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This is a post I have been meaning to write for a long time and, for good reason, is probably hardest post I’ve written. Earlier in the year my Gran passed away. Or, rather I should say, my ‘Granjo’ passed away for, from the birth of her very first grandchild, Granjo (never spelt with a ‘d’ as “it makes me feel old, dear) was never going to be just your “ordinary” grandmother. Mrs Josephine Pye was a unique, special, sometimes formidable person, who achieved a great deal in her lifetime. She was many things to many people, but to us she was always Granjo.
Over time I’m beginning to realise I have more and more in common with Granjo, an appreciation of a casual Gin and Tonic being just one of many, but importantly last Christmas I discovered that we shared a love of creative baking and cake decoration. Granjo was insistent that I keep a record of all the cakes, bakes and treats that I make (much easier to do with the help of smartphones and computers) and one of the things I’ve inherited is her notebook filled with pictures of all the family wedding and christening cakes she made. I’ve also inherited all of her tools and sugarflowers, including a cake decorating turntable that my Granddad made for her.
I confessed whilst she was staying with us last Christmas that I was absolutely useless at making piping bags. When I say useless, just think crumpled greaseproof paper, a reel of selotape and a stapler with a few expletives thrown in for good measure, and you’re beginning to picture my catastrophic attempts at making piping bags. Within 10 minutes of saying “go and get some paper and some scissors, dear”, Granjo successfully had me making selotape and staple free piping bags (far more hygienic) that actually kept the icing inside the bag!
When it came to her funeral, I didn’t need to be asked as I just assumed I would bake something for the gathering afterwards. The cakes Granjo made were classic but always impressive; take my parent’s wedding cake that had a Shakespearean sonnet on it, or my Grandpa’s birthday cake that looked like an incredibly realistic tree stump . My baking style has never been traditional, but she always liked what I made and I hope she would have liked the cake I made for her, using the skills she taught me.