Ask a 97 year old Mumsnet fan

[Pebbles16]

My 97 year old great aunt is a fan of Mumsnet and has asked me to post. Warning: she will likely be in bed by 9.30
Me: should we do this in the am?
GA: No, if people ask ?s overnight, it will give us something to do...

Hey ho
So, some background to my GA: she was born in Shanghai; was interned in WW2; lived in the Far East until 1970 when she was widowed. Moved to the UK and HAS NEVER adjusted to the weather; this summer is the only time she's mentioned "it's a bit warm".
She has learned multiple languages over the years.
Did not have children (likely as a result of the prison camp conditions).
Spent most of her life advocating for children affected by war.
Cheats at most board games.
Mocks my tolerance to chillies.

So, ask us anything!

Shanghai was a "cloud of perfume and music".
She was super small so mostly upstairs with ayi.
Her father was killed very early on. She and her mother were split up and - by the end of the war she was in Tjideng.

If physical health, energy and money were no barriers, what fun things would she want to go and do that she hasn't done so far?

Some random questions!

Does AGA swear, and if so, what is her favourite insult?

If she ruled the world, what would be her top three new laws - either brand new ones or a reintroduction of repealed ones.

What is her view on assisted dying?

Thank you very much 🤗💐

No she doesn't. She would cause FAR TOO MANY PROBLEMS!!
Although sometimes I take her opinions on board.

The 1950s.
With the caveat that she was very pleased to burn her bra in the 1970s and would never want to wear a corselette again!

@BangaloreLulu Yes, she swears. Our favourite phrase is "buggery bollocks" which is used frequently. She calls all annoying people ten khon (Vietnamese insult) or putain (French).

When does she think old age begins? Did she think she was old in her 50s or 60s and, if she did, does she regret that?

What’s been the best or favourite day/s of her life?

Great thread!

This thread is so wonderful and fascinating. Thank you @Pebbles16 for starting it, and a huge thank you to GA for sharing her wisdom. ❤️

She obviously has an excellent brain but how is her health?
I'm really interested in the internment camps. Has she ever written about her experience?

These are GA words:

I became a widow at 40 and was immediately pensioned off. Society saw me (or didn't see me) as past my sell by date. At the time that is how I felt. I became a cipher of myself.
In my grief I accepted the status quo as a person of no worth. But I was being encouraged to join all these useless groups and then I found my anger. It went off like a rocket in my head and I know I upset a lot of people who were trying to help me to make themselves feel better (my grandmother included). I needed to act on the horrors I had seen. Noone else. Noone else would understand apart from Ben (her husband). So I booked my ticket back to Asia.

Please tell her she has won AMA for all time

So GA is going to bed. I will do my best in responses but I am sure she will be back tomorrow.
She is quite giddy with all your lovely questions

What are the most and least positive changes she has seen in her lifetime?

Thanks @Pebbles16 and G A. That was a thought provoking answer.

Wow. I am glad she found her anger. She sounds amazing, and I hope she has a lovely sleep tonight!

Goodnight GA. Thank you for this thread. 💐

What does she regret that was ultimately in her control but in hindsight she made the wrong choice?

E.g 24 year old me desperate to buy my first (crappy) house, should really have waited a few more years and bought a nice house.

Her health is okay.
I am allowed to post on her behalf, particularly about this subject as she finds it very upsetting.
GAs mental health is better than most. Despite all her trauma she seems to have an immense capacity to just "get on".

Mentally much better than physically due to the deprivations of camp. She was likely infertile as a result of malnutrition. She also had her hip smashed as a punishment. She is the proud possessor of "three new hips".

She has diaries but we are not allowed to look at them until one year after she dies "in case we might judge her".

She sounds great 🥰 what a life she must have lived!!

Will you ask her what the hell i can do to get rid of my stupid health anxiety? I know its a waste of time and utterly pointless but my brain is super wired to give it its complete attention!!!

My Father and his family suffered under the Japanese in WW2, they were Chinese. He had a lifelong hatred and wouldn’t have anything Japanese in the house. Has she managed to forgive at all? He just couldn’t, he had relatives die.

This is a great post.

I’ve lots of questions would love your dear Great Aunt to answer:

• What would she tell her younger self if she could?
• What were the happiest and saddest times of her life?
• What does she consider important in life?
• Does she feel 97?
• Is she at peace with dying and what are her beliefs about an afterlife?
• What advice would she give younger people?
• Tell us some memories about when she did something audacious, something brave, and something she was proud of.
• If she could be reincarnated, would she want to be?
• What are the biggest differences between the world she grew up in to now?
• Who does she admire?
• Who was the love of her life?
• What’s her life motto?

I also lived in Asia and love how authentic ingredients are so easy to come by in the UK. Is she really cooking Asian food for herself at 97 and what is her favourite Chinese or Vietnamese dish to cook? I like to make one called “Ants crawling up a tree”.

And one for you OP - were you close to your grandparent who was the sibling of your GA? I had an amazing never-married GA who died at 90 and as a kid I found her so much more fun than my rather severe Granny!

I don’t have a question
Just wanted to say this is a marvellous thread .
Wonderful .