Ann's tadpoles - 1952

Reading Rose Hunt’s account of the staff reminded me that it was the cleaners we turned to for help and advise - anything from the “facts of life” to how to keep tadpoles alive.
The nurses, along with Sister Morgan and Dr Huppert, were regarded as authority figures. They were people to be feared; people who gave out medicine and punishment. The exceptions were Nurse Glenys Davies and "Auntie Maggie".

I remember it was a cleaner who brought in huge Bell jars for me to keep my tadpoles and black slugs, not in the same jar I hasten to add.
( Some of my black slugs went missing and I often wondered what happened to them: did they eat each other? how did they escape? if so where were they? these were worrying times for me with my little collection of living things).

It was the same cleaner, Mavis, I believe she was called, who told me that I needed to collect water from the lake for my tadpoles because they kept dying on me.
I was using tap water.

After that, much to Miss White’s (teacher) annoyance I would be seen wandering through Ward 2 armed with jam jars full of lake water. Once she hit me on the head with a rolled up newspaper as I passed and demanded to know when I was going home.