Nonna at 90

It seems like we’ve been celebrating for ever but Nonna’s final 90th birthday took place last week at Cockenzie House with over 60 of our dearest family and friends.

The parties started last year in her 90th year when my girls and I took her to Paris for the weekend. A city she hadn’t visited for over 40 years. It was a trip of a lifetime for us. Happy memories of three generations making good times to talk about to share with the next generation.

Nonna loves to party. So next came the church friends party then the book club party, the coffee morning party, the afternoon tea girls party, the rambling club party, the sisters lunch (yes she has a younger and an older sister still fighting fit), the children’s party, the Nuns party (yes she had a party with the nuns who insistently are in a silent order) and any other party anyone was willing to attend. Party party party. Nonna never misses an excuse to party.

While she loves the good life, Nonna Gertrude, my darling mother, has given us all we could ask of a parent and more. My father got most of the praise for the majority of our attributes but in fairness to mummy she’s done not a bad job.

Having seven brothers and sisters and the entourage from each has created a very unique community and a joy of family and friendships. Our love of laughter and fun has definitely come from our mother.

From my point of view she’s taught me about good food. Choosing the best freshest seasonal ingredients in our cooking comes from my mother. She’s a wonderful cook and excellent baker. She even managed to make 100 Empire biscuits on the morning of the party so they would be fresh for us at tea time! Amazing.

Mummy will admit that even at 90 her biggest weakness is clothes. She’ll never miss an opportunity to go shopping. And taking clothes back shopping can be even more enjoyable.

This we’ll forgive as she’s clothed us very well for life with a huge amount of love and a determination to do our best, work hard and do good along the way. She’d add with an abundance of prayers to get us to wherever we needed or wanted to get too.

So Nonna thank you for being you. Without you we’d be but a twinkle in Daddy’s eye and we wouldn’t be able to share your love of the good life and love of happy times with all the beautiful people we meet along the way.

Life is short. Enjoy as many parties as you want, the more the better. Create happy memories every day.

Life is for living. Nonna Gertrude you have certainly done that!

Carina