Saturday 18 November

Last Thursday, I took the plane to Holland in order to be with my family. I had been aware that my uncle had been terminally ill with cancer, and the illness was moving towards its inevitable conclusion. This came last night, just a day after I came back. At the time, my uncle was very distressed, and I was advised against a visit. However, I did attend a brief ceremony which took place a few hours after his death, at 11 o'clock at night. The coffin was taken from the hospice, where my uncle had been cared for during the last months of life, and conveyed down the driveway and up the street for a brief distance. At the nearest junction, we halted whilst the hearse continued on its way, finally disappearing from view round a distant corner. When I last saw my uncle, he was in good health and good spirits. Just last January, we celebrated his 90th birthday. I'll hold on to those good memories. RIP.