Katie Flynn > Quotes

“They don’t think much o’laughter, the rich,’ Clarrie observed.
‘Nor the powerful, for that matter. When did a teacher ever encourage her class to laugh?
When a maid giggles, chances are she’ll get give the order of the boot.
And do you know why? Laughter puts folk down, that’s why.
It makes the pompous look foolish and the proud trip and fall.”
― Katie Flynn

“Ellen sue always pale, surveyed herself in the glass in her mother's room. She was pale - but brides are always pale, aren't they? She knew she loved Liam, they were right for each other, and yet -- and yet -- she was scared. She was going away from the city she loved and the people who loved her, with Liam, wh wasn't even related to her few months back.”
― Katie Flynn, Rainbow's End

“gown, and wearing the slippers”
― Katie Flynn, Two Penn'orth Of Sky

“been give a second chance, Nurse, an’ I’m grabbing it wi’ both hands.’ And presently, when the tea was finished and the biscuits crunched down, Rose snuggled under the covers, careful to keep her injured arm away from her body, and was soon fast asleep –”
― Katie Flynn, Rose Of Tralee

“have you come from? You look most awfully tired . . . anyone for another”
― Katie Flynn, Time to Say Goodbye

“both father and daughter, to have time together with no other distractions. Neil’s ship had docked on the Wednesday and he had come round to Crocus Street to pick up the presents he had been unable to give Libby the previous Christmas. It was only then that Marianne had realised how their daughter had matured since Neil had last seen her. Libby never played with dolls now, only skipped with a rope in the schoolyard since there was nowhere suitable at Tregarth, and had long outgrown the angora cardigan. But she knew her daughter well enough to be sure that Libby would not dream of upsetting her father by letting him see her disappointment, and had looked forward to Neil’s return, when he could tell her how Libby went on. But within a very short space of time, Marianne was far too occupied to wonder what Libby and her father were doing, for on the night of 1 May, while Neil was safely ensconced at Tregarth, Liverpool suffered its worst raid of the war so far. The planes started coming over just before eleven o’clock, and bombs simply rained down on the city. Fires started almost immediately. The docks were hit and the constant whistle and crash as the heavy explosives descended meant that no one slept. Mr Parsons had been fire watching, though the other lodgers had been in bed when the raid started and had taken to the shelters along with Gammy and Marianne. Mr Parsons told them, when he came wearily home at breakfast time next day, that he had never seen such destruction. By the end of the week, Marianne, making her way towards Pansy Street to make sure that Bill’s lodgings were still standing and that Bill himself was all right, could scarcely recognise the streets along which she passed. However, Pansy Street seemed relatively undamaged and when she knocked at Bill’s lodgings his landlady, Mrs Cleverley, assured her visitor that Mr Brett, though extremely tired – and who was not? – was fine. ‘He’s just changed his job, though,’ she told Marianne. ‘He’s drivin’ buses now, instead of trams, because there’s so many tramlines out of commission that he felt he’d be more use on the buses. And of course he’s fire watchin’ whenever he’s norrat work. Want to come in for a drink o’ tea, ducks? It’s about all that’s on offer, but I’ve just made a brew so you’re welcome to a cup.’ Marianne declined, having a good deal to do herself before she could get a rest, but she felt much happier knowing that Bill was safe. Their friendship had matured into something precious to her, and she realised she could scarcely imagine”
― Katie Flynn, Such Sweet Sorrow

“the whole, that I prefer”
― Katie Flynn, No Silver Spoon

“office and demand that”
― Katie Flynn, A Mother's Hope

“For tonight,I'm St George,ready to slay any number of dragons to rescue a fair maiden. Would you care to mount my fiery steed?”
― Katie Flynn, A Mistletoe Kiss

“here?”
― Katie Flynn, The Cuckoo Child

“Imogen stood on her right foot and pulled the left boot off. She was”
― Katie Flynn, Time to Say Goodbye

“Blodwen Street and up to their own room, and, once there, examined Bernie’s dress for what felt like the umpteenth time. ‘It’s a good thing we allowed for growth, because though Bernie’s slim, I’m sure she’s taller than I was at nine,’ Claudia commented. She had taken the dress out of the wardrobe to examine it more closely and now returned it to its place. ‘I’m going to get up early tomorrow – really early – so I can get the breakfast on the go,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry about setting the alarm; I’ll give you a good shake and wake you up.’ As she spoke she was undressing, folding her garments neatly and placing them on the chair at the end of her bed, whilst Jenny took off her own clothes, slung them impatiently on the dressing table and rolled between the sheets with a deep sigh. ‘I’m worn out already, so God knows what I’ll be like by Saturday,’ she mumbled. ‘Good thing it’s not me getting married, because if someone else’s children wear me out, however would I cope with my own?”
― Katie Flynn, Heading Home

“the departing crowd. She giggled and jerked her thumb to where her mother and the stranger stood. ‘Look at that! They’re holdin’ hands! Tell you what, May, we’ll have a bet. I bet you ten bob our mam gets herself a feller before we go to university.’ ‘You’re on, April”
― Katie Flynn, When Christmas Bells Ring

“was sixteen, had found himself a very nice girlfriend in Maria, the daughter of the Sullivans up at the farm.”
― Katie Flynn, No Silver Spoon

