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31-05-2023, 22:11
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https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-jy1DD3eMLc1E8WXwwg0iQOQo7ZGi_9CcaEuXv4W14UlnGO-EBBlPx7iyhfI592-dO6f5W12aP29ZhYOz513Hd5RZnukbfr57sd5_Ai14MDFi3tIRp WiNKg3-EyXwsNcTAQWnruriK7GQth_L38bAOj93JR5x5w8G6t9_zzrYRY oQfcrBfu7dYXE/w234-h400/Norwich%20cathedral.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-jy1DD3eMLc1E8WXwwg0iQOQo7ZGi_9CcaEuXv4W14UlnGO-EBBlPx7iyhfI592-dO6f5W12aP29ZhYOz513Hd5RZnukbfr57sd5_Ai14MDFi3tIRp WiNKg3-EyXwsNcTAQWnruriK7GQth_L38bAOj93JR5x5w8G6t9_zzrYRY oQfcrBfu7dYXE/s3805/Norwich%20cathedral.jpg)
I wrote this article some time ago – two months previously,to be precise. Given the personal nature of the piece, I wasn’t sure whether ornot it should see the light of day, but for better or for worse, and in theabsence of anything else of note at the moment, here it is, warts and all. It begins on a rather dampand dismal day at the end of March.On the final Wednesday in March, I made my first visit toNorwich since before the pandemic - October 2019 to be precise. Prior to then Ihad only made sporadic visits to the city, primarily whilst visiting my latefather when he was residing in a care home in the small village of Gressenhall tothe north of Dereham. Those visits mainly involved calling in at a couple ofpubs on my way back to the station, and looking back there are only a handfulof those, such as the Murderer’s and the Compleat Angler.
In the years preceding my parents decline in health –physical for mum and mental for dad, I would drive up to Norfolk for theweekend - the county my folks had retired to. I would find a half decent bedand breakfast establishment or, better still, a pub, spend time with my parentsduring the day, and then retire for the evening to the B&B or pub I was stayingat. This arrangement continued after mum passed away at the end of February2015. A year or so later, my sisters and I took the difficult decision to move dad into a care home, due to the onset of Alzheimer's and the slow, but steady decline in his mental faculties. It then became easier to take the train to Norwich, followed by abus, or a taxi to dad’s care home.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHGsGFsXeAxBNlii9qWL8KIoIiREyJUdAYEupjjuY3S 6SscXTBK6_mpk3jN9r2QSREkk3m9HjWQF8Rd3TcFl6p-imYY4KAC2Rb3uDD4E7QZuoZvMS49I5RChIaNTAM7IjYvOtijOK lE6lIzhAYdnEjkTmLPyLA2bPwWF69E3pWL1AmUTIEo3FerrP/w300-h400/20180615_163507.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHGsGFsXeAxBNlii9qWL8KIoIiREyJUdAYEupjjuY3S 6SscXTBK6_mpk3jN9r2QSREkk3m9HjWQF8Rd3TcFl6p-imYY4KAC2Rb3uDD4E7QZuoZvMS49I5RChIaNTAM7IjYvOtijOK lE6lIzhAYdnEjkTmLPyLA2bPwWF69E3pWL1AmUTIEo3FerrP/s4128/20180615_163507.jpg)Dad sadly passed away in 2021, at the beginning of January, and whilst the cause of death recorded on the death certificate was stated as COVID, advancing Alzheimer's was almost certainly the real cause. Apart from a brief visit in August 2020 where, because of COVID restrictions I'd only been able to talk to him through a half-open window, I hadn't seen dad since the autumn of the previous year. It was heartbreaking to see the deterioration in his health, brought on by the Alzheimer's, so in some respects his passing was a relief to all concerned.
