Diary of Grace Russ (1933-2006)
Countess Dembinska
Only the week previous to my York visit I was entangled with the Countess. My goodness, what a week and a half that was! She is the old lady I met first in 1978 when I was in Bed & Breakfast and took my main meal of the day in the Florence Restaurant in Villiers Street, just off the Strand, London.
She also took her main meal of the day there and we struck up an acquaintance, not really meeting on a regular basis, nor yet socially, but just when we both happened to be at the Florence at the same time. In 1981 she invited me to her flat, a basement flat in Craven Street, which is the next road along. At that time she had several cats shut in the kitchen, one shut in a disused bathroom on the ground floor, an old balding dog on the bed and an injured Pigeon called Charlie in a cardboard box on the window ledge. She gave me reams of papers to read, letters, documents etc., (she had told me previously about her problem). Her father was a double agent and the Government of the day successfully destroyed all evidence of his past life, giving him a complete new identity. However, he died (or was killed) and all his money and property was suddenly unobtainable to his surviving son and daughter. The son died about 10 years ago and the old lady carried on the fight for her rights alone. The Ministry of Defence is sitting on the property in Sheffield and some Government Dept. has use of the property involved in France, there is a sum of money sitting in the Bank of England that has been transferred over from France but the old lady is not allowed to draw on it, even though the documents agree that it is rightfully hers. There were letters from Interpol, Ministry of Defence, Scotland Yard, Lawyers in France and a Lawyer from Sheffield in with all the other legal documents. It took me several hours to read through them and when I had finished I said it was like reading an Agatha Christie novel.
Anyway, on the 7th September 1986 my phone rang early in the morning and it was this old dear saying she had fallen down and couldn't move and would I go to see her. I said she must call a Doctor and that I couldn't go immediately as I was just about to leave for my 11-3 duty at the Centre. It was gone 4 o'clock before I eventually arrived at her flat, only to find she was in bed, the Doctor had been and gone, after she had refused to go into hospital on the basis that I was going to stay with her. That was the first I heard of it!
It was a long time since I had been to her flat and it had deteriorated alarmingly. There were now 7 cats shut in the kitchen, one running loose in the room, another 6 in the passage leading to the outside area, and one in a cupboard at the bottom of the stairs. As she used no cat lit, just newspapers on the floor, the stench was somewhat overpowering to say the least.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, it ended up with the old lady being taken to the Middlesex Hospital and me being left in charge of the cats! The only thing was, the keys seemed to have gone missing and I had to get the Fire Brigade to gain entry; they arrived with the Police who, on the pretext of looking for her false teeth, searched her flat and found a rifle! From then on things took a different course, culminating in me having to give a report to the Police on my association with her, her known associates and who she phoned/contacted etc., Likewise, I was asked to give a report to the Social Services Dept. at County Hall because they were very concerned at the way the Police became involved without proper authority. In the end I was glad to 'escape' to York, since which time things have quietened down, thank goodness.
Prior to my entanglement with the Countess I had been through one of those 'boil' patches, it lasted several months, one after the other, and culminated in two abscesses, one on the breast and one on the lymph gland under my arm, which was by far the most painful of the two. Both these needed to be cut out at Guys and for some weeks I was attending their 'Dressings Clinic' every other day to have the dressings changed and the wick replaced in the hole under my arm. I now have one boil which has come up this week, on the front part of my leg, at the top, so I tend to press on it when I sit down. I am already taking antibiotics as I don't want to go through all that palaver again.
Before the boils came to a head (no pun intended) the two Chinchillas escaped for a week. I had cleaned them out and gone round to Meg's for the evening and they were still in their cage when I returned at about 2.30 a.m. but when I got up in the morning they had both vanished and for a whole week were free running in the flat. At first I thought I had lost them but left the cage open in the front room and closed the door, so that if they were in there they could get back in to eat and drink. I also put some food down in the passage in case they were elsewhere in the flat and, as both these supplies gradually dwindled I knew one was in the front room and one somewhere else. It took me a week to catch the one in the bedroom though, I used to lie in bed and listen to him eating the bed away from under me! The damage they did during that week was unbelievable. All my books had the spines chewed off, as did the records, and when I pulled the bottom drawer out of my writing desk it had no back to it, just lots of sawdust under the desk! Still, they are both back in their cage now and Eve is pregnant. Adam is still the same cheeky monster he ever was. I am sure he is the ring leader in all their mischief because he is such a character. They have cost me quite a bit in water bottles too because they keep nibbling through the drinking spout. They cost about 80p per time so the last time I got a dearer one, £3.20, with the spout made of stainless steel instead of aluminium.
This was fine, for about two weeks, and then they chewed a hole in the plastic bottle itself! Now I have transferred the spout in a cork to a glass milk bottle and hope they won't find some way to break that!
