Tribute to My Mum, Elspeth Boyle
17th July 2017 by William Boyle
Elspeth Boyle, my mum, passed away unexpectedly on the morning of 2nd July, but we can be glad that she did so peacefully without any pain. The news came as a great shock to all, her family, friends and neighbours. When I spoke to her on a video call the afternoon before, her close friend Christine was there and they were having a good blether. She seemed very happy and was looking forward to her trip to stay with my wife Jane and I for ten days to celebrate Jane’s 60th birthday. This Wednesday, in just two days’ time, she would have been using her brand new Senior Railcard for a bargain first class rail trip to Euston with lots of cups of tea and as many cakes as she could wish for. As you know, my mum loved a celebration, whether it was a dinner, a holiday or a party – and I will return to this theme. She was looking forward to getting to our house a day ahead of her niece Elizabeth with husband Lindsay who will arrive from Australia on Thursday. They were looking forward to seeing Aunty Elspeth again, as were other family members and friends my mum knew well. But I also know that Elspeth was very settled in her wee semi in Cardonald and so she would also have been looking forward to getting home again, for more blethering as she shared the stories of her holiday down south with her friends and neighbours, before phoning, or Skyping, her family worldwide with her tales. So many have said to me those comforting words, that when it is our own time it would be so nice to depart quietly with dignity as Elspeth did, after a long and relatively healthy life. So although she has missed out on a few parties to come, I can agree that she had a good exit and has left us all with so many memories to cherish of someone who was still bright and fit at 86. Yes, 86 years old and I cannot do justice to all of these years but I will cover some of the highlights of this long life in this very short tribute.
Elizabeth Gray Hamilton, born on 18th March 1931, was always known as Elspeth to ensure she was not called Lizzie – like her own mother. She was brought up in Neilston, near Barrhead, with her three sisters and two brothers. The family were well known in what was then quite a small village; her dad once delivered milk by horse and cart and became a grocer, manager of the local Co-op. They had an extended family through aunts, uncles and cousins that also stayed in the village or nearby. Her big sister Marion, now 90, has travelled with her daughters from Whitley Bay to be with us today, and then her wee sister, Janette, is joining the webcast of this service from her home in Canada, with our cousins there. When I say “wee” when referring to her youngest sister, I should also say that Elspeth was a bit under-tall, she never reached 5 feet and one of her nicknames in later life was “wee troot”. What she lacked in inches though, she made up for in little grey cells and determination. She had a good education in the village in the local primary school and then Barrhead High, which stood her in good stead for the years ahead. She also took night classes on book-keeping, which helped get a job in Glasgow.
There, in her early twenties, she met her husband, George Boyle, who was with the army at the time and also a wee fella, and so they were well matched. They were both a whizz on the dance floor – a skill I might add that my two left feet have never mastered. So literally swept her off her feet, they married in 1954, and I arrived a year later, followed in two years by my brother Stephen and 18 months later by my sister Catherine. We spent out early years in Tollcross in Glasgow. We lived in a dilapidated tenement with an outside staircase called Paddy’s Castle that had already been condemned by the council. One cupboard opened out to a hole in the outside wall where the previous tenant and fed pigeons. After trying to get the fire to work, a council workman cheekily told Elspeth “A widny tear away any mair wallpaper, hen, or yer hoose might fa doon”. Then the council decided to demolish Paddy’s Castle – about time! So we moved to another house in Tollcross. Money was very tight then, but Elspeth was given a Singer treadle sowing machine and would run up curtains and hem clothes for neighbours to help make ends meet But we had some good times, often spending time with my dad’s brother’s family; my Uncle Neil, Aunt Rena and our cousins Irene and Marion, who lived on nearby Tollcross Road towards Parkhead.
Then with our dad changing jobs, we moved a bit upmarket into a huge flat in Pollokshields, with high ceilings and a hall big enough for a table tennis table – that was fun! Soon after, we moved again in Pollokshields because our dad had a new job for King’s & Co. a road-stone company. He was the office caretaker with a house included. My mum also by this time could work full time as we were now at secondary school. Both mum and dad wanted us to be well educated, and were proud of our achievements. Stephen and I went to Allen Glen’s School and then onto Glasgow University, and Catherine to the Girl’s High then Bellahouston Academy. The move to King’s in Pollokshields was a turning point for our family, providing us with stability and enabling us to afford more.
