Claire
OBITUARY ON CLAIR'S FACEBOOK PAGE
Claire, my beloved elder friend, is no longer with us. She will always be in my thoughts and heart. She was a member of the INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ List hosted by Rootsweb.com. I have paid her a humble tribute on the List.
Dear Friends :
It is my sad and painful duty to inform you that one of our senior and esteemed members Claire Bradley passed away in New York on Sunday evening, 26th August 2012, at the age of 70. She was ailing for about two weeks prior to her to death and her condition worsened day by day. Finally the inevitable happened - in spite of the prayers and best wishes of all her relatives and friends.
Claire and I became friends through India List. Later she joined our India British Raj List and became one of its frequent correspondents and loyal supporters. It's difficult to express in words your feeling for someone you have never met in person: yet for whom you feel a strong affection and affinity. We used to exchange all types of news and gossip and opinions on all sorts of subjects almost every day. Through her words and ideas I could visualise her as a jolly, fun loving person, very open-minded and liberal and yet quite determined on certain issues. She never minced her words and was not averse to saying them aloud. But she was gentle; she never hurt anybody deliberately. Her sense of humour was exceptionally strong and she saw and fully enjoyed the funny side of life. When she got tired of the pigeons dirtying the windowsills and glass panes of her apartment every day, she photographed them and dashed off several letters to her local councillor. Her description of that scene was very graphic and droll.
Over the years, I increasingly came to look upon her as a very close family friend - a favourite aunt, may be!
Claire left India in late1950s for good - but India could never leave her. She remembered forever the sights and sounds and smells and smiles and silliness of India and was highly nostalgic about the fun-filled, ecstatic days she had spent in Poona (now Pune) and Bombay (now Mumbai). The taste of some of her favourite Indian dishes - such as ''gulab jamun'' (sweet) and ''Pani-Puri'' (spicy, hot) lingered on her lips till the end. Just a few days before her last hospitalisation, she wrote to me on the fifth of August 2012
This is a good comprehensive list (of 40 popular Bombay) food dishes but sticking out like a sorethumb by its absence: PANI PURI! How could they forget that? The most exquisite explosion of flavours in the mouth, and I could easily make myself sick eating too many of them -- mmm-hmmm! How I'd love to walk over to Chowpatty and scoff some of these goodies.
And then came the thunderbolt - email from Claire's sister Rosemary Taylor (who is also our List member), informing me of Claire's illness - and then came the dreaded news three days ago - Claire was no more.
I know she was reconciled to the inevitable but had never sounded bitter about her debilitating illness. So as a matter of fact, death has come as a blessed release to her from her pain and suffering.
How does one weep for someone whom one has never met, yet who is almost a part of one's family? I am not ashamed to admit that when I read about Claire's passing, my eyes became moist and I was haunted
by her thoughts for a long, long time.
She was a superb human being. We all will miss her. We'll miss her
smile, her energy, her ebullience, her cheerful spirit, her love for life,
her humour. Rest in Peace, Claire - my old friend, my fellow P G
Wodehouse- fan, and my British India History comrade.
-- Harshawardhan (Harshoo)
[Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar]
I am grateful to Claire's sister Rosemary Taylor for this input on her life:
Claire Amy Bradley
b. 16 September 1938, d. 26 August 2012.
Claire was born in Quetta, Baluchistan, then part of British India, on 16
Sept 1938. Her parents were Aubrey Richard Bradley, known to his friends
as Dick, and Heather Agnes Lillian nee Hibbert, known to her friends as
Dolly.
Her father, who was born in Springfield, Idle, Bradford, served in the Army
Ordnance Corps, and in 1941 was posted to Maymyo, Burma. With the fall
of Rangoon to the Japanese, the family were evacuated to India, where her
mother received the news of the death of her husband in May 1942. Dick
Bradley is interred at Gauhati War Graves Cemetery.
Claire and her siblings grew up in Poona. They originally attended the
Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School, Lovedale, Nilgiris, then
the Convent of Jesus and Mary Poona, from where she passed her senior
Cambridge exams in 1954. She then went on to secretarial school, and
started working, first in Poona and then in Bombay. The firm sent her
to Karachi to work for their branch there, and from then on she had an
eventful life, working in Teheran, Rome, Greece, and Nigeria.
Claire came to the USA in the early 60's; first to Washington DC and
then to San Francisco. In 1966 she applied for US Citizenship, and made
her home in New York. She worked for Arthur Andersen, Arthur Young,
and Weil, Gotshal and Manges, where she excelled as a legal secretary.
Her increasing deafness forced her to retire, and her subsequent emphysema
made life increasingly difficult. But she retained an active and lively
correspondence with her family, many friends and acquaintances, via
her computer, which became her main form of communication. Her
little dog, Nellie was her constant and faithful companion, whose
piercing bark alerted Claire to any activity outside her front door!
Claire will be sadly missed by all those who came to know and love her for her wit, humour and sheer tenacity. Rest In Peace, my dearestsister, you were one in a million.
Claire's friend (and our member) Sandra Carney has this to add:
I remember her as an Anglo-Indian woman who loved her adopted country America and was a true Patriot. She loved her little Nellie and told me that she did not know what she would do without her beloved
pet. I know she would not have wanted to leave this world without making proper preparations for dear Nellie. She wanted to attend Anglo-Indian functions around the world, but her illness limited her and she regretted this greatly.
Claire, my beloved elder friend, is no longer with us. She will always be in my thoughts and heart. She was a member of the INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ List hosted by Rootsweb.com. I have paid her a humble tribute on the List.
Dear Friends :
It is my sad and painful duty to inform you that one of our senior and esteemed members Claire Bradley passed away in New York on Sunday evening, 26th August 2012, at the age of 70. She was ailing for about two weeks prior to her to death and her condition worsened day by day. Finally the inevitable happened - in spite of the prayers and best wishes of all her relatives and friends.
Claire and I became friends through India List. Later she joined our India British Raj List and became one of its frequent correspondents and loyal supporters. It's difficult to express in words your feeling for someone you have never met in person: yet for whom you feel a strong affection and affinity. We used to exchange all types of news and gossip and opinions on all sorts of subjects almost every day. Through her words and ideas I could visualise her as a jolly, fun loving person, very open-minded and liberal and yet quite determined on certain issues. She never minced her words and was not averse to saying them aloud. But she was gentle; she never hurt anybody deliberately. Her sense of humour was exceptionally strong and she saw and fully enjoyed the funny side of life. When she got tired of the pigeons dirtying the windowsills and glass panes of her apartment every day, she photographed them and dashed off several letters to her local councillor. Her description of that scene was very graphic and droll.
Over the years, I increasingly came to look upon her as a very close family friend - a favourite aunt, may be!
Claire left India in late1950s for good - but India could never leave her. She remembered forever the sights and sounds and smells and smiles and silliness of India and was highly nostalgic about the fun-filled, ecstatic days she had spent in Poona (now Pune) and Bombay (now Mumbai). The taste of some of her favourite Indian dishes - such as ''gulab jamun'' (sweet) and ''Pani-Puri'' (spicy, hot) lingered on her lips till the end. Just a few days before her last hospitalisation, she wrote to me on the fifth of August 2012
This is a good comprehensive list (of 40 popular Bombay) food dishes but sticking out like a sorethumb by its absence: PANI PURI! How could they forget that? The most exquisite explosion of flavours in the mouth, and I could easily make myself sick eating too many of them -- mmm-hmmm! How I'd love to walk over to Chowpatty and scoff some of these goodies.
