Frances

J. has just telephoned to tell us that our friend Frances has died. She has been in hospital since late last month; she was admitted with the sort of breathlessness that durham_rambler suffered from a year earlier, and we were hopeful that she would respond as well to treatment - and maybe get help with some other long-term problems while she was there. But as the days passed, she did not seem any better. Perhaps we were just unlucky, and our visit coincided with her feeling particularly sleepy: J., who visited more often, was more upbeat. But I thought her weariness went deeper, and I feared that this was where we were heading.

She died this morning, slipping away quickly and quietly, and her three adult children were with her. So it could be a lot worse, but she will be very much missed. She was a kind, generous person, with a gift for friendship with a great variety of people. I've known her since my student days, when a series of friends baby-sat for her: there are so many memories -

- but not now. I'm closing comments on this post, because I've said what I want to say for now. But I didn't want to let it go unmentioned.