Pixie's name

My mum's name wasn't really Pixie.  She was christened Margaret Anne.  She was the fourth daughter and I think it took her parents a while to settle on a name - perhaps they expected to have a boy.  Anyway, her father thought she looked like a "little pixie" and the name stuck. In the photo, Pixie is proudly showing her first granddaughter, Elsie, to the Pinetrees chefs.

The name caused a few hassles.  When she went to boarding school aged about 10, her mother told her that she would have to be "Margaret" or "Anne".  She says she chose Anne because it was easier to spell - but she never really learned to answer to it.  She often advised women who were about to have a baby: "Whatever you do, don't call it Pixie". 

When our little girl was born last week, we couldn't resist calling her Pixie.  I really miss my mum.  She'd be delighted to have another granddaughter.  Like all women whose inconsiderate children force them to wait until their sixties to become grandparents, she loved babies. 

I called my mum "Pixie", rather than "Mum".  I started calling my parents by their names when I was a teenager working at Pinetrees and didn't want to draw attention to myself.  It still feels a bit strange to be calling our tiny little girl Pixie.  When we were in hospital, one of the midwives asked me: "Are you Pixie's mum?" and I really had to think about it!