And then came the thunderbolt - email from Claire's sister Rosemary Taylor (who is also our List member), informing me of Claire's illness - and then came the dreaded news three days ago - Claire was no more.
I know she was reconciled to the inevitable but had never sounded bitter about her debilitating illness. So as a matter of fact, death has come as a blessed release to her from her pain and suffering.
How does one weep for someone whom one has never met, yet who is almost a part of one's family? I am not ashamed to admit that when I read about Claire's passing, my eyes became moist and I was haunted
by her thoughts for a long, long time.
She was a superb human being. We all will miss her. We'll miss her
smile, her energy, her ebullience, her cheerful spirit, her love for life,
her humour. Rest in Peace, Claire - my old friend, my fellow P G
Wodehouse- fan, and my British India History comrade.
-- Harshawardhan (Harshoo)
[Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar]
I am grateful to Claire's sister Rosemary Taylor for this input on her life:
Claire Amy Bradley
b. 16 September 1938, d. 26 August 2012.
Claire was born in Quetta, Baluchistan, then part of British India, on 16
Sept 1938. Her parents were Aubrey Richard Bradley, known to his friends
as Dick, and Heather Agnes Lillian nee Hibbert, known to her friends as
Dolly.
Her father, who was born in Springfield, Idle, Bradford, served in the Army
Ordnance Corps, and in 1941 was posted to Maymyo, Burma. With the fall
of Rangoon to the Japanese, the family were evacuated to India, where her
mother received the news of the death of her husband in May 1942. Dick
Bradley is interred at Gauhati War Graves Cemetery.
Claire and her siblings grew up in Poona. They originally attended the
Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School, Lovedale, Nilgiris, then
the Convent of Jesus and Mary Poona, from where she passed her senior
Cambridge exams in 1954. She then went on to secretarial school, and
started working, first in Poona and then in Bombay. The firm sent her
to Karachi to work for their branch there, and from then on she had an
eventful life, working in Teheran, Rome, Greece, and Nigeria.
Claire came to the USA in the early 60's; first to Washington DC and
then to San Francisco. In 1966 she applied for US Citizenship, and made
her home in New York. She worked for Arthur Andersen, Arthur Young,
and Weil, Gotshal and Manges, where she excelled as a legal secretary.
Her increasing deafness forced her to retire, and her subsequent emphysema
made life increasingly difficult. But she retained an active and lively
correspondence with her family, many friends and acquaintances, via
her computer, which became her main form of communication. Her
little dog, Nellie was her constant and faithful companion, whose
piercing bark alerted Claire to any activity outside her front door!
Claire will be sadly missed by all those who came to know and love her for her wit, humour and sheer tenacity. Rest In Peace, my dearestsister, you were one in a million.
Claire's friend (and our member) Sandra Carney has this to add:
I remember her as an Anglo-Indian woman who loved her adopted country America and was a true Patriot. She loved her little Nellie and told me that she did not know what she would do without her beloved
pet. I know she would not have wanted to leave this world without making proper preparations for dear Nellie. She wanted to attend Anglo-Indian functions around the world, but her illness limited her and she regretted this greatly.
AMY'S FRUIT CAKE RECIPE
backstagebear
14 September 2012 9:07PM
Response to FerenjiNan, 14 September 2012 8:58PM
This is the recipe, clipped directly from Amy's post. I like the chatty, but firm, detail in it (I particularly like the idea of having an Alberto as a kitchen assistant!):-
Comment by Amy38 on Speedy crossword No 835
18 Sep 2011:
@BSBear Please note that I marinated the fruit for 7 days, and after the cake cooled and was ready for storing I followed sister's advice and doused it with more rum before wrapping and storing it -- at least a month. Here goes:
JAMAICAN FRUIT CAKE
Fruits:
1 lb dried currants
3/4 lb seedless raisins
1/2 lb sliced dried figs, chopped (make sure they're really moist, not hard, or replace with a different selection of softer fruit)
1/2 lb sliced, blanched, lightly toasted almonds (Indian stores sell them by the bag -- you must toast them yourself)
6 oz dried and pitted dates (chopped)
7 oz whole, glazed cherries - sliced.
4 oz diced glazed orange peel
1/2 lb sliced glazed lemon peel (citron)
3/4 lb seeded chopped sultanas
1/2 lb prunes, chopped
3 cups DARK Jamaican rum
Prepare all fruit and almonds, and mix well in a large glass/ceramic bowl. Stir in the rum. Let soak in bowl covered, not in refrigerator, for AT LEAST one week, stirring every other day.
Other ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) soft butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
5 large eggs
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used one)
On day cake is to be made, place butter and spices in mixing bowl large enough for mixing cake and stir well. Gradually blend in sugar. Beat in 2 of the eggs.
Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add one cup to the butter-sugar mixture. Beat in remaining eggs. Stir in rum soaked fruit and adding remaining flour and mix WELL (you will need a strong arm for this - you might want to enlist a male. My neighbour, Alberto, assisted and pronounced the raw cake mixture delicious. Only hard-working assistants may lick the bowl)
Heat oven to 275F (135C). Put a large shallow pan of hot water on the rack beneath cake during baking to prevent cake from drying out. Line 2 greased 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pans with brown paper greased lightly. Divide the batter equally between the two pans. Bake 2-1/2 hours on center rack until a tooth-pick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan one hour. Turn cakes onto a wire rack and remove brown paper. When cool, pour a little (or a lot) of rum over it, wrap in foil and store for one month. The cake is dark brown, moist and the flour appears to be in the recipe for the sole purpose of holding the fruit together! <chuckle>
When I made this last time I scoffed some of the cake while warm and loved it -- reminded me of home. You can serve it warm with cream.
Clipped on 18 September 2011
backstagebear
14 September 2012 9:07PM
Response to FerenjiNan, 14 September 2012 8:58PM
This is the recipe, clipped directly from Amy's post. I like the chatty, but firm, detail in it (I particularly like the idea of having an Alberto as a kitchen assistant!):-
Comment by Amy38 on Speedy crossword No 835
18 Sep 2011:
@BSBear Please note that I marinated the fruit for 7 days, and after the cake cooled and was ready for storing I followed sister's advice and doused it with more rum before wrapping and storing it -- at least a month. Here goes:
JAMAICAN FRUIT CAKE
Fruits:
1 lb dried currants
3/4 lb seedless raisins
1/2 lb sliced dried figs, chopped (make sure they're really moist, not hard, or replace with a different selection of softer fruit)
1/2 lb sliced, blanched, lightly toasted almonds (Indian stores sell them by the bag -- you must toast them yourself)
6 oz dried and pitted dates (chopped)
7 oz whole, glazed cherries - sliced.
4 oz diced glazed orange peel
1/2 lb sliced glazed lemon peel (citron)
3/4 lb seeded chopped sultanas
1/2 lb prunes, chopped
3 cups DARK Jamaican rum
Prepare all fruit and almonds, and mix well in a large glass/ceramic bowl. Stir in the rum. Let soak in bowl covered, not in refrigerator, for AT LEAST one week, stirring every other day.
