The Great Granny Revolution Transcript with NTSC Time Code references.
(01:00:00;00) PROGRAMME START
BRENDA: (01:00:02;10) This is the village of Wakefield in Western Quebec….…the local landmark….…the general store where Norma bumped into Rose….…the bank…and the local United Church……This is the minister.
NORMA: (01:00:20;25) When Nina Minde spoke in Wakefield she told us how she had met these amazing women in South Africa, in Alexandra, who had lost their daughters to AIDS and were now left to look after their orphaned grandchildren.
(01:00:35;12) Nina came back to Wakefield again, this time bringing with her Rose Letwaba, the nurse in charge of the Mental Health Clinic in Alex.
GISELLE: (01:00:44;10) About a hundred people came that afternoon and we raised over $900.
NORMA: (01:00:49;27) This is a picture that Nina sent me of Rose and me in the General Store the next day. It’s what I call the “what if” picture, where I’m asking Rose: “What if 10 women from Wakefield were to partner with your Gogos?” And she said, “I think it’s a marvelous idea.”
BRENDA: (01:01:11;15) Oh and one more thing. This is the fridge magnet that my daughter gave me.
FRIDGE MAGNET:
One day an army of gray-haired women
may quietly take over the Earth
– Gloria Steinem
TITLES:
Rooney Productions presents
The Great Granny Revolution
a documentary by Robert & Brenda Rooney
BRENDA: (01:02:09;17) Alex is Johannesburg’s oldest township. When a young Nelson Mandela first came to the city he lived in Alex. He described life here as both exhilarating and precarious. It still is.
(01:02:32;03) The Wakefield Grannies’ idea is simple enough. We each partner with a South African grandmother who is raising AIDS orphans and offer her moral support.
(01:02:50;01) My Granny partner Magdeline lives in one of Alex’s original homes. She raised six children here. Now she’s raising her orphaned grandson, Moses. But this isn’t a story about my personal relationship with Magdeline. Rather it’s about how a simple idea is transforming the lives of women on two continents.
(01:03:11;08) Rose Letwaba is a psychiatric nurse. She works with AIDS orphans at the East Bank Mental Health clinic in Alex.
ROSE: (01:03:19;11) When we talk normal day life, when we talk about loss, automatically we think about death as a loss, but for kids a loss can be anything. You know, if I lose my toy for a child that can be a loss. If my therapist changes, that’s another form of loss. If caregivers change, that’s another type of loss. So most of the kids are being exposed to continuous loss in their lives. And that is very very hard for them.
BRENDA: (01:03:55;11) In early 2000, when several of Rose’s clients began missing their appointments she decided to investigate.
ROSE: (01:04:02;19) I remember I started with Granny Lena and she says you know the mother died. The second house that I went to the Granny just said the funeral was on Saturday, then I realized there was a problem so I asked that Granny also to come. So the three home visits that I did on that particular day just made me to realize that we are having a problem.
(01:04:26;22) But as they were bringing their grandchildren they were sitting under this tree and you will find that one is sitting there, the other one is sitting there but they cannot just talk. And as I was passing by the passage I used to realize that and I thought you know all these Grannies are in pain, they have got their losses, so we need to deal with that loss and that is when the group started.
(01:05:01;29) It took us almost a year for them to talk about the causes of death. They felt very comfortable talking to me if they come to my office but to disclose to the rest of the group what killed their kids was a problem.
LUCIA: (01:05:19;21) Oh, it was a hard time. It was 2001 and my second daughter passed away on 2000 so it was so early to me. I used to ask myself, am I a bad mother? Why all my kids? .What have I done to God? But when I came to the group I met the other Grannies I was like whoo I’m not the only one, the other Grannies have got more, more problems than I have.
JOYCE: (01:05:49;27) I didn’t know that HIV. HIV? I didn’t know anything about it.
(01:05:55;18) My child, who died in 2000, she was mental disturbance, and she was a patient in this East Bank Clinic. All the time. So I was just coming here all the time and she went to all the hospitals, there’s no hospital that she didn’t went to.
(01:06:14;14) And then about 2000 - 1999, is where I see her card from the hospital they said she have got HIV. HIV? What is that? I went to tell the other neighbour to tell her about this She start crying! Then I look at her. You know I didn’t know why she’s crying. She cries and cries. Oh! And she tell me: “You know this sickness? She never…she’s going to die.” I said: “Oh!” I cried I start to get a little shock about it and I went to tell the other one, my niece, she start crying also. Oh, then I start looking at her. How? Why she’s crying also? And then is where I get frightened that my daughter is going to die and after that behind when I come to this clinic to tell them they said: “Yes, we saw it from Pretoria, that she…” Oh! Then I was finished.
