Well, I'm back.

[shewhomust]

Tuesday was both bright and misty: driving down to Essex, looking at the countryside through a screen of pearly radiance which heightened the green, the fade-to-grey and the occasional splash of bright foliage. It wasn't foggy enough to make problems driving: we were later than we planned simply because we set off later than we planned. The idea had been to give ourselves the treat of stopping off at the Cambridge Illuminations exhibition, and we did, but arrived less than an hour before closing time (more about the exhibition later, I hope).

The funeral went smoothly, I think. The undertakers were magnificently formal: the hearse pulled away from the house at a walking pace, accompanied by three men on foot, one in a top hat walking ahead, and two (more junior?) bareheaded, one on either side. Only when we were out of the estate did they stop, bow to the coffin and get into the hearse. And when we reached the cemetery, same thing in reverse. I'd never seen this before, but I liked it: it seemed to set the journey in parentheses, to assert that it might seem just another car journey but was in fact different. The service itself - oh, well, it wouldn't have been my choice, but why should it be? I'm sure it was appropriate. durham_rambler's summary of his mother's life story caught something of the flavour of the person, the stories she told, and also the stories she didn't tell, because she was very modest about her own strengths and abilities.

Afterwards we went back to London with my brother. We had thought that since we won't, now, make our traditional pre-Christmas visit to London, we might stay a few days and see some friends. But the Bears (my brother and sister-in-law) were setting off on Friday morning for a weekend in York, and although we could have stayed at their house anyway, the next person we talked to was also heading north for the weekend, and we rather lost heart. Maybe we just wanted to be home.

So we enjoyed our time in London: had an evening when we were allowed to sit in on a band rehearsal, which was joyful, and a day in town to do some errands - took my camera, which has been misbehaving, back to Morgan, bought my 2006 diary from the British Library, lunched on the vegetarian buffet at Diwana, where we used to go thirty-odd years ago, scoured the Fantasy Centre and bought a couple of books. And on Friday morning we came home.

Since when we have been playing catch-up, enlivened by visits from David - to dinner on Friday on his way up to visit his mother, and again to lunch today on his way home again. Not caught up yet, but getting there...

Comments

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Weren't the Fitzwilliam manuscripts just marvelous?

And I am much taken with those hieratic psychopomps, though I am very sorry for your loss.

Nine

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

They were marvelous indeed - I've made a stab at expressing how marvelous. And marvels are a good thing when life is otherwise not marvelous.

(And I'd rather talk about the good bits than the bad).

[helenraven.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that things went smoothly, and I look forward to seeing you the next time you're in London.

I have devoured all of the Antonia Forest books and am now itching to read the non-school books. The books reminded me strongly of my own boarding school, in a way I haven't found with other school books.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

I have devoured all of the Antonia Forest books and am now itching to read the non-school books.

I'm sure we can arrange a meeting to swap - though I warn you, the term-time books are where she's really hit her stride. Sorry not to get in touch while we were in London - as you see, we really did head home pretty much at once. Another time...