Remembering Auntie Glad

 This video of a ninety year old Italian Nonna, excitingly opening her birthday gifts took me back to auntie Glad. Some years ago now I was visited by a fellow blogger Hippo, whose life was saved by his blog connections. Living in a real African backwater, he sustained a simple garden injury to his thigh when cutting a hedge.

The injury quickly went necrotic and septic and knowing my experience in the field he sent me a photo, I told him plainly that he would be dead in days if he didn’t refer himself to a specialist hospital, and so with the  Great British reserve only known by ex servicemen , he wrapped the injury in cling film and drove a hundred miles to an airport which eventually took him to London. 

Presenting himself to the ER he had hours of life left, but the wonders of the nhs saved his life and many weeks later he was sat in my front room, paying his respects amid bulldogs and terriers and Albert the cat. 

We went to Auntie Glad’s for tea and scones and she met us warmly in her blue tabard which was dusted with scone flour. 

Gladys was in her 90s and not quite understand who Hippo was she still afforded him a cheerful Welsh welcome .

I was amused that when we ate our scones and drank our tea she disappeared for a few minutes only reappearing in her best frock , a string of pearls and a splodge of bright red lipstick on her lips 

Now that’s class