LUCIA: (01:07:23;27) And you didn’t know the meaning of AIDS.
JOYCE: I didn’t know the meaning and then I nurse her myself. Wash her.
LUCIA: Bare handed.
JOYCE: (01:07:31;01) I used to wash her bare handed, to feed her, to give her tablets, everything. And after that she…she left me.
NORMA: (01:08:06;16)…Linda Gorka, Marilee Rhody, Barbara Layer, Nicole Féraud-Lewis, what’s your name - Annick Hardie,
BRENDA: (01:08:16;15) When I joined the Wakefield Grannies I did so with mixed feelings.
NORMA: We need ten grannies…
BRENDA: (01:08:21;26) First of all I’m not actually a granny. Oh, I’m old enough and I have adult children. But no grandchild – yet. In any case I’m not ready to embrace that stage of my life. I don’t like the stigma attached to the word because old women are so often ignored. But perhaps I can use it as a liberating tool.
MARILEE: (01:08:41;12)…empowering and encouragement. Encouragement is so important to women.
LINDA: (01:08:47;09) Hey, you know, don’t kill the volunteers right?
NORMA: (01:08:51;16) “Hoping to hear from you and I was excited to read about the fundraising event that you guys will be doing in Wakefield. I wish you could send us some of the African dishes you were making.”
ANNICK: So next.
NORMA: (01:09:03;20) “I am so glad I have met people like you. God Bless, warmly Rose.”
I thought that was beautiful wasn’t it?
GROUP: Very nice.
NORMA: (01:09:11;27) So, anyway, I’m anticipating all this money we’re going to make at this reading and we have to determine what we’re going to do with it and, you know, how to transmit it to them, if it’s all transmitted at the same time and how? Because it’s, you know…do you have an answer?
BRENDA: (01:09:32;26) Well I have a suggestion. We don’t have to get it out right away we can actually hold onto it and come to a decision. And we may find that there’s something more, that, you know, we’ll do two or three fundraisers to get enough together to do something big.
NORMA: (01:09:50;03) Yes. But as far as they are concerned, they might just need, you know, $20 to be able to feed the children for the next month or something like that, you know.
NORMA: (01:10:09;01) Well I think the Grannies are actually a result of spontaneous combustion.
JOYCE: (01:10:21;25) I think to hide and to tell them it’s just the same thing to our people, because when you tell them, I did tell them because I didn’t know anything about it. But here, outside they spread: “Oh, her daughter have got HIV” and they start laughing at me. They start hating my house, they didn’t want my children to play with their children. You know to tell them or to hide them to our people is very dangerous, you see,
ROSE: (01:10:59;27) The stigma is there but I think to some degree I think the more people talk about it, you know, the less the stigma. And the funerals that I’ve attended recently, you know one of the Grannies lost her son through AIDS and when I went there I came back to the group on a Wednesday and I said to the group: “Did you learn anything by visiting this Granny when she was in her mourning process?” And they all said: “Yes.” And I said to them: “What is it that you have learned?” They said: “We have learned that there’s no witchcraft, it’s AIDS that is killing our kids.”
JOYCE: (01:11:40;17) Er… this is my kitchen here where I put my groceries in here. There. And then this is my - where I put my mealie meal and everything and I put my stove. When I cook, I cook it here. And then my fridge and then here it’s my things for playing, my lounge, my TV. When my children want to see the pictures then they ah – then they sit here and they look at the pictures. It’s my lounge. Looks like my lounge.
BRENDA: (01:12:39;08) So there’s your lounge.
JOYCE: Yeah, and then there’s a bedroom here.
(01:12:55;01) And where I’m standing here there’s supposed to be a table I took it out because it belongs to these chairs, for this little one she mustn’t bump her head, when she’s, because she’s still very small, so I folded and put it – we eat it here, it’s my dining room here, where I am standing. And then this is my bedroom. And then we wash and do everything in here. My bathroom and all.
LUCIA: (01:13:28;16) Here in South Africa really, people don’t know about AIDS. They don’t want to talk about it, they hate it. They just want to put it in front of them. Just to hide it and just say life goes on. That’s what we are doing here. I’m talking for myself. I did do that to my first daughter, the one who passed away in 1999.
