Page 8 - Gwen Landsberry - Eulogies

Mum’s Eulogy

by David Landsberry
(son)

On a road trip in 2011, my sister, Kate, interviewed Mum so that we
might get a better understanding of her as a young girl in the 1930s,
growing up in country NSW.

Mum’s opening line in the interview was this: “I was so gawky. I always
felt a bit ordinary – with not a lot of good things in me.”
Well Mum, I beg to differ. You weren’t “gawky” – you were tall and slim
and classically beautiful.

You weren’t “ordinary” – you were extraordinary.
And as for having “not a lot of good things in you” Sorry Mum, that’s
something only a “flippo” would say.

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Perhaps being the 9 of 12 children growing up in the 1930s was the
source of Mum’s humility and believe me, she was one of the most
humble people I knew. She never blew her own trumpet, fished for
compliments or sought the limelight.
But Mum was a gifted seamstress, an accomplished tennis player, a
masterful cook, a brilliant knitter, a dedicated gardener, a valued
volunteer and a daughter, sister, aunt, nana, great nana, wife, mother,
mother-in-law and lifelong friend to many.
So, forgive us if we blow Mum’s trumpet today… we’ve been waiting a
long time to do it.

Mum’s three children are Kate, Rob and myself and as the youngest and
naughtiest of the three, Mum found me a bit of a handful. There was no
label for me back in the 60s but I suspect I was not just an ADHD kid… I
suspect I was every letter of the alphabet!

My antics often resulted in Mum rattling the kitchen drawer for the
wooden spoon. The wooden spoon and I were mates. Closer than I care
to admit. Then one day, I threw a spanner in the works and hid all the
wooden spoons.
Well, you can imagine Mum’s escalating panic when no wooden spoon
came to hand! So she improvised. That was the day I got a good basting
with the pastry brush!

I kept Mum on her toes but to her credit, she fiercely defended me at
every turn. She defended me when one of the neighbours whacked me
over the head with her handbag; which I probably deserved.
She defended me when I was called to the Principal’s office – which
became such a regular occurrence that Mum could have pitched a tent
in there!