Its Always Grouse At Nannies House
Eulogy - By Lauren Horsey
I was lucky enough to have this amazing woman in my life for 27
years– that’s a phenomenal innings. My nanny was a ballsy woman. She
was fiercely independent and thumbed her nose at accepted social
conventions and therefore remains the inspiration for the powerful woman
in this family. This makes me fiercely proud to be her granddaughter.
She was not only the source of the strength within us but the foundation
of the connection between the whole family. I know that nannies
strength and wisdom will guide me through my life and empower me to
continue her legacy.
Nanny Joyce had an affinity with children. It
was so obvious from her dedication to her kids and grandkids that she
thrived on our company. It was always grouse at nannies house and she
had a way of making the most mundane tasks fun and exciting. The best
part was bed time. She would snuggle in between us and we were privy to
the best songs and the greatest stories and not many people can say that
their nanny talked in tongues. My aunty Jenny gives A convincing
impersonation of this phenomenon, if you ask her she may just share it
with you.
I do have some confessions to make on Nannies behalf.
I’m sure she won’t mind if tell. She was a rule breaker and when we
were quite young she would let us do things that were absolutely
forbidden at home. She always said
‘what they didn’t know, won’t hurt them.
She
would let us boil the kettle and make our own cup of tea and even had
us doing the ironing. She allowed us to sit on her knee without
seatbelts on the way to mass. What could be safer? I remember the day
Ross and I asked her for a cigarette. She agreed to give us one each on
the condition that we smoke the whole thing. I threw up. What
a great way to deter us from smoking.
Nanny Joyce child crisis
management 101: any emotional problem can be solved with a poem.
Examples of this are a ‘Tribute to Smokey the Rabbit’ and ‘Bianca I will
miss you at your new school’. It worked every time.
On the topic
of faith, it has to be said, she was a pillar of the Church Community.
She bought religion into the simplest things. She could cure the itch of
a mozzie bite by marking it with the sign of the cross using her finger
nail and as all of our family members can attest, having Nanny Joyce in
the car when seeking a car park became a religious experience. She
would have us all preying to Jesus and miraculously, like the parting of
the red sea, a park would materialize.
She was a mother in every
sense of the word. I believe that mother is the word for god on the lips
of every child and we all felt mothered by her. In this way she played
another important role in my life. As I’m sure my cousins will agree She
set such an excellent example for our mums and dads who in turn became
fantastic parents. That magic affinity to connect with children she
imprinted on them, they have imprinted on us and we will in turn pass it
on to our children. As I look out today I can see her legacy in you my
family I see the slope of her a nose, the angle of her jaw line or the
twinkle of her eye.
Joyce Horsey - the writer, the poet, the
slayer of evil garden spiders and scone baker extraordinaire. Joyce
Horsey the singer of politically incorrect nursery rhymes. Joyce Horsey
the eternal mother, My grandmother, Joyce Horsey the love in hearts
forever.
sayonara pussdacat
