Looking back to look forward - Book Awards & New Adventures 👵🏼🦋🌈

This was us live on Channel 4 - my mask never came off even when live on lunchtime nationall tv in the UK.

** Love if you might like to hit the play button above to listen to me read this piece to you….I added in a little special message at the end of the audio recording just for you x

Today in my Substack, I had another post nearly ready to go but in true last minute Lou form I’ve decided to change the topic and write a brand new one just as I should be going to bed ✨

This day next week November 3rd- will be the day I find out if my and gran’s book makes it out of the shortlist of the best non fiction book category at the CAP Awards in Dublin and if we might take the top prize. Genuinely I haven’t given much thought to winning, more the pride in my heart to be recognised means so much more to me.✨

Since I’m missing the other part of my story and my heart in this moment, just to make it to the final six means so much to me on so many levels, as a granddaughter, as a full-time carer, as a best friend, as the broken hearted left behind but most importantly for the legacy that was left in my hands as a writer. It’s the stuff of dreams to be recognised for a nomination like this so for that alone I am so grateful… and it was in this thinking & in the honour of the woman herself, I found myself looking back at some of the magic we created together for her 107th birthday so I could look forward.

The Big Birthday

I have to be honest, I spent months planning and plotting and dreaming how could I celebrate the oldest woman in Ireland in the middle of a covid pandemic - it wasn’t going to be easy but no way was I going to let a pandemic stop me from celebrating her. It all seems like a dream now thinking back but thank god for my unrelenting determination to create and my innate want to give love in every shape to someone I care about. I have to give myself that much - when I love ya, I love ya and I won’t be backwards about coming forward and letting you know you’re important to me. In this instance I think without doubt, Gran knew I loved her as the celebration of her 107th was indeed very special in so many ways.

Masks getting in the way but they saved our lives

One thing I’m very grateful for now, is the amount of footage I captured and to so many people who helped me capture Gran at that time too. We were indeed locked into our houses all across the world - hard to imagine it was real now - but my god it was. I was absolutely living on my nerves about Gran getting covid. The dread of me ever giving it to her had me so stress so I made a decision very early on that I would go absolutely nowhere and I wore my mask night noon and morning with her - sadly she never saw my smile from the day covid arrived in its full force to the day she left. But I guess she’s seeing it from Heaven now but it’s hard to think back, that I never got to take my mask off with her and give her a kiss but then I have to remind myself, Gran never got Covid in the 18 months we were together so my loss was indeed the life giving move I hope it would be…..

Capturing the magic to keep forever

Anyways back to her birthday ……So I couldn’t let her life or her birthday be forgotten even if it was October 2020. So after many nights and weeks staying up till the early hours with my journal plotting and planning and with a tight inner circle of friends who I will forever be grateful for & a community and parish around me that just came together on every idea I put forward, we came up with a super dooper drive by birthday along with lots more. Even though we were apart because of covid you will see in the videos below, Gran’s birthday was something very very special. I’ve actually just cried my heart out looking at these videos (I haven’t watched them since her passing) but I actually know they will make you smile from ear to ear. The drive by birthday party was such a hit - we all felt alive inside like never before. Hundred’s turned out and it was beyond words… Gran absolutely loved it and so did I and everyone who was there .

As I head towards one year forward since the book was released and as I head towards the ceremony for the book award this is the moment to share Granny Nancy magic all over again - especially if you didn’t know me or her at that time, I think you will get an insight into what attracted so many to Granny Nancy and I hope it brings a smile across your face :)

Just also to mention another aspect of those years was our writings together….We released a very special ‘Letter of Hope’ that myself and Gran put together and it went viral across the world at the time. We followed it with the ‘Letter of Light’ which again gained great interest and then I had written the ‘Letter of Love’ for her 108th birthday which sadly she left just one month beforehand. I read the ‘Letter of Love’ as her eulogy at her graveside and I will share in here in time to come.

Hope you enjoy these snippets of the love we shared and know that if you hold back in this life, you will miss out. But if you step forward and send your love out, you will be met with not only open arms but memories to last a lifetime and a whole lot of love in your heart. Love your friends who love you. Love your family who love you. And in turn, you will love YOU very much and this is what life is all about xx

PS. I have a little bit of news down the very bottom, hope you might like to attend and be part of something special I’m beginning in the month of November x

And my other piece of news I’d love to share with you my substack family is the following…..You and the fb family are the first to know ;) Might see you there ;) x

Keep looking up x

Love if you might leave a comment if you’ve enjoyed this post/audio today! your words means so much to me and thanks so much for being here. If you might like to subscribe for free, we can keep in touch forever and ever until I live among the stars and then I will still shine my light down upon you x