The sparrows of Titahi Bay know exactly where to go to get a good feed.
Now 89, Delia spends her days at home, with a highlight being nurturing the sparrows that visit.
“They never stop. They stay in the tree until they are fed,” she says.
Delia has a tried and true recipe for her sparrow food.
“I use Weetbix with a bit of jam, break up superwine biscuits, and mix them with a bit of hot water. Then I put it on the ground in little blobs so they don’t need to fight.”
Delia has lived most of her life in Wellington’s eastern suburbs, born at St Helens Maternity Hospital, the tenth of 13 children. She starting work in Manners Street in 1948 when she was just 14 years old, after one year of college.
“We were a happy family, but things were very tough for us, very hard. I think most people had that in the 30s.
“I can remember the depression seemed to go on for ever. I was about 7 years old before I got new clothes – a tartan skirt and twin set. I went around all of Lyall Bay showing them my new clothes, I was just so happy.”
Delia married when she was 19 and her husband was 23.
“He was my brother’s friend and I always wondered why he was at our place so much!
“We got married on the day the Queen and Prince Philip arrived in New Zealand for the first time.
“We had 55 very happy years. I had a wonderful husband,” says Delia.
Delia relies on Mary Potter Hospice to help her to connect with other people and attends the Hospice’s day unit at Porirua.
“It’s just so good. We make things, and we do lots of craft work, something new each week. We even played poker one day. No one grouches. No one gets jealous. Everyone is together.”
Delia has special praise for the volunteers. “They are just brilliant. The people who come and pick you up. You never have to wait for anything – it’s just there. It’s just unreal how wonderful it is.”
Delia decided years ago, before her diagnosis, that if she got cancer she didn’t want treatment.
“I’ve been quite surprised that people have accepted that I don’t want to have treatment. I didn’t think it would be accepted as well. No one has ever tried to change my mind.”
Delia says that as soon as she found out she was sick she thought “Mary Potter is the place for me. Mary Potter gave me a wheelchair and a walker. I love the walker. It makes me feel so much more secure.”
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