Auntie Sarah is 80

April 2007

The way in which Sarah entered my life, and stayed there, is a lovely story.  We first met on an Internet chat site called Yahoo 360 (who remembers that?) and quickly discovered that we had many interests in common.  The friendship grew, and in April 2007 I travelled from my home in Cornwall to hers in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for a 3-day break.  When I returned home I wrote in my blog, which in those days was called Angie's Adventures:

Auntie is a very well educated lady – an Oxbridge graduate and former university tutor – which naturally makes this 11+ failure feel somewhat inferior, in a nice sort of way. She uses words like reciprocity in casual conversation and has an impressive knowledge of music and literature. I've come home with a distinctly cultured glow and the sound of fine choral works still ringing in my ears.

July 2009 beside the River Tees, above High Force

I think it was during a second visit, later that year, that half-jokingly I called my new friend "Auntie". She smiled and remarked, "I'm very comfortable with that," and ever since that day she's been my favourite Aunt  – indeed, my only aunt, as all my 'real' ones have died.

Our most treasured achievement since then has been to celebrate every New Year together with a fondue meal and a bottle of bubbly.  Only the Covid pandemic intervened, forcing us to celebrate New Year in July.  We take it in turns – one year at Chez Angie and the next at Chez Sarah. 

A lot has happened over the past 15 years; Auntie has married, been widowed and found love again. And, of course, we have all grown older!  This week Auntie celebrated her 80th birthday with a grand family gathering at a posh hotel in Darlington. S- and I were invited and were treated to champagne (of course), a lovely 3-course evening meal, rather a lot of red wine, and full English breakfast on the following morning.

In the lap of luxury.  Here I am, waiting for the other guests to gather. This room, at the bottom of the grand staircase, is about as big as my house.

From my comfortable sofa, I watched a couple of family members photographing themselves in the mirror that graced the grand staircase. "What a good idea," I thought.

Stars of the show: Auntie Sarah, with her partner Michael.