Another shot in the series โMay The Road Rise Up To Meet Youโ - stories of the Irish that came to the UK by Steve Reeves
Mary Coughlan is 78. She was born in Cork but has lived in Waterloo in Central London for the last 60 years.
She said it was tough at first back in the โ50s, but in the โ60s, everyone started to earn more money, and life in London โgot good.โ
Mary was sitting on a bench outside a pub when I took this shot. She wasnโt drinking. Sheโs just finished a Mcdonaldsโ apple pie which she says is a treat she sometimes has before getting the bus home.
Mary never married. She loved travelling too much.
She does have a long-term friend, Wilfred. Heโs German and โis a very kind man.โ They met on a bus in Regent Street and have been together for years. He keeps the flat tidy, and she told me that he will be back there now cooking her some fish for tea as itโs Friday.
I asked her what her family back in Ireland thought about her not getting married. She said her โmammyโ was fine about it after a while because she could see that Mary was happy.
When she first came to England, Mary told me that her mum would phone her from Cork twice a week to check that she was okay and eating properly. This carried on until just four years ago when her mum passed away aged 104 and Mary was 74. โShe is dearly missed,โ said Mary.
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