Cleaned out my desk and found a couple of treasures...
Have I posted this before? It's me in 1976, age 12, with my beloved Nanny. She was my Irish paternal grandmother, and she died in December of that year. She was the only grandparent I really got to know and I still miss her! This was taken in her flat in Cricklewood, London. She used to bring me English chocolate whenever she visited Canada, and it's still my favourite kind! I don't need no stinking Belgian! :)
Have I posted this before? It's me in 1976, age 12, with my beloved Nanny. She was my Irish paternal grandmother, and she died in December of that year. She was the only grandparent I really got to know and I still miss her! This was taken in her flat in Cricklewood, London. She used to bring me English chocolate whenever she visited Canada, and it's still my favourite kind! I don't need no stinking Belgian! :)
I named my hen "Anastasia" after her, with all due respect. She had a great sense of humour and would know it was done with love. My Dad used to tell me stories about her speedy chicken-plucking skills!Meanwhile, in another part of the desk drawer was a chopstick wrapper I brought home over a year ago because of its great Chinglish:
A most florid and excellent translation!
what a lovely photo - i'm glad you found it and posted it.
ReplyDeleteyou have me intrigued - what is "english chocolate"? and how is it different than other types. is there any particular brand you like? and can you purchase it on this side of the ocean?
What a lovely photo. My maternal grandmother was the only one of my grandparents I ever got to know (the other three died long before I was born) She died is December 76 too. THat was a dismal christmas
ReplyDeleteI called my grandmother Nanny, too. Like you, mine was the only grandmother I knew except for HER mother, too. (I was named after her mother.) I
ReplyDeletet's taken me years to realize that so many of what I thought of as eastern NC words are actually British terms... or perhaps a corruption thereof. :) You may know that the people of the Outer Banks spoke with the old English accents for generations because the area was so isolated from the rest of the country.
Your Nanny looks like a fun gal! It's nice that you have so many fond memories of her.
ReplyDeleteWhen out in California, my daughter and I love to visit the Asian dollar store near my son's house. There are some interesting product labels there too. I bought a little cloth lunch bag that said something like "Happy Squirrel Family Have Fun, Make Money." We both can't get enough of that kind of stuff!
I'm with you on the chocolate. Give me Cadbury's over that poncy expensive stuff, any day of the week!
ReplyDeleteAnd I called my Scottish (my only non-Irish grandparent) Nanny, too! I don't think there are too many of us around and I don't often tell people that because they always confuse the word with the paid caregiver nowadays. Miss her dreadfully after all these years.
Cheers
Ah, Michele, my soul sister! English chocolate is the best! And it's so nice you had a "Nanny" too. :)
ReplyDeleteAnon, what I mean by "English chocolate" is chocolate made in England. We have some of the same bars here (i.e. Cadbury) but they don't taste as rich and creamy. Someone told me it's the different water, but really I suspect the vegetable fat in British bars!
ReplyDeleteYou can find Brit chocolate in Canada (and the US) at any Brit grocers, etc, like A bit of Home (where I order my Marks & SPencer tea!):
http://www.abitofhome.ca/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Jams, I'm sorry you lost your grandmother too. Mine at least waited until a few days after Christmas. My Dad was visiting her from Canada at the time (he had five siblings, most of whom were still in England) and came in to find her on her bed, gone from a heart attack. I'm glad they all had a final Christmas together (my parents were divorced at that point which is why my Mum and I weren't there too.) I'm glad I got to visit her for three weeks in March of that year, for one last time. I can imagine how sad your Christmas must have been.
ReplyDeleteMarylee, how neat YOU had a Nanny too! I didn't know if that would be a US thing or not, but very interesting to learn about the British influences in NC. I really want to visit the Carolinas one day.
ReplyDeleteTTPT, don't you just LOVE that stuff? We honeymooned in southeast Asia and I still have a pencil box I picked up with a drawing of a dog and "Wanton Pup" across the front!