Departures...

Almost a month to the day, I posted about the discomfort we feel when we part company with friends and colleagues and how perhaps we should be grateful for the way they have enriched our lives and for their opportunity to move on.

It's not quite the same though when you know you will never see them again. This morning I received a call from Mum telling me that our Uncle John passed away early hours this morning. He has been battling ill health for many years, indeed it must be at least five years since he was told he had only months to live, but his sheer determination and refusal to give into his illness often disguised any physical clues whatsoever.

We had been told on Sunday that he had been admitted to hospital and we decided there and then to take a drive out to see him that evening. Sure he was in a hospital bed and occasionally a little short of breath but that didn't stop the stream of tales about how they had been teasing the nurses, or his trying to work out whether mobile phone frequencies actually would interfere with hospital equipment.

Rather like Little Sis has said, I will always have fond memories of him, from the extravagant tales of his travels across the world to the ingenious tricks I could have tried to beat the exhibits in the Science Museum as a child. A generous man to the extreme, ever willing to help you through a financial scrape or to treat his family and friends to some of the memorable restaurant meals I've ever enjoyed.

As our busy lives take us all our separate ways, its all too easy to feel guilty and wonder why perhaps we didn't keep in touch more often, but it's probably more important to realise that he is now free from the pain and discomfort he has battled with so bravely in recent times.

So I'll raise a glass to you tonight Uncle John (single malt of course). God Bless and I'm sure that you and Grandma have got some real catching up to do...