(01:13:53;04) I didn’t want her to sit outside, to see the sun, to see the people, I just want to lock her inside the room and - the mother of these two little boys. I did know that Bongani was HIV+, the first grandson, but I didn’t know that the mother is HIV+ because, … it was something that I didn’t want to know But when starting to learn from others, I realized that I did kill my daughter.
BRENDA: (01:14:25;08) No you did not.
LUCIA: By hiding,
BRENDA: No AIDS killed your daughter you did not.
LUCIA: But if, if I did talk about it. I think if I did sit down, talk about it, she may be here today.
BRENDA: No, no, no, listen to me, listen to me. Her death is what brought you out. And now you give so much, you give that death meaning and you mustn’t carry that guilt, that’s terrible.
LUCIA: (01:14:56;00) It’s in me. Really, it’s in me. I always said maybe if I did talk by that time, my daughter must be here now. I thought by talking. Denying a thing, hiding is a disease.
BRENDA: (01:15:28;20) Sue’s been my best friend since I was 11 years old. So we’ve shared a lot together, - our joys and our sorrows. She lives in Rhode Island where her husband is a lobster fisherman. Unlike me, she does have grandchildren. When she heard about my involvement with the Wakefield Grannies she decided she wanted to start her own group – the Concordia Grannies. Norma’s simple idea had spread to the USA. So Rose had to handle the stress of organizing even more letters.
ROSE(translation): (01:16:05;00) I want everybody to write “thank you” letters today.
JOYCE(translation): (01:16:09;06) I did write “thank you”.
GOGO(translation): (01:16:11;00) Who are we writing to, sister?
ROSE: (01:16:13;06) The connection of the Grannies in Alex with the Grannies abroad, it made me realize that sometimes we do take things for granted.
ROSE(translation): (01:16:23;05) Granny Joyce you are writing to Carol.
ROSE: (01:16:26;00) But so many people, so many elderly people have been deprived of Communicating.
MARILEE: (01:16:36;12) So you have heard, Carol has heard, Nicole has heard….
BRENDA: I’ve had two letters..
MARILEE: Is there anybody else besides you three? See the rest of us haven’t heard.
BRENDA: (01:16:44;15) Ever since we got together I’ve been trying to figure out why this is working. So I started to read and I found out about this chemical called Oxytocin. Its nicknamed the “tend and befriend” hormone and it’s strongest in women. Which may account for our desire to gather together and to help others. whether we have the reward of a letter or not.
CAROL: (01:17:09;02) That’s cute!
ANNICK: “The money that you have collected will be used for the Gogos outing as they have suggested.” So you sent the balance so now we have no money.
NORMA: We have, I’ll give it, oh that is what should be on the agenda, the Treasurer’s report which I will give to you now if you like. $44.54 or something.
MARILEE: That’s what we have left.
NORMA: Yeah, that’s all we have left.
MARGO: (01:17:36;06) You don’t have to show us, we believe you.
GROUP: Yeah and we don’t want to do the job. We’re not taking the job off you.
MARGOT: Forty-four give or take a few cents is fine.
NORMA: So anyway, it amounted to $931.50 that I sent. That I, you know.
MARILEE: That you exchanged for the 4500 Rand.
NORMA: Yes, yes. And somewhere here I have a bank statement, So before the meeting is over, I will have found it and it’s $44.54 I think.
MARILEE: (01:18:05;25) Good.
ANNICK: “….Hoping that you are all well, I have one Granny who is very sick at the moment and Magdeline Segomela’s grandchild...” Is that yours? “…is terminal. God Bless, Rose.”
BRENDA: (01:18:21;20 Now your grandson is on anti-retrovirals.
LUCIA: Yes he is. Did you see him? He’s getting fat, he was so thin. There were two, eh, from the same mother.
TEACHER: Why are houses important for our lives? Why?
LUCIA: They were infected, both of them. So the other one passed away.
TEACHER: Why must we live inside the houses, why?
LUCIA: (01:18:41;28) And after the brother passed away, the brother was very sick. He was having lots of diseases on him.
TEACHER: Why?
LUCIA: (01:18:48;11) So this one, Bobo has never been sick. He was just HIV+. He was on Bactrim before, only Bactrim. Just to prevent the diseases to attack.
TEACHER: To protect ourselves from what?
