My mum was a Brownie Guide leader, and the presence of this Brownie to greet my mum,now Mrs Isobel Smart , as she left st Columba's Church would have been no accident
The Wedding Party on the steps of St Columba's Church. On the extreme left is my dad's mum . Isabella Smart On the top left is Isabella's husband and my dad's father, Tommy Smart On the identical position on the right,is my mum's father, David Crossan. My mum's mother Jane, had died many years earlier, and I believe standing in for her in the extreme left of the photograph is my mum's aunt Nell.Nell lived with her bother David after the death of his second wife Jean. She outlived all the principles in this photograph,and I was still visiting her in the Crossan family home, 7 Marjory Drive in Gallowhill, right up until she passed away in my early 20's. A quiet woman, forever looking after other people, including my mum , and me as a child, i loved her.
The chief bridesmaid was my mum's best friend Angela, who I got to know as my Aunt Angela..My mum and Angela were lifelong friends. Years after my mum died, Angela was still ending me and my bothers birthday cards with some money in it. A true friend, my mum chose well.
I have no idea who he two flower girls are, but would love to know. If either of them is still alive, they would now be well into their 80's. They would have unique memories of the great day,and i imagine my parents early life together. of which I have none.
My mum with her dad and my grandfather , David Crossan. David outlived all 9 of his other children, my mum his youngest and 10th. I got to know him as a kid, and he died when i was 14. Hard to read too much into the expressions on David and my mum's faces, but David, was something of a disciplinarian, with a traditionalist view of the world. But you would have thought he would have looked happier on the day he gave away his youngest daughter. I speculate, but,that he was Free Church of Scotland and my dad Church of Scotland, might have been a factor. But, as likely, that he was a Tory and my dad was an up and coming young socialist, and his dad, Tommy, an old red Clydesider, might have had as much to do with his grim expression. And I can't help but notice, this is the only photo from the official wedding album in which my mum is not smiling. Some see marriage as a form of imprisonment, for my mum I believe this was her liberation day. And she liberated herself . From this day on, the only way was up.
All the photos except the one above and the one below were taken outside St Columba's Church in the Oakshaw area of Paisley. These two indoor photographs were taken in Paisley Town Hall on the evening of 2nd October 1948, where the wedding reception took place.
25 Years On. October 1973 My mum and dad's Silver Wedding in Paisley's Brabloch hotel. This is the photograph of a successful marriage. My dad a successful lawyer and Provost of Paisley, my mum , mother of 3 healthy sons, she was told she could never have. High water mark, Smart family. Failing health would mar future years. Still great years, I cherish every one of them
My mum and dad
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