By Heather Main
Sunday will certainly be a bumper Mother’s Day for this family, as five generations of women celebrate together.
Baby Lyla-Rose Ashworth completes the line-up, which also includes her mum, Alice Kelso, 25, grandma Louise Kelso, 45, great- grandma Brenda Atherton, 70, and great-great-grandma Alice Rayon, 90.
First-time mum Alice, a utilities analyst, says: “We’re such a close family and we all feel very lucky to have each other. “Lyla-Rose absolutely adores her grandparents and great-grandparents. She is doted on and we’re definitely never stuck for a babysitter.
“Becoming a first-time mum can be overwhelming at times but I know I’ve always got lots of people who have been there and done that to advise me. We all live within walking distance of each other and there isn’t a week goes by when we don’t get together.
“Mother’s Day is always a big celebration for us, so I’m looking forward to celebrating as a mum this year too.”
The family all live in Kirkham, Lancs, although they will be celebrating on Sunday with a girls’ weekend in London. There will be plenty of names for Lyla-Rose, who was born on November 2, to learn when she gets older.
There’s her grandmother, Nanna Louise, her great-grandmother Brenda, who is simply GG, and her great-great-grandmother Alice, known as Grandma.
New mum Alice, whose husband Jackson Ashworth, 25, works as a car parts adviser, says of Louise and Alice: “Not many people get to be a grandma while also having their own grandma around.”
She adds: “It’s so important for children to grow up surrounded by older generations. Every generation brings something unique.
“Lyla-Rose is so lucky to have that. We come from a very strong line of women. We have all worked, we’ve all shown our daughters how to look after themselves and I think you can see how that work ethic has rubbed off.”
Great-grandma Brenda juggled parenting with working as a cleaner and home help, while her mother Alice worked in service, cleaning farm houses in the 1940s.
Brenda, 70, says: “We’re a close family and we all stick together – there’s no falling out. Parenting is very different now but I’m glad Alice has all of us around to help support her.”
Family matriarch Alice, who is one of 10 children, adds: “I’m glad life is different now and my grandchildren and great-grandchildren won’t have as hard a life as I did.
“I grew up during the war. There were 10 children and my parents in a two-up, two-down. I remember being snuggled up to my siblings at night, listening to the RAF planes taking off from a base near our house.
“My grandparents lived quite far away from us when I was little, so having family close by became really important to me. I’ve adored seeing all my daughters and granddaughters making their own way through life.”
A mum of three, grandmother of four and great-grandmother of 11, she adds: “When each baby is born, it never gets old. It’s as exciting as it ever was. The one thing I’ve learned over the years is to keep my mouth shut until I’m asked for advice.
“Every generation brings up their children differently, and they all think they know best! I just let them do it their way until they ask me for help. There’s no way any child will grow up in our family short of love though, that’s for sure.”
