Norah enjoys Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau on 102nd birthday
When Dorothy McIntosh set out to make her mother’s 102nd birthday that extra bit special last week, she had no idea the impact it would have.
Norah Williams lives with her daughter and son-in-law Keith in the town of Cupar in Fife, but is originally from Tylorstown in the Rhondda. Living with dementia during the COVID-19 crisis has meant a lot of disruptive changes for her.
“It’s been difficult trying to keep mum amused because the routines have all changed in our house due to the COVID problem,” says Dorothy. “She asks ‘why is nobody coming to see me?’”
Dorothy wanted to ensure that as many people as possible could share in Norah’s birthday celebrations, in spite of the lockdown restrictions. “I sent a message to some of our neighbours saying that the clapping for key workers happened to coincide with mum’s 102nd birthday, and would they like to join us in singing happy birthday,” she explains. “But that was just in our little crescent here.”
(Norah with her father outside their home in Tylorstown, Rhondda.)
Word got out across the wider Sandylands estate, however, meaning a large number of people came down to stand on the green across from the family’s house – at an appropriate distance from each other – to not only sing Happy Birthday, but to enjoy a rendition of the Welsh national anthem that was being played through a neighbour’s loudspeaker.
“I was quite amazed once I got mum up onto the balcony, which took 20 minutes going up the stairs!” laughs Dorothy, whose mum is a first-language Welsh speaker. “We opened up the windows and there was this crowd. It was unbelievable.
“When the anthem started playing, mum turned to me and said, ‘I know this one’! She remembered all the words, which was wonderful.”
Norah and daughter Dorothy on their balcony as the neighbourhood enjoys 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau'. (Note the amended banner from Norah's 100th birthday!)
It is a sad irony that Dorothy’s parents may only have met due to another devastating pandemic. Her paternal grandparents both passed away from the Spanish Flu just after World War One, which eventually led her father Sam to leave Ffestiniog to work in London with relatives who had a Dairy in the Kings Cross area.. It was at the Welsh Chapel on the Charing Cross Road that he first met Norah, who was then working as a nanny in the city.
Another World War then interrupted their plans. Sam shipped off to North Africa with the armed forces, whilst Norah moved back to her own family’s farm after three of her brothers were called up to fight. (Her family had moved from the Valleys to Gwynedd, North Wales, during the Depression.)
“Mum decided she was needed on the farm in Beddgelert,” says Dorothy, who was later born on the same farm. “Not only was it a working farm but they helped soldiers in distress and housed evacuees from Liverpool, so they had their hands full.”
(Norah with Sam just before he left for North Africa during WWII.)
Given that Norah was one of nine children, it’s unsurprising to learn that she has plenty of family across Wales. Her great grandson, Sam (named after her husband), who is rugby-mad and plays for his school in Pwllheli, particularly enjoyed seeing her singing along to Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
The biggest impact has been felt online however, with Norah’s story shared far and wide across social media.
A heartwarming story breaking free from the confines of lockdown.
(Dorothy and son-in-law Keith join Norah for her 102nd birthday celebrations.)