InFebruary of that year Eileen, Matthew and I drove up to Norfolk for dad's funeral. COVID restrictions we're still very much in force, which meantlimited numbers at the funeral itself. In addition, as hotels, pubs, and restaurants were closed, there was no possibility of an overnight stay. Instead, it was a quick drive up to Norfolk for the ceremony, and then back to Kent. All this still makes me very angry, when hearing that serial liar, BorisJohnson defending his attendance at “works gatherings”, cake sharing and otheractivities that were quite blatantly contrary to the very laws his governmentimposed on us. Meanwhile those of us who had lost loved ones were unable to saygoodbye properly or give them a proper send-off.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRF4o1HDHstm23t7jxOGdze3QeWPmjejS_Bpz9MvkFk B1i-H6KWPOFBIAP86z4LNnChKm4YVgk9nn8gmhu3K47T2R7ALMOqux elOxC6gYxZb6hefpFuk9XHbXlJRTahMaFDv8jyAvvy7Hxn-iVn2zYc-VRptvNPqeB16qb45E4oom_doff7qrJQ5u/w400-h225/IMG_20230329_092605.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRF4o1HDHstm23t7jxOGdze3QeWPmjejS_Bpz9MvkFk B1i-H6KWPOFBIAP86z4LNnChKm4YVgk9nn8gmhu3K47T2R7ALMOqux elOxC6gYxZb6hefpFuk9XHbXlJRTahMaFDv8jyAvvy7Hxn-iVn2zYc-VRptvNPqeB16qb45E4oom_doff7qrJQ5u/s3264/IMG_20230329_092605.jpg)The interment of my parents ashes came about followingdiscussions between myself and my two sisters. Neither mum nor dad had made anyprovision for where they wanted to end up, so to speak, and in fact I remembermy mother flying off the handle when my younger sister asked her the question. Thiswas totally uncalled for, although I think it was more a reflection on mymother’s fear of dying, than any real anger against her youngest daughter. After mum’s passing, we're aware that one or two people thatmy parents knew locally had been interned at Greenacres Woodland Burial Centre at Colney, on the outskirts of Norwich. As a result, we took thedecision, with dad's blessing, to lay mum’s ashes to rest there, and inaccordance with the Greenacre’s policy, that all memorials should bebiodegradable, we had a wooden plaque carved in mum's memory, with space fordads details to be added when the time came.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xlLOmzhQwzHZ6ENR9PI20knvvmt7hI5f3Ja2-VCvh4p98nS4ztMKqYza8VEY7bj-l52U5v3VXK0mblggcCS__VzVXevH7LtmO6x59AoM5o7H8KlnlZ sYGrBVHqpbWRR4iKEgNZ9s35H57-7iMadJYaRFe99J56kw1WVZr8spaMuoipgs8QAU-hCB/w400-h225/IMG_20230329_122625.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xlLOmzhQwzHZ6ENR9PI20knvvmt7hI5f3Ja2-VCvh4p98nS4ztMKqYza8VEY7bj-l52U5v3VXK0mblggcCS__VzVXevH7LtmO6x59AoM5o7H8KlnlZ sYGrBVHqpbWRR4iKEgNZ9s35H57-7iMadJYaRFe99J56kw1WVZr8spaMuoipgs8QAU-hCB/s4000/IMG_20230329_122625.jpg)When that time did eventually come, my sistersand I took the decision that rather try and add dad’s details to the existingmemorial, we would commission the original wood carver, to produce a new plaque,showing both mum and dads details. This was because when I had last visited Greenacre’s, in the spring of 2019, it was evident that after just four years the wooden memorialplaque had weathered quite badly and was starting to deteriorate. The new plaquewas installed sometime towards the end of last year, and I promised to go and seeit in situ.
