Saturday, March 29, 2008

memories

It's 9.00pm on a saturday night and I'm slowly fading.
Dave and jo are working out what they'd like to order from the Tottenham catalogue, play-fighting and generally messing around.
I on the other hand , am sitting peacefully listening to my favourite tracks , headphones on to block out the family guy episodes that Jo has on the TV, and thinking about the next few days.
I'm travelling up the country on Monday morning in order to be at my great aunts funeral, and it'll be another long day there and back.
But I know I'd regret it if i didn't go.

Damn, I've just realised that I forgot to get a card too.
:(
It's always far harder to write an 'in sympathy' card than any other kind.
I need time to get the words right.
And now I've forgotten to pick one up.
I had to stay on at work after we closed at 2.00pm so that I could get at least part of the stocktake done that ought to be done on monday [ when I'll be half way up the country instead ].
I gave up at 7.30pm and came home, totally forgetting the card, but there's only so much you can do in one hit, and I'd reached my limit.

However, I digress.

It's strange how we remember people.
I get snapshots of snatches of time, filled with texture and sounds, with the occasional scent adding depth.
Most of my memories of my Great Aunt are of her laughing.
It's the picture that springs to mind when i think of her.
A tall slender woman, angular and always busy, brown hair rollered into a fifties style shoulder length 'do', harassed by children [ of which i was one ] and generally happy to see you.
I didn't get to see her as she got older, but when my mum talked of her, it was of a woman gradually ailing but of someone who was positive and happy, and who never lost her sense of humour.
She died peacefully.
I guess its the most any of us can hope for.

this is my only photo of her.


Taken c1967 in Cayton Bay in Scarborough, with 3 of her children, her niece and me.

So many memories.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Eggs, Underwear and Ukelele's.

Easter is one of my favourite holidays and this one was particularly fun.
My Mum came to visit for a couple of days.
She was picking up her car from my brother's [ he has replaced the totalled berlingo with a fiat multi something or other [sounds like a cinema complex but I know that isn't correct ] and so he doesn't need hers any longer ] and stayed over with me for a couple of days.
Being Easter I'd already had fun buying Easter things for the girls and Dave plus various other family children, but it meant for the first time in ages i got one for her too.
Sort of gave me a happy feeling doing that.

And we went shopping.
It was one of those events that you had to be involved in to see the funnies for, but lets just say that we spent most of the time giggling.
We did come out with some new underwear for her after I got totally gobsmacked realising that she was wearing bra's that were COMPLETELY the wrong size and dragged her into M&S to try on some bigger cupped ones.
Result = 2 uplifted boobs instead of 4 [ well thats what it looked like ] squashed down to her belly.
Ok, so thats an exaggeration, but only a small one!

She drove home through the snow yesterday and left me with lovely memories.

Which got me remembering other times.

So when i came across this



it brought back so many more.
Of watching the film with my Dad.
George Formby.
And for those of you too young to remember...



And home.