Another
Another funeral... again held at the nearby Hutcliffe Wood Crematorium. It was well-attended. The "departed" was a fellow called Paul who lived round the corner. He was 74 years old. We had known him for over thirty years. His middle child, Laura, was in our Ian's class at primary school and his youngest child, John, was in our Frances's class. As is so often the case, it was cancer that got him. He died last month at home with a lot of end-of-life care being provided by St Luke's - our local hospice. It was nice that the service was humanist - led by a well-informed and kindly celebrant with not a whiff of that Christian claptrap that we so often have to endure at funerals. "He is with God now" - I am sorry but no he is not - he is just dead, plain dead - and nothing continues but the memories. Paul would have been proud of his three grown-up children. They each went up to the dais and delivered dignified but heartfelt reflections upon the loss of...