Bless Your Little Cotton Socks: Beyond the Quirky Sayings of My Eccentric Scottish Mum

In this delightful essay collection that reads like a memoir Diane Radford draws the reader into the enchanting world of her parents — her mother Margery, and her long-suffering father Sidney. Margery had a way with words — she was never lost for them. Recalling her mum’s unique turns of phrase, Diane found herself beginning her own sentences with “as Margery would say,” followed by one of her mother’s pithy comments. She never realized how much her mother differed from other mothers until she began to quote her, and listeners responded with either a quizzical stare or a peal of laughter. Diane mistakenly presumed everyone had a mother who would demonstrate the Charleston in the middle of doing dishes — suds flying across the kitchen — or recite poetry on a walk along the shore. Dr. Radford compiled these “Margeryisms,” and her essays recount the adventures of the Radford family and the circumstances in which the Margeryisms were let loose upon the world. At times laugh-out-loud-funny, at times poignant, these essays transport the reader to the times and places when Margery’s saying would stop all other activity in a room. The coastal town of Troon, in Ayrshire, Scotland forms the backdrop for many of the memories. Mrs. Radford had a wanderlust that left her unsettled; hence, she and Sid moved frequently — eight homes in all in Troon. This book in divided into parts according to where they were living at the time. The reader happily joins the Radfords on their peripatetic around Troon and shares in walks on the beach; feeding the birds; golf on the narrowest fairways between banks of yellow broom; and the animal adventures of the Radford family. These reminiscences of her childhood revealed to Diane that she was altogether blessed — not just her cotton socks. The reader will be too.