Saying goodbye to Annie

Today was a sad day for us at bake-a-boo, as we attended the funeral of one of our very special regular customers – Annie Hasan.

Annie came to bake-a-boo every week, ever since we opened in 2006. She always visited us on Fridays, and after a while we established her favourite cake was our chocolate chip cookie slice, so we always made sure we always had it on Fridays for her. She often visited us on other days too, and also passed by when she was taking her beloved cat Merlin to the vet (Merlin sadly died a few days before Annie). She became friends with all the girls who have come and gone, working at bake-a-boo. We all knew her, and she knew all of us. She would often come in and chat for hours, so I got to know a lot about her, and although I got to know a very dark and unhappy side of Annie through her tales of her own hardships, she was always very bubbly, friendly, smiling and gentle. She often bought us teapots she had found in the charity shop and was almost solely responsible for our magazine supply at bake-a-boo, she loved the American magazines and always gave them to us when she had read them. We therefore often talked about ‘the hills’ and ‘the kardashians’ and silly things like that.

Annie was a very special customer and it’s very strange to think I wont see her again. Unfortunately Annie took her own life on the 14th September 2010, it was a great shock to me and I was so sad at how she had chosen to end her life. Especially as the last time I saw Annie, she was overwhelmed with excitement and happiness as she attended our book launch on the 6th September. I know she had a great time and in fact as she left she hugged me and actually said ‘I love you so much!’ to me. I will always remember this now.

It’s funny since Annie has gone I have met several members of her family and her boyfriend who loved her dearly, and it’s meant a lot to me that they have come to see me, as complete strangers, they have found comfort in finding me and sharing memories of Annie with me. This has made me realise how much bake-a-boo meant to Annie. How she treasured her visits here and how our little shop made her happy in a life where she was very unhappy. She considered us her friends and we meant something to her, and that really means something to me. This experience has taught me a lot and made me think a lot, although it is a dark story, it has made me appreciate a lot, and I thank Annie for giving me this perspective.

This is a picture of some seeds we recieved at Annie’s funeral and we will plant them in our garden at bake-a-boo and watch them grow. We also made Annie chocolate chip cookie slices, her favourite cake, one last time, for her wake.

We will always remember her.

Annie Hasan – 1972-2010 – gone but not forgotten xxx