I had been waiting for the better weather, but it didn’t materialise,so with a few days off work I grabbed the bull by the horns, booked an AdvanceReturn rail ticket from Tonbridge to Norwich. The idea was to combine visit to Colney, with a look around Norwich, taking in a few of the city's pubs, of course. The last occasion I'd hadtime to do this was in 2013, when I attended the CAMRA National AGM, held inthe city's historic St. Andrews Halls. After my late morning arrival, Ijumped on a couple of buses which deposited me outside the entrance to the Woodland Burial Centre. It’s not at all easy trying to identify an individualplot in an area of woodland, however carefully it’s being managed, butfortunately I brought the plot references with me, and the helpful young man inthe reception building, was able to guide me directly to the spot.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmCgwuXf7qRkekzkibk6Hujm3ViCmVxIxdkNlGmeEfj qRAMYUY-arpIeYInW2BaeruByWtTr_e_78x34msZZQ-SIty2pLAOnj5zW3ma18r-zqdFNB3PRCQNxwa6xgQReKM3VF43zdU7T3OY2jWMH-nXGj_wTTDEcqgYxYjxNtEE-nT6902ipxrD5n/w400-h225/IMG_20230329_122547.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmCgwuXf7qRkekzkibk6Hujm3ViCmVxIxdkNlGmeEfj qRAMYUY-arpIeYInW2BaeruByWtTr_e_78x34msZZQ-SIty2pLAOnj5zW3ma18r-zqdFNB3PRCQNxwa6xgQReKM3VF43zdU7T3OY2jWMH-nXGj_wTTDEcqgYxYjxNtEE-nT6902ipxrD5n/s4000/IMG_20230329_122547.jpg)
The setting itself was peaceful and beautiful at the sametime, and I immediately felt at one with nature. There were wild daffodilsgrowing everywhere, and I suspected at the time, if I was to return in May, thedaffs would be replaced by bluebells. It was obviously an emotional moment, and after forwarding some photos to my sister in the United States, she replied that mum would be happy with that. The tranquil setting of this woodland cemetery, with itscarpet of wild daffodils, allowed me to reflect on the happy anduntroubled childhood my parents had provided for me and my two sisters, andwhilst I never really took the opportunity to thank them for this, I think thatit’s only when you become older yourself, that you truly understand theimportance of such things.
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More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/final-resting-place.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-jy1DD3eMLc1E8WXwwg0iQOQo7ZGi_9CcaEuXv4W14UlnGO-EBBlPx7iyhfI592-dO6f5W12aP29ZhYOz513Hd5RZnukbfr57sd5_Ai14MDFi3tIRp WiNKg3-EyXwsNcTAQWnruriK7GQth_L38bAOj93JR5x5w8G6t9_zzrYRY oQfcrBfu7dYXE/w234-h400/Norwich%20cathedral.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-jy1DD3eMLc1E8WXwwg0iQOQo7ZGi_9CcaEuXv4W14UlnGO-EBBlPx7iyhfI592-dO6f5W12aP29ZhYOz513Hd5RZnukbfr57sd5_Ai14MDFi3tIRp WiNKg3-EyXwsNcTAQWnruriK7GQth_L38bAOj93JR5x5w8G6t9_zzrYRY oQfcrBfu7dYXE/s3805/Norwich%20cathedral.jpg)
I wrote this article some time ago – two months previously,to be precise. Given the personal nature of the piece, I wasn’t sure whether ornot it should see the light of day, but for better or for worse, and in theabsence of anything else of note at the moment, here it is, warts and all. It begins on a rather dampand dismal day at the end of March.On the final Wednesday in March, I made my first visit toNorwich since before the pandemic - October 2019 to be precise. Prior to then Ihad only made sporadic visits to the city, primarily whilst visiting my latefather when he was residing in a care home in the small village of Gressenhall tothe north of Dereham. Those visits mainly involved calling in at a couple ofpubs on my way back to the station, and looking back there are only a handfulof those, such as the Murderer’s and the Compleat Angler.