The cats are all going along fine, although Dexter did have a nasty growth on his side a couple of months ago which had to be removed at the Vet's, and Primo had an abscess on his cheek recently. Maybe he got too near the Chinchillas and got bitten? That has burst and cleared up now though.
Apart from that I can't remember much else, although my life has been very full and busy. OH yes, this week I had come to the end of all my clean clothes, being at York and with the Old lady etc., so Tuesday night just stripped off and threw everything in the machine. My underskirt and dress just about dried enough to wear the next day but I had to take my knickers still soaking wet and hang them on the radiator in the office. They were dry in time for me to go home!
General Background Information re Countess Dembinska
I first met the Countess in 1978 in The Florence Restaurant in Villiers Street, after which time we became acquaintances but never met socially until, sometime in 1980 when the Countess invited me to her basement flat in Craven Street to see her animals.
At that time she had several cats shut in the kitchen, one on the ground floor shut in a disused bathroom, an old dog in her bedsit, and a Pigeon called "Charlie" in a cardboard box on the window sill.
In 1985, when we both once more happened to be eating at The Florence, we exchanged telephone numbers. These were never used by either of us, until the beginning of the current events, as follows:-
Sunday 7th September
9:00 a.m. - I received a phone call from the Countess asking me to come at once as she had fallen down and couldn't move. I told her she must call a Doctor and she said she had. I promised to get there as soon as possible but it wouldn't be until about 4 p.m. because I was just about to go on duty at the Samaritan Centre at New Cross.
4:00 p.m. - Arrived at Craven Street flat. The Countess was in bed and unable to walk. I said she must call the Doctor. She replied she had done so; he had been and had told her she mustn't be left alone or she would have to go into hospital, but when she told him someone was staying with her he agreed to leave her.
7:00 p.m. - I got her some food and drink from a nearby cafe.
9:00 p.m. - Fed and cleaned all the cats and stayed the night on a chair.
Monday 8th September
7:00 p.m. - Got sandwich and tea from cafe for Countess and fed all cats.
8:00 p.m. - Went to my own home to feed my animals and left my keys with a friend.
9:00 p.m. - Arrived back at Craven Street flat. Got food and drink from cafe for Countess. Fed and cleaned all cats and stayed the night again on a chair.
Tuesday 9th September
7:00 a.m. - Got sandwich and tea from cafe for Countess and fed all cats. Told her I would be unable to stay the night again as I had an early morning 'E' duty at the New Cross Samaritan Centre and she MUST make other arrangements.
Wednesday 10th September
6:00 p.m. - Went straight to flat from office. Got chips and tea from cafe for the Countess and fed and cleaned all cats. I was told by the Countess that someone called "Bill" had stayed with her the previous night, on a chair in the entrance hall upstairs. I was also told by her that he had fed all the cats.
Having explained to the Countess that I was unable to continue being with her all night and then going to work the next day, on her instructions I made numerous calls to try to find someone to stay with her during the night e.g. emergency Doctor, various Nursing Agencies and Scotland Yard (on her instructions); all to no avail. Therefore I ended up staying the night again, sitting on a chair!
Thursday 11th September
7:00 a.m. – Got sandwich and tea from café for the Countess and fed all the cats. I stated I just could not go in that night as I was feeling SO tired and she really MUST find someone else. Did not go to flat that evening.
Friday 12th September
2:30 p.m. – Received phone call at office from the District Nurse advising that the Countess was being admitted to Queen Alexandra Ward, Middlesex Hospital that afternoon, and asking if I would agree to go in over the weekend to feed the cats as it had been arranged for them to be taken away by the RSPCA on Monday. I agreed, and asked about the keys. I was told arrangements would be made and she would see Jill (a neighbour) before she left.
5:15 p.m. – Left office and went straight to flat to feed cats but was unable to get in. Went round to see Jill who informed me she only had the key to the main door to the building.
7:15 p.m. – Arrived at Middlesex Hospital and asked Ward Nurse on duty about keys, explaining the situation. I was told to wait until the Doctors had finished their examinations of the Countess.
9:20 p.m. – One of the Doctors who had examined her asked me for details of the Countess’ recent behaviour, life style, eating and drinking habits etc., and any other medical information regarding treatment, tablets etc. I gave him the brief details known to me and my name, address and telephone number, and that of my office was entered into the Ward Notes as me being the ‘Contact’.
9:30 p.m. – The Countess, having been attended to by Doctors, was then in no state to talk, so again I saw the Ward Sister about the keys. She asked a Nurse to search through the Countess’ belongings. This was done in my presence, item by item, but no keys were found. A note of my enquiry about the keys was made in the Ward Notes.
9:55 p.m. – Left hospital and went home, as it was now far too late to do anything further.
Saturday 13th September
Morning – Did my own weekly shopping.
Afternoon – Went once more to Craven Street flat, still unable to get in; went to Jill, who once again confirmed that she only held the main key to the outside door of the building.
