Our parents give us life, but it’s our grandparents who provide us with a sense of identity, a true sense of grounding that we carry into our adult lives.

To me, this is everything that grandma was.

My earliest memories date back to summers spent in Ghana with her ‘loverboy’- my grandad and my younger sister, Mimi. There was never a dull moment, even with seemingly little to do on the farm our house was always buzzing with activity – an ideal environment for my idle prone childhood self. Whether singing, storytelling, baking or playing games my grandma not only encapsulated what it meant to be a loving grandma, but reinvented the term, merging her traditional African values with a touch of modernity to keep up with the times, always evolving yet always staying true to her core values.

Culture was a large part of my grandma’s identity that she held close to her heart yet truly revelled in sharing with all, family and beyond. African folk tales such as Anansi the spider, that warned about the consequences of behaving badly were a bedtime regular and I remember my grandma kindly provided an entire classroom’s worth of traditional Ghanaian shekere drums to my primary school. 

My loving grandma truly enjoyed extending her culture so that others too could have a taste of something she held in such high esteem. Grandma was proud of all parts of her identity, had a very strong sense of self and wished for others also to have that same confidence and fervent self-belief. In her own words:

She wasn’t any ordinary chef; “I was a TOP chef.”

She wasn’t any old teacher; “I was a TOP teacher.”

It was this same self-confidence that she worked hard to instil into all her children and grandchildren. Every time I entered the doors at Ringwood Avenue the rest of the world melted away and I was truly special, with all my achievements and seemingly insignificant wins magnified. Grandma truly believed that every single one of her children and grandchildren were the most spectacularly gifted beings in existence and she made it her mission to remind us of our importance, power and ability. Through grandma’s passing I feel as though I have lost my biggest cheerleader, however I am eternally grateful for the power and self-belief she imparted to me.

Self-doubt was not present in grandma’s mind – if you want it, with hard work you will achieve it. At the age of 23 my grandma arrived in London along with her husband and nothing more than her faith, hard work and grit and together they built the 5 child, 16 grandchild and 1 greatgrandchild strong Adade empire. It is important for us all to continue her teachings of hard-work and resilience throughout our lives, as a way to carry on her legacy. 

I’m yet to meet anyone who had quite a knack for making friends like grandma. An ordinary shopping trip would often turn into a huge social activity with grandma at the very centre, engaging with shop workers and members of the public, sharing stories and laughter. Her love for socialising and making meaningful friendship is shown by the global network of friends that she possessed.


When myself and my sister were younger, we went on several road trips across Europe to visit some of the many friends my grandparents had made throughout their years, from Emma in Switzerland to the late Mama Boye in Amsterdam. My grandma’s phone notifications would always sound at all hours of the day (and night!) with messages from friends and family in different time zones around the world. We would often joke that her Whatsapp was even more popular than mine and my sister’s combined, the outpour of love shown via Whatsapp messages since her passing shows that this was in fact true.

Even in her later years when cooking became more of a challenge my grandma would refuse to let anyone leave Ringwood hungry. She found ways to adapt her traditional African dishes to make them vegan friendly for my sister and I. Selflessness was a fundamental quality trait of grandma’s and even when she was suffering she made it her duty to ensure that all around her were doing well. She was not only a grandma to me but also a grandma to many of my close friends and she will be dearly missed.

May we all continue the hard work and foundations she tirelessly worked to establish during her time here with us. Although her physical body is unfortunately no longer present, the life lessons she imparted us with shall eternally remain.

Grandma, although you may have passed on your memories will always live on within us. Thank you for your sacrifices, your care and concern, your love and everything that you have done for me. I know you are in a much better place and I shall be forever grateful and thankful that you are my grandma.