In the years preceding my parents decline in health –physical for mum and mental for dad, I would drive up to Norfolk for theweekend - the county my folks had retired to. I would find a half decent bedand breakfast establishment or, better still, a pub, spend time with my parentsduring the day, and then retire for the evening to the B&B or pub I was stayingat. This arrangement continued after mum passed away at the end of February2015. A year or so later, my sisters and I took the difficult decision to move dad into a care home, due to the onset of Alzheimer's and the slow, but steady decline in his mental faculties. It then became easier to take the train to Norwich, followed by abus, or a taxi to dad’s care home.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHGsGFsXeAxBNlii9qWL8KIoIiREyJUdAYEupjjuY3S 6SscXTBK6_mpk3jN9r2QSREkk3m9HjWQF8Rd3TcFl6p-imYY4KAC2Rb3uDD4E7QZuoZvMS49I5RChIaNTAM7IjYvOtijOK lE6lIzhAYdnEjkTmLPyLA2bPwWF69E3pWL1AmUTIEo3FerrP/w300-h400/20180615_163507.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHGsGFsXeAxBNlii9qWL8KIoIiREyJUdAYEupjjuY3S 6SscXTBK6_mpk3jN9r2QSREkk3m9HjWQF8Rd3TcFl6p-imYY4KAC2Rb3uDD4E7QZuoZvMS49I5RChIaNTAM7IjYvOtijOK lE6lIzhAYdnEjkTmLPyLA2bPwWF69E3pWL1AmUTIEo3FerrP/s4128/20180615_163507.jpg)Dad sadly passed away in 2021, at the beginning of January, and whilst the cause of death recorded on the death certificate was stated as COVID, advancing Alzheimer's was almost certainly the real cause. Apart from a brief visit in August 2020 where, because of COVID restrictions I'd only been able to talk to him through a half-open window, I hadn't seen dad since the autumn of the previous year. It was heartbreaking to see the deterioration in his health, brought on by the Alzheimer's, so in some respects his passing was a relief to all concerned.
InFebruary of that year Eileen, Matthew and I drove up to Norfolk for dad's funeral. COVID restrictions we're still very much in force, which meantlimited numbers at the funeral itself. In addition, as hotels, pubs, and restaurants were closed, there was no possibility of an overnight stay. Instead, it was a quick drive up to Norfolk for the ceremony, and then back to Kent. All this still makes me very angry, when hearing that serial liar, BorisJohnson defending his attendance at “works gatherings”, cake sharing and otheractivities that were quite blatantly contrary to the very laws his governmentimposed on us. Meanwhile those of us who had lost loved ones were unable to saygoodbye properly or give them a proper send-off.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRF4o1HDHstm23t7jxOGdze3QeWPmjejS_Bpz9MvkFk B1i-H6KWPOFBIAP86z4LNnChKm4YVgk9nn8gmhu3K47T2R7ALMOqux elOxC6gYxZb6hefpFuk9XHbXlJRTahMaFDv8jyAvvy7Hxn-iVn2zYc-VRptvNPqeB16qb45E4oom_doff7qrJQ5u/w400-h225/IMG_20230329_092605.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRF4o1HDHstm23t7jxOGdze3QeWPmjejS_Bpz9MvkFk B1i-H6KWPOFBIAP86z4LNnChKm4YVgk9nn8gmhu3K47T2R7ALMOqux elOxC6gYxZb6hefpFuk9XHbXlJRTahMaFDv8jyAvvy7Hxn-iVn2zYc-VRptvNPqeB16qb45E4oom_doff7qrJQ5u/s3264/IMG_20230329_092605.jpg)The interment of my parents ashes came about followingdiscussions between myself and my two sisters. Neither mum nor dad had made anyprovision for where they wanted to end up, so to speak, and in fact I remembermy mother flying off the handle when my younger sister asked her the question. Thiswas totally uncalled for, although I think it was more a reflection on mymother’s fear of dying, than any real anger against her youngest daughter. After mum’s passing, we're aware that one or two people thatmy parents knew locally had been interned at Greenacres Woodland Burial Centre at Colney, on the outskirts of Norwich. As a result, we took thedecision, with dad's blessing, to lay mum’s ashes to rest there, and inaccordance with the Greenacre’s policy, that all memorials should bebiodegradable, we had a wooden plaque carved in mum's memory, with space fordads details to be added when the time came.