LUCIA: So when the virus was so low…,
TEACHER: To protect ourselves from what?
LUCIA: (01:19:06;24) …they started giving him anti-retrovirals. So I’m pushing and pushing the anti-retrovirals. And he is now, last week I was at the hospital, and they say, the virus is and the C4 count is - you see. So I think it’s because of the tablets, they are good.
(01:19:38;05) You know where I’m working? Where I said I’m volunteering? I’m working with the kids. Most of the kids there are HIV+. And the parents are denying it. They don’t want to talk about it. They don’t even want to say: “The kids are sick.” I’m the one who can say: “This child is sick.” I can see. But I can’t confront the lady and say: “Do you know that your kid is sick?” I can’t. Some of them haven’t got even a sli’ of bread in the morning…
(translation) How are you sister? Come in.…
(01:20:12;09)…because they are living with their Aunts and their Aunts are deniable, they don’t want to talk about it. They just don’t care. Really. You care because you know that I’ve been through this. And it’s a kid! He knew nothing about AIDS, he knew nothing about the mother.
SIGN HUNG ON BRIDGE:
WELCOME TO THE GREAT GRANNY CONCERT
NORMA: (01:21:16;22) She follows this by saying: “The questions these children will be asking will be: ‘where were you when AIDS destroyed our families and killed our parents?’ It will be a nation of children parenting children.”
GISELE: (01:21:38;20) The ticket sales and the amount of money that’s been raised for the Gogos in Alexandra, this is just as far as I know, just at the door, $2,262. Over $2,000 this afternoon. Thank you very much.
(Repeated in French)
Thank you so much, good afternoon and drive safely home.
PETRONELLA: (01:23:21;27) We are all in the group with Sister Rose. The Granny - we are all in the support group. Then the Granny she was sick, she had the diabetes. Then in the end of 2003 then she died, in November.
(01:23:44;10) Then she left these two kids, the mother of this and this one, Pindili. Then they were left. There were only two in the house. but then Sister Rose was always looking after them, she was always sending food for them or everything they want they just get it from Sister Rose. And the following year, 2004 then this elderly one got this one.
(01:24:15;13) Then they were staying there, getting clothing from Sister Rose and from everybody were having something for them. Then one day these ladies went to go and see them. Then they found that they had been locking the door, they were staying inside in the house, the little one when she wants to get out the mother says no we are not going anywhere.
(01:24:47;02) They were there I think for about two weeks, because this, ah, they went there in the second week. Then they found this child she was, she was starving a lot, didn’t have food, they were just having bread.
(01:25:05;12) Then when these ladies knock at the door then this one says: “Oh come in we are here, my sister doesn’t want us to go out.” Then the ladies run out and call the police. Then they have to open the house. Then they get the kids there, they took them to the clinic.
BRENDA: (01:25:31;00) It must have been overwhelming, the smell.
PETRONNELA: The smell, everything. They have to wash the nappies, everything to clean up the house because the house was so terrible. It’s where they found out that the mother she has that depression. I think she had been thinking a lot.
(01:25:52;18) Then they phoned to me and asked me can I help them and look after these kids. And I said “Yes, I can.”
BRENDA: (01:26:04;17) Why did you say yes?
PETRONNELA: Oh, it’s because I know this Granny, and my heart started to pain, and I said: “I can’t leave them, honestly, because sometimes it will be me, sometimes because I’m looking after my grandchildren then I ought to do that for them.”
PINDILI: Bye bye.
PETRONNELA: (01:26:41;23) And they mustn’t think of that they are orphans. They must always think there’s somebody there for them.
PINDILI: (01:26:53;09) Ta ta (‘bye ‘bye) Momma.
NORMA: (01:27:09;18) I’ve found that they’re both 8 years old and it was their initiative to bake cookies and sell them in aid of the Grannies.
NORMA: (01:27:23;13) I think this must be Marley and Emma. Hello, how are you? So which is which?
EMMA: This is Marley, I’m Emma.
NORMA: And I’m Norma. I’m the Norma Geggie you’ve been sending all those emails to.
(01:27:41;20) So that is actually 400, I don’t know whether…I do have a flash if we take it inside. Or otherwise we could go outside to take it.
BRENDA: Shall we go outside?
NORMA: OK.
BRENDA: Let’s go outside.
(01:27:55;25) Oh, isn’t that clever, you’ve got an idiot string
NORMA: Hmm?
BRENDA: You’ve got an idiot string.
