TRIBUTE
TO MY FAVOURITE AUNT. I LOVE YOU LYDIA.
To the reader I would like to remember my nana, Ann-Marie, Lydia's mum. The artistic talent and tailoring skills seen in Lydia and her sisters Fara and Olga was inherited from her.
My mum, Fara, had told me that her sister, Lydia, was very much like her mother Ann-Marie. As a child she would take their pet, a cat, and cradle it as if it were her baby. She would wrap a sheet around her impersonating an Indian neighbour, in a sari, and hang a bunch of house keys on a belt around her waist. These were seen dangling on her hip.
Lydia was our youngest aunt and we were lucky to have such a young aunt. She was there at my siblings birth in Kisumu. At that time she, Bruno and her parents were our next door neighbours when these boys were born then moved with, Bruno, and her parents to Kisini where she lived in a thatched roofed cottage. My brothers and I used to stay with our grandparents overnight on holiday or when our parents were to attend some function. Lydia made me my first rag doll. She was very good at needle work and dress making at a very early age.
In a school nativity play she was a shepherd and this was open air in Coronation grounds. The lamb she carried was a soft toy she made from brown corduory fabric. On Coronation grounds she also played hockey. With the GI lady's team she played badminton. Feather shuttles so she must have been good!
On one Empire Day Lydia was part of a float that went past our house in Kisumu when we lived near the PC's Office. I went to the front garden to see the float go by and wave the union jack to my aunt. Did you know when Lydia worked for the Kisumu Civic Centre (Town Hall) she was presented to the Queen mother and Princess Margaret on their visit? I know for certain because she borrowed my hat. She wore a dress out of the catalogue from England which my mum and Olga also used to order their clothes.
One day Lydia was asked to afternoon tea at an English lady's flat. This lady was one of Lydia's teachers. The flat was close to the PC's Office too. Lydia came round after the tea and told mum that the teacher really wanted help to clear and tidy her house. So tea and cake was a payment for a job done well.
In the GI Lydia sang on stage on Lady's day. She sang with Dulu Briganza. The song Sisters by Beverley Sisters. Another of her favourite songs was Blue Moon. Lydia was at a co-ed school. So she had many chaps for friends. One particular person was Lionel and he would take her for rides on his motorbike. One day he asked her but she declined. This was God's will because Lionel went round the lake, as we called it, and met with a fatal accident and died.
She met and fell in love with Michael. I think it was in Malindi when she was on holiday with her parents. I was her flower girl and my brothers Allan and Brian page boys. Her dress was unusual because it was a short dress gathered at the waist. She wore a short veil.
As I said Lydia was kind and always hospitable. We stayed with her when Dacy and Sarita got married in Nairobi. Then my cousins from Zanzibar stayed with her on their way to England and Michael and Lydia took them to Nairobi airport. Fr. Richard and Griselda remember them both for their kindness.
Just before Kenya's independence both Dacy and Michael moved to Mombasa with their families to find new work opportunities. We had jolly times on picnics at Bamburi beach and also in Kilifi. Michael's cousins the Pintos joined us too. What fun!! Little Valerie and Trevor were our little loves.
When mum emigrated to England with the boys Lydia would visit dad and myself with Michael and the children and she always made sure we had scrumptious meals. On one occasion she made me a dress for the local dance at the GI
Our clan live mostly in Kent after emigration so we would travel to Sidcup and again Lydia had us to stay even after Michael passed away and times were hard. She shared with us whatever food she had. She always gave mum and I the use of her bedroom while she slept on a single bed. This was putting the comfort of others before herself. Generous! Loving and very, very kind. Lydia loved all children especially Gary, and Ashley besides her own. Then her grandchildren came along. My niece watched her grandaunt with interest and named one of her dolls Lydia. Lydia was very welcoming. Katie who was well known to our family visited her when she heard that Lydia was diagnosed with Cancer. Fortunately, it was in remission. Despite this she did make every effort to visit her brothers and their families in Canada and fortunately she was accompanied by Valerie and on occasion Gary. She maintained the close ties with her siblings and Michael's. Her focus was not on herself but others.
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When my mum passed away she was there for me even at midnight and would answer questions about some diagnosis the doctors gave me. She would tell me not to worry!
Lydia took on the brave task to complete several needle work items my mum had started and never completed because of lack of concentration as she got closer to 89. There was a smocking dress for little Anna, also a baby shawl, and a cardigan for me. She arranged for remanant wool, dress making, knitting and crochet patterns, pieces of fabric and embroidery skeins to be given to charities where other industrious needle women made items for sale. I sent these to her after mum passed away because I knew she had the right contacts.
Lydia said she was not afraid to die. Brave girl. True woman of faith! She has now gone home to join Michael and the dearly departed. May she rest in peace. Amen.
Barbara
15th September 2021
