Love, Poetry and Revolution - Wednesday 5th March 2025

Life has changed a lot since I last wrote here, but there's only one thing I can actually write about.

About a month ago, E died after a long illness.  Although it had been expected for a long time, it still came as quite a shock.  There wasn't any warning, and the carers discovered her body in the morning.

Although my three sons and I had been grieving for the loss of a mum and a wife for a long time, the finality of this was deeply upsetting. As one of my sons said, "I was just used to her being there all the time".

Overall, it was a relief because E had suffered so much in the past few months. This was very unpleasant for her, obviously, but also very hard to watch and hear. 

After E's death, there has been lots to do.  Last week, we had a wake/celebration of her life, which was attended by around 60 people from across her life, ranging from her childhood to friends she'd made amongst the mums who had children at school at the same time as our youngest. There were also friends from my life, who didn't really know her and friends of my sons.  We all spoke about E and were all very moved.  All three of my sons spoke about their mum with confidence and heartfelt emotion. It was beautiful.  

There is still more to do. More admin. More tributes. We also plan to scatter her ashes.  

We will never forget her and will honour her memory into the future.  Looking through photos and videos, it was wonderful to see and hear her as she was before the cruel disease took over. When you spend such a long time looking after someone, it's easy to lose sight of who they were as you are busy dealing with day-to-day reality.

Goodbye E, you are missed and are loved forever.

David Bowie /  'Wild is The Wind'  / 'Station to Station'

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