Nazareth House Girls Orphanage

 We were never told about leaving Mount Madgala Girls Orphanage, until the day the cars pulled up outside the front door. We were very excited because we all thought that we were going on a picnic, but then the bags we had made the weeks before came out with our personally belongings, some we had never seen, before that day and my cowboy doll, was in the bag as well. I could not figure it out, it was not Christmas time, far from it, you see the nuns would give me the cowboy doll, each Christmas and then take it off me, on my Birthday, March 31.  I did so love the doll, it was made of felt with legs that came out, on the outside with felt tassels down the outside of them, just like the cowboys wore, but my doll's tassels, were sown into the legs.

Who did give me the doll? Was it from my mother?

I always thought that she gave it to me. Something told me, that it was from her, because she use to came and see me, but she was not allowed to tell me who she was.

Oh my god, if only I had known all those years ago, that she was my mother, I would of given her the biggest hug and kiss. I was to find out in 2002 that she was one of the ladies, who came to see me, the other one, was her sister Shirley Ann, whom I am named after, but the nuns used that name in such a cruel way, that I was to hate hearing it, I told them to call me Ann, My name is Ann.

I would rather hear my number 61, than to be called Stubborn Shirley and a simpleton all the time.  I was not mad, I was just like the other girls, the only difference was, that I was born, with the sins of my mother on my Soul and I was the devil's child. A child who was never to know love, only hate from the nuns, who showed every one, outside the red brick walls, how good and pure they were. No one would dream, or think about these good pious nuns, of abusing and sexual abusing the girls in their care, even when I use to run to the police station, they took no notice of me, well they did not believe me, they just gave me a hot cocoa and some biscuits, then the police, took me right back to Nazareth House.