“page. I knew Alice was a sly one right from the start, Marigold had written rather unkindly. It looks as though she will be the first of us to get married – bags I be her bridesmaid – though I don’t know whether Tom’s actually popped the question yet. Did you think I was head over heels in love with him, like you? Because if so . . . Damn her eyes, Maddy thought furiously. How dare she insinuate I was ever in love with Tom Browning, or anyone else for that matter! Oh, how typical of Marigold to assume that everyone else feels just as she does. I could wring her neck! She screwed the letter up into a ball and guessed she was probably red in the face from sheer indignation, for half the occupants of the cookhouse were staring at her and the other half regarding her screwed-up letter with more than usual interest. She told herself not to be an idiot and carefully unravelled the crumpled pages, quickly scanning the rest of the unread sheet. Nothing of interest here, except that Marigold asked if Maddy knew that”
― Katie Flynn, A Summer Promise

“the turret gunner, and”
― Katie Flynn, When Christmas Bells Ring

“Two weeks, you”
― Katie Flynn, A Christmas to Remember

“did emerge from hospital”
― Katie Flynn, Little Girl Lost: A Liverpool Family Saga

“Tess was at the top of the tallest plum tree in the orchard, picking furiously. She had a canvas bucket slung across her chest and she was competing with several wasps who thought their right to the fruit was every bit as good as hers. The plums in the orchard, it seemed to the girls, had been hard one day and ripe the next, though of course Tess knew that this was not so. It was just because there had been a late raspberry crop which had kept the girls too busy to think about plums, and when Mr Turnbull had announced that the fruit was ripe and needed picking, it had seemed only yesterday that they had been spraying the trees and cursing windy days because then the spray in the guns was apt to blow back into their faces, coating them with an unpleasant sticky substance and leaving the aphids as healthy as before.”
― Katie Flynn, Beyond the Blue Hills

“we’ll both heave on three.”
― Katie Flynn, A Summer Promise

“rack which Cook had provided. She was about to return to the schoolroom and suggest that they start lessons at once in order to go out into the snow as soon as they had finished, when the door shot open and Lonnie appeared. Her face was bright red and her dark eyes”
― Katie Flynn, Poor Little Rich Girl: Family Saga

“push”
― Katie Flynn, You Are My Sunshine

“stared at the little girl and suddenly she”
― Katie Flynn, Strawberry Fields

“was unlikely to be able to rendezvous with her childhood friends. But we’ll arrange something, Andy told himself contentedly, burrowing his head into the pillow. Yes, something can be arranged. It would be too ridiculous to break up what was a good friendship just for the sake of one’s pride. Soon, he slept. Despite her intentions to write to Andy, it had been some considerable while before Cassie actually did so. For one thing she was extremely busy and for another she had been put forward as possible officer material, which meant courses and examinations, although in the end she had withdrawn her application, giving as her reason a desire to remain with her flight as acting corporal. After finally writing to Andy, Cassie had waited for a response and was disappointed when after a couple of weeks no letter had arrived. Her station was not far from his and she was easily able to”
― Katie Flynn, When Christmas Bells Ring

“appeared, before either she or Amy had come to live in Huskisson Street. ‘Was you thinkin’ of gettin’ dressed and runnin’ out on your pal?’ ‘No, indeed,’ Minnie said with dignity. ‘I thought it”
― Katie Flynn, The Girl From Seaforth Sands

“in the middle. You have to be strong and leave well alone.’ ‘Oh, but suppose it’s a bit too hot and the cakes burn?’ Libby wailed. ‘My mother is a really good cook. It would be awful to give her burnt cake; don’t you think perhaps . . . ?’ ‘Oh, Libby, use your loaf,’ Matthews implored. ‘You can cut burnt off, but there’s nothing you can do if it goes all slimy in the middle and I must say,’ he added, beginning to pile utensils into the yellow bowl, ‘the mixture tastes absolutely delicious. I think raw cake is even nicer than the cooked sort.’ He intercepted Libby’s longing glance towards the oven and chuckled. ‘You start the washing up and I’ll dry, then we’ll put all the things away, and by the time we’ve done that, the cake will very likely be cooked.’ The cake was a great success; Libby lovingly clapped the two halves together with raspberry jam in between, and wrote Welcome, Mummy and Daddy in her very best writing. Icing had not been available since the beginning of the war, but a piece of white card propped up on top of the cake was the next best thing. However, it was only Neil who came striding across the yard halfway through Thursday afternoon. Libby and Matthew had been hanging about the lane all day but as luck would have it had gone back to the house to lay the table for high tea when their visitor arrived. Neil gave a shout, stood his suitcase and bag down and caught Libby as she”
― Katie Flynn, Such Sweet Sorrow

“waited in the passenger seat of”
― Katie Flynn, A Summer Promise

“irons, ready to dip them in a bucket of extremely dirty water and dry them on the rag of a dishcloth. ‘Tomorrow is another day, as my dear old gran used to say, so comfort yourself, girls, with the fact that it can only get better.’ It had been warm, almost muggy, in the cookhouse, but the moment Maddy and Marigold followed their companions out through the open doorway they walked into a snowstorm. Maddy clutched Marigold’s arm and bawled directly in her ear, tilting her friend’s cap in order to do so. ‘Want to go to the NAAFI and write letters?’ Marigold shook her head and they dived into their hut and slammed the”
― Katie Flynn, A Summer Promise

“They intended to get married as soon as they returned to the plains and to have a honeymoon aboard one of the many cruise ships which took on passengers in Amritsar, for though Leonard longed to introduce his beautiful young wife to his dearest Lonnie he had”
― Katie Flynn, Poor Little Rich Girl: Family Saga

“pilot’s duty, and that of his crew, to check constantly, even when over the target with enemy fighters attacking from every angle and the flak coming up from the German ack-ack batteries just, as Andy remarked, to make life a little more exciting.”
― Katie Flynn, When Christmas Bells Ring