Bierton Strict and Particular Baptists, 3rd Ed, by David Clarke

265 with Silver Girl and her brother and his girl friend at “Chiquito’s” in Port Solent. During the meal I simple expressed my pleasure and how tasty the spare rib was, stating that I felt it was intoxicating. This phrase “Intoxicating” generated a chilled silent mood in Nurse Ratchet, which was felt by all and a dark cold cloud descend upon us all at the meal. Not a word was spoken, for the rest of the meal, and Nurse Ratchet’s brother asked, “was there a private issue going on between us?”

I was not told about the reason of this chilled silence until later on that evening. It was then I learned that Nurse Ratchet had believed, understood and stated, that I was rubbing something in to make her feel bad. I had no idea what she was talking about, however it turned out that I had used this word, “intoxicating”, a few months earlier during a conversation with a friend of hers. On that occasion I was asked to express how I felt about an experience I had with another woman some years ago. I simply said that it was, “intoxicating”. Nothing more was said.

Nurse Ratchet however picked up on this word and stated that at the meal table in Chiquito’s I was taunting her by saying the spare rib was intoxicating. She insisted I was deliberately saying this word to upset her and make her feel bad. This of course was nonsense but there was no way that I could convince her otherwise. Such a thing would not have entered my mind to do.

Rebekah Is Born My wife gave birth to our lovely little girl on the 8 June 1997, at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Portsmouth. She had very dark hair and blue eyes when she was born. And as she grew up I got her to help me. Even to repair items that I had bought from Harrod’s.