REMEMBERING MUM TODAY

I can’t believe that it is three years ago today that Mum died - so wanted to do a collage to remember her, especially today.  I have posted these photographs before, but it is good to honour someone’s memory and I’m sure I will be forgiven.

The top left is the only shot I have of me with Mum, taken when I was about 12 years old.  I think this was taken when we used to go off for the day with several friends to Sandbanks, but of course, many years ago, paying for photographs to be developed wasn’t high on the list of priorities, very different to the situation nowadays when we can take lots of photographs on our mobiles and probably print very few of them.  I have outlined the collage in purple, because that was Mum’s favourite colour and mine too, of course.

The next one was taken on her wedding day in 1958 and the bottom left was taken on her 90th birthday in 2014.  It was a lovely day and she really enjoyed it - she always did love a good party and was thrilled to have all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren there to celebrate with her.  

The last shot is one that was taken by Mr. HCB just a couple of weeks before Mum died when my sister and brother and I were visiting Mum - she always loved to see us and especially when we were all together.  Until about a year before she died, there was always home-made cake and a cuppa whenever we visited, but when she got infirm, she had to be satisfied with what we, in Wiltshire, call “boughten cake” i.e. cake bought from the shop.  I remember she used to like Mr. Kipling “French iced fondant fancies” but only liked certain ones, so I always got the chocolate-covered ones because that was one she definitely didn’t like!

I’m sure Mum will be remembered by many as the lady who made the fantastic Christmas cakes - she had quite a little business going and would make quite a lot and sell them - I still have her recipe, which was for a boiled cake, where all the fruit etc is boiled up and then the flour etc is added.  She always “fed” the cakes afterwards with brandy, so you knew if you got one of Betty’s cakes, it would be a good one!  Mum always made great pastry too - sadly something I can’t do - but hers always melted in the mouth and her lemon meringue pies were legendary.  

I well remember one day, not long before she died, when she said she wanted me to do something for her but, she added, “You won’t like it!”  I was intrigued so asked what I wouldn’t like.  She was quite right, though - because she asked me to go over to the little Tesco shop near to where she lived and buy her lottery tickets.  I remember putting my hands up to my face and saying “Mother, how could you ask me to do such a thing?”  As Christians, Mr. HCB and I have never done the lottery, because we believe that if something is worth giving to - and many say they are giving to charity by doing it - then we should do it with no thought of any reward.  You may not believe this, but we do, so it was a BIG thing for me to go and buy lottery tickets.  She did laugh though but I said I would go on this one occasion.  When I got to Tesco and told the man who served me that I had never done it before and was only buying them for my Mum, he asked who that was.  When I said they were for “Betty who lives in the flats”, his comment was “Oh, the Duchess!”  because that was what they called her.  She didn’t win anything, and didn’t very often, but I have never done it since nor am I likely to.

Thanks for all the memories, Mum - we love and miss you and also miss your cakes and mince pies, especially at Christmas;  I just wish I had taken more notice when I saw you baking!

“Someone said that God gave us memories 
     so that we might have roses in December.”
J M Barrie