A long day

It was Keith's sister's funeral today so it's been a long day, but for Keith, despite the sadness of his sister passing, it was enjoyable. Gwen was 84 and had had a very good life, so the funeral was more like a celebration of the person she was and it was great that Keith met up with lots of family and old friends.

We set off after dropping Mikey off at his school bus and we had a brilliant journey up to Bishop Auckland where Keith's brother lives. The weather has been stunning today - truly the first day of Spring with temperatures of 17-18 degrees and blue sky and sunshine. We stopped at Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire for a coffee and a chicken bap and made the North-East by noon. The funeral was at 2pm so after buying the local newspaper (something Keith always does when he goes "home") we headed to his brother's house and then onto Gwen's house where the funeral procession would start.

Gwen's husband (deceased) started a business when his two sons were young and that business has grown and grown and become very successful. When we arrived it was a bit like meeting the cast of Dynasty as the women were all very well heeled and the driveway of Gwen's house was stuffed with Mercedes and BMWs. My poor little Passat looked a little out of place amongst all the gleaming machines, but Keith's nephews were very friendly and we were welcomed warmly. 

Both the church and the crematorium services were lovely and then we all met up at the pub in the village where Gwen lived, for a buffet and a good catch-up. One of the men who had attended the services was a very good friend of Keith's and they hadn't seen each other for a while so they had a good natter. He even produced some old photographs which brought back a lot of memories!



We stayed at the pub until 5pm and then left for the long journey home, which was as good as the morning's trip. We were in our own local at 8pm for a quick drink before going home and relieving my parents of their baby-sitting duties!