Other ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) soft butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
5 large eggs
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used one)
On day cake is to be made, place butter and spices in mixing bowl large enough for mixing cake and stir well. Gradually blend in sugar. Beat in 2 of the eggs.
Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add one cup to the butter-sugar mixture. Beat in remaining eggs. Stir in rum soaked fruit and adding remaining flour and mix WELL (you will need a strong arm for this - you might want to enlist a male. My neighbour, Alberto, assisted and pronounced the raw cake mixture delicious. Only hard-working assistants may lick the bowl)
Heat oven to 275F (135C). Put a large shallow pan of hot water on the rack beneath cake during baking to prevent cake from drying out. Line 2 greased 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pans with brown paper greased lightly. Divide the batter equally between the two pans. Bake 2-1/2 hours on center rack until a tooth-pick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan one hour. Turn cakes onto a wire rack and remove brown paper. When cool, pour a little (or a lot) of rum over it, wrap in foil and store for one month. The cake is dark brown, moist and the flour appears to be in the recipe for the sole purpose of holding the fruit together! <chuckle>
When I made this last time I scoffed some of the cake while warm and loved it -- reminded me of home. You can serve it warm with cream.
Clipped on 18 September 2011
Claire
April 26, 2012
10.32 am
email to PP
LOL!! This is terrific -- it's me! I always lead the charge and those who agree follow . . . . and then gradually drop off as things get tougher. Soon I look behind me and I'm the only one still charging and carrying the flag with "Never Give In" as the motto.
By all means post the doily -- they can then say "See, even Preah thinks she's a tough old cookie." MJ will get a kick out of it and FFish. Silly Aunt, too.
BTW, the little video is priceless to me because it has sub-titles -- you remembered!
I look forward to getting the doily -- the first AND has the cross stroke missing, but the Persians say only Allah is perfect and deliberately insert minute errors in their carpets. Did you know this? I'm a mine of useless info.
April 26, 2012
4.30 pm
email to PP
I just noticed that my name isn't on it!! How am I going to prove it's me, mine, moi, myself, mera doily, . . . . (mera is my in Hindi and doily is doily)
April 26, 2012
10.32 am
email to PP
LOL!! This is terrific -- it's me! I always lead the charge and those who agree follow . . . . and then gradually drop off as things get tougher. Soon I look behind me and I'm the only one still charging and carrying the flag with "Never Give In" as the motto.
By all means post the doily -- they can then say "See, even Preah thinks she's a tough old cookie." MJ will get a kick out of it and FFish. Silly Aunt, too.
BTW, the little video is priceless to me because it has sub-titles -- you remembered!
I look forward to getting the doily -- the first AND has the cross stroke missing, but the Persians say only Allah is perfect and deliberately insert minute errors in their carpets. Did you know this? I'm a mine of useless info.
April 26, 2012
4.30 pm
email to PP
I just noticed that my name isn't on it!! How am I going to prove it's me, mine, moi, myself, mera doily, . . . . (mera is my in Hindi and doily is doily)
From Claire to PP
May 24, 2012
The below is a trifle nasty, but irresistible given attitudes toward immigration to Oz. I think they've lightened up, but you know far more about this than I do, and will understand the humour.
Not so long ago, a rich Parsi Bawaji from Bombay went to Australia to watch the cricket series there.
The Aussie at passport control sat fingering through his passport for a long time. Unable to find any thing objectionable, he growled:
'Have you got a criminal record ?
The Bawa smiled and replied, 'I am terribly sorry, sir; unfortunately, I don't have one.
Nobody told me that it was still a requirement to get into your country'...!
Love to the two of you from the two of us.
May 24, 2012
The below is a trifle nasty, but irresistible given attitudes toward immigration to Oz. I think they've lightened up, but you know far more about this than I do, and will understand the humour.
Not so long ago, a rich Parsi Bawaji from Bombay went to Australia to watch the cricket series there.
The Aussie at passport control sat fingering through his passport for a long time. Unable to find any thing objectionable, he growled:
'Have you got a criminal record ?
The Bawa smiled and replied, 'I am terribly sorry, sir; unfortunately, I don't have one.
Nobody told me that it was still a requirement to get into your country'...!
Love to the two of you from the two of us.
Claire & PP
I have just been reading back through our email correspondence and counted about 200 emails - some quite quick and others rather detailed. Many were about the dog shoes I made for Nellie (for the snow) and how we were going to get a good fit and what sort of fabric to use.
After I sent the shoes to Amy she sent me two jars of Vegemite; a small scraping remains in jar in the kitchen.
She loved her doily and proudly displayed it on her dining table in her apartment. Sometimes when she was not well she emailed in the early hours and I would reply at 2am and at times she referred to me as 'her rock'.
I am glad I could be that to Amy (Claire) as she and I had a huge run-in when the Quick Crossword was evolving into the QCC and it took some time for us both to approach each other again.
It was my offer of shoes for Nellie that settled any ill-feeling between us and over the months I began to learn about a different person - Claire who was kind and thoughtful and understanding and often worried about me (and bossed me a bit).
The last time I heard from her was after my father's death and I emailed back about what was happening in Australia and with my family. By this time she had started to use Facebook but in a very random way.
I will miss my emails with Claire - one day I hoped to get down to visit her in NY. I know her health caused her many problems and that made her life difficult at times. I hope now that she has found peace.
Paulette
I have just been reading back through our email correspondence and counted about 200 emails - some quite quick and others rather detailed. Many were about the dog shoes I made for Nellie (for the snow) and how we were going to get a good fit and what sort of fabric to use.
After I sent the shoes to Amy she sent me two jars of Vegemite; a small scraping remains in jar in the kitchen.
She loved her doily and proudly displayed it on her dining table in her apartment. Sometimes when she was not well she emailed in the early hours and I would reply at 2am and at times she referred to me as 'her rock'.
I am glad I could be that to Amy (Claire) as she and I had a huge run-in when the Quick Crossword was evolving into the QCC and it took some time for us both to approach each other again.
It was my offer of shoes for Nellie that settled any ill-feeling between us and over the months I began to learn about a different person - Claire who was kind and thoughtful and understanding and often worried about me (and bossed me a bit).
The last time I heard from her was after my father's death and I emailed back about what was happening in Australia and with my family. By this time she had started to use Facebook but in a very random way.
I will miss my emails with Claire - one day I hoped to get down to visit her in NY. I know her health caused her many problems and that made her life difficult at times. I hope now that she has found peace.
Paulette
Quick Crossword
August 29 2012
isonor
29 August 2012 12:08AM
It is with much sadness that I must inform you all that Amy38 passed away on August 26.
civsum
29 August 2012 12:13AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Oh, that's dreadful news ! Thank you for telling us. I must now go away and be very sad.
isonor
29 August 2012 12:18AM
Completed with only one check - that one was for you Amy38.
LondonBBG
29 August 2012 12:22AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
That's very sad news for all of us here. Are you able to tell us any more?
guana2go
29 August 2012 12:32AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
That's shocking news - i hope you are kicking up a storm wherever you are, amy - being mad as hell.
MonkeyJammas
29 August 2012 12:34AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Thanks for telling us:-( very decent of you:-)
civsum
29 August 2012 1:02AM
To Amy
Disputatious, feisty
Not afraid to take us on.
Yet you captured our attention
With your stories out of India
A life so unlike our own.
You never sought our pity
When another roadblock hit.
You took it on and solved it
With your smartness and your grit.
