02/01/2026
10 years ago today I posted in memory of a dear friend, Margaret.
Today I share that post again, on her 10 year anniversary, in the hope of inspiring others to share a smile or have that cup of tea with the elders of our world....who are of course, still young at heart. ❤
In 2008 I phoned Friends of the Elderly and told them that I had some free time and I’d like to visit an elderly person who needed some company.
They matched me up with Margaret. The weeks went by, the months went by...and before you knew it, 7 years went by. Every week for 7 years I visited Margaret for tea and chats and always 2 slices of cake.
She taught me how make scones, how to look after plants (even though they continue to die on me). She told me about growing-up in Offaly in the 1930’s, how she met her first husband at a dance and her second husband at mass in Finglas. She taught me how to wring a chicken’s neck, how to dry turf, and in recent times how to use her wheelchair. She told me about her mother’s homemade DIY dolls and how happy she was when she got her first real doll from a neighbour who had gone to England.
Margaret came to my theatre shows, she met my clown ‘Dr Razzmatazz’. We had Aoife’s Nail Salon and Aoife’s Exercise & Breathing Classes nearly every week in her sitting room, and sometimes a private concert with my guitar.
I taught her about the internet and how to make spaghetti bolognese. I introduced her to green tea! She was having none of it! She loved Nanny McPhee. We had ice cream on Dollymount beach, dinner in Sutton, we danced together at the Christmas party just 3 weeks ago, we went to mass, to Liffey Valley to buy a nice blouse, we went on a cruise on the river Shannon.
We rested when she was too tired to continue...and we always had tea! We talked about our feelings and about the death of her younger brother. Sometimes we didn’t talk as she was too tired. And so we just sat. Sat in the warmth of the circle of friendship, knowing that someone is beside you and sometimes words aren’t needed.
With 50 years in the difference - friendship has no age.
Who would have thought that I would find my 3rd Nana and my oldest and wisest friend in Margaret.
She was my best teacher. She taught me patience, kindness, compassion and the art of slowing down.
On Tuesday I will sing at her funeral.
Margaret is now with the stars in the cosmos.
✨RIP 08/03/1928 – 30/12/2015✨
