~ Thank the Lord ~

I return to my villa on the Isle of Capri, doctors strongly advised two years rest for me. Sunbeams are dancing on the window pane as I sit writing to my fans again. Listening to the song of a bird the most trilling notes I have ever heard. Gazing up at cloudless skies of blue I feel I am born anew. After lying desperately ill in a hospital ward I count my blessings and thank the Lord. Many others are favoured in the same way, those who did not forget to pray.

~ Gracie Thanks the Nation ~

Gracie broadcast to the nation after her serious illness in nineteen thirty-nine, to hear that golden voice again really was divine. She thanked the people who helped her over what she described as the most dreadful ordeal of her forty one years, she thanked her surgeon, doctors and nurses and was often close to tears. She thanked all her admirers for their letters, gifts and flowers and praised the Bishop of Blackburn who prayed with her during crucial hours. The Lord was good prayers were not in vain, Gracie slowly recovered to sing again. She chose 'I love The Moon' as it expressed all she wished to say on that memorable day.

~ I Love The Moon ~

I love the moon, I love the sun
I love the forests, the flowers, the fun
I love the wild birds - the dawn and the dew
But best of all I love you - I love you.

~ What Rochdale Means To Me ~

Gracie was asked "What does Rochdale mean to you?" Rochdale means 'first' she promptly replied, the first time I laughed and the first time I cried. In Rochdale I took my first steps and later wore my first pair of clogs I felt as proud as can be, I remember when my mother first spanked me. My first and almost only schooling was in Rochdale I learned to swim in the baths and the Ship Canal in between, where I must confess I ought not to have been. I heard the birds sing for the first time and I sang along with them too. In Rochdale I made my first appearance on the stage when I was seven years of age. My first job was an errand girl for a confectioners shop and one shilling was my weekly pay. Mumma complained that it cost two shillings to have my shoes repaired through all the walking I did each day. My first attempt as a cotton winder in the mill I often neglected my work to entertain, after three months I got the sack and never went back again. I entered my first singing contest and won the first prize, that it would lead to such dizzy heights I could not surmise. Although I adore living on the Isle of Capri, Rochdale will always be home to me.

~ A Favour from Florence ~

Florence Desmond appeared at the London Palladium impersonating the stars which experience had brought to a fine art, as a newcomer in Gracie's first film 'Sally In Our Alley' her talent and personality played a prominent part. When Gracie returned to England after the Second World War she booked a seat to see the show, Florence announced her presence from the stage otherwise no one would know. The spotlight found her and she stood up and sang 'Sally' the audience went wild with delight, any doubts concerning public opinion vanished for ever that night.

~ In A Lancashire Town ~

I leave my heart in a Lancashire town where the cobbled streets wind up and down. Leading to the cotton mill busy hands are never still. Smoke spirals from the chimneys tall, a source of pride to one and all. I leave my heart in a Lancashire town where people smile and seldom frown. Luxuries they haven't got yet quite content with their lot. Humble homes shine like a new pin warmed by the folk who dwell within. An environment I was once so much a part, in a Lancashire town I leave my heart.