Millie

...... who declared that she preferred the name Emily, but always signed her letters "Milly".

In sorting through a drawer I came across letters from Millie bound in a burgundy ribbon. She was my aunt, my father's sister, but also another relation, as she married their grandfather's nephew! A man 4 years older than her father. Confusing! They had no offspring so no genetic issues.

My father left when I was just a few months old and went to Scotland where he was outside English laws about childcare allowances so avoided paying for my upkeep. My Auntie Millie kept in touch with us, realising the unfairness of this, especially as my mother never remarried, unlike my father's first wife.

I visited Millie quite a few times and was the relative that the solicitor contacted upon her death. Her funeral gave my mother and I a chance to formally meet my half brother, Paul, which pleased us.

It's nearly 25 years since she died so, naturally, I should get rid of her last letters. However these journals are great places to hold memories:
the way she signed her name,
the way she wrote my name,
the way she wrote to the very bottom of every sheet,
the way she used unusual ink colours, sometimes 3 in one letter.

I wish I could have found a bottle of Quink to sit with these!