Thank you all for thinking of me on Friday. It wasn't easy - I knew it wouldn't be. When my daughter and I were sat in a little italian coffee shop in Highcliffe beforehand, I was dreading it. Once we got there though, there were lots of familiar faces - she had a good turn out - and a horsey friend of Tricia's whose pony has shared a field with Tricia's pony for quite a few years now, dyed her hair bright pink in memory of Trish (whose hair turned white very early and so she always jazzed it up with pink or purple flashes.)
I sat by two old school friends of mine (Lin and Hilary) who knew Trish from their teenage years and I'd not seen Hilary since we were 21, but knew her instantly.
It was a lovely humanist ceremony and the man who gave the reading about Tricia's life was really good at his job. Tricia's husband John had chosen 3 tracks by Curtis Stigers, who was Tricia's favourite musician. I hadn't read the final line of the programme, so I was totally unprepared when Knights in White Satin began to play. I had just about held it together up to that point (by dint of biting the inside of my lip and trying not to let my breathing get shallow.) Much nose blowing though, as tears will out and come down your nose if you deny them liberty from your eyes. That particular song just finished me though - we played it in her bedroom for hours on end (her poor parents must have got sick of it - I know her sister did!) I was glad when we were out in the fresh air and everyone walked across the grounds to put Tricia's ashes in the place they had chosen.
It was a perfect spot, in a little private bit of wild woodland away from the main burial area. Birds were singing (in December!) and although I didn't see it, there was a squirrel in the oak tree and her sister said that the squirrel had been there when they had chosen that tree as the focus for the ceremony. I am glad that the funeral is now behind me, and we can all move on, grieving in our own ways.
G is based in Portsmouth now, and below are a few photographs from inside Gunwharf Quays. As you can see, it is all dazzling with Christmas lights - the Father Christmas and his reindeer were spectacular at night.
Sorry, I have run out of time as I need an early night for a very early start tomorrow to finish the last jobs and get sorted before our house viewers turn up. Positive thoughts from 10 a.m. onwards please . . .
The Spinnaker is very impressive.