OK, so you read The Mail on Line
An extraordinary flaw !
But it was to us you sent the
Most interesting stuff you saw.
It's one thing not to see a post
But sense that the posters there.
It's quite another to feel a void
When a cyber friend disappears.
Oh Amy how we'll miss you,
Now that your fight is done.
Such a very singular woman.
Hence my tears, now that you're gone.
Subernoj
29 August 2012 1:08AM
I knew Amy only too briefly as an avatar and a feisty lady that posted interesting comments on this site.
Your spirit will be missed but certainly not forgotten
Vale Amy
NickWit23
29 August 2012 2:40AM
Amy
A tough sometimes maddening but consistently outspoken voice that was a fixture in the Caff. Could not be knocked down or intimidated - a force to be reckoned with whose echo will be around for a good while.
The49LAD
29 August 2012 3:23AM
I too knew Amy only as a voice on the white pages of this web site. Always sad to hear of such events.
SillyAunt
29 August 2012 5:03AM
5am GMT. Should be asleep but my eyes are leaking.
SillyAunt
29 August 2012 6:09AM
"a band of rain shocking like gravel…"
civsum seek shelter from the storm.
I once sought reassurance from Amy after bad bad weather hit NY, and anguished in NZ when tectonics came to play.
This bloody caff takes me all over the place. From MsP's beau jardin to the windy shores of Imagination.
I Read Everything, but I'll share this scary planet while my heart keeps a beat.
(Planet A, planet B. What are you talking abou? Ed).
deelfi62
29 August 2012 7:36AM
Sorry to hear the news about Amy. She will be missed here by many.
cretansnakegoddess
29 August 2012 7:44AM
So sorry to hear about Amy - she was, in her own words, a tough cookie, and challenged us all, and kept us all on our intellectual toes! I admired her tremendously and loved her stories of her youth in India and early experiences in London and New York. I will miss her very individual voice in the caff. Don't know whether to toast her memory with tea or Black Sheep!
cretansnakegoddess
29 August 2012 7:46AM
Response to civsum, 29 August 2012 1:02AM
civs, a wonderful tribute, thank you. And PP, for the website. Amy would be growling about the thank-yous right about now.
annLian
29 August 2012 7:50AM
Very sad news. I too will miss Amy.
nellietheelphant
29 August 2012 8:12AM
Funnily FF and I were commenting on our last walk that we hadn't heard from Amy...now we know the reason.......Yes she was irritating but aren't we all to someone or other. She was a unique voice, intelligent, challenging, thoughtful and always interesting.
I don't read all the comments but always read her's and was left wishing to know more about her extraordinary life.
Now what will happen to little Nellie...I'm sure there has been provision made. We know she was a comfort to Amy, giving unconditional love as only a dog can.
I'm sorry that my efforts with the crossword did not honour you today Amy.....but you will be in my mind.
fyodora
29 August 2012 8:20AM
Goodbye, dear old Bombay Duck. R.I.P.
nellietheelphant
29 August 2012 8:50AM
I've just spoken with FF and he is as shocked as we all are....he has asked me to send a post from him in absentia -
How sad - she was a character.
boveyphil
29 August 2012 9:04AM
RIP Amy
MisspellAny
29 August 2012 9:05AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Isonor,
very sad news. I am so sorry. Amy will be missed here. I had my run-ins with her, but I came to love her. Her death leaves a huge gap here in the QCC. Amy, R.I.P.
lidell
29 August 2012 9:24AM
I have been missing Amy too, she would often storm off in a magnificent huff, but could always be persuaded to return.
In her last entry (6th August) she sniped at the setter, wished us well and took herself off to bed.
Good night Amy, sleep peacefully now...
brian289
29 August 2012 9:47AM
Response to PreahPithu, 29 August 2012 4:26AM
Thank you PP. And thank you Civsum. Such a fast and moving response.
spanishscot
29 August 2012 9:48AM
Rest in peace Amy.
I also had some run-ins with her but always admired her indomitable spirit, her feistiness, her wonderful stories from India and from her wild youth.
I hope she did not go gentle into that good night and that she raved at the dying of the light.
(See Dylan Thomas video at end of page)
Auntycraft
29 August 2012 10:27AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Thank you for letting us know - Amy was one of the contributors to the QCC, who made it so intriguing when I first peeped into the caff - I will miss her.
kc3184
29 August 2012 10:40AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
RIP Amy,
very sad news. Hope Nellie has someone to love her as much as Amy did.
Kath55
29 August 2012 12:17PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
I was always pleased to see a comment from Amy - what she had to say was always so trenchant and magnificently unsentimental. I will miss her unique and uncompromising voice greatly.
Lafonte3
29 August 2012 12:32PM
Did anyone else learn 'red leather yellow leather' rather than the one that was given? Reminds me of that super book 'The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren' with the different area names for 'Fainites' etc.
Sorry Amy has died.
spanishscot
29 August 2012 1:10PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
isonor, thank you for letting us know. I read your comment last night and I was so shocked that all I could do was shut down the computer.
This morning, it was the first thing that came into my head. I read all the comments,PP's tribute, civsum's excellent poem, which sums her up so well and I was surprised that I could be so upset about someone I didn't really know and with whom I had had a few heated arguments from time to time.
But I think you can see from all the comments in the forum today that she really did make an impression and was a force to be reckoned with in the forum. I think she would have liked that very much.
Please, pass on our comments to her family because I think it will be a comfort to them to see that there are so many people all over the world mourning her passing. We are a real community of real people and Amy will certainly be missed.
starrock
29 August 2012 1:30PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
So sorry to hear this news.
I too shall miss her here.
Mussitate
29 August 2012 1:49PM
isonor
Thank you so much for letting us know. I feel wretched and truly upset. Amy was for justice and fairness and held her own with those that were not.
How lucky I was to have had contact with her and I shall not forget her.
Farewell beautiful Amy, I shed tears at your passing.
searogue
29 August 2012 2:13PM
"Hey, Cap'n! What takes you back home? Something to celebrate I hope! The mention of Idle/Bradford always brings to mind a big, hearty, red-cheeked chap from that area who was Chief Engineer of the project on which my employer was the contractor. John Maynard, with an accent so thick no one else could understand him! It was my job to decipher his weekly reports -- literally as his handwriting was appalling! I loved him; he was so down to earth. He and I entertained everyone at the company Xmas "party" (in quotes because it was such a dreary affair) by singing On Ilkley Moor bar tat (sp?) right through to the final "Then we will have eaten thee". Don't forget to visit the Indian restaurants -- better than any you'll find in India!"
Amy wrote this just before my trip back home. I thought about her often as I wandered around my old stomping grounds, thinking of the tales I would share with her on my return.
Amy lass, you'll be sorely missed by the Cap'n.
xword
29 August 2012 2:21PM
RIP Amy
elizabethdavid
29 August 2012 2:57PM
Like a few other posters, I was sometimes irritated by Amy, but I too was always drawn to her posts. I am particularly moved by the fact of her reconciliation with you PreahPithu: I remember the acrimony at the time. To have overcome that, sharing her vulnerability, is a great tribute to her personal virtue and strength, and of course to yours too PP. You are indeed a rock. Thank you for posting the pics and the comments. You are a valuable glue holding us together when required.
brian289
29 August 2012 3:13PM
I said I would write a sonnet about the Lewes gathering. I wondered if today was the time to post it, it being a sad day in caff, but perhaps that is the best day to post it. God knows it is not a brilliant sonnet, but it is the best I can do today. And it does celebrate our community on a day which, perhaps more than many, demonstrates the power of the community to reconcile very different - and sometimes difficult -people and to make possible a connections between us that I do not hesitate to call loving.
