RECOLLECTIONS OF GRANNY LIL

The recollections that I have of Granny Lil are exceedingly fond.

Lilias Mary Punnett, née Fraser, born in St. Vincent in 1882, was quintessentially the matriarch of the Punnett family. A noble and gracious lady, to whom I was only too glad to pay homage. She opened her doors of hospitality on the morning of each Sabbath, and at six o’clock, when the sun had gone over the yard-arm each day of the week. It was customary to arrive without notice, and one could be sure she had taken thought and care in her toilette for that day. An elegant dress was worn, her lovely white hair neatly coiffed, and always a pair of drop earrings suspended from her ears.

Although she was totally blind through glaucoma, which she had had for many years, the visitor soon forgot her dreadful affliction. As soon as she heard footsteps approaching her chair, her right hand would reach out for the caller’s hand to take. This preliminary was accompanied by a ready smile, and never failed to say how happy she was to ‘see’ me.

Invariably a half-finished floor mat, made from multi-coloured cotton material, lay either in a basket on the floor beside her, or was on her lap. This material had been previously cut into strips by her daughter-in- law, Eithne, wife of Jack Punnett, Granny Lil’s eldest of her four sons, of Cane Grove Estate, and Eithne would deliver them to Granny Lil, when the supply needed to be replenished.  Granny would painstakingly plait and sew them all together, to make a beautiful circular mat. Many of these were to be seen in a splash of colour on highly polished floors of the Punnett homes.

She was the nucleus, the very foundation of the Punnett family, and as a foreigner recently landed from distant shores, shy and introverted, and slowly adjusting to this beautiful tropical island, I was welcomed warmly and lovingly by this remarkable lady, and in turn by the Punnett family as a whole.

May the memory of Granny Lil live forever, and her courage and indomitable spirit be an example to all of us, to be passed down through the generations to come.

Geraldine Punnett Golffing Alongi

Lilias and John Punnett