A mother has been reunited with her midwife from 1987 after a chance encounter on a walk with the De Beauvoir Women’s Institute.
Denise Mechell thought she recognized one of the WI members at the event but it was only when her friend Debby Lawrence said that the member used to be a midwife that she realized why.
“I went running up to her” Denise said, “it was fantastic.”
Denise describes Emma as an “old-school midwife.” “She came around on her bike and was very down to earth, very straight-talking. I always used to look forward to her visits.” Denise has told all her friends about reuniting with Emma and rang her son, who now lives in Spain, to tell him the news.
Ms Mechell, 59, attended the De Beauvoir Women’s Institute annual Big Walk on Saturday 29 September with her school friend Ms Lawrence.
The De Beauvoir WI was launched in April 2014 and meet the first Thursday of every month at The Crypt in St Peter’s Church. Ms Lawrence and Nichola Schild set up the British Summertime walking group last year to walk in and around Hackney. This year’s Big Walk, which takes members outside of London for the last event of the year, welcomed 14 women and three dogs on a walk from Leigh-on-Sea to Benfleet.
