She's gone cuckoo? ....

Dear Mr Postman .. are you bringing me one of my own letters - a Hilary's snippet about my own mother .. good! -

It's not comfortable is it? .. "a/an Hilary's snippets" .. (which should it be "a" or "an"?) - still ne'er mind dear readers .. I'm quite sure you'll get the gist of my words .. this postive story is true!! Just before I start .. please tell me if you don't understand my English sayings .. & I'll add them in to my snippets by way of explanation .. if I have to be educated .. so do you!!

My Ma suddenly in mid November 2008 asked me what "Emanuensis" is .. I just opened my eyes wide, laughed & asked her to repeat the word .. I'd never heard of it .. & thought she'd finally gone 'cuckoo' - well she repeated it ... but as I had no hook .. I said I'd look .. but then forgot. 10 days later she asked me again .. I then asked her to spell it (remember she's been bedridden for two years & can't read or effectively do anything for herself) .. out came the spelling as above: this time I thought I'd better do something?? I was still laughing ... in pure amazement ...

I did forget for a few days ..but because I'd written it down - remembered the word .. it's not in my dictionary (spelt that way) .. but on Googling it .. up it came .. I selected the definition that I knew my Ma would relate to .. "Plato was Socrates' Emanuensis" ... so I told my Ma .. & added Emanuensis is a sort of scribe ... my mother immediately retorted "dogsbody" ... in English! = the person who gets all the worst jobs.

Yesterday she used the term again .. so you tell me what's wrong with that brain .. ?? I tell you I am kept very much on my toes .. not much slips by ... I asked her where the word had come from ..ie the connection .. Mum answered "Mrs Mills" .. I didn't know who Mrs Mills was .. so off on another track we went!! .. Mrs Mills was the mother of an old friend .. whom Mum had nursed & cared for to her death about 20 years ago in her Residential Care Home, which she had owned!!

Thankyou for bringing me these memories Mr Postman .. perhaps you'll have another tomorrow? ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher

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