I remember good times there, including large parties with music and dancing where relatives and our friends danced the night away. I also recall how we celebrated each Christmas with a nice lunch, often with unusual starters – our mum was always keen to widen our culinary horizons, we even had snails and frog legs – which tasted like chicken! Then I always remember that the five of us would sit together and watch Morecambe and Wise – how we laughed together at Eric and Ernie’s antics.
But let me move onto Elspeth and her many friendships. As her children started to go their separate ways, she continued to work, at places such as David Dale College and the Cowglen National Savings Bank, and there she made life-long friends, including Eda and Christine. She also took on new interests. Following her own father’s footsteps in Neilston, she took up baking and cake decorating in the 80s and continued this with a passion, for over 25 years, taking on courses, earning diplomas and commendations, as well as prizes for her work. She made beautiful cakes for special occasions, to support the celebrations of lots of friends, and family including the wedding cake for Jane and me in 1984. This passion led Elspeth to new friendships, especially within the committees of the Sugarcraft Guild and the National Federation of Bakery Students Societies, with lots of personal involvement at local and national levels. I know that she enjoyed this very much, travelling to meetings within the UK, to far flung seaside towns such as Torquay, Blackpool, Llandudno and Scarborough – even Oban was on the list! As you might expect, these meetings seemed to involve nice dinners and parties – with even more celebrations; perhaps there is a theme here!
Elspeth lived in Cardonald for more years than any other part of Glasgow, first in a flat on Paisley Road West then her house in Bankfoot Road, where she had a garden where she loved to sit on a warm day. She didn’t like to see weeds – particularly dandelions, so even in these last few months of better weather; the dandelions did not stand a chance! In Cardonald, Elspeth had very good neighbours that always looked out for her every day. Among others, I would like to specially mention and thank Teresa and Alex, Robert and Andrea, Agnes through the wall, and Ann further up the hill, as well as Eddie and Morag, and Margaret, her past neighbour. She also liked to go to Cardonald Library and started to get involved as a volunteer, for example, delivering books to those that could not get to the library easily. She was also part of the library book group, yet another group of friends, including Hazel, Marnie, Sheila, Mary and her sister-in-law Rena. When I walked to the shops or bus stop with my mum, I realised how much she was part of the local community -because almost everyone we met knew her.
Finally, I there is her wider family. Elspeth was well-known for always keeping in touch with everyone across the whole family, by phone, letter, email or Skype. This also included making a number of trips to Canada and Australia to visit her sisters there, staying long enough to make friends with their friends and neighbours. Like her own mother, she was brave enough to be a jet-setter, traveling also to New Zealand to visit her nephew Jim, or even travelled to see her sister Janette in Canada before they all went onto St Lucia for the wonderful wedding of Matthew, her niece Elizabeth’s son. She treasured these holidays and came home with stacks of photographs, mementoes and gifts. With every trip she added to her huge collection of well over mugs, she did like a cuppa but does anyone have a home for over 200 orphaned mugs! With family, she always made time to keep in touch, even recently reaching out to another cousin in Ireland and their families. She was proud of her Hamilton and Neilston heritage, and often went into long discussions about the family tree with her cousin Elizabeth. She also continued to keep in touch with my father’s side of the family, even though they had separated and George sadly passed away in 1993.
So there we have it. There is a lot more that could be said. Our mum was not perfect, and she had survived some tough times, but in her life she befriended, helped and cared about many people, and in so doing she found much happiness. Many of you have already given comfort with your memories of Elspeth, how she was always cheery and caring. Although she has gone and will be missed, we know that she was loved by so many and that she will not be forgotten. As a family, we are grateful that so many relatives, friends and neighbours have come together today to celebrate her life.
Thank you all - because Elspeth always loved a celebration!