It is a year later.I feel like it’s time to check in. Give myself a service. See how I’m getting on.Mar 281Mar 281
It is the first time since I was single digits that I have spent Christmas in LA.I have little memory of those early years, when my parents were still together, the Seventies with its lava lamps and shag carpets, my Mum…Jul 9, 2024Jul 9, 2024
Suddenly, I am in a panic. Because in a fortnight’s time, we are travelling to America.This month has always featured the double whammy of Stanley’s birthday followed almost immediately by Gill’s, three days later. Not long…Jun 3, 2024Jun 3, 2024
We are an odd quartet.The grouchy Dad, just about managing, just about coping, just about keeping it together, just, just about; the introvert eldest, mostly…Apr 29, 20242Apr 29, 20242
August stretches on. All thoughts now turn towards the service. The celebration of life.It begins to obsess me. I’m not sleeping well. When I wake, it’s my first thought. Sometimes, I reach for my phone in the dark, open Notes…Mar 12, 20241Mar 12, 20241
All the firsts are hard. The first birthday, first anniversary. And here is the first holiday.We knew that come August, going abroad was unlikely: in all probability she would be required by hospitals for treatment and appointments.Feb 29, 20242Feb 29, 20242
At some point, it stops being The Day Before and The Day After and simply becomes August.We are left in the aftermath. This new paradigm. Five have become Four.Feb 20, 2024Feb 20, 2024
Saturday, Day Three, and her Dad is coming down, with his wife Margaret and her daughter, Lizzie.All her family. My extended family.Feb 14, 2024Feb 14, 2024
The next day, the Friday, is entirely hazy.I do remember that Jane came round, red-eyed, to pay her respects. She had known Gill for years and was both a close friend as well as a…Feb 8, 2024Feb 8, 2024
