Southerly: Golden Lads and Girls All Must
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... as chimney-sweepers, come to dust." One of the loveliest lines in the world, and always delivered, in my mind at least, by Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins garb.
David, I'm so very sorry to hear about your grandmother. My condolences to all of you, most especially your grandfather.
I'm honoured to have helped with the book's delivery, and delighted that your gran lived to see it.
(But I can't shake the suspicion that if only I'd posted the book via surface mail, she'd have held on for the additional 6-8 weeks it would have taken to arrive in NZ... now, that might have been a cunning plan.)
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Oh David, I am so very sorry. How bittersweet for you all. Much love and hugs - and I don't care if you hate them, you're getting one anyway.
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Lovely story David, poor ending though
Loved the thought of your subversive Grandmother using beef stock for your special "vegetable" soup
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When people talk of the "rich tapestry of life" it is a bit cliched but your family is rich indeed. Thankyou for sharing those riches.
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So take that -- all you people who have so often compared Jolisa Gracewood with Mussolini or Simon Cowell!
And let's be honest: who hasn't?
This
"I don't want to open the boxes without her,"
is very very sweet whereas this
That's because Grandma's vegetarian soup is made with shin-bones
I plan to take to my grave.
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Oh, David. In this time of twits with blogs, of chest-beating and silliness, this is how these tools we have can mean something. I'm lined up behind Jackie on the hug-giving.
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Oh m'darling. I was going to email you today to tell you how sorry I was, because the pub just didn't seem to be an appropriate venue. (Also, please tell me either you or Jen left behind a blue knitted scarf, because otherwise Megan and I have accidentally stolen one.)
Did you have the body of this pre-written, or was it part of getting through the shock, the unreality when the news first came?
Also, yours is a handsome family. I have learned that this is the appropriate thing to say, and not "Your grandmother is a hottie."
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Thank you David for again allowing us into your life.
My deepest sympathies and yes I too, will abuse your personal space and line up to give you a hug. You better get used to it.
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Oh, David. This isn't the first time you've made me cry.
As Emma says, the pub didn't really seem the right place to talk about it, and not so soon, but many many hugs to you and yours.
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All part of what my late uncle used to describe as "life's threadbare tapestry".
I'm sorry for your loss.
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aue taukiri e...a cyber hongi&handclasp is headed your way David (and Ana Hato at last in more concrete form.)
Thank you for reminding me, in a manner both poignant & funny, that life is of the moment, even when the relationships are very long-term-
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Arohanui to you and your family David.
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Condolences.
You have both a Scots and Yorkshire heritage! That takes some living up to.
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Many thanks for all the kind words and cyber-hugs, everyone. Yes, it's a sad time for the Haywood family -- even young Bob, who is a bit traumatized by his first encounter with the D word. We're going for a drive into the Port Hills right now as a cheer-up treat.
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My grandmother was moved to tears to see my grandfather's autobiography finally finished; and then moved to tears again when she discovered that he'd dedicated it to her.
Love. What a beautiful relationship, and despite the sadness I'm sure there's a lot of warmth being remembered right now.
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3410,
How sad, David, but how wonderful that your gran went out with what one presumes was great pride and happiness and contentedness with her life.
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Thinking of you and your grandfather. What a blow and at such a time.
The Port Hills are wild and craggy- almost Scots, if not York- the right place to go.
Incidentally: I had a mate who used to talk about "going for a walk to the Port Hills". It took me a while to realise this meant "a short walk to the bottle-store for the cheapest possible bottle of 'old tawny port'." -
when she discovered that he'd dedicated it to her
Sad news but glad she got to have that experience.
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I don't have much to add other than to say that's a beautiful piece of writing, David. I'm really sorry for your loss.
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Thanks once again for your great writing David, and sympathetic man-hugs. It is great to hear of the timely publication of your grand-father's book. An elderly relative of mine has recently moved in to a hospice, and as I sort through her photos, letters and documents I've been reflecting on the loss of the stories of an older generation. For you to be able to keep and pass on some of your family stories is a great treasure.
Without sounding too Monty Pythonesque, you couldn't begin to tell kids these days about the life our grand-parents had, and the hardships they faced. My grandfather left school at the age of 14 having completed Standard Six - in those days a working class lad had grown and learnt enough by that age to contribute to the family table. Two years later his father dropped dead of a heart attack and he became the main income earner of the household, supporting his mother and two older sisters.
We have so many more educational and life opportunities, and much greater security in terms of health and income thanks to that generation. And yes, it's the sunny disposition and quiet cheerfulness that I remember from all of my grandparents too despite the hard times they lived through.
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Choke.
I keep hearing Forest's Mum saying: "It's my time Forest, it's my time."
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That was a beautiful piece David. An uncanny representation of the way the cards are so often dealt in life. Respect to your family and yourself.
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Thanks for sharing your story David, appreciated. I am sorry about your loss. It's lovely that you had one last memory of your gran to cherish.
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Condolences and man-hugs, David.
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Warm congratulations on your grandfather's publication, and sad condolences on the death of your grandmother. Our long-lived elder relatives are often a treasure to us and I wish your memories of her an equal longevity.
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