Up early as a busy day ahead. I'd arranged to go and help Tim Jones, the local vicar on Tang Hall Lane, with processing a pile of garden trimmings. I put my electric shredder in my trailer and he found his extension lead so we could use it on a concrete pad. Tim had done a lot of garden clearing, pruning galore, so the pile of shreddables was a lot bigger than I'd remembered. But this also meant that I had a bigger pile of sticks out of the deal!
However, I had to leave there at 10.30 as at 11 I wanted to be at Stella Rawson's funeral. I went home to get changed into tidy clothes, and Gill informed me that some friends/colleagues from St Nicks had rang asking where the funeral was. I hadn't discussed this with Gill so she wasn't able to tell them. However, after the funeral, I spoke to them and they'd googled her name and come up with my blog post which I'd deliberately put the details of when and where the funeral was. I was pleased about this.
So, anyway, poor Stella's funeral. The 'back story' is really sad; she'd had a weight problem for a long time and was determined to reduce it, but dieting hadn't worked so she'd opted to have a gastric band put in, to limit what she could comfortably eat. She suffered complications, and after several weeks, passed away. I didn't know Stella well, although I'd met her several times when working with Robin on his solar panel installation and when he'd showed me his super woodstove which runs his central heating. I feel most sorry for the children. Losing your Mummy must be really hard to cope with.
The church was packed but I did find a place. Stella was very involved with the church so it was a normal Christian funeral. As usual, the best bit of the event was where family and friends say a few words about the person, as that gives you a much better idea of their life. Stella was very well liked, loved, respected and valued. It really is a terrible loss. Afterwards, the close family went to the Crematorium, and other guests went to a buffet lunch... I came home as I needed to get back to Tim's to finish off the shredding.
There wasn't much more to do, so we cleared up and then had a coffee and chat for an hour, covering diverse subjects including Aspergers, counselling, several mutual friends, chimney balloons and more!
But, once again, I had to get away as I wanted to be in Newcastle by 5.30. I'd been invited to the launch event of the Cultural Partnership between the RSA and Northumbria University. I managed to get to the station for about 4.45 and there was soon a train heading North, scheduled to take an hour. When in Newcastle I decided to get a taxi to the venue.
(tbc)
However, I had to leave there at 10.30 as at 11 I wanted to be at Stella Rawson's funeral. I went home to get changed into tidy clothes, and Gill informed me that some friends/colleagues from St Nicks had rang asking where the funeral was. I hadn't discussed this with Gill so she wasn't able to tell them. However, after the funeral, I spoke to them and they'd googled her name and come up with my blog post which I'd deliberately put the details of when and where the funeral was. I was pleased about this.
So, anyway, poor Stella's funeral. The 'back story' is really sad; she'd had a weight problem for a long time and was determined to reduce it, but dieting hadn't worked so she'd opted to have a gastric band put in, to limit what she could comfortably eat. She suffered complications, and after several weeks, passed away. I didn't know Stella well, although I'd met her several times when working with Robin on his solar panel installation and when he'd showed me his super woodstove which runs his central heating. I feel most sorry for the children. Losing your Mummy must be really hard to cope with.
The church was packed but I did find a place. Stella was very involved with the church so it was a normal Christian funeral. As usual, the best bit of the event was where family and friends say a few words about the person, as that gives you a much better idea of their life. Stella was very well liked, loved, respected and valued. It really is a terrible loss. Afterwards, the close family went to the Crematorium, and other guests went to a buffet lunch... I came home as I needed to get back to Tim's to finish off the shredding.
There wasn't much more to do, so we cleared up and then had a coffee and chat for an hour, covering diverse subjects including Aspergers, counselling, several mutual friends, chimney balloons and more!
But, once again, I had to get away as I wanted to be in Newcastle by 5.30. I'd been invited to the launch event of the Cultural Partnership between the RSA and Northumbria University. I managed to get to the station for about 4.45 and there was soon a train heading North, scheduled to take an hour. When in Newcastle I decided to get a taxi to the venue.
(tbc)
1 comment:
Hi John,
Thanks for coming along yesterday. I was also very moved by the events and the overwhelming number of people attending.
The nature of the surgery was actually much more substantial; it was actually a gastric bypass. This was a much more drastic procedure, but one that was felt very necessary. Stella had a DVT in her arm around 15 years ago but fortunately it stayed-put and was treated successfully. The rationale for this surgery was to reduce the potential for future circulatory disorders. However, a trio of post-operative infections made her somewhat sedentery for an extended period, a sort of self-imposed "economy-class syndrome", followed by another DVT, one which travelled to her lungs with fatal consequences.
Obviously a sad and devastating loss for everyone. However, the kids and I are working well together as a team and will get through it.
Take care, Robin.
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