30 June 2025
This morning in the Grange Pavilion FAN group, we shared memories of our friend Sylvia who died ten days ago. Others of you may know her from the FAN Plus Walking and FAN Plus Heritage groups.
Sylvia was a highly valued and very loyal member of our group for over five years and regularly entertained us with stories of the joys and trials of her life. She was a strong, feisty woman with a dry sense of humour and was an example to us all in her final weeks.
Today we shared memories of her love of music and her many kindnesses. We laughed over how she always knew her own mind and was not afraid to share her views - and how one day she surprised us (and I think herself!) when she announced she’d joined a walking football group. Her love of animals was intense and she fed several feral cats and hedgehogs in her garden. During the long period of Covid lockdown and restrictions, she was a lively contributor to our weekly email newsletter and helped to keep us all in touch and sane during difficult times.
FAN meant a great deal to Sylvia and she shared her thoughts in a Creative Writing workshop during our FAN 20th Anniversary celebrations. This is what she wrote and they are wonderful words to remember her by:
FAN
I bring with me
excitement of seeing my friends
and hope they are all OK.
Patience for listening to David
going past his allotted time.
Interest in everyone’s week.
I bring with me
hope that I have something
to contribute.
Smiles at jokes being told
Advice on how to get the
Last bit out of the toothpaste tube.
Memories of the journey
from Australia to Austria.
Going through the Suez Canal
It brings me
Something to look forward to.
It brings me
Pleasure listening to others.
It brings me
A sense of belonging,
A meeting of minds
It brings me
Different opinions
to consider during the week
It brings me
Reasons to keep my mind open
It brings me
A reason not to hate Monday.