Everyone should have an Aunty Win! My father’s older sister was a tiny little lady with a big heart. She didn’t have any children of her own but she never forgot the birthdays of her many nieces and nephews. Our birdlike aunt always wore bright lipstick and colourful beads. She used to make unbearably strong tea for her young guests but nobody complained – rather we would drink it and laugh later in the telling of how awful it was. She was a bit eccentric and therefore highly interesting, and we loved her all the more for it.

Yesterday I came across some snippets of writing that my sister Mary sent me last year; amongst them was one of Aunty Win’s recollections, written down by Mary because she had been so taken by the whimsical nature of the story…

Mary’s Record

Aunty Win told me a funny story today. She told me that when she was about fourteen she worked at  Drings chemist shop in Teignmouth. There were three men working there – the boss and two assistants. On her birthday (April Fools Day) she was late.  She knew she would be late, but just had no option as far as she was concerned.

She was a few minutes late and as soon as she entered the shop all three looked very angry. The boss looked at her and asked her rather crossly to explain why she was late.

She said she put on her very best voice and high and mighty pose and calmly said “Well,  you see today is my birthday, and I always have a lovely birthday. I waited for the postman.”

With that, one of the assistants looked across at the boss, then swooped across, kissed her and picked her up. She was only tiny, (about four feet ten inches or so.) Next, the other assistant did the same. The boss felt guilty, wished her a happy birthday and joined in the fun tossing her across the room from one to the other. 

This seems a funny thing to write about, but I can just picture the scene with Aunty Win all snooty and on her high horse. She has never forgotten the occasion and I will never forget the story.