Major Liesbeth Langford

Here is our dear friend, Liesbeth, who came today to tell Mum all about her recent visit to The Netherlands.

Liesbeth was a child during the war and when the Canadian Royal Corp of Signals arrived to liberate the area, she was adopted as a mascot by the troops. You can read more about her story here although there is one vital piece of information that is incorrect. Liesbeth's mother was English and her father was Dutch.

She wrote about the wartime experiences in a beautiful book called Written by Candlelight. It is well worth reading.

She and her husband and son were invited to the recent Liberation Day celebrations, attended by members of the Signals Corp. Previously she was made sergeant, but she is now a Major!. The jacket has two crowns of the corps as well as their logo.

It was a lovely afternoon for Mum. I was still pottering on with my packing. It is nearly finished, I hope.

I phoned the number on my hotel booking to explain that I would be checking in late in the evening. The telephone operator could not find my booking at all. I said "but I am looking at it, in front of me". "You must contact the third party who arranged the booking" She was quite stern.

In the end I managed to persuade her to give me the hotel number and I phoned there. They have my booking. Phew!

British Airways do not allow check in until 24 hours before the flight, so I am about to do that.

It's all very exciting.