Memories By Geoff

Since losing our Mum, Anne, we have all been thinking a lot about her, and about all the happy photographs we have to provide a lasting memory. We are surprised how many local people she knew, being famous with her walking frame. We have also been discovering all the friends she had.  We are so glad that so many of you have been able to attend to say goodbye to her.

It has been quite a struggle recently, as she passed away so quickly.  It was a terrible shock, but we are sure from speaking to her before, this is what she would have wanted.  She would have hated to have to have gone into a care home.  She was very independent and was managing by herself up until her last moments at home. We have not yet got used to not being able to call her to see how she was going and what the latest news was. There is a big gap in our lives.

Despite her using a walking frame latterly, this didn’t stop walking to Lewisham town centre or travelling back from Steve’s house on several buses to get home. She always went for a daily walk in Manor Park along the course of the river Quaggy.  She spoke to many joggers, parents, nannies and children in the park. She sometimes bought an ice cream in the café in hot weather. I am sure they will wonder where she has gone, as she was a regular visitor there. 

She was also a regular visitor to the Station Café up the road with her friend Joyce, and some of her family, including me. It was her favourite place to go. We recently found out that she had a favourite table, and that the staff kindly moved off HER table if they were having a quick sit-down there when she came in with Joyce.
She always complained about how many times I have moved house, both in the UK and abroad, as her address book was becoming quite a mess.  She hadn’t yet grasped the contacts function on her mobile phone, where you can just overwrite or create a new contact. However, she was good at taking and viewing photographs on her mobile and she couldn’t believe I could call her on WhatsApp from abroad and show her the view from our hotel balcony.  She was also so worried about the battery going flat on her mobile that she almost always kept it on charge. On one such occasion the battery got too hot and melted and she had to buy another mobile.

She has spent so long living in her house, she must have seen more changes than anyone, with the change of the shops, closure of the Chiltonian biscuit factory yard, which is now houses and called Chiltonian Mews, and everyone putting loft extensions on their houses.  She couldn’t believe that people wanted  more space.  She didn’t like change, which is probably why she stayed in her house with Dad for so long.

When she was younger, she used to visit numerous places with Dad on day trips, sometimes driving or taking coach trips.  Almost every time I updated her about which National Trust property we had visited, she said, ‘Oh I went there some years ago’. She also loved to go to garden centres, partly for the flowers, but also to meet friends and have a coffee and some cake. She certainly liked to get out and about!

She really looked forward to getting her hair cut and styled and having a regular massage at local shops. She also loved her keep fit classes and travelled miles in her car, and latterly on the bus, to attend these classes.  She had so many friends there.

Finally, I would like to say that she has left such a gap in our lives, and it has highlighted how important families and family history are.  We should always try not to lose contact with each other

Memories By Steve

I would to thank you all for coming here today on this very sad day.
She will leave us soon to find her final resting place to be with her husband of 62 years.
Mum‘s passion was her extensive knowledge of flowers , I have 4 plants and 1 cactus which she used to keep in good health I have got to continue to keep these for the foreseeable future as they are thriving in the position they’re in in my sitting room and kitchen, I might have adopt some of hers from her home of which there are many.
When Geoff and Richard and Geoff recently went to her house they found amongst other things some letters that I wrote to her to her father from 1967 which he kept and she then kept after his passing , she also turned up at my house one day with some of my old school reports. Let’s says the only the only thing I got 100% in was my attendance.
There are so many memories that I have from my childhood in the days before colour tv, watching England win the world cup and a shared telephone line.
One of the things she enjoyed was every third Saturday was coming to my house to see my 2 children David and Rebecca which then became David’s wife Nicky and then her great granddaughter Jasmin.
One of the hardest things was trying to tell my daughter who has severe autism that nanny lives at Lewisham house won’t be seeing her each time she visits me anymore.
She used to drive here until a few years ago when the low traffic neighbourhood scheme made her hang up her car keys for good.
Mum used to get a cab here then and being her independent self would get 2 buses home instead.
She was well liked wherever she went which shows as there are quite a few people here but many people who couldn’t make it here owing to poor health.
There are so many people who will miss her smiling face, but her memories will live on with us.
Thank you for listening to me. 

Memories By Richard

Having lately been going through mums photos and thinking of my memories of mum, I felt I should share memories of mum during her life rather than my personal ones which led me to ask “how I will remember mum?”

This is how I will remember mum amongst other memories.
Using the modern day “WHAT 3 WORDS” for finding a location anywhere in the world, the three words at the end, will remind me of mum and hopefully you too.
Remembering how DEVOTED to looking after dad as well as us 3 brothers growing up because FAMILY was everything to mum. When we flew the nest, remembering, how she was able to DEVOTE her time to looking after dad, going on days out to places like the coast for fish and chips, garden open days for tea and cakes, to garden centres for her passion of flowers with of course yes, tea and cakes, and most importantly visiting the FAMILY and having tea and cakes! I always remember cakes were involved one way or another seems there’s a bit of a theme with cakes!

Mum was blessed with 5 amazing grandchildren, one great grand daughter, and our wife’s and partner who she treated them like her own daughter’s, and of course remember her three amazing sons!!! I remember how she was DEVOTED to all of us her FAMILY.
Mum was such a STRONG person because if you look back at her life she had to endure from around the age of 5 to 11 years old, World War Two, which I cannot imagine how she would have felt or got through it, but she did and survived it.
Then 75 years later had to adjust to Lockdown. It was hard enough for me to adjust as I am sure it was for you too, but even after losing dad in 2016, alone in her home she stayed STRONG, adapted and dealt with it, which must have been so hard when remembering for so many years after the war, she had the freedom to come and go.
After COVID mum got back behind the wheel of her little Nissan car but not having driven for over a year sadly lost her confidence so at the age of 87 trade in her wheels for a 3 wheeled walker which enabled her to go to the park and basically walk everywhere. It brought a new lease of life meeting many new friends in Hither Green.
I will remember her strength in the face of adversity
Until the end she was still active, seen in the park doing her laps to keep fit, being that STRONG person we all knew and loved.
This strength and devotion to family and friends of mum, became apparent even more to us when speaking to all of you and hearing the kind words and stories you had to tell. And what made it more special was in this sad time of telling you of her passing the conversation changed from sadness to smiles remembering those magical moments.   I will always remember them.
From all the FAMILY we thank you so much for those new memories.

So what are mums three words to remember her by I hear you say? Well they are…..

STRONG      DEVOTED    FAMILY

Think of these words and we will always find memories of our own with Anne, mum, or nanny.
By the way if mum had invented this way to find places it would have been These4Words and then we could have CAKE’s too!!

Coincidentally and this was not planned at! On a map These3Words actually take you to a town north of Quebec, Canda, where her cousin Valerie lives just south of in Montreal!

Lastly a personal message to mum is I hope I did you proud and made your life complete the way you did for me.
Life will not be the same without you, but you will always be in our thoughts and MEMORIES.

 

Message to Nanny from Christina

 

Today was very special and you would have been shocked due to your modesty about how many people came to remember you today. We as a family weren’t shocked because we know how much of a positive impact you had on so many people. It was a sad day but the flowers were beautiful and you would have loved them. Dad put a slideshow together to show your life and we saw photos from when you were really young too. Maria picked a photo of you and everyone was complimenting it, it was a really nice photo. Elise, Geoff, Steve and Dad read things out and I think everyone learned more about you even though you’re not here anymore. We miss you

Here is a photo of me and Antonio today and some of your flowers I hope you like it and hope somehow in heaven you can see it. Good night nanny xx