Casa Fin Family Stories: Claire Pavailler - Fin (nee Emery - Fin)
![]() I have been thinking through the memories that I have of Nonno, spanning the last 28 years. There are many - especially from the first 17 years of my life - and they all bring a smile to my face. ![]() My earliest memory of Nonno (actually, one of my earliest memories in general), is of sitting with Nonno on the steps of the old house in Arncliffe, with a very young Nick and an even younger Bec, with a big bowl of fresh strawberries from the garden, and a bowl of white sugar. I remember Nonno dipping the strawberries into the sugar and feeding each of us in turn. I also remember the feeling that we were indulging in something that Nonna might not be so impressed by (probably the generous amount of sugar on each strawberry??), so we were trying to keep our giggles of delight hushed. I remember when Nonno and Nonna came up to Brisbane for Nick and my First Communion. I had scraped my freshly washed hair back into a pony tail and was all ready in my new dress when Nonno said, “Your hair is all wet". I answered that it looked neater when I did it wet, coz I didn't get frizzy bits around my face, to which he just shook his head and took me to the bathroom, where he blow-dried my hair - I think very possibly for the first time in my life - brushing it until it was dry. ![]() I remember the many holidays spent with Nonno and Nonna; the smell of the leather in the Alfa Romeo when they would pick us up from the airport; the sound of Nonna saying, “Beppi!!” when Nonno was driving us home after a late night somewhere and had started nodding off! I remember the squeaking sound of the chair in Nonno's office at Beecroft, when he would sit down.... and I think we all remember the noise of the leather armchair in the living room! I remember Nonno's scent and the feel of his beard against my cheek, and of his straight teeth, and the infamous story of how he filed them flat with a horse-shoe file when he was younger. Ugh, that still gives me shudders when I think of it! I remember all the parties for Christmas, Easter, the Hudi Cup, or birthdays at Nonno and Nonna's place in Beecroft. I remember the pool and the wall we all used to jump off for the Midnight Bomb on New Years Eve. I remember Nonno coming home with huge boxes of cherries, or whichever other delicious fruit was in season; and Nonno's breakfast of a big bowl of coffee mixed with weet-bix or bread, or some other weird and wonderful concoction. I remember going fishing with Nonno and spending time at the Kingscliff flat. I remember the note on the wall in Kingscliff with all of Nonno's fantastic phonetic spelling and the feeling of sand under your feet on the tiles in the bathroom. ![]() So, I'd just like to say a big Tanti Auguri to you Nonno, and raise my glass to you, from across the oceans. I hope you have a lovely day. Lots of love always, Your oldest grandchild, Claire xoxoxoxoxoxoxo |