6:00 p.m. – Went to Middlesex Hospital but found the Ward temporarily closed for super and washing etc.
6:45 p.m. – Returned to hospital and again mentioned the keys. The Countess was now sitting up and able to communicate but was not 100% lucid. When asked about her keys she replied “MI5 took them”.
7:30 p.m. – Returned to Craven Street flat and thence to the ‘Ship & Shovel’ to obtain the main door key from Jill. Jill and her husband Colin being the proprietors of the Ship & Shovel and of the Sandwich Bar opposite. The proprietor of the Craven Hotel, Alan Streatham, allowed me to use his telephone to call: -
The RSPCA, who were unable to help
The Blue Cross, also unable to help
999 Police Dept., who said they were unable to do anything but advised me to dial 999 Fire
999 Fire Dept. I explained the situation and was told they would be there shortly. They arrived soon after, with Police. I had to explain again the situation and my part in it. The Police took my name, address, telephone number and my office phone number. The Police then went to the Middlesex Hospital for keys. They returned with a set of keys in an envelope marked “The Countess of Deminska’s house keys”, none of which would open the doors!
The Firemen gained entry. I fed all cats but did not clean up their mess. Five firemen, two Policemen and one Policewoman remained in the flat with me until I had finished. Whilst I was feeding the cats, the Police were having a look around for any spare sets of keys. During this search a long barrelled gun was found behind a piece of furniture. I was asked how long the Countess had owned the gun and replied I didn't even knew that she had one.
No sets of keys were found. A note was found on the table, addressed to me from Sue Balmer, Social Worker, confirming arrangements made the previous Friday afternoon to feed the cats, and asking me to look for the Countess's false teeth and take them to the hospital for her. A fresh search was made for the teeth but none were found.
The Police contacted the RSPCA but they were unable to come out that evening and it was arranged that they would come to collect the cats the following day (Sunday) at 12:30. I was asked to be there at 12.30 - as "the Informant".
9:45 p.m. – Firemen left.
9:55 p.m. – Police left, after making all doors secure.
Sunday 14th September
12:15 p.m. – Arrived at Craven Street flat. The proprietor of the Craven Hotel (Alan Streatham) got the main key from Jill (the Sandwich Bar in Craven Passage) and we opened up the outside door to wait for the RSPCA. The inside door of the building was already open (the Police had shut this when we left the previous night). The large metal door to the cupboard at the bottom of the stairs where one black cat had been kept was also wide open, as was the first door to the flat and the door directly opposite, leading to the outside area where five or six cats were kept.
12:30 p.m. – A Policeman arrived and I asked him if the RSPCA had already been because I had noticed all the doors were open. He replied that they hadn’t yet been but the Police had been in earlier that morning to have a look around!
1:00 p.m. – The RSPCA arrived. The Policeman opened up the flat with the blade of a knife and the RSPCA looked at the seven cats shut in the kitchen. They then said they were unable to take them away because they were not sick animals, although they were shocked at the conditions they were being kept in. They said they could not take them away without authorisation from someone as to their fate i.e. were they to be put down or housed in a cattery and if the latter then at whose expense?
I then fed the seven cats in the kitchen, put food down for the kitten in the room, put food down for the black cat in the cupboard at the bottom of the stairs, and put food down for the five or six cats in the outside area (even though these seemed to have disappeared). Again I didn't clean up any of their mess.
We had another brief look for the Countess's false teeth, without success.
The Police took the note that had been left for me by Sue Balmer (Social Worker) the previous day "for their records"
5:30 p.m. - Arrived at Middlesex Hospital. The Countess was sitting up and seemed pleased to see me but was very concerned about all the ‘goings on’ and the breaking in etc., which somehow she had got to hear of.
I tried to assure her that all was well and that the cats were all taken care of, but she was not really satisfied. She said all the cats were to go to the Isle of Man "this has all been arranged dear".
7:00 p.m. – Left the hospital.
Monday 15th September
9:45 a.m. - Rang the Social services Dept., Area 5, from the office to put them in the picture as to events over the weekend. They said they would handle the flat end from now on and would let me know what was to happen about the cats.
12:15 p.m. - Tony Daw, Social Worker, City of Westminster Social services Dept., rang me at the office to ask "what arrangements are being made about the cats?” I told him the RSPCA were supposed to come that day to take them away, that the Countess had said it had been arranged for them all to go to the Isle of Man and I told him of the events over the weekend, including the comments by the RSPCA that they would be unable to remove any cats without authorisation. He said he would keep me informed of what was happening.
3:45 p.m. – Mr Barry, Social Service Dept., County Hall phoned to tell me all the cats had been taken away by the RSPCA and that all of them, excepting the little kitten, has needed to be put down because of their condition. The kitten was being put in care. Mr Barry also express some concern over the involvement of the Police and their 'looking around' and I promised to send him a copy of my notes for his information.
Grace Russ - September 1986