Vale Gwen

After Jim had moved to Sheffield, then Chesterfield, and particularly after his father died, we tried to visit his mother every six to eight weeks and to take her out somewhere.

Usually it was tied to a Sunday lunch. We would go out into the New Forest and eat in one of the pubs. We would go to the harbour at Lymington and eat in the Ship. Occasionally we went to National Trust gardens and once we went to Longleat to look at the animals. We visited several zoos and animal parks.  There was always lunch (even if it wasn't always Sunday - but it often was).

As she got frailer we didn't always venture quite so far.  Often we ate in the Old Mill in Harnham, Salisbury and then went for a drive in the country after. But on good days we tried to go to other places.

When she died we thought hard about what to do to celebrate her life.  The funeral is tomorrow in Salisbury, England.  It wasn't feasible for us to go to that. We had to have a celebration for her here. So yesterday Lindsey, Ian, Jim, Farley the toy dog and I went to Daylesford for Sunday lunch in the Convent Gallery cafe (called Bad Habits :-D)  We took Farley because Gwen had loved him so much that we got her one of her own.  Except that the one we ordered took so long to get to us that we gave her my original Farley (washed, brushed and prettied up, I might add) and adopted the second Farley instead. Tabitha reminded me that he should go too and I must say it did seem appropriate.

I think she would have enjoyed it.  The Convent Gallery is in a lovely location and the cafe does delicious food.

A celebration for Gwen (Photo by Lindsey)

We toasted her on her way with Prosecco and white wine

My very delicious chicken schnitzel with fried potatoes and lemon coleslaw

The food was perhaps not what Gwen would have chosen to eat. She liked mostly plain food, though she very much enjoyed a pub Sunday Roast with all the trimmings (child portions in her latter years). This was more like plain-ish food with interesting twists.  So the coleslaw had lemon sauce rather than mayonnaise.  Lindsey had pancakes with smoked salmon inside.  Jim, to my astonishment, had a vegan friendly dish of grilled beetroot, roast cauliflower and a quinoa salad.  Not sure what Gwen would have made of that :-D  She might have had a small glass of wine, given that it was An Occasion. Normally, though, she would have orange juice.  We had wine and sparkling water on the side.

Afterwards we went to the Daylesford Lake and had a short walk.  We could have taken Gwen on this walk, in her wheelchair, if someone had been strong enough to push her up the one hill.  We once took her on a walk in her wheelchair which involved a steep hill, except that we were going down.  It was a ramshackle, uneven path with signs along it which looked for all the world as if it was forbidding the use of watering cans.  It was only when we finally managed to get to the bottom without tipping her out, or dropping her into the lake, or otherwise breaking her or us - it was only then that we realised that the watering cans were meant to represent push chairs and other wheeled devices.  The path wasn't suitable for wheelchairs.  Well, we knew that by the time we worked out the meaning of the signs.  Fortunately, she thought it was very funny.  But the path around the lake in Daylesford would be eminently suitable for a wheelchair.  And the sun had come out.  After a cold and gloomy morning, the weather had bucked up while we were having lunch and we had all taken out jumpers off.  And the lake was sparkling in the sunshine

Photo by Ian

It was a good day. I think Gwen would have thoroughly enjoyed it.  Jim certainly enjoyed it.  I hope it was a good send off for her.

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Yesterday one of the TV channels took 17 hours out of its schedule for some "Slow Television". They showed the Ghan train on its journey from Adelaide to Darwin.  Obviously it was edited; the actual trip takes four days. There was no commentary and no music. You heard the train announcements but no other voices apart from the conversation of the passengers when the camera was in the dining carriages or cabins. They did have writing on the screen and graphics from time to time to explain the history or culture of wherever the train was.  Lindsey turned it on in the kitchen at 7 and we had it on all day, apart from when we went out.  None of us watched it solidly. We watched it when we were in the kitchen. Some people complained it was boring. Others said it would have been better with commentary and/or music.  We  all thought it was perfect as it was.  Gentle, soothing television where you didn't really miss anything if you weren't there.  Except for Alice Springs.  We were out at lunch when the train reached there. They are thinking of making another program of something similar. I believe it took about two years to get it all put together so I am not holding my breath!!  I wonder if the test cricket would benefit from there not being a commentary.  There isn't one if you go to the ground :-D