THE LEWES GATHERING.
Many have offered to me their visions of heavens
Where strife is absent, peace and love prevail,
But they are hollow, just another tale.
The world remains conflicted, at sixes and sevens.
A dream: I found myself in such a place –
A beautiful garden with flowers, shrubs and trees
Skilfully, subtly chosen with care to please
The eye and so create a heavenly space.
The people too, not one cross word was spoken.
We felt as one as we joined hearts and hands
With fellow spirits winging in from many lands
To experience with us a love not merely token.
It was no dream. It happened on a Summer’s day;
I’m left with a warmth no one can take away.
swgooner
29 August 2012 3:13PM
RIP Amy. Thank you Isonor for your kindness in being the bearer of sad news and PP for the wonderful tribute. If Amy taught me anything she taught me that everybody is entitled to their own point of view and to respect that. And, if you can do that after she has wound you up to breaking point, we will all be winners. xx
FerenjiNan
29 August 2012 3:18PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Now it will be only on the windy shores of imagination that I can share a spot of masala chai with Amy.
But on those far shores (or not so far) she'll have her place, secure and unique.
om mani padme hum.
spanishscot
29 August 2012 3:23PM
Response to brian289, 29 August 2012 3:13PM
That was lovely, Brian, thank you. And you were right. It is the right time. Life is a blend of joy and sorrow and this community of ours can do both.
MisspellAny
29 August 2012 3:59PM
Response to brian289, 29 August 2012 3:13PM
Thank you, Brian! i think it is a fitting moment for the sonnet - celebrating that bond between us. Amy was definitely one of the fellow spirits - even though she was not there in person. And the feelings we express for her are definitely not token.
Amy did lash - but in one of her posts, she admitted to lashing out in frustration, and sometimes in pain. This helped me understand her a lot better, and helped me to come to love and respect her. And she could be incredibly amusing! She had no truck with weakness, not even her own. A small woman who sometimes tried to take on the world!
NutTree
29 August 2012 6:04PM
Oh dear just got back from holiday to fnd such sad news.
I think I'll go back and check that nothing else awful has happened.
Thank you PP and Civvies for those wonderful tributes.
Love to you all, and to Amy's family
.
SillyAunt
29 August 2012 6:09PM
re Amy my first thoughts were searogue
bereft
So soon an affectionate jest became real.
Brian you're bloody brilliant. I wish I wuz a proper poet like you.
I'm just happy she and I always patched up.
Liuqnoj
29 August 2012 6:22PM
My favourite 2D is 'rubber buggy bumpers'. Try it out loud. It will take your mind off the sad news of Amy. Two of my neighbours have died this month - August rather a deathly time it seems.
civsum
29 August 2012 6:24PM
Response to brian289, 29 August 2012 3:13PM
A perfect time to express a truth, so beautifully. Thank you.
karankooks
29 August 2012 6:55PM
The crossword started promisingly, but then the perfume and the coastal structure pulled me back, combining with the ruler to keep EPT at bay.
Good thing the coastal structure was not included as an alternate spelling for an anatomical part!!!
Then I scrolled down to the comments and got a shocker. As a senior member of the QCC, Amy was the only one who used to dare to discipline any mischievous pranksters. In spite of me never having had too many conversations with her, her words and exceptionally strong spirit have left a big mark.
I am very glad to have known her and feel sad that she has left us for a better place. There is a big hollow in my heart now.
karankooks
29 August 2012 6:58PM
"Kheer" will never be the same again.
mrsmatisse
29 August 2012 7:11PM
I will miss Amy for all that toughness, unapologetic selfishness, dry wit, sharpness and clarity. And for allowing us to grapple with our responses, ourselves in relation to her. Ourselves in relation to aspects of ourselves we maybe don't share in our worlds outside the caff door. I am surprised by the grief I feel and am so touched that someone has been able to tell us. That Amy thought of that or that she knew people who realised her significance in here.
Civsum that really is a magnificent poem. Thank you.
On a lighter side we need more than PPs page...great though it will be of course. We need something very naughty.
I will be thinking of what Amy has to say. She will still be part of this great conversation.
mrsmatisse
29 August 2012 7:23PM
Cheated the snow and the Mexican
I enjoyed the sonnet Brian. We need beauty and reassurance.
deelfi62
29 August 2012 7:48PM
I've been think quite a lot about Amy today. I know she thought I was one of those lily-livered people who took refuge under the snooker table - and she was right, as I'm no good in confrontational situations. But I felt a real sadness when I read isonor's post earlier today. I've said it before - this café is quite extraordinary.
PreahPithu
29 August 2012 8:03PM
Response to mrsmatisse, 29 August 2012 7:23PM
I was thinking of 'An Amy’ award (like an Emmy but different) for the the 'Mad as Hell' post that is the Maddest and Hellist.
Embellishments and suggestions welcome.
peterkelly
29 August 2012 10:44PM
Ode to Amy
Opinions that never were samey,
She said, "The world just cannot tame me,"
Her will didn't bend,
As she fought to the end,
So farewell and rest in peace, Amy.
A remarkable personality; I will miss her presence here.
Misspelling
29 August 2012 11:10PM
Response to peterkelly, 29 August 2012 10:44PM
That's a lovely tribute to Amy, peterkelly!
kath55
29 August 2012 11:55PM
Response to peterkelly, 29 August 2012 10:44PM
Me too PK.
I have the feeling she said what a lot would like to say but we didn't quite have her bottle.So, wherever you are Amy, remember there were so many who respected your courage and indomitability.
backstagebear
30 August 2012 12:11AM
I've just skimmed yesterday's comments.....goodbye, Amy, your memory will live on in your magnificent fruitCAKE recipe
isonor
30 August 2012 12:14AM
Thanks to everyone who posted about Amy yesterday. I will copy your comments and pass them on to her sister. Amy was my Dad’s cousin. We never got to meet her, a family rift in the previous generations, but I got to know her a little here and through emails after I recognised her avatar picture of their Grandmother.
civsum
30 August 2012 12:22AM
PP - after my husband died I donated a crystal trophy to his C & C Yacht Club. It's awarded annually to the best performing C & C in the major overnight yacht race on the Chesapeake Bay. That way his memory lives on in his favorite milieu. I don't see that being any different to having a special virtual cup for Amy.
iguana2go
30 August 2012 12:25AM
Response to backstagebear, 30 August 2012 12:11AM
... and for introducing me to kheer - delicious winter comforting treat - as kooks also remembered
i have been having some adventures, kc, with some lovely people! it would be very good to have a southern hemispherical conflab when preah and nick arrive
i think the idea of an AMY award is a grand idea, preah!
NickWit23
30 August 2012 12:26AM
Response to isonor, 30 August 2012 12:14AM
isoner
Thanks for the message - and pass on to Amy's sister our appreciation of her phone call here. We were off Island today but her msg. was here when we got back.
SillyAunt
30 August 2012 12:36AM
re cyber friendship:
Spent 2 years on and off jousting with Amy, we were friend and foe.
