'life in the letters' - Nanny Ina

An old photo that Mom has in her Wedderburn History Album

The calm voice of Nanny Ina imbues her letters between 1959 and 1962 with the sense of everyday life. Her garden, the weather, vehicle problems, progress of planting and harvesting on the farm.
 'The garden is coming along nicely I have planted out three boxes of plants and next week must do the dahlias, they were all watered yesterday. The wisteria climbing up the almond tree is full  of blossom and will be very pretty each year now.'

She updates my folks on family news -
Uncle Ralph's foot getting better in the September '59 letter and Ian having his birthday party;
Aunty Dolly taking her for a perm in the October '61 letter and a movie and how excited she is to have an outing (letter below);
Uncle Bobby's promotion to Transport Supervision and second in charge in South Africa in the November '61 ' the chap resigned and Bob got his job'; and in a later letter that they will be moving to Parkhurst, Johannesburg;
Shirley buying Dinkie Toys;
Aunty Dolly 'got the wool OK and is just dying to get stuck  in to the knitting, just can't wait for the weekend to come now';

And each letter is newsy about extended family, friends, births, weddings, the happy and the suffering that was happening around her during those years.

I feel her suffering in the letters.
Her concern for "Dad" or Pa as she sometimes called him, is evident in each letter. His health is failing, diabetes, insulin, weight loss.

She describes the pain in her legs and feet, the giddiness and shares a diagnosis with the folks that it is peripheral neuritis caused by the diabetes.
The last letter, 7 August 1962, she writes:
'I am still having such giddiness and they don't seem to get anything to clear it up. I'm sick of feeling under par, as for pills I've really had them.'

I will end not on her passing but that she was the beauty of our family and we continue to hold her in awe.

'I bought a pretty moss green hat and gloves to wear with my purple blue-green frock and the hat will also go well with the other dress, roses on the green, white background.'

In loving memory of our Grandmother, Nanny Ina.
Ina Moody Wedderburn.