NORMA: Yes, of course.
BRENDA: (01:28:07;10) Alright, presentation! Everybody smile!
JOYCE: (01:28:29;11) And Carol, she sent me a beautiful, beautiful calendar, that it shows me that I’m already in Canada. So I’m always happy, when I go to sleep I look at it and when I wake up, I look at it again.
(01:29:06;25) I was sad before, now I’m quite happy, when I’m sitting there, where I am staying, then I can see that I’m somebody. Really. Mmm.
(01:29:37;17) You know it’s most beautiful to me to see the snows and the mountain and everything, then I feel I’m in Canada.
BRENDA: Well, that was what we were thinking when we bought the calendars
was to help you see where we were.
JOYCE: Yes and she even tell me in the letter that, that picture…
BRENDA: (01:29:59;25) Oh that’s us! Yes. That’s the bridge. And remember we were looking earlier at the picture of us? We’re all sitting just down there. Yeah, yeah. And the bridge is in behind. And we did, to raise the money we did a big concert on that bridge.
JOYCE: Really?
BRENDA: Yeah, all kinds of musicians playing, and we put up big banners, “Great Granny Concert”.
JOYCE: (01:30:22;05) You are working very hard in Canada. I wish I was born there. Then maybe I would do much better than I’m doing.
BRENDA: You wouldn’t like the cold. The cold is a lot.
JOYCE: I would be used to it now.
BRENDA: Yes.
JOYCE: If I was there.
BRENDA: That’s true and you’d have good clothes to wear.
(01:30:47;13) African grandmothers are starting to be recognized for their efforts in raising the next generation. Stephen Lewis, the U.N. Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa has called them the continent’s new heroes. Rose tells us he’s interested in her work with the Gogos. And he’s talking about bringing her to Canada.
BARBARA: (01:39:10;00) I just got my first letter.
BRENDA: Is it your first?
BARBARA: Yea, I never heard anything…
BRENDA: (01:31:17;00) You must feel neat eh? Do you feel…? Look at you. Do you feel…?How many letters have you sent?
BARBARA: (01:31:24;14) “Dear Barbara, Greetings from far away South Africa. I’m so happy to get a friend from Canada and I like to thank you for the cards you send for me and also thank you for all that you are doing for us as a group. My wish now is to see you personally. Hoping that one day I’ll see you. Your cards shows that Canada is a very cold place, here in South Africa we are waiting for warm summer. My grandchildren are also happy for the friend that we got in Canada. I appreciate all that you are doing for us and I wish you all the good days, from Petronella Makhanya.”
NORMA: (01:32:00;19) Isn’t that lovely. So it could be that was from one of the children you know.
BARBARA: Yeah. Maybe.
BRENDA: I have to go. I’ll see you. Congratulations. I am so glad you got a letter. So we only have two Grannies to go eh?
NORMA: (01:32:14;00) I’m an opportunist – I can’t put up my birdfeeder
BRENDA: (01:32:18;17) We’ll get that up. I’ll do that.
NORMA: (01:32:20;06) But you can’t, you’re no taller than I am Brenda.
BRENDA: Oh you watch…
MICHELINE: (01:32:24;14) Oh look at that.
LINDA: It’s a zucchini.
MICHELINE: Oh great, I’ll get a platter and we’ll cut them up.
MARILEE: (01:32:31;05) And then we’ll ask for the presentation.
MICHELINE: (01:32:34;19) And I feel very privileged, that’s how I feel, and I’ve been telling everybody all day.
NORMA: (01:32:46;01) And I don’t know why I am just sitting here looking as though I…looking nervous. As though he’s just coming to see me.
LINDA: (01:32:53;20) Go away! I’m really, really, really excited, and honoured and thrilled, I can’t wait to see him. Is that enough?
BRENDA: (01:33:17;10) I’ll introduce people, this is of course Stephen Lewis. The young kids here are kids who have been fund raising for us, who came out of…, called us up and contacted us and said they wanted to be part of the Granny movement.
STEPHEN: (01:33:31;27) Fabulous.
BRENDA: And I believe Charlotte, where’s Charlotte?
STEPHEN: (01:33:35;05) You’re Charlotte. It’s especially nice to say hello.
BRENDA: I think we have a chair for you there. Would you like tea or coffee?
STEPHEN: I’ll sit beside Charlotte, it will make me feel better.