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xlLOmzhQwzHZ6ENR9PI20knvvmt7hI5f3Ja2-VCvh4p98nS4ztMKqYza8VEY7bj-l52U5v3VXK0mblggcCS__VzVXevH7LtmO6x59AoM5o7H8KlnlZ sYGrBVHqpbWRR4iKEgNZ9s35H57-7iMadJYaRFe99J56kw1WVZr8spaMuoipgs8QAU-hCB/w400-h225/IMG_20230329_122625.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xlLOmzhQwzHZ6ENR9PI20knvvmt7hI5f3Ja2-VCvh4p98nS4ztMKqYza8VEY7bj-l52U5v3VXK0mblggcCS__VzVXevH7LtmO6x59AoM5o7H8KlnlZ sYGrBVHqpbWRR4iKEgNZ9s35H57-7iMadJYaRFe99J56kw1WVZr8spaMuoipgs8QAU-hCB/s4000/IMG_20230329_122625.jpg)When that time did eventually come, my sistersand I took the decision that rather try and add dad’s details to the existingmemorial, we would commission the original wood carver, to produce a new plaque,showing both mum and dads details. This was because when I had last visited Greenacre’s, in the spring of 2019, it was evident that after just four years the wooden memorialplaque had weathered quite badly and was starting to deteriorate. The new plaquewas installed sometime towards the end of last year, and I promised to go and seeit in situ.
I had been waiting for the better weather, but it didn’t materialise,so with a few days off work I grabbed the bull by the horns, booked an AdvanceReturn rail ticket from Tonbridge to Norwich. The idea was to combine visit to Colney, with a look around Norwich, taking in a few of the city's pubs, of course. The last occasion I'd hadtime to do this was in 2013, when I attended the CAMRA National AGM, held inthe city's historic St. Andrews Halls. After my late morning arrival, Ijumped on a couple of buses which deposited me outside the entrance to the Woodland Burial Centre. It’s not at all easy trying to identify an individualplot in an area of woodland, however carefully it’s being managed, butfortunately I brought the plot references with me, and the helpful young man inthe reception building, was able to guide me directly to the spot.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmCgwuXf7qRkekzkibk6Hujm3ViCmVxIxdkNlGmeEfj qRAMYUY-arpIeYInW2BaeruByWtTr_e_78x34msZZQ-SIty2pLAOnj5zW3ma18r-zqdFNB3PRCQNxwa6xgQReKM3VF43zdU7T3OY2jWMH-nXGj_wTTDEcqgYxYjxNtEE-nT6902ipxrD5n/w400-h225/IMG_20230329_122547.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmCgwuXf7qRkekzkibk6Hujm3ViCmVxIxdkNlGmeEfj qRAMYUY-arpIeYInW2BaeruByWtTr_e_78x34msZZQ-SIty2pLAOnj5zW3ma18r-zqdFNB3PRCQNxwa6xgQReKM3VF43zdU7T3OY2jWMH-nXGj_wTTDEcqgYxYjxNtEE-nT6902ipxrD5n/s4000/IMG_20230329_122547.jpg)
The setting itself was peaceful and beautiful at the sametime, and I immediately felt at one with nature. There were wild daffodilsgrowing everywhere, and I suspected at the time, if I was to return in May, thedaffs would be replaced by bluebells. It was obviously an emotional moment, and after forwarding some photos to my sister in the United States, she replied that mum would be happy with that. The tranquil setting of this woodland cemetery, with itscarpet of wild daffodils, allowed me to reflect on the happy anduntroubled childhood my parents had provided for me and my two sisters, andwhilst I never really took the opportunity to thank them for this, I think thatit’s only when you become older yourself, that you truly understand theimportance of such things.
Follow Blog via EmailClick to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/final-resting-place.html)