My earliest memories of my Grandma are probably from when I was about 4 or 5 years old. I had met her previous to this but due to my Grandparents living in the USA, when I was old enough to remember them between visits it was like the first time meeting them......thus my Grandma was called “New Grandma”. This became her name throughout my childhood, we had New Grandma and New Grandad. With my Grandparents living in the USA and there being no internet in the 70's I did not have regular contact with them however having Grandparents living in Florida did have it's advantages, so we would pack up and go off to Fort Lauderdale to visit them. This would obviously have to include a trip to Disney World, the Kennedy Space Centre and many other places a child growing up in the 70's would only dream of visiting. To a child this made my New Grandma very, very cool! I remember well, walking around these places with a lovely, beautiful, glamorous, long haired Grandma at my side. Eventually my Grandparents moved back to the UK and settled in Stalybridge, but Grandma brought her car back with her, a pale blue Oldsmobile which would later be upgraded to a Chevrolet Camaro. She never drove a 'normal' British car and was well known around Stalybridge as the old lady who drove the big American car. People still remember her to this day. My Grandma brought lots of 'Americanisms' back from the USA with her and had the quirkiest tastes and various items around the house that we were only allowed to look at such as a stuffed alligator and a dolls house that had lights including a miniature Christmas tree. My best Christmas present from her was my Barbie motor home. This you must understand was no ordinary Barbie motor home that you would get in the UK it was a huge yellow thing. I was under orders 'not to tell Grandad'. As a teenager I would often stay on the bus on my way home from school and get off near Grandma and Grandads house. They had a huge hairy German Shepherd who would jump all over me. I had to sit down with a sheet over me then they would let him loose to jump on me. My Grandma became a widow when I was 19 years old. She looked after my Grandad and was the perfect wife. Becoming a widow did not however destroy my Grandma’s zest for life and she soon began travelling again, visiting friends in the States. When I was 21 years old I decided to go and join her on one of these jaunts to America. She was already over there and I only flew out for a week. She picked me up from Miami Airport and drove me to the Pelican Beach Resort where we stayed for 2 nights. We then went to Miami Beach and stayed at the Thunderbird Hotel. This holiday mostly involved sitting by the pool for me and shopping (mostly shopping for Grandma). We took it turns buying dinner each evening. When it was Grandma's turn we went to posh restaurants and when it was mine we went to McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts. What I am trying to say is that my Grandma was like a 'best friend' to me and we had fun together. We would talk for ages on the phone about this and that and generally put the world to rights but even when this eventually became too difficult for Grandma however there was nothing that warmed my heart more than hearing the joy in her voice when she answered the phone and realised it was me, or when her face lit up when I visited her. Even when her health was failing you would sometimes see the spark of who she once was. I will never forget how she once introduced me to the ladies at her dining table “This is my Grandaughter, she likes to give out orders”, this was followed by her cheeky smile. My Grandma was a special lady, witty, funny but most of all a wonderful and much loved Grandmother and Great Grandmother. She will be missed but also remembered fondly for all the fantastic memories she has left. Sleep well Grandma.