Just keep trying.

My wife Kathleen (nee Odell), was quite an exceptional woman. I suppose many husband's say the same thing of their wives, but through the 25 years of our marriage, up to her death 14 years ago today, I was constantly surprised by her resilience. We were often the only two "British" people in whole areas of Germany or France, and although unable, at the beginning, to speak the languages concerned very well, we learnt very quickly, and it's not easy when you have to deal with civil servants, speaking their own local dialect of German or French! My story with my wife started in 1963/64, when she found herself installed in Germany, as a condition to her being accepted by Guy's Hospital, London, to fulfill her 6 month's overseas "experience". Guy's insisted on this at the time, and it wasn't a bad idea, giving the ongoing State Registered Nurses a little more confidence in themselves. Not only 8 "O" levels, 6 "A" levels (good ...