Dad:
We had said we would inter Dad's ashes very quickly after his cremation. We were even talking about doing it while the flowers were still fresh. We didn't get round to it. I'm not sure why... I think once a week had passed after the funeral, things started to just lumber on. I went home, then I went away for a week. Lorraine started working more days. We all got caught up in organising Mum and sorting out her house purchase. Before we knew it, nearly two months had gone by. Or, as Dad would have put it: "Another classic example of not getting things done straight away".
So, Lorraine had started to get bothered about Dad's ashes sitting around in someone's office waiting to be collected (and I don't blame her). We decided this should be done before Mum's house move and so we arranged the interment for Tuesday 28th August, the day after Bank Holiday.
It was a small, quiet affair - no minister involved, just Mum and the three children. Neil put the casket into the grave (Dad is buried with Mum's parents and grandmother at Yewtree Cemetery in Liverpool) and we all just stood there, sobbing. Mum finally said "He's where he wanted to be" and we came back home.
Next we will need to organise engraving the headstone.
Mum's house move:
Mum moved into her lovely new flat on 1st September. The week leading up to the move was hectic with lots of sorting and packing to be done. Lorraine and I did it. On the day of the move, we sent Mum to Lorraine's house, as she was getting very wound up and stressed. We then set about unpacking things into her new flat and didn't collect Mum until after 2pm when most of the kitchen and lounge was looking lovely.
Everything was pretty much finished by Sunday lunchtime.
Oh - we had a bit of drama on Sunday morning when Roy got locked into the bin store! He had to force his way out of the fire exit, which turned out to be alarmed and linked to the local police station! The police arrived about 15 minutes later, and luckily we were able to explain what had happened.... they didn't make a big deal of it!
Work:
I found a job. It is working for a company called Just Retirement and it is, at this moment in time, a dream job for me.
I'll be a full time presenter/trainer basically going around the North of the country doing seminars to Financial Advisers. A part of my job that I've always enjoyed, and so, I'm looking forward to this. I start in October. I was concerned that taking a downshift might not be the right thing to do, but there are so many reasons why it is, that I'm prepared to take a chance on this. Just Retirement is a growing company and so who knows where this could lead.
Holidays:
We've booked a fortnight in the Maldives, starting 14th September.
I'll be taking lots of books, lots of Factor 30 sun cream, and my snorkelling gear.
Bad News:
Last week was a bad news week in many ways. Jane Tomlinson died, and I've followed her story over the years.
Then Pavarotti died. Not that I knew him, but he had Pancreatic Cancer and so his was another story I'd had an interest in.
Then two more pieces of bad news which were much more personal to me.
First of all, I found out that my friend Barbara (who lives in Canada, but I got to know while she was in Widnes caring for her mum this year) had another cancer journey to embark on. Her husband Bill has been diagnosed with Bone Cancer in his arm. They await a Surgeon's appointment to agree treatment and prognosis. I wish Barbara all the strength she will need to cope with this... she's being tested to her limits this year.
Secondly, our good friend Yasser from Jinnah restaurant in Leeds passed away suddenly last week. Roy had spoken to him on Tuesday when he'd rung to make a booking for Saturday night. They'd had the usual banter about "where have you been, we haven't seen you for ages" and sport and stuff. Yasser used to tell us off if we'd stayed away from Jinnah for too long! I think the last time we'd been in was mid-July with Lorraine, Paul and Emily.
Apparently on the night he died, Yasser had been chatting with Chip Shop Dave* (a frequent visitor to Jinnah, he's in there all the time) and his wife. Then his head dropped to one side and after about a minute he slid off the chair and onto the floor - he was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. They are doing a post mortem today.
Yasser was a vibrant, good looking, genuinely good man. He was 26. Here's a picture of him, with my niece, Emily, taken in June when we went there to celebrate her Birthday.
*Chip Shop Dave owns the Skyliner Fish shop and restaurant near to us. Isn't Chip Shop Dave a great name!!!???
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