INTERVIEW WITH SYLVIA NEWBOLD

Today I have an interview with a 74 year old woman, Sylvia, to practice my interviewing journalistic skills. In one of my recent posts, I discovered that one of the top regrets people face is that they didn’t find out more about their grandparents. Alas, here I am with.. drumroll please… My gorgeous nan!

What was the best moment of your life?

Oh um, there are just so many! Can we come back to this?

*comes back to this* 

I think giving birth to my children. 

Really?!

Mhm-hmn.

What do/did you want to be growing up? 

An actress – I had taken lessons all my life, I was very good.

Why didn’t you become an actress?

Because my father wouldn’t let me continue my education. He only earned £11 a week, so I had to go straight out to work. 

What type of jobs did you have? 

~laughs/ sighs~ I was a secretary.

Name one person in your life that has made the biggest influence.

Hm… Oh dear… ~pauses~ My husband.

Why?

He… gave me back my confidence. He taught me how to be happy.

How did your parents raise you in comparison to the way kids are raised today?

Much more strictly. But there was more freedom, no fear to go out on your own.

How has a woman’s role changed over the span of your lifetime?

When I was a child my mother didn’t work – it was unheard of. A woman’s place was in the home, looking after her husband and children, cooking and cleaning.

How has technology changed things, and is it for better or worse?

Well it’s opened up communication,which is now a lot easier. However, writing and, you know, letters, have all just gone out the window. I suppose it’s better in a way. Young people can cope with the technology – us old people can’t ~laughs~

What inventions have changed society the most in your lifetime?

Television, I suppose.

How did you meet your spouse?

At dancing school. I went dancing with my girl friend, and together there we both got asked to dance by these two boys. In the end, she ended up dating the boy I danced with, and I ended up with the boy she danced with!

And my second one on holiday in Tenerife ~laughs~

How has food changed? 

Well, Chinese and Indian and foreign foods have come in. When I went to Spain I was amazed at all the different food, and they had olives! OLIVES! ~chuckles~ And you know olive oil? You could only get that at the chemist in jars like this! ~holds fingers about four inches apart~ It was to wash out your ears! Also, we never had butter, we had lard. It was all very unhealthy.

Is there anything that you regret?

Not telling my parents how much I loved them and all they sacrificed for me and my sister.

What did you like to do for fun when you were growing up?

Climb trees! ~laughs a lot~ Football with the boys… We also had something called the Saturday Morning Pictures. 

*The husband to my interviewee’s daughter suddenly interrupts my fabulously sophisticated interview, as of which this interviewer sits and waits patiently, of course*

Sorry Amy, carry on.

Have you travelled to any foreign countries?

~sighs~ Spain.. Portugal.. Germany.. France.. Belgium.. Turkey.. Wales.. Tenerife.. Italy.. Malta.. Switzerland.. Austria.. Croatia.. Holland…

I’d like to do more of Eastern Europe – Croatia was amazing.

What was the first movie you ever saw in a theatre? 

Oh um, perhaps The Great Gatsby? Actually, I suppose that wasn’t the first film I saw, it must have been Alan Mad and The Giant Lake.

(This fabulously sophisticated journalist just checked and there is no film under that title. She has decided that next time she’s not sure on an interviewee answer she will double check – otherwise she looks like a massive plonker in front of her blogging community…)

What is your favorite movie?

Probably Lawrence of Arabia.

(This really is a film..)

What is your favorite song? 

Can it be Opera?

Not really. *shrugs*

Then ‘My Way’, it reminds me of your grandad… ~laughs~ Ask your mother about the story.

What music did you listen to growing up?

Rock and roll!

What was school like for you?

Lovely, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Somehow, school was different then compared to now.

How come?

To start with, we respected the teachers *interviewer is unsure if this is inadvertently an insult* and there was corporal punishment. I once saw a teacher hit a student around the head with a bat, and you could easily get a slap with a ruler across your hand.

Did you have things like electricity, indoor plumbing, and television when you were growing up?

Eventually, though not at first. We only had electricity after the second World War, and TV when I was 12.

What is your favorite holiday and why?

When we went down to visit my Aunt in Cambridge by coach – that was exciting. 

My Uncle *interviewee’s daughter states that he worked at Pickfords* would assess homes for their moving prices, and they’d take us with them. We stayed in a holiday home and would go to the seaside and the market, but oh the market isn’t like something you’d see today –  they had all sorts, cattle and chickens for sale. ~laughs~

Did you play any sports growing up?

~laughs again~ Netball, hockey, athletics, if you can call that a sport, football–

*the interviewee’s daughter interrupts with “Mum look, ~points to Facebook on her tablet~ it looks like Jim– oh my god it is Jim– isn’t this Jim?– and look it’s Catherine– and her husband!” to which the interviewee replies, “hasn’t changed a bit has she?”. The interviewer sighs and decided to take a break*

Whats the meaning of life?

How very profound… To me personally?

*interviewer nods*

Well, to enjoy what’s left of it with no fear of the afterlife – if there is one, as you know I’m an atheist – and to try to do my best to help people as much as I can.

Do aliens exist?

Everything so far, I’d have to say no. But, as technology increases and we go further out into our own airspace, why not?

Do ghosts exist? 

No.

Opinion on religious people?

Each to their own! ~smiles~

What do you dislike about being your age? 

That I can’t quite do everything that I used to… like climb trees.

What age would you like to be right now and why? 

Hmm… Sixteen, because I would do so many things differently. 

~ponders~

So that’s why you should follow your dream. 

~both the interviewer and the interviewee do a small sort of sigh~

Describe the best thing about being in your family. 

Having them living very close to me, so if they need me they can always call on me… And they’re all very beautiful *interviewer laughs and flicks her hair*

Describe the best thing about life.

*interviewee’s daughter shouts STILL BEING HERE*

Not always…

*interviewee smiles sadly, her daughter tuts “oh, mum…” and the interviewer just sort of mumbles “aw no”*

But, I guess, being able to see the change in seasons.

If you were granted two wishes, what would they be? 

~intensely looks away~ For all my family to be happy, and to wish peace on all of the world. Impossible but… ~looks up at me for  the next question~

In your opinion, what age is the best age to get married and children? Why? 

Late twenties. You’ve seen a bit of life, pretty much decided on a career, you’re hopefully wiser and wealthier and can afford to bring up a child well.

Are you a feminist?

To a certain extent, I suppose I am – of course I believe a woman is just as good as a man.