It was planted in memory of my beloved Mum, Ivy Pointer < nee Oakley>. It's been almost eight years since she left us, I wish I could say the loss gets easier. Never a day passes that I don't spend time lost in thought about both of my parents. My dad passed only twenty months after mum. I miss them both.

One of things my siblings and I agree on, is that mum left us with so many hilarious memories. She was an unwitting comic, and still today my sister and I often reminisce, and laugh until the tears flow, recalling some of her antics. I am so thankful for that.

Until I moved to the States, Mum had never flown, she was extremely doubtful about ever doing it, but we all knew the pull of her grandchildren would soon have her applying for a passport.

Her first flight was quite an experience for her. We have some friends here in Virginia who also hail from Kenilworth. They were planning a trip home to Kenilworth, and kindly agreed to book the same flight back to Virginia with mum, and assist her. It was a wonderful experience for her. Not only did she enjoy the company, but was thrilled to discover that upon landing in Washington, she'd be boarding their private plane for the short flight to Williamsburg. She felt pretty darned special when she arrived at the small airport. We were all there to meet her. I remember thinking, 'oh God she's in shock' as she staggered and stumbled down the steps of the small aircraft, she wasn't, she was a little tipsy, there was a bottle of wine chilling on board the aircraft as a welcome. What a great experience that was for her.

My mother had absolutely no sense of direction, and she'd get totally lost in the most familiar places. Dad claimed, if there was a corner she felt obligated to turn it. He told many a tale of having to retrace his steps, as she'd lagged behind window shopping, and turned off down some side street, simply because she came to a corner, oblivious to that fact my father was nowhere in sight, or that she'd drifted 'off course'

Mum and Dad had two dear friends' George and Doreen Garrett. Dad and Uncle George were angling buddies. One summer afternoon the four of them had taken a trip out into the country side. On the way home they decided to stop at a pub for a meal. This particular pub apparently had a very long bar with several doors behind it. During the course of the meal Mum toddled off to the ladies to 'powder her nose'. As usual she got lost and was gone quite some time. Suddenly one of the doors behind the bar opened and out strolled my mother, realizing her error, she quickly retreated. From that point, bets were taken as to which door she pop out of next, typically she tried them all . . . she never disappointed.

I had a similar experience with her during a "Helping Hands Club" wine and cheese fund raiser, at the Castle Gatehouse. Needless to say, mum had sampled rather more wine than was good for her. Before too long she needed to visit the loo. I decided I'd better go with her or there was a good chance we'd never see her again. The Gatehouse at the time sported one small loo, so I decided to advantage of the trip too. I left mum washing her hands and entered the stall only to hear crashing and banging, and my mum's muffled voice saying OUCH! I hurried to see what on earth she was doing, just in time to witness her backing out of what appeared to be a small broom cupboard. She was tangled in an array of brooms and mops. I must add that she needed to bend herself almost double to get in there. Her reasoning was . . . all the doors in the Gatehouse were small, and she was just trying to head back to the party... I rested my case right there, and led her back to relative safety trying not to let her see the tears of mirth rolling down my cheeks.

There are so many stories that keep the memory of our Mother alive and well, she left us a legacy of laugher. Like the time Sue and I took her to Busch Gardens, a local theme park here in Virginia, based upon European Countries. It ranks as one of the best days the three of us ever spent together as adults. I don't think we stopped laughing. Before leaving, we were meandering through 'Italy' and saw a great photo opportunity. There were barrels full of fake grapes, Sue decided to pose gracefully on the edge of one of the barrels while I took pictures. Mum not wishing to be out done decided she'd like a picture of her doing the same. I'll allow the picture to complete the story.

I miss you Mum, thanks for the memories.