Farewell Granny Pam

Pam Askew, known simply as Granny Pam, is loved by people across the Dolphin Coast.

Known chiefly for her many years as the headmistress of Lorraine Pre-Primary, which later became Dolphin Coast Pre-Primary, Granny Pam was unlike anyone I have ever known.

Her passing on July 16 in Johannesburg last week at a grand age of 86 has brought back a flood of wonderful memories.

In the cubbyhole of Granny Pam’s white van lived Pole Cat and Pole Bear.

They were always there to greet me when she collected me, and a load of other noisy children (including a little terror named Barry Chapman, sweet Kineta Naidoo and cheeky sisters Chantal and Samantha Calitz), from the service station on Ballito Drive every morning to take us to school

At the time the school was on Lorraine Estate, now named Manor Estate, inland of Umhlali.

As we bumped along the dirt road to school, Granny Pam would update us on the latest adventures of her vehicle’s two tiny residents.

If Pole Cat was in a bad mood you had to be careful he didn’t scratch you through the air vent though, and he was wont to swipe when you least expected it.

For some years after preschool I continued to receive letters from these two unlikely friends, complete with paw print signatures.

The ritual of the trip to school was sacred. My little gang, consisting of myself, Sarah Buthelezi and Jane Tate, would always beg to be let out at the start of the driveway.

Then we would speed on ahead and pretend we were hitchhiking to school when the van came past. Granny Pam would never fail to be surprised to find her pupils with their thumbs in the air.

The school day was not complete without a visit to Wilbur (an enormous pig in the school playground) armed with cabbage leaves I had begged off my mother, and a cuddle with ‘my’ guinea pig.

I am told I would also greet the school goldfish every morning by whipping it out of its bowl for a more personal “How do you do?” I wonder how often Granny Pam had to replace that goldfish. . .

A real life Mary Poppins, Granny Pam always had time for children, which is why the news of her death will affect everyone who had the privilege of attending her school.

She was a larger than life personality. Flowing skirts, wild greying hair escaping from a bun and a naughty smile playing on her lips – that is how I remember her. She also had an incredible collection of cats, real and porcelain, that awed me as a child.

There was nothing ordinary about Granny Pam. When she retired did she take up knitting and fade quietly away? Not likely. Her Facebook profile (yes Facebook) is of her skydiving only a few years ago.

Backpacking on her own across Africa by taxi was another of her exploits that raised a few eyebrows. Nothing appears to have daunted her.

My only regret is that I didn’t seek her out as an adult and tell her just how much she meant to me. That when I cry I still find myself stopping to taste my tears and smiling. Granny Pam would always take great care to catch them in a cup for us to taste.

Sitting here now with my 12-week-old son on my lap I only hope that he will have some Granny Pams in his life. Grownups who aren’t grownup, who love to dance around the Maypole, who wear purple and still believe in magic.

These are the best kind of people.