I'm very very sad, but happy also.
kath55
30 August 2012 12:40AM
Response to isonor, 30 August 2012 12:14AM
Thanks for that insight. Families are certainly very very complex and I think many will recognise the reality of what you say and the influence of earlier generations.
I am sure Amy's sister will appreciate the comments made here despite the vagaries of family relations. Best wishes.
Xbones
30 Aug 2012, 11:41PM
RIP Amy. Neither Heaven or Earth will be the same. Many thanks for your stories. There is a character in "To Kill A Mockingbird" who you sometimes reminded me of; the woman Jeb is made to read for as an act of retribution. You did not go gentle...
All sympathy to your family and friends. And to Nellie...
Bye-bye Amy
fyodora
30 Aug 2012, 11:00AM
Perhaps my imagination is a little affected by yesterday's sad news, but I may have spotted a few Amy-related solutions in today's Quick crossword: 9 across, 13 across, 16 across - poignantly, and, for two reasons, 19 down. Part of the Chambers' definition for the latter, though well-known, is worth repeating: 'A cake, long in shape but short in duration, filled with cream'.
9a Puppy Love
13a Smarm (Superficially Ingratiating Behaviour)
16a Bye-Bye
19d Eclaire
mrsmatisse
30 Aug 2012, 10:18AM
Rather alot of 'unwords' today and I couldn't remember the fencing one...even though we've had it so many times!
Preah....you have made a wonderful page for Amy. Much appreciated. And I think she'd love a gong in her name. Something heavy and no nonsense.
stsally
30 Aug 2012, 9:29AM
I just want to add my sense of sadness at Amy's loss. I don't tend to comment anymore but usually look at the discussions in the morning when I do the crossword and enjoy the cafe then. Amy was such a vital member of the QCC.
FerenjiNan
30 Aug 2012, 7:43AM
Thinking of Amy all day, and little Nellie. Hope she will be taken care of; if I weren't soon to be homeless myself I'd volunteer to take her in...
Subernoj30 Aug 2012, 5:28AM
iggy - i think the idea of an AMY award is a grand idea, preah!
Seconded
Subernoj30 Aug 2012, 5:24AM
Welcome to the QCC, BazLee and PLKphoto - pull up a chair and help yourselves to a Black Sheep or Splothka (or any other drink wot takes yer fancy).
There should be some left-over CAKE , sticky buns or cheesy comestibles on the bar from dear Amy's wake yesterday.
PLKphoto
30 Aug 2012, 4:34AM
For some time now, I've been lurking in the background, reading comments, and waiting until I owed EPT to finally show myself...
Sorry to hear about Amy. I always enjoyed reading the discussions she sparked when they came up.
August 29 2012
isonor
29 August 2012 12:08AM
It is with much sadness that I must inform you all that Amy38 passed away on August 26.
civsum
29 August 2012 12:13AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Oh, that's dreadful news ! Thank you for telling us. I must now go away and be very sad.
isonor
29 August 2012 12:18AM
Completed with only one check - that one was for you Amy38.
LondonBBG
29 August 2012 12:22AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
That's very sad news for all of us here. Are you able to tell us any more?
guana2go
29 August 2012 12:32AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
That's shocking news - i hope you are kicking up a storm wherever you are, amy - being mad as hell.
MonkeyJammas
29 August 2012 12:34AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Thanks for telling us:-( very decent of you:-)
civsum
29 August 2012 1:02AM
To Amy
Disputatious, feisty
Not afraid to take us on.
Yet you captured our attention
With your stories out of India
A life so unlike our own.
You never sought our pity
When another roadblock hit.
You took it on and solved it
With your smartness and your grit.
OK, so you read The Mail on Line
An extraordinary flaw !
But it was to us you sent the
Most interesting stuff you saw.
It's one thing not to see a post
But sense that the posters there.
It's quite another to feel a void
When a cyber friend disappears.
Oh Amy how we'll miss you,
Now that your fight is done.
Such a very singular woman.
Hence my tears, now that you're gone.
Subernoj
29 August 2012 1:08AM
I knew Amy only too briefly as an avatar and a feisty lady that posted interesting comments on this site.
Your spirit will be missed but certainly not forgotten
Vale Amy
NickWit23
29 August 2012 2:40AM
Amy
A tough sometimes maddening but consistently outspoken voice that was a fixture in the Caff. Could not be knocked down or intimidated - a force to be reckoned with whose echo will be around for a good while.
The49LAD
29 August 2012 3:23AM
I too knew Amy only as a voice on the white pages of this web site. Always sad to hear of such events.
SillyAunt
29 August 2012 5:03AM
5am GMT. Should be asleep but my eyes are leaking.
SillyAunt
29 August 2012 6:09AM
"a band of rain shocking like gravel…"
civsum seek shelter from the storm.
I once sought reassurance from Amy after bad bad weather hit NY, and anguished in NZ when tectonics came to play.
This bloody caff takes me all over the place. From MsP's beau jardin to the windy shores of Imagination.
I Read Everything, but I'll share this scary planet while my heart keeps a beat.
(Planet A, planet B. What are you talking abou? Ed).
deelfi62
29 August 2012 7:36AM
Sorry to hear the news about Amy. She will be missed here by many.
cretansnakegoddess
29 August 2012 7:44AM
So sorry to hear about Amy - she was, in her own words, a tough cookie, and challenged us all, and kept us all on our intellectual toes! I admired her tremendously and loved her stories of her youth in India and early experiences in London and New York. I will miss her very individual voice in the caff. Don't know whether to toast her memory with tea or Black Sheep!
cretansnakegoddess
29 August 2012 7:46AM
Response to civsum, 29 August 2012 1:02AM
civs, a wonderful tribute, thank you. And PP, for the website. Amy would be growling about the thank-yous right about now.
annLian
29 August 2012 7:50AM
Very sad news. I too will miss Amy.
nellietheelphant
29 August 2012 8:12AM
Funnily FF and I were commenting on our last walk that we hadn't heard from Amy...now we know the reason.......Yes she was irritating but aren't we all to someone or other. She was a unique voice, intelligent, challenging, thoughtful and always interesting.
I don't read all the comments but always read her's and was left wishing to know more about her extraordinary life.
Now what will happen to little Nellie...I'm sure there has been provision made. We know she was a comfort to Amy, giving unconditional love as only a dog can.
I'm sorry that my efforts with the crossword did not honour you today Amy.....but you will be in my mind.
fyodora
29 August 2012 8:20AM
Goodbye, dear old Bombay Duck. R.I.P.
nellietheelphant
29 August 2012 8:50AM
I've just spoken with FF and he is as shocked as we all are....he has asked me to send a post from him in absentia -
How sad - she was a character.
boveyphil
29 August 2012 9:04AM
RIP Amy
MisspellAny
29 August 2012 9:05AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Isonor,
very sad news. I am so sorry. Amy will be missed here. I had my run-ins with her, but I came to love her. Her death leaves a huge gap here in the QCC. Amy, R.I.P.
lidell
29 August 2012 9:24AM
I have been missing Amy too, she would often storm off in a magnificent huff, but could always be persuaded to return.
In her last entry (6th August) she sniped at the setter, wished us well and took herself off to bed.
