Gran Whit

Something from the past: Elsie Amy Davies Whitaker, better known as Gran Whit, was a great-grandmother of mine who passed away at the age of 100 in 1988. Why do I mention her? She represents my earliest known recollection of a distinct scent long forgotten.

Tabu by Dana - that was the only scent Gran ever wore, and she wore it liberally. When I was a young girl, she used to give me the perfume bottles when they were empty so I could play at 'making' perfume. I used to love looking at the pretty sapphire-blue teardrop shaped bottles with the exotic-sounding name...Tabu.

A year ago while shopping in Walmart, I came upon a not-bad selection of fragrances in the Cosmetics section. Some luxe brands were tucked away in glass cases, while the less pricey brands were on store shelves. I picked up a miniature bottle of Juicy Couture perfume priced at $9.33. This was one scent I had put on my "like" list during my search for the new Signature Scent.

Then I looked down at the bottom shelf, and there was a small box of Tabu by Dana. I picked it up, looked around, opened the box, unscrewed the lid and took a whiff.

In an instant I pictured Gran at Christmas - this vision of a 5 foot tall barrel-chested Yorkshire-born matron, reeking of Tabu, saying the Yorkshire toast in her loud, shrill voice: "Here's tiv us, all on us, me and all..." My grandmother would always roll her eyes to the ceiling during the toast and I used to struggle not to laugh. It was hard to tell which was funnier: Gran's booming, high-pitched voice, or the faces my grandmother would make at her mother-in-law.

I closed the bottle and the box and put it back on the shelf. The beautiful blue bottle was no more, replaced by a plain round glass atomizer. I was kicking myself for getting rid of the bottles Gran gave me until I saw the show Hoarders on A&E. So, I'll just keep my memories where they are, and no, I wouldn't buy Tabu anyway. It's in the "nope" section of the Signature Scent list because it belongs to Gran, not me.

"Here's tiv us...."