vaneramos | Northumberland lady

On the phone just now, Mom told me about a guest who stopped at their cottage: an 88-year-old spinster from England visiting neighbours and friends of my parents. This woman's family has lived for 130 years in the millhouse on the Duke of Northumberland's land at Alnwick Castle, on the border with Scotland. I noticed on the web site that this was the castle used in filming the first two Harry Potter movies.

"She is completely deaf," Mom said. "You have to shout and shout until you finally get through to her, and then she opens up like a fountain."

None of her brothers or sisters married, so she is the last of her family. Several years ago she visited Lake Fletcher for three days. She wanted to come back to Canada one last time, to stay at the lake for "many days."

Her hosts had warned her to bring slacks for walking in the cool of the evening, but she had never worn a pair in her life. A friend had to take her shopping when she arrived in Canada.

"She said she couldn't be seen wearing them in her village," Mom said.