since you've been gone

It's been one month since my Gran died. She was not an ordinary Gran, she was glamourous and cheeky and had a few secrets we will never know. Growing up it often felt like she was the only one who understood me. I think about her every day, and just know she's up in Heaven with her "bridge pals" and God. Probably looking down at me and wishing she could show me that she's still having a good time. Even in the afterlife.

Here is why my Granny was so special:

- she met my Grandfather in a mens only pub. She didn't care for silly rules
- while most Granny's are good at chocolate cake, her speciality was Almond Gateaux. On a WHOLE another level people
- her comment about living in England during World War II: "Kate, it was awfully boring. There were no men."
- she was named after her mother Ethel May. Yep, Ethel. Up there with Doris and Hortense and Bertha
- And if you called her Ethel, she would ignore you. Or beat you with her handbag. She went by Mary (her second name)
- she sustained herself on a diet mostly of KitKats, bananas, Weetbix and gin. With no heart problems, no cancer, and skinny as a rake
- she believed in quality over quantity. Especially in her clothes. I have a tweed blazer of hers that must be 50 years old and still wears beautifully
- she abhorred the use of "foul" language, and even going to the loo (see, I can't even say the word TOILET when I think of her) was called Spending a Penny

04.02.22 - 09.06.13

A life well lived with grace and poise and kindness.