Good night Amy, sleep peacefully now...
brian289
29 August 2012 9:47AM
Response to PreahPithu, 29 August 2012 4:26AM
Thank you PP. And thank you Civsum. Such a fast and moving response.
spanishscot
29 August 2012 9:48AM
Rest in peace Amy.
I also had some run-ins with her but always admired her indomitable spirit, her feistiness, her wonderful stories from India and from her wild youth.
I hope she did not go gentle into that good night and that she raved at the dying of the light.
(See Dylan Thomas video at end of page)
Auntycraft
29 August 2012 10:27AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Thank you for letting us know - Amy was one of the contributors to the QCC, who made it so intriguing when I first peeped into the caff - I will miss her.
kc3184
29 August 2012 10:40AM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
RIP Amy,
very sad news. Hope Nellie has someone to love her as much as Amy did.
Kath55
29 August 2012 12:17PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
I was always pleased to see a comment from Amy - what she had to say was always so trenchant and magnificently unsentimental. I will miss her unique and uncompromising voice greatly.
Lafonte3
29 August 2012 12:32PM
Did anyone else learn 'red leather yellow leather' rather than the one that was given? Reminds me of that super book 'The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren' with the different area names for 'Fainites' etc.
Sorry Amy has died.
spanishscot
29 August 2012 1:10PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
isonor, thank you for letting us know. I read your comment last night and I was so shocked that all I could do was shut down the computer.
This morning, it was the first thing that came into my head. I read all the comments,PP's tribute, civsum's excellent poem, which sums her up so well and I was surprised that I could be so upset about someone I didn't really know and with whom I had had a few heated arguments from time to time.
But I think you can see from all the comments in the forum today that she really did make an impression and was a force to be reckoned with in the forum. I think she would have liked that very much.
Please, pass on our comments to her family because I think it will be a comfort to them to see that there are so many people all over the world mourning her passing. We are a real community of real people and Amy will certainly be missed.
starrock
29 August 2012 1:30PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
So sorry to hear this news.
I too shall miss her here.
Mussitate
29 August 2012 1:49PM
isonor
Thank you so much for letting us know. I feel wretched and truly upset. Amy was for justice and fairness and held her own with those that were not.
How lucky I was to have had contact with her and I shall not forget her.
Farewell beautiful Amy, I shed tears at your passing.
searogue
29 August 2012 2:13PM
"Hey, Cap'n! What takes you back home? Something to celebrate I hope! The mention of Idle/Bradford always brings to mind a big, hearty, red-cheeked chap from that area who was Chief Engineer of the project on which my employer was the contractor. John Maynard, with an accent so thick no one else could understand him! It was my job to decipher his weekly reports -- literally as his handwriting was appalling! I loved him; he was so down to earth. He and I entertained everyone at the company Xmas "party" (in quotes because it was such a dreary affair) by singing On Ilkley Moor bar tat (sp?) right through to the final "Then we will have eaten thee". Don't forget to visit the Indian restaurants -- better than any you'll find in India!"
Amy wrote this just before my trip back home. I thought about her often as I wandered around my old stomping grounds, thinking of the tales I would share with her on my return.
Amy lass, you'll be sorely missed by the Cap'n.
xword
29 August 2012 2:21PM
RIP Amy
elizabethdavid
29 August 2012 2:57PM
Like a few other posters, I was sometimes irritated by Amy, but I too was always drawn to her posts. I am particularly moved by the fact of her reconciliation with you PreahPithu: I remember the acrimony at the time. To have overcome that, sharing her vulnerability, is a great tribute to her personal virtue and strength, and of course to yours too PP. You are indeed a rock. Thank you for posting the pics and the comments. You are a valuable glue holding us together when required.
brian289
29 August 2012 3:13PM
I said I would write a sonnet about the Lewes gathering. I wondered if today was the time to post it, it being a sad day in caff, but perhaps that is the best day to post it. God knows it is not a brilliant sonnet, but it is the best I can do today. And it does celebrate our community on a day which, perhaps more than many, demonstrates the power of the community to reconcile very different - and sometimes difficult -people and to make possible a connections between us that I do not hesitate to call loving.
THE LEWES GATHERING.
Many have offered to me their visions of heavens
Where strife is absent, peace and love prevail,
But they are hollow, just another tale.
The world remains conflicted, at sixes and sevens.
A dream: I found myself in such a place –
A beautiful garden with flowers, shrubs and trees
Skilfully, subtly chosen with care to please
The eye and so create a heavenly space.
The people too, not one cross word was spoken.
We felt as one as we joined hearts and hands
With fellow spirits winging in from many lands
To experience with us a love not merely token.
It was no dream. It happened on a Summer’s day;
I’m left with a warmth no one can take away.
swgooner
29 August 2012 3:13PM
RIP Amy. Thank you Isonor for your kindness in being the bearer of sad news and PP for the wonderful tribute. If Amy taught me anything she taught me that everybody is entitled to their own point of view and to respect that. And, if you can do that after she has wound you up to breaking point, we will all be winners. xx
FerenjiNan
29 August 2012 3:18PM
Response to isonor, 29 August 2012 12:08AM
Now it will be only on the windy shores of imagination that I can share a spot of masala chai with Amy.
But on those far shores (or not so far) she'll have her place, secure and unique.
om mani padme hum.
spanishscot
29 August 2012 3:23PM
Response to brian289, 29 August 2012 3:13PM
That was lovely, Brian, thank you. And you were right. It is the right time. Life is a blend of joy and sorrow and this community of ours can do both.
MisspellAny
29 August 2012 3:59PM
Response to brian289, 29 August 2012 3:13PM
Thank you, Brian! i think it is a fitting moment for the sonnet - celebrating that bond between us. Amy was definitely one of the fellow spirits - even though she was not there in person. And the feelings we express for her are definitely not token.
Amy did lash - but in one of her posts, she admitted to lashing out in frustration, and sometimes in pain. This helped me understand her a lot better, and helped me to come to love and respect her. And she could be incredibly amusing! She had no truck with weakness, not even her own. A small woman who sometimes tried to take on the world!
NutTree
29 August 2012 6:04PM
Oh dear just got back from holiday to fnd such sad news.
I think I'll go back and check that nothing else awful has happened.
Thank you PP and Civvies for those wonderful tributes.
Love to you all, and to Amy's family
.
SillyAunt
29 August 2012 6:09PM
re Amy my first thoughts were searogue
bereft
So soon an affectionate jest became real.
Brian you're bloody brilliant. I wish I wuz a proper poet like you.
I'm just happy she and I always patched up.
Liuqnoj
29 August 2012 6:22PM
My favourite 2D is 'rubber buggy bumpers'. Try it out loud. It will take your mind off the sad news of Amy. Two of my neighbours have died this month - August rather a deathly time it seems.
civsum
29 August 2012 6:24PM
Response to brian289, 29 August 2012 3:13PM
A perfect time to express a truth, so beautifully. Thank you.
karankooks
29 August 2012 6:55PM
The crossword started promisingly, but then the perfume and the coastal structure pulled me back, combining with the ruler to keep EPT at bay.
Good thing the coastal structure was not included as an alternate spelling for an anatomical part!!!
Then I scrolled down to the comments and got a shocker. As a senior member of the QCC, Amy was the only one who used to dare to discipline any mischievous pranksters. In spite of me never having had too many conversations with her, her words and exceptionally strong spirit have left a big mark.
