6 January 2012

I can now disclose why Alice went down to Cornwall. Sister Victoria had been concerned that her mother was not really eating properly and not talking. So, ‘my lovely’ decided she would go down, while Mick was here, perhaps, to say goodbye. Sadly, my dear mother-in-law passed away the afternoon before Alice planned to go to Cornwall but she went. nevertheless, to support her sister. As it happened, from that point of view, the timing could not have been better. Admittedly, ‘my lovely’ would have liked to have been there when her mother died but as it was she just slipped away in her sleep and nobody knows precisely when death occurred. Therefore, it would have been difficult to time the visit to achieve that objective. As it happened, Victoria was very pleased to have her sister’s support in working out the details of the things that needed attending to, initially the funeral next week and start working on the Memorial Service for the spring. My dear mother-in-law played her role public service. I believe she was .Cheif Guide in Wales and Chairman, or something close to it, for the Welsh Branch of the Red Cross. As a result I have no doubt that the Memorial Service will be quite an affair as, apart from anything else she was much loved and respected in North Wales in which she spent most of her married life.

When Alice has to go to Cornwall for the family funeral next Tuesday, she will have to employ one of the Ross Nursing Team to sleep here over the two nights that she needs to be away. Jane ‘the sheep’ too apparently as Jane knows her way around the house. So I should be well cator.

The good Dr very kindly offered to come back from Sweden to look after me over these two days. next week. but he has own family to think about who are all on the move again coming or going from or to Australia; Denmark; Sweden;, UK or USA so it would be quite ridiculous for him to go to Sweden and turn round to come back here two days later, but very generous of him to offer He may well come in February when the family go to Wales for the memorial service.

I was very fond of my mother-in-law and got cross with people when they tell jokes about mothers-in-law. She had a great number of friends-unfortunately, most of whom are now dead –but nevertheless she will be sorely missed by the family and the younger generation of people she knew extremely well. I shall certainly miss her having had the pleasure of knowing her as part of the family for the last 50 years.

Whilst I was being prepared from bed last evening I received a phone call from a dear old friend, Duncan Fairfax Lucy, who I had met when I became chief executive of Sanctuary Housing Association (previously The World of Property Housing Trust) and Duncan was the Finance Director or Chief accountant, when I took up my post, The timing of his telephone call could not have been more unfortunate as I was in the middle of being prepared for bed by one of the nurses. Not to put too fine a point on it, I was incommoded at the time. Anyway, I managed to ring him back a short while later and make my peace with him. Duncan is a very charming and delightful person who comes from an ancient family, the Fairfax-Lucy’s of Charlecote Park in Warwickshire which was owned and occupied by the Lucy family since 12 Century It is a beautiful stately home, surrounded by parkland which was laid out by the famous landscape gardener. Capability Brown. I have not heard from Duncan for sometime so was very pleased and touched that he took the trouble to pick up the phone to see how I was. The value of long-term friendships is something that my mother-in-law certainly appreciated.

At 1.30 today the long-awaited video conference with the Dragon technician took place. Despite this conference having been rearranged foor times to suit the two senior technicians, in the event, neither Ruben nor Mehdi, were available and we were serviced by one of the team of technician. Egoitz,. who ,like the other two, could not be more courteous or helpful. In the end this long awaited conference merely resulted in us telling them what Paul has done in attempting to isolate a problem. In other words, all the things they should have done themselves and have failed to do. Not once during the last six or seven months, since this problem has been with me, have these people made one suggestion how to resolve it. Now the ball is in their court. once again. Frankly, I wish they were far less charming and courteous and more competent in solving my problem

I tried to find something beautiful and appropriate to commemorate my dear mother-in-law. Unfortunately, what new media, I have is very limited, so I thought I would reproduce a collection of over 100 black-and-white photographs  Erinnerungen (Memories) covering the middle part of my mother-in-law’s life.Clicck  here and then click the slideshow button on your computer  You could not exactly call these beautiful photographs, but they are certainly evocative of the age in which she lived and would mean more to her and her generation then the present generation and are certainly worth preserving..