16 and when the results were posted some of her
fellow students said that, for the little work she put in, they couldn’t believe
she had obtained so many qualifications. That was Gerry…

Gerry wanted to stay on and do ‘A’ levels and try for a place at but, with only a
limited income coming into the house, this proved very difficult and in the end
Gerry accepted that she would have to leave school at the end of the school
term in July 1967. You can see a copy of Gerry’s leaving certificate from
Malory Comprehensive School



So in September 1967 Gerry obtained a place on a 2 year full-time secretarial
course at Lewisham College. As always Gerry did the minimum amount of
work but passed with flying colours and then immediately went out a found
herself a job.



Chapter 3 The Years 1967 - 1972

This is probably the most difficult to write because all there is to go on are
memories and recollections of the times that Gerry talked about her later
teens and into her early 20’s.

Gerry had a variety of secretarial jobs and a wide network of friends around
the Bromley, Beckenham and Lewisham area during this time. Having said that
Gerry always said that she was shy to the point that she couldn’t even go into
shops and buy her own clothes and every time she went out shopping her
mum Alice had to go with her. For anyone that knew Gerry in later life this
probably seems inconceivable.

During the 60’s Gerry identified very strongly with the hippy movement in
America and one of Gerry’s most precious lifelong possessions was her original
kaftan that she bought in Carnaby Street in London during the mid-60’s. Due
to her severe shyness Gerry’s mum used to get her dressed and organised for
parties with her friends but the condition on Gerry going was that a time was
always set when she would leave and her dad Fred would be nearby in the car
waiting to take her home.

Gerry had a group of friends that used to meet at a pub in Chislehurst called
the Rambler’s Rest and during Gerry’s late teens and into her 20’s she dated,
but never seriously, many of the guys that she socialised with at the pub.
Some had very good financial jobs in the city but Gerry, maybe because of her
hippy allegiance, was never impressed by loads of money and fast cars which
was probably a bonus for Dave when we first met!!

Gerry was always a thin teenager in a very similar way to Twiggy, who was the
most famous model at the time, and her mum Alice used to encourage her to

go out in miniskirts to try to help her to build up her confidence and self-
esteem.

Gerry Posing Like Twiggy
Gerry decided to learn to drive and so she bought a Mini from a friend that had
a Cooper gear box which went like shit off a shovel. Gerry failed her first
driving test on a technicality and then got a second test and, guess what, it was
the same examiner who failed her the first time. Gerry’s dad Fred had the car
serviced before the test and half way around she had to do a hill start. Gerry
pulled the handbrake on but it was so hard to release she had to ask the
examiner if he would help. He huffed and puffed and before he could release
the handbrake Gerry went into a strop and ordered him out of the car, half
way around the test circuit, so he had to walk back miles to the test centre.

Her dad Fred came and collected Gerry and that was the last time she ever
drove a car.

Gerry’s Mini with a Cooper Gear Box

All through her life Gerry was a staunch Socialist and one of her heroes was
Harold Wilson who put the Open University into being to bring education to
the everyday working people who couldn’t go to university for whatever
reason. At the time Gerry was going out with a friend Neil from the Rambler’s
Rest and he and some Conservative mates one evening started to run Harold
Wilson down. In her inimitable way Gerry apparently tore them all off a strip
and then stormed out of the pub to walk home in the dark, a considerable
number of miles. Eventually after some persuasion her friend Anne got Gerry
into her fiancée’s car to take her home but Neil got the bum’s rush straight
after.

Gerry’s parents were both involved with the local church Saint Barnabus in
Downham Way, Bromley and due to their involvement this is where we were

married. To raise funds they had various themed evenings in the church hall as
you can see.

Gerry with Family and Friends at a Church Hall Fund Raising Event
Gerry loved her dad Fred and he absolutely adored his one and only daughter.

Gerry with her Dad Fred and Alton the Cat

Gerry found Alton on the common in Chislehurst near to the Rambler’s Rest
pub and brought the cat home. The cat was basically semi feral and never
truly integrated into the household. Refusing to eat cat food Gerry’s mum
Alice cooked Coley for the cat which is a fish that has a very unpleasant when
being boiled. Needless to say Alton lived to a ripe old age and her manners
never really improved up until the day she died.

Gerry Aged 22 in the Garden at 66 River Park Gardens with Alton the Cat and
Pet Tortoise

In 1969 Gerry’s parents Fred and Alice started having some overseas holidays
and after this Gerry got a bad case of the wanderlust following a family holiday
to Tunisia. They stayed in a five star hotel with all the extras and this gave
Gerry a taste for travel. She said that one of the Tunisian men offered Gerry’s
dad Fred 500 camels for her hand in marriage but, however tempting the offer,
Fred didn’t want to lose his daughter but more than that had no idea how he
would get the camels to Bromley and then what to do with them!!

Gerry, her Mum Alice and Dad Fred with her a Friend in Tunisia

Summer of 1970 Gerry, with two of her girlfriends, went off to France in an
Austin Mini and stayed in cheap hotels in Paris. Needless to say they had so
little money that in one of the restaurants a lovely Frenchman took pity on
them and handed them his bread and what was left of his cous cous. Gerry
never, ever, forgot his kindness to them and always tried to do the same to
other people in need.

In 1971 Gerry went off with some girlfriends to Dubrovnik which was then a
city in Yugoslavia and had a great time. The only downside to the holiday was
that they got drank and got drunk on so much Riesling wine, because it was so
cheap, that until the day she died another drop of Riesling ever passed Gerry’s
lips!! Now part of Croatia Gerry remembered the holiday with affection
because of the beauty of the city but was always sad because of the relative
poverty of the people.

Gerry in Dubrovnik in 1971
Gerry also went skiing and, although enjoying the time in Austria, said that she
tended to spend more time on the après ski, rather than the skiing itself. Her
instructor had difficulty understanding why someone would come all the way
to Austria to ski and then continually bunk off classes. He also thought he was
a right ladies’ man but he had absolutely no effect on her.

A Picture Gerry had taken to show she did put Ski’s on in Austria

During this time Fred and Alice bought a caravan on a site in Nyetimber, a
small town between Bognor Regis and Chichester on the south coast and this is
where they spent most of their time on holiday in the UK and then one week
abroad with friends from the church.

Gerry with Mum, Dad, Aunt Ellen and Uncle Bert at the Caravan in Nyetimber
Gerry had a lifelong love of reading books and she avidly read almost anything
and everything she could lay her hands on but her number one book of all time
was Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.

Gerry Pursuing her Favourite Pastime