97 year’s young – Vera has poem displayed at Town of Culture’s Real Public Art Show Open Exhibition
Stockport resident Vera Cliff, who has spent the past 5 years is a care home, has had her poem included in this summer’s Open Exhibition at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery.
Vera is aged 97 and wrote and her poem ‘Stockport Market’ exhibited in The Real Public Art Show Open Exhibition.
Having left school aged just 14 to work in a mill, Vera wrote her poem at the age of 60 when she was doing her O’Levels at Stockport College where Vera also completed her A’Levels.
Vera’s daughter Linzi Anderson is hoping her mum will be able to take part in Poets of The Real Public Art Show event on Sat 19th August at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, by reading her poem via video recording.
Linzi tells her mum’s story:
“So Mum, Vera Cliff, is 97. She was born in Ashton but moved into Davenport in 1956 where she lived in the same house till she moved into a care home 5 years ago. 62 years in the same house.
“She had to leave school at 14, though she had a scholarship to the Grammar School, because her family couldn’t afford the uniform. She was very clever and though started working in the cotton mills she was quickly put into the yarn testing field.
“She got married and moved to Stockport having 3 children. At aged 50 she went to Stockport College to do a short secretarial course and worked til aged 60.
“Having been very interested in art, literature, in fact interested in everything, she saw me doing my O Levels and A Levels and loved talking about the books etc. I suggested she did an O Level at Stockport College when she retired and she bravely joined the classes and LOVED it. This was when she wrote the Stockport Market poem. She loved being part of the Education system, being a fellow student, not a Mum nor wife. Homework was still often left to the night before, so I definitely reversed the roles and pointed out, ‘that’s cutting it fine!’
“When she passed her O level exam, I suggested an A Level in English Lit and off she went! She passed that too. So proud.
“She will quote poetry from this time and continues to read poems from classics to Dr Zeuss.”
