Friday 9 November 2012

Betty

Aunty Betty and Uncle Stan
We’ve been to the funeral of a grand old girl.

My daughter stood next to me in church guessing the tune to a hymn and watching wide-eyed as we said goodbye to my Great Aunty Betty.

I reminded my girl that when she was just a tot she had a special name for Aunty Betty, who always had a box of Lego and Duplo for small family members to play with. “I remember,” she said. “I used to call her Betty Bricks!”

Betty’s two daughters made wonderful, warm speeches about her. My mum did a reading, her confident voice belying her nervousness.

The family gathered after the service at the local football club, where Betty (an unlikely 87-year-old football fan) had attended hundreds of games and had been treated like royalty.

My girl felt grown-up being with all the adults at a serious occasion. I told her I was very proud of her. 

“It was a nice coffin, wasn’t it?” she said, brightly, to one of Betty’s daughters. “Betty was 4ft 10in tall, just like me.”


Video is Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade, which was played as Betty's entrance music. A classy song for a classy lady.

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