“When they talk about the war, will they remember me?” A last interview with the remarkable Dame Vera Lynn

Six years ago I went to the home of Dame Vera Lynn and listened to her sing along to recordings of her younger self. As far as I know, this was the last in-depth interview about her life that she ever gave. Softly, with a voice that is still clear after all these years, DameContinue reading ““When they talk about the war, will they remember me?” A last interview with the remarkable Dame Vera Lynn”

June Brown, all alone in Dot Cotton’s kitchen

Strike a light, this is strange. Dot Cotton is in her kitchen, sucking on a fag and talking into a tape machine, recording a message for her husband, Jim, who is paralysed and unable to speak after a stroke. The hardest thing, she says in a trembling voice, “is the thought of you being there…Continue reading “June Brown, all alone in Dot Cotton’s kitchen”