(01:33:47;17) We have over 100 projects now in 14 countries and in 30 or 40 of the projects it began to emerge that the Grandmothers were being neglected even within the project they were carrying a lot of responsibility for the children and for the way money is sometimes earned.
(01:34:08;18) The Grandmothers were doing all of that and they were needing support for materials and for food. So Ilana said: “We should be doing something special for the Grandmothers.” And then of course along came, well along came - we knew of Brenda Rooney and what you were doing but we didn’t realize how much you were doing if I may be so bold. We didn’t realize how extensive it was.
BRENDA: Well, you didn’t realize this group.
STEPHEN: (01:34:35;19) I didn’t realize the Wakefield…yes. I had met the Nanaimo Grannies when I was in Nanaimo speaking. There were 13 Grannies trouped up onto the platform. One of them was 97 years of age. And Kamloops Grannies and the Saskatoon Grannies, suddenly there are groups springing up, here and there and people beginning to fund anything associated with grandmothers and I think at some point we’ll probably say to people would you mind if some money was diverted to other Granny groups. There’s only so much they can absorb.
BRENDA: (01:35:13;09) We all have discussed this in the group and we feel very strongly we want all Grandmothers, all over Africa, supported and we are thrilled that you’re in so many more Countries (01:35:24;29) because we think, that although there’s a benefit to the partnering and the communication, we as a group you know, don’t send money individually to our Grannies at all, we send as a group to a group just as you do.
STEPHEN: And you are right about that of course.
BRENDA: (01:35:39;06) We would never do it individually. And the thing is that that means that that partnering sense can happen with any of the clinics, all over the place,…
STEPHEN: Exactly.
BRENDA: (01:35:49;17) …in all the countries And it enriches our lives here, I think, we were meeting just on Sunday and we were talking about how it’s enriched our lives and our community’s life and how doing something about it has been uplifting for our whole community. And that that’s something we’re giving to our community not to Africa.
STEPHEN: (01:36:14;13) Right. No, no, no I think that is the way it works. Yeah. And when the Gathering is held in August, we want…by the way we’re hoping to bring 100 Grandmothers and their, and their….
NORMA: (01:36:27:19) We’d invite them all back to Wakefield. Perhaps we’ll rethink that.
STEPHEN: We thought we’d put them up in Wakefield.
BRENDA: (01:36:36;10) Oh we’re ready!
NORMA: (01:36:42;22) So how did you raise it Sam?
SAM: Well, ummm
NORMA: I think Robert wants us to look at him, he wants you rather than me.
SAM: (01:36:52;10) I collected like… a lot of kids from my birthday, to raise money. And I didn’t know I would get this much!
MARILEE: How much did you bring Sam? How much did you bring?
SAM: (01:37:08;05) $168.67
GROUP: Wow.
NORMA: That’s marvelous, Sam.
MARILEE: Thank you Sam.
STEPHEN: What did you do Sam? You said that people should come to your birthday and contribute money?
SAM: (01:37:24;18) Yeah.
STEPHEN: For this? Not bring you presents but contribute money?
SAM: Yeah.
MARGO: (01:37:28;16) Sam might end up at the UN.
STEPHEN: (01:37:33;01) No, Sam’s too nice a person to end up at the UN.
(01:37:38;17)I really, truly appreciate everybody getting together for this, it’s really taken off. This has triggered a chord. Something is resonating with people, deeply and strongly…,
(01:37:52;17)because they understand that to start parenting again when you’re in your 60s and 70s it’s a very difficult proposition and should have support.
ROSE: (01:38:10;19) When you’ve got a lot of problems people run away from you. Relatives run away from you. You feel so alone. So just receiving a card which says: “We’re thinking about you.” makes them just feel like: “we need to live more, there are other people that can understand our situation”.
(01:38:38;16) And when I read the letters to them they actually, they don’t prefer me to read the letters on a one-to-one they want to let the other Grannies hear what my friend is saying and so you read it loud and then the other one says, “I’m next!” and you just read and you just see their faces, the moment is of peace, you know, they’re really very humbled about the letter.
CORDULA: (01:39:05;26) It’s not too wet. The soil.
OTHER GARDENER: No it’s not too wet.
BRENDA: (01:39:10;23) Living in a rural community breeds a stubborn kind of independence. When something needs to be done you get on and do it.
OTHER GARDENER: (01:39:19;16) Darth Vader Back from the dark side.
BRENDA: (01:39:23;24) It may be black fly season but th