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was named Catherine after her mother and Angelina after her father's sister in
Switzerland. Gaetano had by now reached his 70th year and his children's ages
spanned a period of over 30 years.
Four years earlier, Gaetano had sought naturalisation'*^ as had many of his
compatriots nearing retirement age and wishing to apply for a govemment pension (for
which British citizenship was a prerequisite). He remained close to his Swiss roots,
however, and encouraged his wife Catherine to participate in community gatherings.
On 1 August of each year, they would assemble with other Swiss in the bar parlour of
Lafranchis' Swiss Mountain Hotel to celebrate Swiss National Day (see following
section). Accompanied by Gaetano on the piano-accordion and the Lafranchi girls on
the piano, the festive group, according to family history,'** would laugh, talk and sing
Swiss songs. One of these songs was recalled by Gaetano's son Celestino many years
later and recorded phonetically as foUows:
Quon, Quill, Quer
Quen, Quill, Quer
Mena tilla laski
Quon, Quill, Quor
Dina la viski mai
Mai calla lasha ling
Mai calla lasha ling. ^
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