I am very glad to have known her and feel sad that she has left us for a better place. There is a big hollow in my heart now.
karankooks
29 August 2012 6:58PM
"Kheer" will never be the same again.
mrsmatisse
29 August 2012 7:11PM
I will miss Amy for all that toughness, unapologetic selfishness, dry wit, sharpness and clarity. And for allowing us to grapple with our responses, ourselves in relation to her. Ourselves in relation to aspects of ourselves we maybe don't share in our worlds outside the caff door. I am surprised by the grief I feel and am so touched that someone has been able to tell us. That Amy thought of that or that she knew people who realised her significance in here.
Civsum that really is a magnificent poem. Thank you.
On a lighter side we need more than PPs page...great though it will be of course. We need something very naughty.
I will be thinking of what Amy has to say. She will still be part of this great conversation.
mrsmatisse
29 August 2012 7:23PM
Cheated the snow and the Mexican
I enjoyed the sonnet Brian. We need beauty and reassurance.
deelfi62
29 August 2012 7:48PM
I've been think quite a lot about Amy today. I know she thought I was one of those lily-livered people who took refuge under the snooker table - and she was right, as I'm no good in confrontational situations. But I felt a real sadness when I read isonor's post earlier today. I've said it before - this café is quite extraordinary.
PreahPithu
29 August 2012 8:03PM
Response to mrsmatisse, 29 August 2012 7:23PM
I was thinking of 'An Amy’ award (like an Emmy but different) for the the 'Mad as Hell' post that is the Maddest and Hellist.
Embellishments and suggestions welcome.
peterkelly
29 August 2012 10:44PM
Ode to Amy
Opinions that never were samey,
She said, "The world just cannot tame me,"
Her will didn't bend,
As she fought to the end,
So farewell and rest in peace, Amy.
A remarkable personality; I will miss her presence here.
Misspelling
29 August 2012 11:10PM
Response to peterkelly, 29 August 2012 10:44PM
That's a lovely tribute to Amy, peterkelly!
kath55
29 August 2012 11:55PM
Response to peterkelly, 29 August 2012 10:44PM
Me too PK.
I have the feeling she said what a lot would like to say but we didn't quite have her bottle.So, wherever you are Amy, remember there were so many who respected your courage and indomitability.
backstagebear
30 August 2012 12:11AM
I've just skimmed yesterday's comments.....goodbye, Amy, your memory will live on in your magnificent fruitCAKE recipe
isonor
30 August 2012 12:14AM
Thanks to everyone who posted about Amy yesterday. I will copy your comments and pass them on to her sister. Amy was my Dad’s cousin. We never got to meet her, a family rift in the previous generations, but I got to know her a little here and through emails after I recognised her avatar picture of their Grandmother.
civsum
30 August 2012 12:22AM
PP - after my husband died I donated a crystal trophy to his C & C Yacht Club. It's awarded annually to the best performing C & C in the major overnight yacht race on the Chesapeake Bay. That way his memory lives on in his favorite milieu. I don't see that being any different to having a special virtual cup for Amy.
iguana2go
30 August 2012 12:25AM
Response to backstagebear, 30 August 2012 12:11AM
... and for introducing me to kheer - delicious winter comforting treat - as kooks also remembered
i have been having some adventures, kc, with some lovely people! it would be very good to have a southern hemispherical conflab when preah and nick arrive
i think the idea of an AMY award is a grand idea, preah!
NickWit23
30 August 2012 12:26AM
Response to isonor, 30 August 2012 12:14AM
isoner
Thanks for the message - and pass on to Amy's sister our appreciation of her phone call here. We were off Island today but her msg. was here when we got back.
SillyAunt
30 August 2012 12:36AM
re cyber friendship:
Spent 2 years on and off jousting with Amy, we were friend and foe.
I'm very very sad, but happy also.
kath55
30 August 2012 12:40AM
Response to isonor, 30 August 2012 12:14AM
Thanks for that insight. Families are certainly very very complex and I think many will recognise the reality of what you say and the influence of earlier generations.
I am sure Amy's sister will appreciate the comments made here despite the vagaries of family relations. Best wishes.
Xbones
30 Aug 2012, 11:41PM
RIP Amy. Neither Heaven or Earth will be the same. Many thanks for your stories. There is a character in "To Kill A Mockingbird" who you sometimes reminded me of; the woman Jeb is made to read for as an act of retribution. You did not go gentle...
All sympathy to your family and friends. And to Nellie...
Bye-bye Amy
fyodora
30 Aug 2012, 11:00AM
Perhaps my imagination is a little affected by yesterday's sad news, but I may have spotted a few Amy-related solutions in today's Quick crossword: 9 across, 13 across, 16 across - poignantly, and, for two reasons, 19 down. Part of the Chambers' definition for the latter, though well-known, is worth repeating: 'A cake, long in shape but short in duration, filled with cream'.
9a Puppy Love
13a Smarm (Superficially Ingratiating Behaviour)
16a Bye-Bye
19d Eclaire
mrsmatisse
30 Aug 2012, 10:18AM
Rather alot of 'unwords' today and I couldn't remember the fencing one...even though we've had it so many times!
Preah....you have made a wonderful page for Amy. Much appreciated. And I think she'd love a gong in her name. Something heavy and no nonsense.
stsally
30 Aug 2012, 9:29AM
I just want to add my sense of sadness at Amy's loss. I don't tend to comment anymore but usually look at the discussions in the morning when I do the crossword and enjoy the cafe then. Amy was such a vital member of the QCC.
FerenjiNan
30 Aug 2012, 7:43AM
Thinking of Amy all day, and little Nellie. Hope she will be taken care of; if I weren't soon to be homeless myself I'd volunteer to take her in...
Subernoj30 Aug 2012, 5:28AM
iggy - i think the idea of an AMY award is a grand idea, preah!
Seconded
Subernoj30 Aug 2012, 5:24AM
Welcome to the QCC, BazLee and PLKphoto - pull up a chair and help yourselves to a Black Sheep or Splothka (or any other drink wot takes yer fancy).
There should be some left-over CAKE , sticky buns or cheesy comestibles on the bar from dear Amy's wake yesterday.
PLKphoto
30 Aug 2012, 4:34AM
For some time now, I've been lurking in the background, reading comments, and waiting until I owed EPT to finally show myself...
Sorry to hear about Amy. I always enjoyed reading the discussions she sparked when they came up.
fyodora
31 August 2012 6:25PM
To isonor
I have been revisiting some of Amy's postings and came upon this, from 23 Feb 2011:
From Amy, 23 Feb, 2011 7.08PM
4All I said I'd be quiet for a while, but everyone seems to need a little cheer. So here is a new dogberryism from a friend to make you smile:
While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes.'
(I want this line used at my funeral!)
This may be a bit late, but it would be good if it could be read out at the service; Amy would certainly approve.
31 August 2012 6:25PM
To isonor
I have been revisiting some of Amy's postings and came upon this, from 23 Feb 2011:
From Amy, 23 Feb, 2011 7.08PM
4All I said I'd be quiet for a while, but everyone seems to need a little cheer. So here is a new dogberryism from a friend to make you smile:
While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes.'
(I want this line used at my funeral!)
This may be a bit late, but it would be good if it could be read out at the service; Amy would certainly approve.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Dylan Thomas
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
Posted by Spanish Scot 9.48 am
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
Posted by Spanish Scot 9.48 am