Saturday 17 May 2014

Saying goodbye to Squibbs.

This week I had to say a very sorry goodbye to a wonderful lady.

Her name was Doris Flack, but everyone knew her as the ever-lovable Squibbs! She was 102 when she sadly left this world, but what a 102 years they were!

She was born in London in 1911. She loved to dance and joined dance troupes who toured and performed everywhere!

I first met Squibbs when her daughter asked me to make a photo slideshow for her 95th birthday party. Her daughter, Gay, has been a family friend since I can remember so I agreed happily, thinking it would just be some normal family pictures.Then the photo albums arrived.

They were filled with signed pictures of starlets and actors from the past 80 years, old theatre posters and hilarious images of Squibbs in her hay day. I was invited to the birthday party and couldn't wait to meet her, though knowing she was 95 I figured she her spirits might have been dampened as the years went by.

Squibbs did not disappoint. She was wearing a purple suit with matching purple eye shadow and hot pink lipstick.  She giggled at the images, reminiscing and telling stories to go with the pictures. Sipping on her daily Guinness she told me one tale and getting caught out with 2 chaps in a car, in what could have been a dangerous situation for a girl on her own. When they tried to convince her to go astray she simply replied "F*** off" and walked home. I spat my drink everywhere because I wasn't expecting such an elderly lady to be so youthful!!

She had such an impact that I used her photo as one of my table pictures at my wedding. I had images of starlets from the 40s and 50s as table names and thought Squibbs belonged there too. This same picture was used on the funeral order of service.

I was invited to her 100th birthday party and made another slideshow for her. No duplicates were needed because she had so many photos to choose from. She thanked me in a lovely note and said it was like watching a film of her life.

What an absolute legend of a lady. She drank Guinness like it was water and even until the very end wore her hot pink lipstick and purple eye shadow. Instead of flowers my Dad asked me to make the family name cloud frames. Flowers slowly die, whereas these name clouds will last forever.

She was one of the most colourful, hilarious, lively, fascinating women I have ever had the pleasure to meet and this world will be a much emptier place without her presence. If I live to be even close to her age I hope I have the ability to be as fun, interesting and courageous as she was. As her great grand daughter said after her funeral service, the legend will live on, probably another 102 years!

Goodbye Squibbs x

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